This year, GeekGirlCon is rolling out the geek carpet for an incredible lineup of featured contributors who are set to inspire, entertain, and ignite your passion for all things geeky! Wondering who these amazing geeks are and where you can learn more about them? You’ve come to the right place! Get excited about the 2024 GeekGirlCon Featured Contributors and the panels and special events where you can find them on November 9 & 10!
🌟Banana Chan, Game Designer and Publisher:
Banana Chan is a Cantonese Canadian game designer, writer and publisher living in Seattle. Her most notable work has been on Forgery, Jiangshi: Blood in the Banquet Hall, The Revenant Society, Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft, Chucky: the board game and Betrayal at House on the Hill: 3rd Edition. They won Dicebreaker Awards’ Game Designer of the Year 2022 and 2 Silver ENnie Awards in 2022.
🌟Eunnie, Author-Illustrator:
Eunnie is an author-illustrator based in Washington. She loves exploring relationships through her art and writing, and finds much joy in the portrayal of queer intimacy. When she’s not cooking up new stories, Eunnie spends her time watching video essays and collecting hoodies in every color. Her debut graphic novel, If You’ll Have Me, was created in the spirit of shoujo romance, and is her love letter to women and sapphics everywhere.
🌟Maia Kobabe, Cartoonist:
Maia Kobabe is a nonbinary queer cartoonist, a kpop fan, a voracious reader, and a daydreamer. You can learn an astonishing number of intimate details about em in GENDER QUEER: A MEMOIR (America’s most challenged book in 2021-2023) and in eir short comics and writing published in The Nib, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, NPR, and Time Magazine. Maia’s second book is BREATHE: JOURNEYS TO HEALTHY BINDING (2024) with Dr Sarah Peitzmeier and e is currently working on SAACHI’S STORIES (2026) with Lucky Srikumar.
🌟Natalie Naudus, Audiobook Narrator:
“A fave among audiobook listeners” (Buzzfeed), Natalie Naudus is one of the most beloved audiobook narrators working today. She has won an Audie award and nine Earphones awards, and maintains a robust social media following. She lives with her family on a mountain in Virginia. Gay the Pray Away is her debut novel.
🌟Mad Rupert, Cartoonist:
Mad Rupert is less than 5 feet tall and lives in Somerville, Massachusetts. She got her start in online comics over ten years ago, and authors two ongoing webcomics: Sakana, a slice-of-life workplace comedy, and Robber-Robert, a sci-fi romance for mature readers. She has also worked extensively on comic adaptations of Cartoon Network properties like Adventure Time, Regular Show, and Steven Universe, and is the artist for Bunt!, an upcoming ogn written by Ngozi Ukazu, published in Feb 2024 through First Second. ‘Mad’ is short for Madeline, she’s not actually angry.
🌟Ngozi Ukazu, Graphic Novelist:
Ngozi Ukazu is a DC Comics artist, New York Times-bestselling graphic novelist, and creator of comics like Check, Please!, BUNT!, and the upcoming graphic novel FLIP. She graduated from Yale University with a degree in Computing in the Arts and has been featured in The New Yorker.
So, where can you find these amazing humans at GeekGirlCon 2024?
SATURDAY, November 9:
Should I go to Art School and Other Questions Time: 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Location: Garnet
Speakers: Mad Rupert, Ngozi Ukazu, Eunnie
Want to pursue a career in animation or illustration, but not sure if going to art school is worth it? You’re not alone! Join Eunnie (If You’ll Have Me), Mad Rupert (Bunt!, Sakana), and Ngozi Ukazu(Bunt!, Check, Please!) to discuss the pros, cons, and everything in-between of the great art school conundrum.
Autobio Comics: A Conversation with Maia Kobabe and Ashley R Guillory Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Location: Garnet
Speakers: Maia Kobabe, Ashley R Guillory
Description: Long time friends and autobio comic authors Maia and Ashley talk about turning memories into stories, why one moment might spark a comic and not another, working in short form and pitching full length memoir books, ethical questions about protecting the identities of family and friends and the veracity of memory.
It can be tough to break into art industries and publishing is no different. Join Maia Kobabe (Gender Queer), Natalie Naudus (Gay the Pray Away), Mad Rupert (Bunt!, Sakana), and Ngozi Ukazu (Bunt!, Check, Please!) as they discuss all the hurdles, pitfalls, and forks in the road to publishing.
Moving Past Medieval Europe in TTRPGs Time: 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Location: Furiosa
Speakers: Banana Chan, Hadeel Jeanne
The world of fantasy games can extend beyond Euro-centric castles and Anglo accents to encompass the entire world of myth and legend. Join award-winning tabletop game designer Banana Chan and GeekGirlCon Board President Hadeel Jeanne for an intimate chat about expanding game worlds across the whole globe.
