Patrick Barb is a Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of weird, dark, and horrifying tales, currently living in the Twin Cities of Minnesota. He is the author of such works as the sci-fi/horror novel Abducted; novellas JK-LOL, Night of the Witch-Hunter, The Nut House, and The Big One; and short-story collections The Children’s Horror and Pre-Approved for Haunting. He is the editor and publisher of the anthology And One Day We Will Die: Strange Stories Inspired by the Music of Neutral Milk Hotel. In addition, he is the Treasurer of the Horror Writers Association, as well as the creator of the interview column “Your Favorite Author’s Favorite Author” in Shortwave Magazine.

Drawn to the monstrous and macabre, Christina Bergling has been weaving nightmares since childhood. Her horror tales slither from post-apocalyptic (Savages, Screechers) to monster (Red Walls) psychological (The Waning) to comedy (The Rest Will Come) to mystery (Followers) and anything in between (various anthologies and zines including The Horror Collection series, 96th of October, Graveyard Girls, Demonic Wildlife). Bergling is a member of the Horror Writers Association, Denver Horror Collective, and Midnight Monster Club and a dedicated voice in the horror genre. She has been featured on panels at Colorado Festival of Horror. She devours horror in all its forms—movies, books, festivals, conventions, stores, haunted attractions. By day, she navigates the shadows of the IT world. By night, she turns trauma into art. When she’s not writing, she hikes rugged Colorado trails, dances wildly, and sucks out all the marrow of life with her family.

Kalvin Ellis is an American author of horror with a mystery and thriller bent. Most widely known for his 2020 debut novel In the Hills Above the Gristmill and the recently released sequel, In The Grave Where The Bones Are Still Wet. Ellis has also done work for tv and short film. In addition to writing Ellis is a professional photographer, speaker, mentor, and coach. He currently resides in Denver with his partner where he can be near his three adult children.

KC Grifant is an award-winning writer and editor based in Southern California who creates internationally published horror, fantasy, science fiction, and weird west stories. These include the western adventure Monster Gunslinger book series and the collections Shrouded Horror: Tales of the Uncanny and Fantastica Horrifica. Her short stories have appeared in podcasts, magazines, games, and Stoker-nominated anthologies. She is editor of several anthologies (including Dread Coast and Women of the Weird West), co-founder of the San Diego Horror Writers Association (HWA), a SFWA mentor, and co-creator of Monster Gunslingers the game.
In addition to teaching writing courses and workshops, she has been on dozens of podcasts and panels to talk about creative writing and genre storytelling. In her day job, she is a multi-award-winning nonfiction writer and editor who has penned hundreds of published science articles.

R. J. Joseph is an award winning, Shirley Jackson and Stoker Award™ nominated, Texas based writer/speaker/editor. Her creative and academic work examines the intersections of race, gender, and class in the horror genre and popular culture. She has most recently been at work with Raw Dog Screaming Press on their new novella line, Selected Papers from the Consortium for the Study of Anomalous Phenomena.

She occasionally peeks out on various social media platforms from behind @rjacksonjoseph

Catlyn Ladd (she/her) loves alliteration, the sibilant slip of similar sounds. She blends metaphors and archetypes from the shadow self, illuminating the monsters that gestate there. Catlyn worked as a stripper before becoming a professor of philosophy, religion, and women’s studies. Her fiction has been published in over a dozen magazines and anthologies. Her nonfiction book, Strip: The Making of a Feminist, is published by Changemakers. Her debut novelAs Those Above Fall, and her forthcoming novel The Jehovah Project, are contracted with Winding Road Stories. She lives with her partner and cats in Colorado.

Marissa Yarrow is a horror author from Colorado Springs, where she lives with her spouse and two cats. She is a lifelong fan of The Twilight Zone, Hole, and all things spooky. In the first grade, she picked up her first Stephen King book, and got in trouble for reading it in school. Ultimately, administrators agreed that she could read whatever she wanted as long as she didn't tell the other kids about it. Marissa’s work has been featured on the No Sleep Podcast and her forthcoming novel, Island X, is expected in July 2026 from Mad Axe Media.