Presenters

Born and raised in London, Ben Aaronovitch had the sort of unrelentingly uninteresting childhood that drives a person to drink or science fiction. The latter proved useful in his early career when he wrote for Doctor Who (before it was fashionable), Casualty and the cheapest soap opera ever made - Jupiter Moon. Alas, his career foundered in the late 1990s and he was forced to go out and work for living. It was while running the Crime and Science Fiction sections at the Covent Garden branch of Waterstones that he conceived the notion of writing novels instead. Thus was the Rivers of London series born and when the first book - Midnight Riot - proved to be a runaway success, he waited all of five minutes to give up the day job and return to the bliss that is a full time writing career. He still lives in the city that he modestly calls "the capital of the world" and says he will leave when they pry London from his cold dead fingers. He promises that he is already hard at work on the next Peter Grant novel and not computer games - honest.

Andrew Cartmel was born in London, where he lives today. He grew up in Canada and returned to the UK to complete his education, such as it is (Andrew attended Queen Mary University and did postgraduate studies at the University of Kent in Canterbury). A lifelong desire to become a professional writer initially earned Andrew some television script commissions and resulted in him being hired as the script editor on Doctor Who, in the days when that role at the BBC was virtually the same as a show runner. He served for three seasons on Doctor Who, a highly influential run which has become memorialized as the "Cartmel Masterplan," before moving on to script edit a season of Casualty and then writing for and script editing Dark Knight at Channel Five. Other television commissions include scripts for Torchwood and Midsomer Murders. He has written novels, toured as a stand-up comedian, written plays for the stage which have been performed in London (End of the Night, Under the Eagle, and his new comedy Screwball) and also written a number of graphic novels. Andrew writes extensively about jazz for the website London Jazz News. He is currently collaborating with Ben Aaronovitch on the highly successful Rivers of London comic franchise. He is also the author of a series of crime novels about the Vinyl Detective, a jazz-loving record collector turned sleuth. (Warning: may contain cats.)

Driftwood Quintet is a chamber group based in Phoenix, Arizona dedicated to crossing genres and bending boundaries in classical music. Through the work of Driftwood's arrangers, a performance can feature anything from orchestral masterworks or piano works to the imaginative soundtracks from the greatest video games and films. Driftwood also seeks to create memorable experiences through collaborations with artists from a variety of disciplines, ranging from jazz musicians and singer/songwriters to dancers and visual artists.

Driftwood also exemplifies its dedication to chamber music through educational outreach, engaging youth through interactive performances that integrate music with a variety of disciplines such as language arts, science, and history. Members of the Driftwood Quintet are active music educators in the Phoenix metropolitan area, working in underprivileged communities to improve the quality of public music education and foster lifelong musical literacy.

Driftwood Quintet's appearance at LIBCON West is funded in part by the City of Glendale through the Centerline Arts & Cultural Initiative.

The DREAD Fleet is an Arizona non-profit focusing on education, entertainment, arts and, of course, pirates! Members host events, attend conventions, perform stage shows, publish stories of their adventures, and compete in rapier tournaments. As a non-profit. the DREAD Fleet also assists other organizations through charitable fund-raising.

Born and raised in Japan, Rina Ohkuma grew up as a national youth Olympic gymnast. At the age of 20, she moved to the United States along with a certificate of Piladance.
After a few years of instructing, she developed the special fitness brand, Bi! ("bi" beauty in Japanese) Essential Movement. Bi's goal is to help you enjoy moving your body sustainably through fitness and dance (called "Essential Movements") to become "Bi!" from inside and outside.

Rina teaches Piladance through in-person private lessons and YouTube videos awhile leading Kpop dance choreography workshops in Arizona. Check out her YouTube channel, "Rina Ohkuma" for more fitness videos and Kpop dance covers and tutorials.

Chantelle Aimée Osman is the editor of Agora, an imprint of Polis Books. Agora focuses on crime fiction with unique social and cultural themes. Titles from Agora’s debut list have been nominated for Edgar, Anthony, Lefty, Macavity and Strand Critics awards, and named on multiple best-of lists for 2019 and 2020. The former Editor-in-Chief of RT Book Reviews Magazine and a freelance editor for over 10 years, she is also an instructor at the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing, Authors at Large and LitReactor. Chantelle is the author of the non-fiction series on writing The Quick and Dirty Guides To… and has also published numerous works of short fiction in addition to serving as editor for several anthologies. She was named a Publishers Weekly Rising Star honoree in 2020.

