Join five local Fantasy and Sci-Fi authors as they share information about their craft and answer questions from the audience. A panel discussion will be followed by light refreshments, book signings, and opportunities to purchase books from authors.
1 to 2 p.m., Panel Discussion – Limited Seating, Click here to register online (starting Feb. 1) to reserve your seat.
2 to 3 p.m., Book Signing & Reception
View the Authors and their works below.
Joshua David Bellin
Pittsburgh native Joshua David Bellin has been writing novels since he was eight years old (though the first few were admittedly very short). A college teacher by day, he has published numerous sci-fi novels, including the Survival Colony 9 series, the Ecosystem series, and the time-travel thriller Myriad. His published works are characterized by immersive world-building, intricate plotting, and shocking conclusions. As a publisher, he has produced the three volumes in the Accidental Time Travelers Collective series, each of which features 12 time-travel-themed short stories by an international group of authors.
Josh is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA). A popular speaker at conferences and book festivals, he mentors aspiring authors in a variety of genres, including speculative fiction, literary fiction, and Young Adult fiction. Catch up with Josh on his website, where you can subscribe to his monthly e-newsletter: https://joshuadavidbellin.blogspot.com/
Frederic S. Durbin
FREDERIC S. DURBIN studied mythology, classical languages, and English literature at Concordia College, River Forest, Illinois, and graduated summa cum laude. For over twenty years, he taught ESL and creative writing at Japan’s Niigata University. He has been professionally writing fantasy for grownups and children for over twenty-five years. His short work has appeared in Cricket, Cicada, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Weird Tales, Black Gate, and in various anthologies. His first novel, Dragonfly, was published first by Arkham House in 1999. His most recent, A Green and Ancient Light (Saga Press) received the Realm Award for Fantasy and was named a Best Fantasy of the Year by Publishers Weekly and a Reading List Honor Book by the American Library Association. His historical fantasy The Country Under Heaven (Melville House) is forthcoming in May and was placed by Publishers Weekly on its Top Ten picks for speculative fiction books to watch for in Spring 2025. Durbin co-edited the five-volume Cold Hard Type fiction anthology series (Loose Dog Press) and teaches creative writing at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School. He and his wife live in western Pennsylvania.
J.V. Hilliard
Born of steel, fire and black wind, J.V. Hilliard was raised as a highlander in the foothills of a once-great mountain chain on the confluence of the three mighty rivers that forged his realm’s wealth and power for generations.
His father, a peasant twerg, toiled away in industries of honest labor and instilled in him a work ethic that would shape his destiny. His mother, a local healer, cared for his elders and his warrior uncle, who helped to raise him during his formative years. His genius brother, whose wizardly prowess allowed him to master the art of the abacus and his own quill, trained with him for battles on fields of green and sheets of ice.
Hilliard’s earliest education took place in his warrior uncle’s tower, where he learned his first words. HIs uncle helped him to learn the basics of life—and, most importantly, creative writing.
Hilliard’s training and education readied him to lift a quill that would scribe the tale of the realm of Warminster, filled with brave knights, harrowing adventure and legendary struggles. He lives in the city of silver cups, hypocycloids and golden triangles with his wife, a ranger of the diamond. They built their castle not far into the countryside, guarded by his own two horsehounds, Thor and MacLeod, and resides there to this day.
Larry Ivkovich
Larry Ivkovich’s speculative fiction has been published in twenty-five online and print publications including Zombies Need Brains, Shoreline of Infinity, Air and Nothingness Press, and Flame Tree Publishing. He’s been a finalist in the L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future contest and was the 2010 recipient of the CZP/Rannu Fund award for fiction.
His four-part urban fantasy series, The Spirit Winds Quartet, is published by IFWG Publishing, and steampunk inspired SF novella, Hope’s Song, was released by IFWG in 2024. The first two books in his self-published science fiction series, The Magus Star Trilogy, are available on Amazon.
Larry is a member of SFWA, Pennwriters, and the Mindful Writers North. He lives in Coraopolis, PA with his beautiful, multi-talented wife Martha and wonder cat Milo.
Jamie Lackey
Jamie Lackey lives in Pittsburgh with her husband and their cats. She has had over 200 short stories published in places like Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Apex Magazine, and Escape Pod. She has a novella and two short story collections available from Air and Nothingness Press, and she’s created six successful crowdfunding campaigns to self-publish a novel, two novellas, a novelette, and three short story collections. In addition to writing, she spends her time reading, playing tabletop RPGs, baking, mushroom hunting, and hiking. You can find her online at www.jamielackey.com.
