The Pelagic Zone: Uncharted Waters
- Gustavo Bondoni is a novelist and short story writer with over three hundred stories published in fifteen countries, in seven languages. He has published several science fiction novels including two trilogies, six monster books, a dark military fantasy and a thriller. His short fiction is collected in Thin Air (2023), Pale Reflection (2020), Off the Beaten Path (2019), Tenth Orbit and Other Faraway Places (2010) and Virtuoso and Other Stories (2011).
- Stephen A. Roddewig is an award-winning author from Arlington, Virginia. He won 2nd Place in the 2023 Vocal Painted Prose challenge, and he recently launched his modern gangland comedy series with The Opening Salvo. Stephen's horror and thriller stories are featured in thirty fiction magazines and anthologies, including The Nameless Songs of Zadok Allen and Beautiful Darkness 3. When not writing, he enjoys collecting records and running races.
- Adam Fout has work in Pulp Literature, Flash Fiction Online, December, and more. He is a graduate of the 2020 Odyssey Writing Workshop and a professor of technical communication at the University of North Texas.
- Helen French is a writer, book hoarder and TV-soaker-upper who grew up in Merseyside near the coast and now lives in Hertfordshire, UK with her family. Her short stories have appeared in venues such as Flash Fiction Online, Shoreline of Infinity and Factor Four Magazine and she is currently buried in novel writing. You can find her online at helenfrench.net.
- Graham Robert Scott's stories have appeared in Nature Futures, Pulp Literature, Barrelhouse, and others. On reflection, he seems to like writing about the water; other aquatic tales by Graham have appeared in the Flame Tree Newsletter, Maudlin House, Orca, and The Periodical Forlorn. When he isn't writing, he teaches English and oversees accreditation for a university in north Texas.
- Mike Adamson holds a Doctoral degree from Flinders University of South Australia. After early aspirations in art and writing, Mike returned to study and secured qualifications in marine biology and archaeology. Mike was a university educator from 2006 to 2018, is a passionate photographer, master-level hobbyist, and journalist for international magazines. He is now a well-known Sherlock Holmes novelist.
- S. E. M. Ishida is a technical communicator and speculative fiction author whose publications include children's books and short stories. She graduated with a BA in humanities and an MS in technical communication, but even after the school assignments stopped, her interest in writing continued. She finds cephalopods both fascinating and adorable.
- Bethany W Pope (they/them) has won numerous literary awards and published ten novels and collections of poetry. Nicholas Lezard, writing for The Guardian, described Bethany's latest poetry collection as "poetry as salvation" ... "This harrowing collection drawn from a youth spent in an orphanage delights in language as a place of private escape." Bethany currently lives and works in China.
- Kristi Ross has loved fantasy and sci-fi since she was a kid. Since she grew up, she’s written about the arts, culture, the environment and travel for magazines, newspapers and books. Several years ago, she started writing the kind of speculative fiction she loves. Originally from Scotland, now she lives with two rescue cats in a patch of Indonesian jungle full of birds, butterflies and garrulous geckos.
- Sasha Brown is a Boston writer, gardener and dad whose surreal stories have been called "Creative! But in a bad way." He’s in lit mags like X-R-A-Y and Split Lip, and in genre pubs like Bourbon Penn and Weird Horror. He’s on twitter @dantonsix and online at sashabrownwriter.com.
- Michael Boulerice hails from the wilds of New Hampshire. He's had stories published in magazines like Cosmic Horror Monthly and Thank You For Joining the Algorithm, anthologies like Monster Lairs and Your Flight Has Been Cancelled, and have been adapted for audio by venues like NoSleep and The Creepy Podcast. His debut novella Feeding the Wheel is slated for release by Dead Sky Publishing in July 2025. For more information about Michael's works and whereabouts, please visit michaelboulerice.com.
- Emma Burnett is a researcher and writer. She has had stories in Nature:Futures, Mythaxis, Northern Gravy, Apex, Radon, Utopia, MetaStellar, Milk Candy Review, Roi Fainéant, JAKE, and more. You can find her @slashnburnett, slashnburnett.bsky.social, or emmaburnett.uk.
- Narrelle M. Harris (she/her) writes across genres: her works include paranormal adventures, crime fiction, het and queer romance, Holmes/Watson mysteries, songs and poetry. Recent fiction includes The She Wolf of Baker Street (2024) and the co-edited Holmesian anthologies Sherlock is a Girl's Name and The Only One in the World. Her vampire novel, The Opposite of Life, was recently optioned for a film. Works nominated for awards include her collection, Scar Tissue and Other Stories; Clamour and Mischief; and This Fresh Hell, co-edited with Katya de Becerra. narrellemharris.iwriter.com.au/.
- Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Mike Robinson is the award-winning author of multiple novels and numerous short stories. His work has appeared in dozens of publications, including Clarkesworld Magazine, American Gothic Fantasy, Storyteller and more. He is also a freelance book editor, illustrator and screenwriter, with a feature film currently in post-production. For more information, see www.mike-robinsonauthor.com.
- Keawe Patrick gets dirty with stories incorporating horror, suspense, and sometimes fantasy. As a geologist and archery enthusiast with huskies, flying fur, dirt, and arrows are distinct dangers in her vicinity. Keawe’s story Splinters is in The Vampire Connoisseur. Her story A Bad Day appears in Masks of Sanity: Hidden in Plain Sight. Keawe splits her time between Hampton Roads, Virginia, and the Big Island, Hawai’i and is a member of Tidewater Writers, Hawai'i Writers Guild, and the Horror Writers Association. Facebook: m.facebook.com/1212525595/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/keawepatrick/?hl=en
- Wendy Nikel is a speculative fiction author with a degree in elementary education, a fondness for road trips, and a terrible habit of forgetting where she's left her cup of tea. Her short fiction has been published by Analog, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Nature, and elsewhere. You can also check out her time travel novella series, which begins with The Continuum. For more info, visit wendynikel.com.
- Kristina Ten's stories appear in McSweeney's, Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy, We're Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction, and elsewhere. Along with winning the Stephen Dixon Award and the Subjective Chaos Kind of Award for Short Fiction, she has been a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award and the Locus Award. Ten is a graduate of Clarion West Writers Workshop and the University of Colorado Boulder's MFA program in creative writing. Her debut collection is forthcoming in 2025 from Stillhouse Press.
- Gray Stanback has been writing science fiction, fantasy, and horror since the age of 12, and has had a number of short stories published in magazines and anthologies. He takes influence from a number of writers, including H. P. Lovecraft, Stephen King, and Japanese manga writer Mohiro Kitoh. Stanback currently lives in North Carolina.
- Alicia Hilton is an author, editor, attorney, professor, and former FBI Special Agent. Her poetry has been nominated for the Rhysling Award and the Dwarf Stars Award. Her work has appeared in Breakwater Review, Eastern Iowa Review, Gamut, Litro, Modern Haiku, Mslexia, Stoneboat Literary Journal, Strange Horizons, The Quarter(ly), Vastarien, Year’s Best Hardcore Horror Volumes 4, 5 & 6, and elsewhere. Her website is aliciahilton.com. Follow her on Twitter @aliciahilton01 and Bluesky aliciahilton.bsky.social.
- Sonia Focke is an author and Egyptologist whose work has appeared in anthologies such as Crunchy with Ketchup and Mirror, Mirror and the cosy fantasy magazine Wyngraf (Issue 4). Her other accomplishments include narrowly escaping eloping to Vegas, sewing a Tamatoa crab costume for a 5-year-old and learning the whole of The Mikado by heart. She lives in Germany with a blacksmith and two Padawans. She is Sonia Focke on BlueSky and sometimes Instagram and Facebook, or check out fun facts about this story on her website soniafocke.wordpress.com.
- Rob is a former sound engineer, retired bar manager, occasional musician, and current tech support guy, drawing on diverse life experience, a love of stories, and a wealth of public transport daydreams to create something bizarre.
- Eric Del Carlo's short fiction has appeared in Analog, Asimov's, Clarkesworld, and many other venues over the years. A novel-length expansion of "The Long Swim", entitled Mer, is available on Amazon.
- Maria Carvalho's love for words has always been as fervent as her fear of math. She enjoys writing everything from horror to haiku, with published work in a wide array of books and magazines, including several titles in the Owl Hollow Press Anthology Series and the \#1 Amazon best-selling poetry collections Hidden in Childhood and Petals of Haiku. Her popular children's book Hamster in Space! was praised by Kirkus Indie Reviews for its "sharp understanding of kids' wacky sense of humor." Maria lives in Connecticut with her husband and son, adores nature and photography, and is forever trying to make a dent in her "to read" pile. Connect with her on Twitter: @ImMCarvalho.
- Addison Smith (he/him) is an amorphous being constructed of suspended cold brew and kombucha. He's doing his best, though. His fiction has appeared in dozens of publications including Cosmic Horror Monthly, Fantasy Magazine, and Escape Pod.
- Alicia Barr is an author from the Twin Cities. She finds daily magic in coffee, warm blankets, and every shade of purple. When she isn't creating new worlds with her mouse and keyboard, she is exploring her own. To keep up with her latest projects, find her at alicia-barr.com.
- Beth Gaydon has published over fifteen short stories in various anthologies. When she's not writing fantastical stories, she's trying to figure out her clients' inexplicable bookkeeping methods. She lives with her kids, dogs, and husband in Tennessee.
- Ben Curl is an author and artist. His stories have appeared in audio and print by numerous indie publishers, including Underland Press, Timberghost Press, and Chilling Tales for Dark Nights. He also hosts the Capital Letters Eclectic Fiction writing group at A Novel Concept in Lansing, MI.
- Cover Artist, TomTC www.deviantart.com/tomtc
