Featured Speakers Past and Present

FEATURED SPEAKERS PAST AND PRESENT

jOHN mANTOOTH

Author of The Year of the Storm & Our 2021 Pioneer Keynote Speaker

John Mantooth is the author of four novels and one collection of short stories. His first novel, The Year of the Storm (Berkley/ Penguin 2013), was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award. His other novels are part of the Earl Marcus series, written under his pseudonym, Hank Early. The first novel in that series, Heaven's Crooked Finger (Crooked Lane, 2017), was a Next Generation Indie Book Award Winner and an Okra Pick. John lives and teaches in central Alabama.

T.K. Thorne

Author of House of Rose & Our 2020 Pioneer Keynote Speaker

T.K. Thorne is a southern author whose works have both intrigued and captivated her audiences. The Alabama native holds strongly to her roots and is firm in her beliefs. Born in the 1950s, Thorne experienced the height of the Civil Rights Movement. This is directly reflected in her later writings. Her LinkedIn profile states she attended the University of Alabama and obtained a Master’s in Social Work, leading her into a career as a Birmingham Police Officer where she would later retire with the title of Captain. Her experiences became part of who she is as a writer. Thorne has created works in the form of novels, fiction and non-fiction, screenplay writing, blogs, poetry, and columns for various journals and magazines, including Synergy Magazine. As stated on her self-titled website, many of her works have been either nominated for or won awards on more than ten different occasions. Thorne’s writing has great versatility. She has created a world that readers can immerse themselves into with her historical fiction works, Angels at the Gate and Noah’s Wife, both of which she won awards for. Thorne’s most recent title, House of Rose, is sure to capture her audience with a combination of law enforcement and magic. This is the first in this series from Thorne, and her readers are highly anticipating the next release. Also, be on the lookout for Behind the Magic Curtain: Secrets, Spies, and Unsung White Allies of Birmingham’s Civil Rights Days, which is slated for release in 2021.

Sources:

“T.K. Thorne,” LinkedIn.com. https://www.linkedin.com/in/t-k-thorne-4b559bb?challengeId=AQGbm1fsuM3-5AAAAXSTbltqJjLqAgUQzKIn7D8U6rT8_REUeCqRbZ9qbL_Aujpv___lCQ4AiLRC8mNoVI-n69pHO6H2AZnoMQ&submissionId=d1d6ac9d-9e0e-3516-c3de-85dff3a8c402. September 2, 2020

“About,” T.K. Thorne.com. https://tkthorne.com/about/. September 2, 2020.

Visit T.K. Thorne's website to learn more!

Biography written by: Erica Hooper

Image source: Birmingham Public Library

Jon Padgett

Author of The Secret of Ventriloquism & Our 2019 Pioneer Keynote Speaker

Jon Padgett is a professional–though lapsed–ventriloquist who lives in New Orleans with his spouse, their daughter, and a rescue dog and cat. He is the Co-Editor-In-Chief of the This Is Horror Award Winning publication, Vastarien: A Literary Journal, a source of critical study and creative response to the work of Thomas Ligotti. Padgett’s first short story collection, The Secret of Ventriloquism, was named the Best Fiction Book of 2016 by Rue Morgue Magazine. He has work out or forthcoming in Weird Fiction Review, PseudoPod, Lovecraft eZine, Xnoybis, and the anthologies Mannequin: Tales of Wood Made Flesh, Ashes & Entropy, 32 White Horses on a Vermillion Hill, Volume 2, A Walk on the Weird Side, Wound of Wounds, Phantasm/Chimera, and For Mortal Things Unsung. His recent novelette, The Broker of Nightmares, was published by Nightscape Press. Padgett's 20 Simple Steps to Ventriloquism has been published as an illustrated chapbook by Tallhat Press and as an LP (narrated by Padgett) by Cadabra Records. On November 24th, 2019, the Nightscape Press will release a deluxe, fully illustrated box set called Secret Gateways, which includes new, expanded editions of Padgett's The Secret of Ventriloquism, Matthew M. Bartlett's Gateways to Abomination, and a third collection entitled The Latham Fielding Liaison, with stories written in collaboration by the two authors.

Visit https://jonpadgett.net/ for more information!

Phoebe North

Author of Starglass & Our 2018 Pioneer Keynote Speaker

Born in suburban New Jersey, Phoebe North was an avid reader from an early age. She read in the bathtub, at the dinner table, in front of the television, and under the blankets with a flashlight when she should have been asleep.

She has an MFA in poetry from the University of Florida, where she made mix-cds, worked on her Vulcan cosplay, and realized she was really a fiction writer in disguise. Her first novel, Starglass, was published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers to critical acclaim. She was named a Publisher’s Weekly Flying Start in 2013; the sequel novel, Starbreak, and her only human offspring both followed shortly thereafter. Her short fiction, critical work, and poetry have appeared with the YA Review Network, Umbrella Journal, District Lit, 2river View and Strange Horizons (among others), and in anthologies such as the 2015 Young Explorer’s Adventure Guide, Among the Shadows and Speculative Fiction 2015. She believes in writing challenging, honest, and beautiful books for any audience.

She now lives in New York State with her husband, daughter, and feline companion. There, she listens to records, plays with make-up, argues about television, works in her garden, fights fascism, and occasionally writes books. Despite many soaked pages, she still loves to read in the bath.

She’s represented by Victoria Marini at the Irene Goodman Agency.

Visit http://www.phoebenorth.com/ for more information!

Brian Parker

Author of Crow in the Hollow & Our 2017 Keynote Speaker

From Brian Paker, himself:

AUTHOR, ILLUSTRATOR, and CREATOR OF THE FANTASTICAL

I grew up in Alaska, then Mississippi, and have always been in love with storytelling in every medium. Literature, movies, art, you name it! I have a BFA in graphic design and illustration, as well as a MA in writing and publishing, and worked as a graphic designer and illustrator for almost 15 years in music publishing, corporate marketing, and sports/entertainment.

Now I spend my days working on in youth publishing (so cool, right?) and teaching about the creative process. I'm always trying to learn and grow in my craft, and find that I am happiest when I'm striving to bring the works of my imagination to life, as well as sharing that experience with others. Crow in the Hollow is my first novel length work, but I have written ten picture books, and self published one graphic novel series titled YOU CAN RELY ON PLATYPI.

Check out his fantastic work at Believe in Wonder!

Lou Anders

Author of Throne & Bones Series & Our 2016 Keynote Speaker

Lou Anders is the author of the Thrones & Bones series of middle grade fantasy novels. A long-time journalist and editor, Anders was seven times nominated for the Hugo Award in Editing, winning in 2011. He has also received a Chesley Award for Art Direction.

Having written extensively about Star Trek and Babylon 5, Anders later launched the magazine Argosy and worked as an editor for Pyr, the science fiction imprint of Prometheus Books. A native of Birmingham, Anders left editing in 2014 to concentrate more fully on writing. The three novels in the Thrones & Bones series--Frostborn, Nightborn, and Skyborn--have been published since that time.

Gather more information at Louanders.com!