Program Participant Biographies, Continued

Jonathan Strahan

Jonathan Strahan is a Hugo Award-nominated and Locus, Australian National Science Fiction Achievement "Ditmar," and Peter McNamara Achievement award winning editor, publisher and reviewer. He co-founded Eidolon: The Journal of Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy in 1990, and worked on it as co-editor and co-publisher until 1999. He was also co-publisher of Eidolon Books.

Jonathan began editing anthologies in 1996 (with The Year's Best Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy: Volume 1) and has subsequently edited more than two dozen including the Locus Award-winning The New Space Opera (with Gardner Dozois), The Starry Rift, the Eclipse original anthology series, The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year series, The Locus Awards (with Charles N. Brown) and The Jack Vance Treasury (with Terry Dowling). Forthcoming books include anthologies Godlike Machines, Conquering Swords (with Lou Anders), and Eclipse 3.

In 1997 Jonathan worked in Oakland, California for Locus: The Newspaper of the Science Fiction Field as an assistant editor and wrote a regular review column for the magazine until March 1998 when he returned to Australia. In January 2002 he was promoted to Reviews Editor. Other reviews have appeared inEidolon, Eidolon: SF Online, Ticonderoga Online, and Foundation. Jonathan has won the William J Atheling Jr Award for Criticism and Review and the Australian National Science Fiction Convention's "Ditmar Award." He has also been awarded the Peter McNamara Achievement award for contributions to Australian science fiction.

Jonathan married former Locus Managing Editor Marianne Jablon in 1999 and they live in Perth, Western Australia with their two daughters, Jessica and Sophie.
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Jon Singer

Jon Singer is the Resident Researcher of the Joss Research Institute, not far from Washington, DC. His work, primarily involving ceramics and lasers, occasionally extends delicate tendrils into plant genetics, mycological culture, and a few other areas. He is a published fantasy writer (though only just barely), with a [very] short story in the first Interfictions anthology. Despite several wretchedly annoying food allergies he is a food fan with widely varied experience and interests, which extend into both production and consumption.

Jon is a member of Gamelan Mitra Kusuma, a traditional Balinese ensemble in the DC area; the Central Javanese Gamelan Ensemble of the Indonesian Embassy; and the American Ceramic Society. There is a rose named for him.

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Nina Else

Nina Else moved from Texas to Colorado in 1978 for the beautiful sunsets and to seek her fortune. Failing the latter, she continued to enjoy the sunsets and to work for the federal government until retirement, at which point she set up shop in the Denver Book Mall in order to divest herself of years of madly biblioholic collections — and to seek her fortune. Failing that, she and husband Ron Else still persevere as Who Else! Books, buying and selling books in the Denver Book Mall, where they share their love of books with customers and 19 or so other booksellers. They host book signings, mostly for Colorado authors, with an emphasis on the fields of science fiction, fantasy and mystery. They are in particular devoted fans of deservedly award-laden Connie Willis and offer a wide and deep selection of her works. As for family life, they love their five very different felines, but their six young and charming grandchildren have the temerity to live in other states, so they don't get to see them nearly often enough.

Nina is actually writing a non-fiction book about Christmas newsletters and would appreciate any copies you might care to share; please send them to Nina Else, Denver Book Mall, 32 Broadway, Denver, CO 80203.
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Susan de Guardiola

Susan de Guardiola is best-known for her role as a masquerade emcee at the 1997 and 2004 Worldcons as well as numerous east coast local and regional conventions. She is a social dance historian who may often be found in musty library stacks researching dance from the 16th to the early 20th century, which she teaches at workshops and dance events across the United States. She has spent over two decades in fandom. Susan also makes costumes and blogs about both dance history (at Capering and Kickery) and the rest of her life (at Rixosous). In her spare time, she herds pathologists and plays high-speed online Scrabble.

Witty quote:
"Fantasy is a reality you can dance to." ~ Richard Cohen
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William H. Patterson, Jr.

William H. Patterson, Jr., is a science-fiction, James Branch Cabell, and Heinlein specialist named as The Heinlein Scholar by the Heinlein Prize Trust. He worked with the Robert A. Heinlein Archive at Special Collections of the University Library, U.C. Santa Cruz, from Mrs. Heinlein's death in 2003 to mid-2006.

He is the founding editor/publisher of The Heinlein Journal since 1997, and was chosen by Virginia Heinlein to write the definitive formal biography of Robert Heinlein, which will be published by Tor Books in two volumes in the near future, The Man Who Learned Better: Robert A. Heinlein in Dialogue With His Century. He is the winner of the James Branch Cabell Prize for 2000 for The Heir of James Branch Cabell: The Biography of the Biography of the Life of Manuel (A Comedy of Inheritances); co-author (with Andrew Thornton) of The Martian Named Smith: Critical Perspectives on Robert Heinlein's Stranger In a Strange Land (2001), and numerous papers and studies in The Heinlein Journal. He is co-author (with Robert Gorsch) of the Heinlein personal entry on literaryencyclopedia.com and solo author of subsidiary entry on the Heinlein juveniles. His joint article with Dr. Robert James is featured in the Summer 2006 issue of Foundation, the scholarly publication of the British SF Foundation, of which he is a member. Firsts magazine for November 2007 devoted its entire issue to his "Collecting Robert Heinlein." Patterson's professional memberships include the Heinlein Studies Area of the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association and the Emerson Society.
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Don Timm

Don Timm graduated from the University of Iowa College of Law with a Juris Doctorate, and somehow got a magna cum laude in the process. He worked in the private international law sector for a number of years before a slick-talking government official persuaded him to try his hand at public service. For the next three decades, he worked in numerous countries in Europe, Asia and Africa in public international law and negotiations, serving in various positions including Chief of International Agreements for the United Nations Command in Korea and as a special arbitor on a NATO panel, and currently is a Special Assistant for International Law with the United States European Command. During his career he has been involved in international negotiations with the governments of over forty countries and has somehow also managed to accumulate a number of publication credits and millions of Frequent Flyer miles.

