Presenters

2018 PRESENTERS

The cosplayers of the 105th Squad Engineers - Phoenix Hive definitely like to have fun. You can find 105th Engineers having a great time with the crowds at every convention or event we can. Among our favorite things are posing for pictures, hosting dinners, and other events that give the public a chance to talk face to face with the engineers that make great costumes! We always like to leave people with fond memories and a smile on their face. The 105th Squad Engineers are such a diverse group of fans and artists. Because of the diversity within the group, anyone can find someone that they can connect with, learn from, and bounce ideas off of.

The Adrian Empire - Kingdom of Umbria is dedicated to the study and re-creation of Western European culture between the years 793 and 1625. Our members work to re-create the arts, skills, and culture of this range of the Medieval and Renaissance eras. Local chapters usually meet on a monthly basis and hold tournaments of combat, archery, and the arts. At all of our events, we strive to wear period garb, set up period encampments or settings, and comport ourselves with chivalry and honor.

A Phoenix, Arizona native, AmberSkies is no stranger to the world of performing arts, comicons, or cosplay.

Attending her first convention at only months old, Amber was destined to follow in her family's footsteps and embrace the fandom into which she was born. Amber specializes in Disney cosplay due to her work as a for-hire professional Disney Princess in Arizona. She's worked for multiple different entertainment companies in the state and has won the hearts of thousands of children and parents by embodying their beloved favorite characters over the years.

The Arizona Browncoats originally were a Firefly/Serenity Fan Club who registered as a non-profit organization in Arizona on January 1, 2007 and subsequently became a chartered corporation in April of 2008 (AzBc, Inc.). They are dedicated to the promotion and support of causes for unity and equality among all people. “We strive to spread Good Works Through the ‘Verse!”

Katie has been a regular in the AZ Browncoats crew since 2011. When she isn't aiming to misbehave with us, she enjoys cosplay (including Saffron & Zoe), board game design & play, and anything scientific. Katie ranks her fandoms in the following order: Star Wars, LOTR, Firefly, Star Trek, X-Men.

Ashley is a librarian and cosplayer based in the Phoenix tri-city area. She reluctantly began cosplaying from a young age, as a test subject for her mom’s new costume designs, but like Belle trapped in the Beast’s castle, she eventually grew to love it. She independently cosplays as a volunteer for numerous local public libraries, and is also a member of the Arizona Autobots, a transformers cosplay group, and the Arizona Avengers, where she cosplays The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl.

Brian Augustyn is an award-winning comic book editor and writer. His most notable works are The Flash from 1989 to 2000, The Justice League franchise from 1992 to 1996 and Impulse from 1995 to 1996. Brian also wrote DC’s first-ever Elseworlds graphic novel, Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, in 1989; this was followed by a sequel in 1991. He has written (or co-written) many comics and graphic novels over a 28-year career: JLA Year One, Crimson, Out There, The Imperial Guard, BPRD, Go-Boy 7, and hundreds more.

Master of words for numerous all-age titles such as Regular Show, Munchkin, Adventure Time, and more, when Nicole Andelfinger's not writing she's likely donning a thinking cap as Game Master for her D&D group. Roll initiative; or just follow her on Twitter! @nandelfinger

Drawn to Comics was a dream that became a reality for the owner Ken Brown. A lifetime of passion for comics gave way to opening a store where he could share his devotion and knowledge of the industry with every person he comes into contact with.

Nebula-nominated Beth Cato is the author of the Clockwork Dagger duology and the Blood of Earth trilogy from Harper Voyager. She’s a Hanford, California native transplanted to the Arizona desert, where she lives with her husband, son, and requisite cats. Follow her at BethCato.com and on Twitter at @BethCato.

Corgi Cosplay is made up of Kiba (an 8 year old Pembroke Welsh Corgi) and his crazy, human sidekick Nicole! Kiba is actually Nicole's service dog and takes his job pretty seriously, even under the costumes. Kiba started cosplaying back in 2013 and Nicole started joining in on the fun in 2014. Through cosplay, Nicole has learned how to better manage her mental health and now loves sharing with others about what she deals with and tries to help others. Since their start, they have now guested at over 20 cons and have been featured in articles online and in print. Nicole also loves talking about cosplay positivity and it being for everyone, no matter size, color, gender, nor even species!