SUNDAY, November 10:
The Great Board Game Design Show Time: 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Location: America
Speakers: Lysa Penrose, Fertessa Allyse, Banana Chan, Shannon Lyon, Danny Quach
Watch tabletop game inventors scramble to design a board game in one hour! In this interactive panel, seasoned board game designers must combine a mystery box of components and quickfire audience prompts into one delightful, ridiculous, chaotic game concept. Shout out suggestions to design along and learn about the game design process in the most rambunctious way possible.
Finding Your Voice in Fandom: The Magic of Transformative Work Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Location: Garnet
Speakers: Maia Kobabe, Mad Rupert, Ngozi Ukazu, Eunnie
It’s no secret that fandom and fan works can sometimes get a bad rap from those who aren’t a part of it, but we know that’s not the whole story. Explore all the joy and benefits of fan works with Eunnie (If You’ll Have Me), Maia Kobabe (Gender Queer), Mad Rupert (Bunt!, Sakana), and Ngozi Ukazu (Bunt!, Check, Please!).
Let’s Play Forgery with Banana Chan! Time: 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Location: Twitch.tv/GeekGirlCon
Speakers: Banana Chan and the GGC Twitch Team!
Forgery is a story of a down-on-her-luck art forger named Tempest, who receives a new commission to recreate a painting that they discover is cursed over time. It is a solo tabletop roleplaying game where the player (you) will be coloring in a paint-by-numbers image. The colors that you choose determine the outcome to the story. Watch-along as Banana Chan demonstrates this awesome game she created and we play along!
From Script to Page: The Graphic Novel Process Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Location: Rey
Speakers: Tori Sharp (moderator), Mad Rupert, Ngozi Ukazu, Eunnie
Graphic novels are one of the fastest-growing genres in publishing today and with good reason! Graphic novels offer a chance to connect with readers who struggle with traditional novels and provide beautiful art to accompany the story. Join Eunnie (If You’ll Have Me), Mad Rupert (Bunt!, Sakana), and Ngozi Ukazu (Bunt!, Check, Please!) as they speak on the unique process of building a graphic novel from beginning to end.
Reading with your Ears: The Euphonious World of Audiobook Narration Time: 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM
Location: Rey
Speakers: Natalie Naudus
Whether you read with your eyes or your ears, reading is reading! Audiobooks are an engaging, accessible, and fun way to read, but where would we be without the dulcet tones of our favorite narrators? Join featured contributor Natalie Naudus as she discusses this exciting medium!
+ Meet your 2024 Featured Contributors one-on-one!
GeekGirlCon 2024 will be November 9 & 10 at the Seattle Convention Center.
Saturday, November 9, 2024: 9:00am – 8:00pm Sunday, November 10, 2024: 9:00am – 6:00pm Vendor Floor Hours: 10:00am – 6:00pm Saturday and Sunday Friday Registration: 4:00pm – 7:00 pm
If you don’t have passes yet, it’s not too late! You can get yours HERE!
We hope you are as excited as we are to geek out with the awesome featured contributors of GeekGirlCon 2024 – See you there, geeks!
[ImageDescription: Two young girls having a ton of fun playing console video games.]
We’ve made it to our penultimate weekend of GeekGirlCONLINE, but we’re not slowing down yet. Our fourth weekend of GeekGirlCONLINE is all about GAMING, so tune in on the GeekGirlCONLINE Twitch channel for a ton of amazing panels, workshops, and livestreams sponsored by our awesome gamemaker friends at Valve!
It’s that time again! Specifically, the time to introduce you all to Hafsah Faizal, an incredible Featured Contributor who you’ll have the opportunity to hear speak during the panel Rising Stars: Q&A and Book Recs from Publishing’s Most Exciting Newcomers, and meet at not one but two meet and greets over the course of the weekend. (For full details, click here.)
Hafsah Faizal
Not only is Hafsah is the author of the New York Times bestselling fantasy novel We Hunt the Flame, but as the founder of Icey Designs she is a website and brand designer. (Ever checked out the websites of V.E. Schwab, G. Willow Wilson, and Catherynne Valente? All Hafsah’s work!)
If you like YA novels; paranormal romances; gay, trans, and latinx protagonists; #ownvoices books; and/or authors who are breaking new ground in an industry that’s been been around for centuries, you’re going to want to make time in your GeekGirlCon’19 schedule to see, hear from, and maybe even meet Aiden Thomas (@aidenschmaiden on Twitter and Instagram).
Image description: Headshot of Aiden Thomas. They’re smiling at the camera while seated on a black leather sofa in front of a brick wall.
Aiden is the author of two upcoming novels: Cemetery Boys, a Dia de Muertos paranormal romance about Yadriel (a gay, trans brujo) who accidentally summons the wrong ghost (July 2020), and Lost in the Never Woods, a dark sequel to, and reimagining of, the classic Peter Pan story (January 2021).
