Guest of Honor: Michael A. Stackpole

Visit Stormwolf.com, The Official Website of Michael A. Stackpole

Michael A. Stackpole is a New York Times Best Selling author, an award-winning novelist, an award-winning editor, an award-winning game designer, an award-winning computer game designer, an award-winning comics writer, an award-winning podcaster, and an award-winning screenwriter. He is best known for his work in FASA's BattleTech© universe and for his Star Wars© X-wing comics (from Dark Horse Comics) and bestselling Star Wars© novels from Bantam Books.

Artist of Honor: Theresa Mather

Visit Rock, Feather, Scissors, The Official Website of Theresa Mather

A professional artist since 1989, Theresa Mather creates fantasy works featuring a variety of unusual creatures. Best known for her pieces painted on feathers and stone, integrating her paintings with the natural colors and textures of the surface, Theresa draws much of her inspiration from the world around her.

"When I need inspiration, I go hiking somewhere," is what Theresa tells those who inquire. Theresa and her husband Barry Short reside in Cedar City, Utah, where the many nearby national parks - Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capital Reef, Arches, Canyonlands, and Grand Canyon - give her plenty of opportunity to find inspiration.

Theresa is an artist who chooses to work outside of gaming and publication, exhibiting and selling her work at science fiction convention art shows across the country. She enjoys the freedom this gives her to paint whatever she desires, allowing her paintings to be truly her creations. She was active in the field of antique carousel restoration from 1989 through 1999, painting suites of large scale paintings for the crestings of 5 antique carousels and decorative paintwork for a sixth.

While Theresa does have some formal art training, she suggests that those curious about this aspect of her background simply rent and watch the movie Art School Confidential, which parallels her experience quite well. She'd just as soon forget it, except as a source of amusement.

Theresa exhibits at over 70 shows each year and is the recipient of numerous awards, including Popular Choice Best of Show at ConJose, the 2002 Worldcon.

Special Guest Dr. Michael R. Collings

Visit Starshine and Shadows, the Official Michael Collings Website

For the past 25 years, Dr. Collings has taught literature, composition, and creative writing at Pepperdine University in Malibu CA, with classes ranging from Milton and the Renaissance Epic to Myth, Fantasy, and Science Fiction. Along the way, he's worked with Children's Literature, Epic, Lyric Poetry, and as many other subjects as he could.

In addition to the essays that appear on his website, Michael has published analytical bibliographies of Orson Scott Card, Stephen King, and Peter Straub (all from Overlook Connection Press, 2000-2003). Other books include In the Image of God (Greenwood 1990), the first book-length study of Card's works; Scaring Us to Death (Borgo 1999), a study of Stephen King as a cultural phenomenon; and half a dozen additional books on Stephen King (Starmont House).

Recently retired from Pepperdine, Michael and his wife have moved from California back to Idaho.

Special Guest Brandon Sanderson

Visit Brandon Sanderson, the Official Brandon Sanderson Website

Brandon Sanderson was born in December of 1975. A fantasy author known for his epic fantasy books published by Tor and his books for younger readers published by Scholastic, he lives with his wife and son LimeBoy (Joey) in Provo Utah.

Mr. Sanderson is an active blogger, usually posting updates three or four times a week. These run the gambit from stupid puns (according to him) to thoughts on the publishing industry. If you read his blog, you find he seems rather in awe of experiences he is having in life.

Brandon is the author of several works of fiction: ELANTRIS and MISTBORN (and sequels) from Tor Books and ALCATRAZ INITIATED from Scholastic Books. In 2006, Brandon began releasing a free ebook on his website as a thank-you to all those who bought his books. WARBREAKER is a book for which he has signed a contract to publish with Tor. Tor was very gracious in letting him post it on the web even though they're going to publish it in hardback.

Special Guest L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

Visit Recluse, the Official L. E. Modesitt, Jr. Website

L. E. Modesitt, Jr., was born in 1943 in Denver, Colorado. He graduated from Williams College under the delusion that poetry was considered respectable and that fantasy and science fiction were not, a mistake he now attributes to youthful enthusiasm.

He has been a delivery boy; a lifeguard; an unpaid radio disc jockey; a U.S. Navy pilot; a market research analyst; a real estate agent; director of research for a political campaign; legislative assistant and staff director for a U.S. Congressman; Director of Legislation and Congressional Relations for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; a consultant on environmental, regulatory, and communications issues; and a college lecturer and writer in residence. In addition to his novels, Mr. Modesitt has published technical studies and articles (generally with boring titles), columns, poetry, and a number of science fiction stories. His first story was published in 1973.

