Brent Lambert is a Black, queer man who heavily believes in the transformative power of speculative fiction across media formats. As a founding member of FIYAH Literary Magazine, he turned that belief into action and became part of a Hugo Award winning team. He resides in San Diego but spent a lot of time moving around as a military brat. His family roots are in the Cajun country of Louisiana. His novella A Necessary Chaos is out from Neon Hemlock and he is also part of cyberpunk/solarpunk anthology Fighting for the Future and Black horror anthology All These Sunken Souls. Ask him his favorite members of the X-Men and you’ll get different answers every time.

Mike Curato is the author and illustrator the children’s book series Little Elliot. He has also illustrated What If… by Samantha Berger, All the Way to Havana by Margarita Engle, Worm Loves Worm by J.J. Austrian, The Power of One written by Trudy Ludwig, If I Were a Fish by Corook and Olivia Barton, and contributed to What’s Your Favorite Color? by Eric Carle and Friends, Sunny Day: A Celebration of the Sesame Street Theme Song, and Dear Heartbreak: YA Authors and Teens on the Dark Side of Love. Publishers Weekly named Mike a “Fall 2014 Flying Start.” In the same year he won the Society of Illustrators Original Art Show Founder’s Award. Mike’s debut young adult graphic novel, Flamer, was awarded the 2020 Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ Young Adult and the 2021 Massachusetts Book Award for Middle Grade/Young Adult. Gaysians is his adult debut.

Erica Luttrell was born in Toronto, Canada to a Tanzanian mother and an American father. Youngest of four girls, Erica began her acting career at the age of two, starring in numerous commercials from Pampers to Cadillac before booking her first lead role in a television series at the age of nine.

After several seasons on Shining Time Station, the animated series The Magic School Bus (co-starring comedy legends George Carlin and Lily Tomlin, respectively), and others, she migrated south to Los Angeles, California.

She’s most recently appeared on Mayans M.C., 9-1-1, and OWN’s David Makes Man, as well as Seal Team and Westworld. She continues to voice an impressive list of critically lauded animated and video game titles including Horizon Forbidden West as Zo, Marvel’s Avengers as Shuri, Steven Universe as Sapphire and Padparadscha, Dishonored II as Emily Kaldwin, Diablo III, Injustice 2, Voltron, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Apex Legends and The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants on Netflix.

Her middle name “Shukrani” means to give thanks.

During his near two decades in voiceover, JP Karliak has voiced such iconic characters as Morph (X-Men ’97), Green Goblin (Spidey and His Amazing Friends), the Joker (DC: Dark Legion: Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League), N. Tropy (Crash Bandicoot 4), Boss Baby in both Netflix series, Wile E. Coyote, the Tin Man, Loki, Dale Dimmadome, and Willy Wonka. He stars opposite Rihanna in the dual role of Gargamel & Razamel in the new animated Smurfs movie. JP is also the founder and president of Queer Vox, a non-profit training academy and community for LGBTQIA+ voice talent that advocates for authentic and equitable casting opportunities. With voiceover pal Courtenay Taylor, he co-founded NerdsVote, a nonpartisan organization linking gamers, cosplayers, con-goers, and pop culture fans of all kinds to voter registration opportunities. @jpkarliak

Dominique Dickey is a speculative fiction writer and game designer. As the creative director of Sly Robot Games, they’ve created Plant Girl Game and Tomorrow on Revelation III. Their short fiction has appeared in venues including Fantasy Magazine, Lightspeed Magazine, and Nightmare Magazine. Their novella Redundancies & Potentials is now available from Neon Hemlock Press. They live in the DC area, where they’re always on the hunt for their next idea. You can keep up with their work at dominiquedickey.com.

The official Flame Con after party is back! There’s all kinds of crazy, sexy and geeky fun for all your favorite queer friends at this 21+ event: geek-themed drag, burlesque, boylesque, dancing, and more!

dave ring is a queer editor and writer of speculative fiction living in Washington, DC. His short fiction features in publications including Podcastle, Fireside, and Lightspeed. His novella The Hidden Ones was published in fall 2021 by Rebel Satori Press. He is the Ignyte- and World Fantasy Award-nominated publisher and managing editor of Neon Hemlock Press, and the co-editor of Baffling Magazine. A frequent anthologist, dave edited the Shirley Jackson Award-winning Unfettered Hexes: Queer Tales of Insatiable Darkness (2021) and, most recently, The Crawling Moon: Queer Tales of Inescapable Dread (2024). Find him online at dave-ring.com.

Sharang Biswas is a writer, artist, and award-winning game designer. He has won IndieCade and IGDN awards for his games and has showcased interactive works at numerous galleries, museums, and festivals, including Pioneer Works in Brooklyn, the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia, and the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens. His novella The Iron Below Remembers (Neon Hemlock) came out in March 2025. His writing has also appeared in Lightspeed, Strange Horizons, Fantasy Magazine, Baffling Magazine, Eurogamer, Dicebreaker, Unwinnable, and more. He is the co-editor of Honey & Hot Wax: An Anthology of Erotic Art Games (Pelgrane Press) and Strange Lusts / Strange Loves: An Anthology of Erotic Interactive Fiction (Strange Horizons).

Bradley is a GLAAD and RINGO award winning illustrator who lives in Brooklyn making comics(DC/Dark Horse/Abrams). You can find them indoors with their cat reading or gaming.

To catch up with their work, check out the award-winning anthology Young Men in Love, Killer Queens 2, and West Hollywood Monster Squad!

Sina Grace is the USA Today bestselling, GLAAD award-winning writer and artist best known for his run on Iceman at Marvel, Superman: The Harvests of Youth at DC, and West Hollywood Monster Squad at Abrams. His career is one big love letter to Los Angeles, highlighted especially in the Boom series Ghosted in LA, being collected in one volume this November.