Keep reading to learn more about Aiden, their books, and what superpower they’d pick if they had the option to!
As Programming hammers out the final details of the con-weekend schedule, we’ve been taking some time to get to know this year’s Featured Contributors. I was lucky enough to chat with Johnnie Jae, who you may know as the founder of A Tribe Called Geek. I learned about everything from where she’s from to the depth of her love for Star Wars. Keep reading to get even more stoked for the con than you already are.
Following her introduction as another of our GeekGirlCon ‘19 Featured Contributors, we asked Paula Burrows to share a little bit about her world in another installment of our Q&A series.
[Image Description: Selfie of Paula. She is looking into the camera and smiling. She is wearing a black top.]
Paula’s acting credentials include TV series such as The Dangers of Online Dating and Unspeakable, but I was introduced to her work as the voice of Rayla, a Moonshadow elf from the animated series The Dragon Prince on Netflix. In this fantasy series, Rayla joins two human princes in trying to save their world from war. Paula’s performance gives Rayla a full range of emotion—serious one minute and dripping with sarcasm the next. Paula’s vocal prowess really makes Rayla’s story believable.
Read on to find out what her absolute dream role is, what stories she loves, and most importantly, which Hogwarts House she belongs to!
As y’all know, GeekGirlCon hosts an array of presenters from across fields and fandoms each year. They bring us everything from gaming demonstrations to DIY science to workshops to panels. Among them, we have our Feature Contributors, folks who are new to the con and will be heading some of the biggest and coolest programming of the weekend.
In our first round of announcements, we’ll be focusing on those Featured Contributors whose work falls broadly into the categories of Gaming and Entertainment.
As we get deeper into con prep, we’ll be announcing more Featured Contributors and adding Q&As with them as a part of our Share Your World series.
It is our pleasure to introduce our first Featured Contributor for GeekGirlCon 2019: Tanya DePass!
I had the opportunity to meet Tanya earlier this March during Women’s Month on the Nerdy Venom’s podcast, where we chatted about diversity in the gaming industry. A truly inspiring woman to listen to, Tanya is the founder of I Need Diverse Games, a Chicago-based nonprofit organization. Passionate about encouraging diversification across all of gaming—from development to representation on screen to the community itself—Tanya strives to make gaming more inclusive for everyone.
Her work with I Need Diverse Games is just the beginning: her writing has been featured in many publications, including Uncanny Magazine, Polygon, Wiscon Chronicles, Vice Gaming, Paste Games, and Mic. She has contributed to publications for Green Ronin, Paizo, and Monte Cook Games; was the editor for Game Devs and Others: Tales from the Margins (2018); and contributed to The Advanced Game Narrative Toolbox (2019). An avid streamer, Tanya is a partnered variety streamer on Twitch with a focus on single player RPG’s. She’s also a cast member on the Rivals of Waterdeep actual play show; every Sunday at 10am Pacific/12pm Central on twitch.tv/dnd. In addition to all this, she’s also the programming and diversity coordinator for OrcaCon and GaymerX.
Leading up to the convention this November, Tanya helped us put together a Q&A about her career and the importance of diversity in games.
Why gaming? What got you started in the field? It was all a happy accident, hitting on a note at the right time, and right place when #INeedDiverseGames hashtag hit twitter.
What was it like starting a movement and then creating and directing an org to highlight diversity in gaming? I never thought of it as starting a movement, that wasn’t my intent when I angrily tweeted around 6 am before work a few years ago. The formation of the non-profit was intentional, to keep the momentum going and give us a vehicle to do the work. It was a lot of work, a lot of stress (still) and worry that I’m doing enough.
It’s been about three years since you founded the non-profit for I Need Diverse Games. What changes, if any, have you seen in the gaming industry since you started, and what would you say are the biggest or most pressing changes that still need to be made? A very slow burn towards more POC in games, more women as lead characters or just existing in games. We need to have characters that are neurodivergent, that are disabled and not tropes or stereotypes. Games have to get away from mental illness as a reason for villainy.
What did your priorities/goals for the org start as? Have they evolved? To be a resource, to be a hub for folks looking to do better in inclusion for all games, and projects. For instance, if someone needs a diversity consultation; if we can’t provide it then I’d love to be able to refer them out to someone else. The other goal is to be a point of access for folks to get into the industry. Things have evolved over the years as I realize what is feasible, what’s not as a small org and what we can do with the resources we have.
What would you say to people who are frustrated by systemic problems they see in media or other industries but feel like they don’t have the money, power, or audience to make an impact? Speak up, do it in a productive way when you see a stereotype in a game, or film or other media. By productive I mean use methods for feedback, don’t scream at devs on twitter, or speak over marginalized folks who are already talking about these issues. Amplify, don’t trample. Screaming at developers won’t do anything but likely earn you a block or mute. If more players, especially folks who don’t have an audience speak up, it will show developers that people do care about these issues.