Cosplay Always is a group of costuming enthusiasts who come together to express and enjoy sharing various fandoms including Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit, Star Trek, and Marvel characters. Our Harry Potter Group is the largest, having a cast of up to 14 members! They have been the featured guest at many notable local Potter events including LIBCON West, The Phoenix Symphony, Arizona Science Center, A Day of Mischief, and the premieres of the Fantastic Beasts and The Crimes of Grindelwald movies.

Justin De Ro (Lucius Malfoy) has been cosplaying for 10 years and specializes in cosplaying villains. His favorite costumes include Cruella de Vil, Lucius Malfoy, Him, and a companion cube. In addition to cosplay, he is a business analyst for an educational institution and the vice president of the Phoenix Boys of Leather.

Diane Lynn (Professor McGonagall) has been sewing for over 50 years and has a driving need to create with her hands. After completing her degree in art, she pursued a career as a photo and negative retoucher before Photoshop was invented! She has been active as a medieval reenactor for 24 years and is a fairly recent cosplayer. Diane has learned an immense amount about creating patterns through her cosplay endeavors and gets great pleasure in making every facet of her costumes herself.

J.J.M. Czep lives in Arizona and loves to write. To hand write a piece feels to her as painting must feel to the artist -- it just flows. Typing out a story, when the mood is right, is a dance. She is in her thirties, published in a small variety of magazines, blogs and papers, and the author of swashbuckling pirate novels. Her work is mostly fiction, and she adores the use of puns and humor. She is also a huge fan of boom-splosions, so expect high volumes of pyrotechnics if her stories ever make the screen.

Emily Devenport has written several novels under various pseudonyms including one which was a finalist for the Philip K. Dick award. She currently studies geology and works as a volunteer at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. Her novel Medusa Uploaded was released by Tor in May 2018.

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!

Patrick King started working at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore as an intern back in 1999 when friend and former employee, Patricia, introduced him to Barbara and the store. He interned through college and graduate school, and started part time back in 2008. Since then, he gets the chance to talk with readers about books and what’s good to read. Quite the dream job! As the Science Fiction/Fantasy selector, he gets to read and select some of the best and newest in Science Fiction, Fantasy and Urban Fantasy. Some of his favorite current SFF authors include Kevin Hearne, Terry Pratchett, Ann Leckie and Brandon Sanderson. For Mystery and Thriller, Ian Rankin, Nick Petrie, John D. McDonald and David Morrell have written some of his all time favorites! When he's not here at the store or reading, he's either at the day job, the movies or video gaming.

Tom Leveen is the author of nine novels with imprints of Random House, Simon & Schuster, Abrams, and Sky Horse. He has published two books on writing and two horror novels. Tom also enjoyed writing and plotting five issues of the comic book series Spawn with Todd McFarlane. He hosts a weekly live show, AuthorTomLeveenLive, at facebook.com/authortomleveen, which airs at 8pm MST.

Kara Leopard loves cats, thunderstorms and adventure. They graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design and work as a freelance artist and graphic designer. They are the author of the Mr. Hare and Mr. Bear webcomic and Pandora's Legacy from Simon and Schuster.

Katelyn McCaigue is a native Arizona artist. Currently, Katelyn works as a full-time graphic designer and part-time illustrator and YouTuber. She attended Arizona State University and received her BFA in Drawing. She also participated in a three-year graphic design internship at the ASU Cronkite Public Relations Lab.

Sara Moni grew up in Phoenix and had a fascination with fantasy and sci-fi. In high school, she taught herself to sew by sewing together t-shirts, which would become an introduction into creating cosplay outfits.

Sara started cosplaying regularly in 2010 and would attend various conventions and events. In 2012, she was discovered at Phoenix Comicon by the charity group, the Arizona Avengers. She is still an active member in the organization, visiting libraries, schools, and hospitals for children. In addition to cosplaying, Sara is a model and has appeared in multiple magazines. Her goal with costuming is to shed light on lesser-known characters and do unique things with costuming to keep it fresh.

Yvonne Navarro moved to Arizona in 2002 and currently works at historic Fort Huachuca in southern Arizona. She is the author of more than twenty novels and one non-fiction book, with never-ending plans for more. She loves heat, Godiva chocolates, and Great Danes.

