Invited Guests
Spirits is a history and comedy podcast about mythology, folklore, and urban legends. Every week we pour a drink and dive into a new story from around the world. Hear fresh takes on classic myths and learn new stories from around the world, served up over ice by two tipsy history geeks. Founding member show of Multitude, a podcast collective and production studio.
Whiteley is a freelancer with a masters in cartooning who has worked with companies such as Disney Hyperion and Peanuts. They are currently a professor at Salve Regina University and spend most of their free time making fan art, drawing original comics, and playing Dungeons and Dragons.
By day, Patrick Weekes is a writer at BioWare, where they worked on the original Mass Effect trilogy and Dragon Age: Inquisition, and are now lead writer on the next Dragon Age game. By night, Patrick writes novels, including the Rogues of the Republic fantasy heist-caper trilogy and the YA novel Feeder. They live in Canada with their partner, Karin, their children, and a fluctuating but always slightly too high number of rescue animals.
Your friendly neighbor goth who loves anime and making tunes. I have a YouTube channel where I post cosplay makeup, covers, and original songs weekly. I have started attending cons again this year including, blerdcon, otakon, and awesomecon.
Jackson Bird is a writer and internet creator dedicated to demystifying the transgender experience. A YouTube NextUp Creator and GLAAD Rising Star Digital Innovator, Jackson shares his and others’ stories on his YouTube channel, jackisnotabird, and in his debut book Sorted: Growing Up, Coming Out, and Finding My Place. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, Vulture, The Advocate, and more, and his TED Talk "How to talk (and listen) to transgender people" has been viewed over one and a half million times. Jackson lives in New York City, where he hosts the daily podcast Kottke Ride Home. You can follow him online @jackisnotabird.
Karin Weekes is Lead Editor at BioWare, where her credits include 3 Dragon Age games, 3 Mass Effect games, and Star Wars: The Old Republic. A lifelong singer, she currently sings in a queer community chorus and swing choir in Edmonton, AB, where she lives with her partner, Patrick, their two teenage sons (who regularly hand their mother her a$$ in various video games), and too many rescued dogs and cats. She loves making and wearing costumes, and cosplays here as The One Who Always Dies First in Phasmophobia.
Author, editor, & podcaster Brent Lambert is a Black, queer man who heavily believes in the transformative power of speculative fiction. He works to help empower others through his work with FIYAH Literary Magazine and his podcast, 'Just Keep Writing: a podcast for writers, by writers, to keep you writing'. Recently, he had a short story released through Beneath Ceaseless Skies. He has an upcoming novella with Neon Hemlock and will be part of the Black horror anthology, NO HARM DONE, in 2023.
Invited Panelists
Gume Laurel III is a Texan, native to the Rio Grande Valley. For the past decade, he has dedicated himself to writing stories representative of marginalized communities, especially his own: Latinx and LGBT+. Instagram: @TX.Author
Jonny Garza Villa (they/them) is a product of the Great State of Texas; a Sagittarius sun, Capricorn everything else; and an author of contemporary young adult literature inspired by their own Chicane & Tejane and queer identities. Their novels include the Pura Belpre Honor Book, Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun, and the forthcoming Ander and Santi Were Here. Learn more about Jonny and their work at their website, jonnygarzavilla.com.
Theodore Niretac Tinker is a spec-fic trans author, meticulous editor, and deep-diving worldbuilder. Words and worlds are his passion; quality and consistency, his goal. Specializing in the spiritual, he fights for justice and equality through his books, explores the weird and whimsical in his short stories, and helps other writers find the voice and power of their own stories through his editing services. All these infinite literary endeavors are supported by an endless supply of chocolate, which he hoards in his library alongside his books like any good dragon.
R.T. is a sci-fi/fantasy author born and raised in Austin, Texas. She attended the Creative Writing Program at the University of Iowa and currently teaches high school English. The first two books of her debut science-fiction series are out now, and the final novel in the trilogy will be published next year. When she isn't working or writing, she's climbing rocks or playing with her pup.
Fabian Parker spends a good chunk of his waking hours over at Bioware's Austin studio as the Lead Art Outsource Manager for Star Wars: The Old Republic. The other time is spent training and teaching martial arts, freaking out over the backlog of unpainted D&D miniatures, searching for geeky trucker hats, and trying to perfect the crisp to fluff ratio of his waffles.