Norwescon 44: The Stars of Home
We are thrilled to announce our guest of honor lineup for Norwescon 44, featuring esteemed professionals from right here in the Pacific Northwest!
Writer Guest of Honor – Cat Rambo
Cat Rambo lives, writes, and teaches somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. Cat’s 250 pieces of published fiction include stories in Asimov’s, Clarkesworld, and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. In 2020 they won the Nebula Award for the fantasy novelette “Carpe Glitter” (Meerkat Press). Their most recent works are space opera You Sexy Thing (Tor Macmillan) and science fiction anthology, The Reinvented Heart (Arc Manor), co-edited with Jennifer Brozek. Upcoming in 2022 are the novels Devil’s Gun (Tor Macmillan) and Gods of Tabat (Wordfire Press).
Artist Guest of Honor – Rob Carlos
Rob started his art career around 1998 selling prints on his website, which led to being asked to create paintings for Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time: Collectible Card Game. Recently Rob has concentrated on illustrating for independent and small press writers and musicians, most notably the fan-favorite band Tricky Pixie. In 2007 Rob started showing his work at Norwescon and other sci-fi/fantasy conventions.
Spotlight Publisher – Fairwood Press
Fairwood Press has been exploring speculative fiction as a small press publisher since the year 2000. Fairwood Press has released over 100 titles of science fiction, fantasy, and dark fantasy, as well as occasional SF mysteries, writing reference, and work-for-hire titles. Fairwood Press owner and publisher Patrick Swenson was a finalist for the 2015 World Fantasy Award in the special award—nonprofessional category.
Special Guest – Connor Alexander
Connor Alexander is the owner and creator of Coyote & Crow, a science fantasy tabletop role-playing game. It smashed Kickstarter records, earning more than $1 million in 30 days. The game is set in an alternate history future where the colonization of the Americas never occurred. The book was assembled and led by a team of Native American creators. Coyote & Crow LLC has since grown into a full-fledged game publisher dedicated to raising Indigenous creative voices. Connor Alexander is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation.
Special Guest – Lydia K. Valentine
Lydia K. Valentine is a playwright and poet, director and dramaturg, editor and educator. Lydia’s writing has recently appeared in the anthologies We Need A Reckoning (Blue Cactus Press) and Denial Kills (Not a Pipe Publishing). Her poetry collection, Brief Black Candles, dropped in 2020 (Not a Pipe Publishing). She was a sensitivity reader for Rough House by Tina Ontiveros and serves as the copyeditor for the social justice and literary arts magazine Speak. Her proudest accomplishment, however, is being mom to two inspiring individuals and activists.