Mr. Modesitt has weathered eight children, a fondness for three-piece suits, a brown Labrador, a white cockapoo, a Siamese rabbit, and various assorted pet rodents. Finally, in 1989, to escape nearly twenty years of occupational captivity in Washington, D.C., he moved to New Hampshire. There he married a lyric soprano, and he and his wife Carol moved to Cedar City, Utah in 1993, where she directs the opera program at Southern Utah University and he continues to create and manage chaos.

Special Guest Kathy Mar

Visit Xocolatl, the official site of Kathy Mar

Kathy Mar started her professional music career as a streetsinger and folk artist in the clubs and coffeehouses of Denver and environs. That is where she discovered filk and filk discovered her. Her first recordings were on the Off-Centaur label where she did three solo albums and additional songs on many other projects. She followed that with two albums of more eclectic styles on Thor records. Those albums have recently been digitally remastered and re-released on the first-ever filk double CD set with three additional bonus tracks. She went on to do a CD with Zander Nyrond on Dandelion Digital Recordings called "Made By Magic" because it was recorded entirely live-to-digital in six days. This was followed by her most successful album to date "These Are a Few of My Favorite Sings" on the Prometheus label.

Kathy has won several Pegasus awards and was inducted into the Filk Hall of Fame in only the second year of its existence. She also is the music GOH for WorldCon, only the second one in WorldCon history. Loook for her at Denvention 3.

She lives in a commune in California, has teenage twins, and spends a month in England every year. She is opinionated, very approachable, a little shy, and loves what she does with her whole being. She is treasured for keeping the Saturday filk CONduit going until dawn and taking the end-of-filk people to breakfast as the closing event of the CONduit Filking season.

Ghost of Honor: Irwin Allen

Irwin Allen started in journalism before thrilling two generations as, firstly, the king of 1960s science fiction tv, then secondly, as "The Master Of 1970s Disaster" movies. His tv work is less talked about so this Biography will centre more on his tv work.

Irwin Allen's 1960s material and 1970s material both fit under the headings of disaster or style over substance. Granted, the tv material was often intended for younger viewers (however the first season of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea was more or less adult), while the 1970s films were made for all ages. The style in Irwin's sci-fic tv came from talented actors such as Richard Basehart as Admiral Nelson and Dick Tufeld doing a great robot voice. Also the style in the striking miniature effects of spaceship Jupiter 2 and submarine Seaview. Let us not forget the attention grabbing scores from cinema legends Leith Stevens and John Williams.

The substance, or should I say the characterisation, was often missing and Irwin Allen was mostly responsible for that. Irwin was not a family man, his 20th Century Fox co-workers were his family, so small talk heard in The Waltons would not be welcome in an Irwin production. So when actors and writers requested a love interest or deeper characters on submarine Seaview or spaceship Jupiter 2, Irwin - "The Big Kid" - would not have it for a second. Irwin was too busy standing on the corner of the set yelling "more explosions!". With the exception of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea year one, the bulk of Irwin tv was best enjoyed, or best understood, by males who were young at heart.

Irwin Allen has gone on record as saying that Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea episodes Jonah And The Whale and The Terrible Toys were his two favourites of the 110 episode sub series. "Jonah" is of motion picture quality - with strong disaster movie roots - so it is not too hard to understand Irwin's love of this hour. As for "Toys", a show dealing with Seaview explosions, old Hollywood stars getting another go and killer toys running around the Seaview. I think Irwin's love of "Toys" says a lot about this "Big Kid". A tv show called The Fantasy Worlds Of Irwin Allen (1995) says even more about Irwin and his need to "get that monster in" his shows.

Today, Irwin Allen's Lost In Space (1965-68) is more popular than Voyage/Sea, but it should be remembered that Irwin gave Jonathan Harris script control of the Dr Smith character. So, in a way, a lot of Lost In Space is more a Jonathan Harris production than Irwin production.

The Time Tunnel (1966-67) was the least popular of the big four Irwin tv shows but it still plays in re-runs with a big internet following. Land Of The Giants (1968-70) lasted one season longer than Time Tunnel but played more as another version of Lost In Space ... which some like.

Disaster movie The Poseidon Adventure (1972) was rich in characterisation but the more cold blooded follow up - The Towering Inferno (1974) - seemed to cash in on Irwin's 1960s style over substance or style over characterisation. Irwin Allen died in 1991 at a time when he was making phone calls to Jonathan Harris about making a remake, or follow up, to Lost In Space. -- IMDb Mini Biography By: StuOz