A writer of nearly thirty books in multiple genres, Weston Ochse is best known for military supernatural series SEAL Team 666. Weston has also published literary fiction, poetry, comics, and non-fiction articles. Weston holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and teaches at Southern New Hampshire University. He lives in Arizona with his wife, and fellow author, Yvonne Navarro and their Great Danes.

Cartoonist, Resin Figure Maker and DIY Dynamo! Denny "Dennmann" Riccelli is the creator of Cousin Harold, Jenny Spookawski and Space Monstas.

Modeling and creating costumes since 1995, "Harley" Cyn Shepard is an award-winning cosplayer who has competed nationally. She loves to devote time to charity as a cosplayer, with her friends from Justice League Arizona. Find her on Facebook!

The Society of West ASU Gaming is an all-inclusive group located on Arizona State University's West campus. They are a member-driven organization dedicated to gaming, professional development, community service, and just general fun!

Judith Starkston has spent too much time exploring the remains of the ancient worlds of the Greeks and Hittites. Early on she went so far as to get degrees in Classics from the University of California, Santa Cruz and Cornell. She loves myths and telling stories. This has gotten more and more out of hand. Her solution is her brand: Fantasy and Magic in a Bronze Age World.

モエモエキュン！[Moe moe, kyun! – which Urban Dictionary says means “How cute!”] Sugar Pink Café is here at LIBCON West for the first time, and we couldn't be more excited! We are a non-profit full performance maid and host café running since 2010, and we raise money for charities through event catering and performances. Stop by our booth for information on what a maid café is, what we do, and what our next adventure is! See our performance of acoustic music, as well as solo and duet dances, and get photos with us! We can't wait to meet you all!

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 & SFX DIY. We are award-winning cosplayers who enjoy the creativity that cosplay promotes. We are excited to join LIBCON West 2018 as presenters and cosplayers!

The Umbrella Corporation - Arizona Hive is a non-profit cosplay for charity organization begun in 2012, raising money for the Arizona Animal Welfare League, the state's largest no-kill animal shelter. All members dress up or create costumes and props based around the Umbrella Corporation from the much-loved series Resident Evil.

Los Angeles native Jeri Westerson is the author of eleven Crispin Guest Medieval Noir novels, a series nominated for 13 national awards from the Agatha to the Shamus. Her first in the series, Veil of Lies, was named Editor’s Choice by the Historical Novel Society Review, her third, The Demon's Parchment, received a coveted starred review by Library Journal, and her sixth, Shadow of the Alchemist, was named Best of 2013 by Suspense Magazine. Also in 2013, her fifth novel Blood Lance was named one of the "Ten Hot Crime Novels for Colder Days" by Kirkus Reviews. Booke of the Hidden, Jeri’s debut paranormal series, released in 2017. Romantic Times Magazine gave it Five Stars and called it “…A flawless tale of adventure, mystery and saucy romance. The page reverberates with passion, and absolutely no wrong can come from vivid characters and a hero to die for.” It finaled for the Seal of Excellence from RT Reviews. The second in the series, Deadly Rising, released in October, and the third, Shadows in the Mist, will release May 2019. Jeri was featured on two local NPR shows, "My Awesome Empire” and KVCR-Arts. She has served two terms as president of the Southern California Chapter of Mystery Writers of America, as vice president for the Los Angeles Chapter of Sisters in Crime, and twice president of the Orange County Chapter of Sisters in Crime. She frequently guest lectures on medieval history at local colleges and museums, and lives in southern California with her home-brewing husband, a complacent desert tortoise, and 40,000 bees. See more about Jeri at JeriWesterson.com, BOOKEoftheHIDDEN.com, and her blog WriterOnASpit.blogspot.com.

Randall Whitlock created MoiRandall's in 1990 to showcase his historically-inspired original clothing designs for the science fiction, Renaissance faire, and fantasy literature enthusiast. His products include the Randwulf's line of sewing patterns. Randall can sometimes be found at science fiction conventions, historical re-creation events, and Renaissance faires across Arizona. He is a member of the Southwest Costumers Guild.

Nola Yergen is an award-winning costume designer with over 20 years of experience in the industry. She has designed over 100 theatrical productions, numerous films and three features. She also runs a YouTube Channel called CostumeTrek with tutorials, interviews and trips to costume-themed events. She is a professor of theatre at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona.