Jim Butcher is the author of the Dresden Files, the Codex Alera, a Spiderman novel, Darkest Hours, countless micro-fictions and short stories, and a new steampunk series, the Cinder Spires. His resume includes a laundry list of skills which were useful a couple of centuries ago, and he plays guitar quite badly (his words not ours).

An avid gamer, he plays tabletop games in varying systems, a variety of video games on PC and console, and LARPs whenever he can make time for it. Jim currently resides mostly inside his own head, but his head can generally be found in the mountains outside Denver, Colorado.

Jeremy Pillipow is the man behind Black Magic Craft, a YouTube channel he’s made his career. Sitting in the studio, you can find him surrounded by the tools of his trade: a rainbow of paints, utility knives, stacks of insulation foam and electrical cutting equipment.

Jeremy builds terrain and models for Tabletop RPG’s and wargames. He uses this stuff to play things like Dungeons & Dragons, Frostgrave, Kill Team and much more. His creations have inspired many to try their hand at crafting as well. He has even been messaged by special effects artists from Hollywood who used Jeremy’s techniques on props built for the Avengers films as well as some other movies like the most recent Hellboy.

Jennifer Blackstream is a USA Today bestselling author of urban fantasy and paranormal romance. Her series include the Blood Prince Series, the Blood Realm Series, and the Blood Trails Series.

She is amazed and grateful to have made a writing career out of a Master’s degree in Psychology, hours of couch-detecting watching Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, and endless research into mythology and fairy tales.A fervent devotee of cooperative board games, Jennifer sets aside at least two nights a week for team-based adventures such as Mice & Mystics, Sentinels of the Multiverse, or Harry Potter: Battle at Hogwarts.

She uses games with dice-based mechanics to lure in her ridiculously lucky-rolling son and daughter in the hope that they too will develop a passion for cooperative escapism.

Evan has been working on and off in the Indy comics scene since 2002. As a child, he was told that “real artists” didn’t draw comics but his many fans and admirers are glad he persisted despite the lack of initial support. The illustrator, known for his over-the-top campy approach to comic book art, has since produced four issues in his comic book series Lucha Mystery, published by Sacramento publisher Scattered Comics, which he both writes and draws.

Teamed up with colorist (and fellow Winnipegger) Victoria Free, Los Luchadores Mysteriosos is Evan’s way of paying homage to some of his favorite genres, including Lucha Libre (obviously) and B-Movies from the fifties and sixties.

In addition to being the writer & artist on Psyclone Comics’, Lucha Mystery and Murder City Devil, he has done artwork for various publishers including Heroic Publishing, Dynamite Entertainment, Alternative Comics, Red Eye Press, Ronin Studios, Markosia, Sugar Skull Media, Antarctic Press, Scattered Comics, Temporal Comics and Hyperverse Comics.

“What I like most about the process is opening my finished books when they arrive from the printer. Seeing your ideas in concrete form is the best feeling in the world for me. It’s a nice sense of accomplishment,” said Quiring.

Wolfgang has been to Keycon for many years, growing up as a “con-kid” himself. However, he has grown up to be one of our smartest members, becoming a PhD candidate in Physics. When getting his masters (with honors) at UofM, he was a 3MT finalist and received the Centennial Scholarship in Physics, funded by a Nobel Laureate.

Post-Grad he moved to Vancouver to continue his studies and is working with the TUCAN collaboration at TRIUMF on their world-leading nEDM experiment.

Outside of Physics and the scientific community, Wolfgang has his partner Lillian Bryant, (another Keycon regular) and a soundcloud full of music

With such musical talent, he was a regular filker in The Dandy-Lion, such as the time he played Arrogant Worms tunes like Jesus’ Brother Bob.

And talking about his performance of “Hey There Cthulhu” even landed him a spot on Jimmy Fallon, if not by name.

Wolfgang was always such a staple of Keycon while he lived in Winnipeg, even becoming his own meme. # ThanksWolf

“I have been lucky enough to be sent around the world to share my work and learn from the best scientists in the world. From TRIUMF in Vancouver (Canada’s particle physics research centre) to KEK in Tsukuba, Japan (Japan’s high energy physics research centre) my degree at UM has allowed me to become part of a global community of physicists.”