Lee Sullivan trained as a wildlife and technical illustrator at Barnfield College in Luton, then spent five years as a graphic artist for British Aerospace in Stevenage, England. He freelanced for a further five years, providing art for the advertising and magazine publishing industries; then in 1988 he started working for the comics industry. Since then, the many titles he has worked on include Transformers, Doctor Who, Marvel UK, The Amulet of Samarkand and the Rivers of London series. He has also created cover art for Roxy Music's Andy Mackay and performed with a Roxy Music tribute band.

Paulina "Pau" Vassileva is a fantasy artist and comics colourist. Based in London, Pau’s favourite themes are fantasy, the dreamy and the intriguing with a hint of ambivalence and a touch of the sensual. She has recently been colouring for Titan Comics' Rivers of London and is making two graphic novels, Fantasies of the Enchanted Window and Zvezdanka.

2019 PRESENTERS

Dratini on the Rocks is a video game cover band jazz quintet from Tempe, Arizona composed of members Matt Young, Raymond Lebert, Justin Calhoun, Scott Gleason, and Emilio Vargas. They "take melodies and songs from your favorite games and swing 'em!" Some of their favorite composers are Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy), Koji Kondo (The Legend of Zelda), and Shoji Meguro (Persona series).

Driftwood Quintet's appearance at LIBCON West is funded in part by the City of Glendale through the Centerline Arts & Cultural Initiative.

The DREAD Fleet, headed up by Commodore Max, is an Arizona non-profit organization focusing on education, entertainment, arts and of course, pirates! They host events, attend conventions, perform stage shows, publish stories of their adventures, and compete in rapier tournaments. As a non-profit they also assist other organizations through charitable fundraising. The Fleet was founded in 2010 and incorporated in 2012, in Phoenix Arizona. As of 2017, The Tucson DREAD Fleet began sailing down south, with the same goals!

Minibosses is a progressive rock band originally from Northampton, Massachusetts and now located in Phoenix, Arizona. The sextet is known for their video game music covers, which are instrumental rock variations of the theme music from classic Nintendo video games such as Mega Man, Metroid, and Castlevania. The Phoenix New Times awarded Minibosses their “best cover band” award in 2006. The group’s current members are Aaron Burke and Robin Vining on guitar, Steve Dueck and Owen Dueck on drums, Brendan Dueck on keyboards, and Jakob Dueck on bass.

Driftwood Quintet's appearance at LIBCON West is funded in part by the City of Glendale through the Centerline Arts & Cultural Initiative.

Momo Kurumi is a passionate and award-winning cosplayer, seamstress, and artist with an eye for design! Cosplaying since 2007, she has made over 100 costumes, worked in various sewing industries, and been a featured cosplay guest at several anime and comic conventions. She presents panels at conventions across the U.S., runs and judges cosplay contests, and more!

Nina Mason of Oy Vay Productions volunteered at xir first anime convention in 2009. It became an instant passion, and when xe moved permanently to Phoenix in 2015, xe quickly joined the West Coast con scene as a fandom educator. Nina continues to research and write convention panels on topics ranging from Japanese holidays to anime based on Western media, and, of course, xir biggest focus: continuing to share and educate about the long tradition of fandom and how fans engage with the things they love.

Results May Vary, Brelby Theatre Company's resident improv team, serves up the freshest and funniest impromptu live performance in the West Valley. This talented ensemble takes suggestions from the audience and spins them into scenes and sketches that will leave you laughing.

Sean Sautter is a self-taught artist who has been at the pencil since he could hold one. His style has changed over the years, but he has always felt most at home drawing in a more cartoony style, which is where he puts his focus today. What is the reason behind his style of choice? Sean has found so much joy in bringing others a smile, and prides himself in his family-friendly pieces that everyone can enjoy! Years ago, after being inspired by another artist (aren’t we all?), Sean finally braved the convention world and went from a shopping fan, to the creator behind the table and has come so far! Maintaining his self-taught trend, he has grown from penciler who hired for inks and colors, to doing it all himself! And although Sean has a strong focus on fan art for the time being, he is currently working on building his own world with a comic strip loosely based on his life experiences and a children’s book.

Syndicate Saber United was founded in May of 2014 and since then we have striven to become the masters of our craft. At our weekly practice sessions, we train both for combat, using the methods and practices of time-honored sword play, and for our performances wherein we have the opportunity to transport our audiences to that galaxy far, far away… Syndicate combines this expertise into a fun and cohesive atmosphere where each of our members is encouraged to prosper and grow to their full potential.

Thermocosplay is a two-person cosplay team that started in summer of 2014. We aim to educate, communicate and share with others our knowledge and love of cosplay. We have hosted panels across the Southwest on Cosplay, Anime, Pop Culture Trends and SFX DIY. We are award-winning cosplayers who enjoy the creativity that cosplay promotes. We are excited to join LIBCON West 2019 as presenters and cosplayers!