Aaron Fors is an author, actor, filmmaker, creator thingy! An obsessive collector of obscure skills and knowledge, they love infusing their passion for the niche into their works. Aaron writes scifi, fantasy, and whatever fills their heart up and makes them feel like they’re going to explode if they don’t bring it into existence. Most recently published in “Weird Wilderness: A Cryptid Anthology” by Wordfire Press. Recent films include their portrayal of Sidney Lumet in As Long As I’m Famous, and Virgil in The Undead End. They’ve narrated audiobooks for folks like Kevin J. Anderson’s publishing program, Mark Leslie Lefebvre, Chris Mandeville, and multiple anthologies, and love it so. In 2024 and 2025 they wrote their first two novels “Pancake Heroes” an urban fantasy with tinges of cosmic horror, and “Peanut Butter and Pickles Won’t Keep on Mars” an LGBTQIA Neurodivergent Scifi YA set on, well, Mars. They write stories about hope, finding family and community, and lasting joy. They believe we are stronger together, the long arc of the universe is good, love is always the answer, and when we build out of love, we can find a way. They live in California with their beloved wife, best friend, love of their life across fractal eternities, Hannah, and two cats intent on world domination but too lazy to be a threat.

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A good story enriches the world, a great one can save it. Let’s write the future together shall we?

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Adriel Wiggins provides a variety of services to authors from continuity editing and audiobook proofing to virtual assistant tasks and organizing your business. Find out more at AdrielWiggins.com.

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Angie Hodapp is the Director of Literary Development at Nelson Literary Agency. She holds a BA in English and secondary education from the University of Northern Colorado and an MA in English and communication development from Colorado State University. A graduate of the Publishing Institute at the University of Denver, she has worked in professional writing, editing, and education for more than twenty years. A frequent presenter at writing conferences and events, and the author of Query Craft and Do You Need a Literary Agent (plus a bunch of short stories and comic books for a couple video-game companies), she loves helping writers improve their craft and learn about the ever-changing world of publishing.

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Becca Lee Gardner is an 8-time Honorable Mention Winner from the Writers of the Future contest. Worldbreaker: An Eldros Legacy Novel won the Utah Author’s League 2024 Recommended Read Award. Becca writes novels, comic books, screenplays, and short stories. Her most recent series, Min the Mighty, began as a bedtime story she told her kids and has become a fan favorite.

Becca Syme (MATL) is a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach and has individually coached more than 6000 authors of all levels. She is the host of the Quitcast for Writers and the author of the popular Dear Writer, You Need to Quit book. She also writes mystery novels in her spare time and lives on one of the thousand lakes in the Twin Cities of Minnesota.

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CL Fors, Cherrie Lynn to her friends, is an author, illustrator, and publisher hailing from the California desert where she lives with her author husband, four clever children, and a small menagerie of creatures. She is a recent Illustrators of the Future winner and author of the four book sci-fi epic, The Primogenitor Series. Cherrie creates because she believes in taking what we have inside of us and sharing it to change the world, if only one story, one reader, one life at a time. Cherrie’s recent publications and projects include, More Than One; a solarpunk sci-fi, Chaotic Cupids as editor and illustrator, short stories in Wild Wilderness; A Cryptid anthology, the Vampire Survival guide, and Orion’s Flight, a graphic novel about a bio-engineered bat-piggy, in progress on Patreon.

Emily is the Vice President Public Affairs at Author Services, Inc. She has been involved with book publishing since 2007, including the international Writers & Illustrators of the Future Contests. She is the producer for the Writers of the Future annual Achievement Awards and the Writers of the Future Online Writing Workshop. Emily is an Honorary Commander for the US Air Force and US Space Force.

J.T. Evans writes fantasy novels. He also dabbles with science fiction and horror short stories. He is the former president of Colorado Springs Fiction Writers Group and Pikes Peak Writers. When not writing, he keeps computers secure at the Day Job, spends time with his family, and plays way too many tabletop games.

He originally spawned in the deserts of west Texas. Before he could escape, his right arm was amputated in a car wreck when he was 15. He had the arm reattached a short while later and finally ran away from his home city to the sweltering heat of San Antonio before his 23rd birthday. After living there a year, he tried out the frozen tundra of northern Montana. That only lasted a year before eventually settling in the relatively moderate climate of Colorado.

J.T. joined the Gnome Stew Crew in March of 2016. Since that time, he has written dozens of articles for the site and has earned three Gold ENnie awards (2016, 2017, and 2018) as part of the team at Gnome Stew.

He is the author of the Modern Mythology and Flashing Blades series and is hastily working on more right now.

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John Goodwin, President Galaxy Press, has been involved with book publishing since 1986, publishing the fiction works of bestselling author L. Ron Hubbard which includes the Writers of the Future anthology. He is also host of the award-winning Writers and Illustrators of the Future Podcast.

Julia was a trial lawyer in Silicon Valley for over two decades. She still makes stuff up for a living. She attended U.C Berkeley and majored in Asian Studies. A graduate of Viable Paradise, she often writes with co-author Ken Bebelle. They have penned over 10 novels together. Their novel Ebony Gate, an Asian-inspired contemporary fantasy, was published by TOR and named a 2023 Golden Poppy Finalist for the Octavia E. Butler award.

Kate is half of the K.D. Julicher writing team along with her husband Dan. She's had stories published in multiple short markets and has won both Writers of the Future and the Baen Fantasy Adventure Award. They also publish LitRPG under the name M. Talon and have one series out from Podium and others on Amazon and RoyalRoad. Kate is a dictation evangelist and lives in the wilds of Nevada.

Kevin J. Anderson has published more than 175 books, 58 of which have been national or international bestsellers.

He has written numerous novels in the Star Wars, X-Files, and Dune universes, as well as unique steampunk fantasy novels Clockwork Angels and Clockwork Lives, written with legendary rock drummer Neil Peart. His original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series, the Wake the Dragon and Terra Incognita fantasy trilogies, the Saga of Shadows trilogy, and his humorous horror series featuring Dan Shamble, Zombie PI.

He has edited numerous anthologies, written comics and games, and the lyrics to two rock CDs.

MARTA SPROUT’s award-winning thrillers have been compared to Stephen King and Shakespeare, by some of the best in the business, for how she captures the voice of ordinary people and the realities of our world, while still keeping the pace of the thriller. We can’t help but think that her experience as a marksman, first responder in Ski Patrol, diving with 40’ whale sharks, handfeeding bison, teaching at the police academy, and performing training scenarios with SWAT play into her action-packed thrill-rides.

When Tanya Hales was a baby, she enjoyed books by chewing them to pieces before eventually moving on to the higher art of reading. Tanya splits her time between her work as a writer, an illustrator, and a mother, all of which she loves intensely. She now lives in Utah with her family, illustrating coloring books, writing YA fantasy, making cute stickers, and daydreaming constantly about imaginary worlds.