His most recent publication is as a contrbutor (author or co-author of two chapters) in Fleck, The Handbook of the Law of Visiting Forces, Oxford University Press, London 2001.
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Ellen Datlow

Ellen Datlow was editor of Sci-Fiction, the multi award- winning fiction area of SCIFI.COM, for almost six years, the editor of Event Horizon: Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror for one and a half years, and fiction editor of OMNI for over seventeen years. She has edited or co-edited over fifty reprint and original anthologies, including the horror half of the ongoing The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror.

Her most recent are Inferno, The Coyote Road (with Terri Windling), The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy, and Poe: 19 New Tales of Suspense, Dark fantasy, and Horror Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe.

She has won eight World Fantasy Awards, The International Horror Guild Award, the Locus Award for Best Editor in 2005, 2006,and 2007 and the Hugo Award for Best Editor in 2002 and 2005. In addition, SCIFICTION won the Hugo Award for best website in 2005 as well as the Wooden Rocket award as best online magazine for 2005. Ellen was named recipient of the 2007 Karl Edward Wagner Award, given at the British Fantasy Convention for "outstanding contribution to the genre." She has taught at the Clarion, Clarion West, and Clarion South writing workshops plus other, less formal workshops.

She lives in New York City, visit her website.
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Howard V. Hendrix

Howard V. Hendrix was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. He began writing for prizes while still in high school, publishing more generally while in college. In 1985, he began to publish professionally. His published novels (to date) are: Lightpaths (1997), Standing Wave (1998), Better Angels (1999), Empty Cities of the Full Moon (2001), The Labyrinth Key (2004) and Spears of God (2006). His most widely available works of shorter science fiction are available in the Full Spectrum series (Bantam Books) and in The Outer Limits, Volume 1 (Prima), the collection Mobius Highway (Scorpius Digital Books) and upcoming reprints of three short stories in the Tek-no Books series. His most recent short stories have appeared over the last year in Analog Magazine. His works have received recognition in the form of a Sturgeon Memorial Award and a Writers of the Future Award.

Howard has a BS in Biology (1980), along with an MA (1982) and PhD (1987) in English Literature. He has worked loads of jobs over the years, but mainly writing and teaching at the college level over the last twenty years. He currently teaches at CSU Fresno and lives with his wife Laurel in Shaver Lake, CA, where they enjoy backpacking in the Sierras and mushroom forays in the foothills. He says, "People are like rubberband airplanes: the more twisted they are, the farther they fly. I'm trying to get twisted enough to really take off."

He is currently at work on his seventh novel, and invites folks to come visit his website.

John Mansfield

A fan since 1966, John Mansfield has attended some 400 plus conventions in 8 countries. He has chaired cons in three countries and seven provinces of Canada. He chaired the 1994 Worldcon & co-chaired the 2005 Westercon. He is currently the Division Head for Exhibits for the 2009 World SF Con and hotel liaison for the 2009 World Horror Con.

John spent twenty-five years in the Army; he owns a hobby shop.

Mario Acevedo

Mario Acevedo writes the Felix Gomez vampire-detective series for Eos, HarperCollins. In his latest book, The Undead Kama Sutra, the aliens are back in a fiendish conspiracy with our government to trade extraterrestrial technology for the most coveted treasure in the galaxy: Earth women. Mario has worked as a military helicopter pilot, paratrooper, engineer, and art teacher to incarcerated felons. He's looking forward to an alien visitation (but no probing). Mario currently lives and writes in Denver, Colorado.
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Peggy Rae Sapienza

Peggy Rae Sapienza, a second generation fan, has been reading science fiction for more than fifty years. She chaired the 57th World Science Fiction Convention, Bucconeer, in Baltimore in 1998 and was the North American Agent for last year's Worldcon, Nippon 2007, in Yokohama, Japan. Her father, Jack McKnight, machined the first Hugo Awards in 1953.
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Moshe Feder

Moshe Feder has been an SF/Fantasy reader since the late 50s, an active fan since 1970 and a pro since 1972 when he started working part time as Assistant Editor for Amazing and Fantastic. Later he was a reviewer for Publishers Weekly and SF Chronicle, Assistant Editor of the SF Book Club, Editor of the Military Book Club and a reviewer for Asimov's. He has been a judge for the World Fantasy Awards and a member for a few years of the Sidewise Awards jury. His first, and so far only, short story appeared in Orbit 16 in 1975. He's currently a Consulting Editor for Tor Books, an appears regularly as a blogger at Tor.com.
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