Leona R. Wisoker writes a variety of speculative fiction, from experimental to horror, from fantasy to science fiction. She also loves to edit (her own and other people’s work), read, and drink good coffee and better whiskey. In her less-than-abundant spare time, she is a wild garden warrior, an adventurous cook, and a champion catnapper, especially if sunbeams are available.
Leona’s novel, Lies of Stone, is a finalist for this year’s Webster Award.
J. Yamil is a writer and TTRPG designer based in Durham, NC. He lives with his partner and their trio of feline familiars.
He has worked with Stiff Whiskers Press, Goodman Games and Newsarama, where he has showcased his versatility and creativity. He has served as a lead admin for the Gongfarmer’s Almanac for 2024 and 2025. Yamil has participated in panels discussing diversity at the table and RPG safety tools at various conventions such as GaryCon and ConCarolinas.
He is currently hard at work on various projects for 5e, Dungeon Crawl Classics and Weird Frontiers.
Meryl Yourish has managed to turn her love of cats and reading fantasy into creating a fictional world where cats have human intelligence and magical powers. It’s no coincidence that some of the major Catmages look remarkably like cats that are or were in her life. The Catmage Chronicles series is the first published part of that world.
When she’s not writing about Catmages, she’s working on fantasy novels.
Meryl sometimes calls herself “a one-woman publishing house.” She has an extensive background in typesetting, desktop publishing, editing, copy editing, proofreading, and web production, as well as a smattering of programming. But her true love has always been the written word, both writing and reading.
She is currently writing a three-part sequel series to The Catmage Chronicles and a standalone Catmage novel set in 19th century Russia is in progress. There is also a dragon fantasy trilogy in the works when the Catmage stories are done.
Meryl lives in Richmond, VA, and can often be found at RavenCon, either as a fan or a guest.
Alix E. Harrow is the New York Times-bestselling author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January, The Once and Future Witches, Starling House, and various short fiction, including a duology of retold fairy tales (A Spindle Splintered and A Mirror Mended). Her work has won a Hugo and a British Fantasy Award, and been shortlisted for the Nebula, World Fantasy, Locus, Southern Book Prize, and Goodreads Choice awards.
A former adjunct and Kentuckian, Harrow now lives in Virginia with her husband and their two semi-feral kids.
Phillip Pournelle is a science fiction author, war game designer, operations analyst, and military strategist. He served in the United States Navy as a surface warfare officer, operations analyst, and planner for 26 years. He served on cruisers, destroyers, amphibious ships, and on an experimental high-speed vessel. He served on the Navy Staff conducting campaign analysis, in the Office of the Secretary of Defense doing mobility and naval analysis. He worked for five years at the Office of Net Assessment diagnosing the future of conflict and competition. He designs and executes war games, conducts modeling and simulation, and analysis on modern warfare for the Department of Defense and other organizations. He has written and spoken on the ethical use of Artificial Intelligence in warfare. He is currently a senior war game designer and operations analyst at Group W, a defense and analysis, modeling, and research company. He teaches war game design for the Military Operations Research Society. He wrote a chapter on the use of war gaming, modeling, and simulation in the book Wargaming and Simulation published by Wiley Press in 2022. He contributed to Jerry Pournelle’s last Janissaries novel Mamelukes and recently submitted the second draft of the sequel to Baen books. He has had several short stories and articles published on the themes of future conflicts. His latest short story “The Rules of the Game” was published by Baen Books in the Robosoldiers anthology.
Cass Morris lives her life at the intersection of storytelling, performance, and education as a writer and editor of novels, short fiction, and immersive experiences. Her novels, The Aven Cycle, are Roman-flavored historical fantasy. She is also one-third of the team behind the four-time Hugo Award Finalist podcast Worldbuilding for Masochists. Cass works as Story Editor at Mythik Camps, providing writing and developmental editing for the mythology-themed summer camps’ interactive theatrical experiences, as well as other programming and media projects. Previously, she worked in the education department at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, VA. She holds a Master of Letters in Shakespeare studies from Mary Baldwin University and a BA in English and History from the College of William and Mary. Her novel, From Unseen Fire, won RavenCon’s Webster Award in 2020. Find her online at linktr.ee/cassrmorris.
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