How do you measure success both with the org and within your own life? Hah, I’m not there yet with the organization. We’re not in a position to fund people, or hire folks to do a lot of the work that needs to be done, or even rent a physical space. For my own life, it would be having enough money in my account to not worry if I had a sudden expense hit, like a medical issue or not having to think too hard on what I can spend on groceries. It may sound shallow, but when you aren’t worried about keeping the lights on, food in the fridge, etc? You can focus on other things.
What are your favorite individuals/orgs to support? So many, goodness. Definitely AbleGamers; a percentage of any money I make as a Humble Bundle partner benefits them. Anykey, who are focused on good conduct in eSports and inclusion. DungeonCommander, a force for so much good in the tabletop space for POC, queer and non-binary folks. GaymerX & OrcaCon (Disclosure: I volunteer for both organizations conference doing programming and inclusion), Dirtbagboyfriend, a great non-binary artist in Seattle, Tales from the Mists is another actual play D&D show that has women, poc and non-binary folks on it. Everyone (else) who’s on Rivals of Waterdeep, the actual play D&D show I’m on Sundays on twitch.tv/dnd, MegaRan, Sammus Music, Mike Eagle, the NPC Collective, Shubzilla; and one of my favorite people ever and amazing author; NK Jemisin. That’s by no means an exhaustive list but we only have so much space here!
How do you explain the reach of gaming (and therefore the importance of diversity in the industry) to non-gamers? I liken it to films and books, especially when I can’t go to the movies now without seeing a commercial for a game, or seeing big names playing, sharing, streaming and voicing them. I remind them it’s a world wide industry; still growing and learning, but still touching on so many places and bringing us stories that aren’t even possible in other forms of media. They can be used to teach and more, and are far more than mere toys.
What are some of the biggest/most derailing misconceptions folks have about games? About your work specifically? About games in generalis that they are for kids and teens, that you grow up and out of gaming and this goes for all games, including tabletop; and that mobile games don’t count. Also that games have no value. About my work, people assume I only care about black folks, women and queer issues. They don’t ask, or they base it strictly off my identity being what I must care about and nothing else.
What challenges are you currently facing in terms of the org’s work/growth? How can the GeekGirlCon community support you best? Resources, money and being in a position to hire even part time staff. The best way to support is our Patreon (patreon.com/ineeddivgms) Otherwise, if people donate with convention passes, then also funds to help people attend. We can also take donations at PayPal.me/INeedDiverseGames.
What are your favorite games? Other favorite media? Single player, RPG’s are my favorite video games with Dragon Age II being my favorite game ever. The Division 2 has been taking up a lot of my gaming & streaming time, along with Magic the Gathering Arena. I don’t have a lot of other favorite media because I don’t have cable anymore and am way behind on new music, tv, etc. I have been really digging Daveed Diggs library of work, and I’m re-reading NK Jemisin’s Hundred Thousand Kingdom’s trilogy.
Why are physical gatherings such as GeekGirlCon important to this work? Why is this a space you want to show up in? For those that can afford to make it to an event like GGC, or PAX or OrcaCon; it’s important to find community in person. To make those connections that sometimes start online stronger and to find new friends at panels, or in game rooms. Sometimes you can start community in these spaces and the can grow online afterward. I want to show up because too often I hear people say that they don’t see people like them at events like these. Too often, can I count on two hands; maybe a couple times over the people of color at events focused on gaming. Being present and visible is part of inclusion.
Outside of gaming, what else are you currently passionate about? Sleep, lots of sleep and my cat Genki.
If you’re interested in learning more about Tanya and the other spectacular guests that are joining us for #GGC19, buy your passes online today! We’ll see you November 16th & 17th at the Conference Center at the WSCC.
From pop-culture titans to social justice superheroes, our featured contributors for GeekGirlCon’18 are movers and shakers in their communities, industries, and the world at large! Check them out:
Lysa Chen
Source: Lysa Chen. Description: headshot of Lysa rocking green hair.
Lysa Chen has designed Dungeons & Dragons adventures for Wizards of the Coast and the Adventurers League. She is distinguished as one of the Dungeon Masters Guild’s premier Guild Adepts.
In just a few days, at GeekGirlCon ‘16, you’ll get the chance not only to listen to our amazing featured contributors and the rest of our panelists share their experiences, opinions, and stories during the panels and events but also to have a private moment with them at the signing tables on Floor 3 of the Conference Center.
🌟Banana Chan, Game Designer and Publisher:
🌟Eunnie, Author-Illustrator:
🌟Maia Kobabe, Cartoonist:
🌟Natalie Naudus, Audiobook Narrator:
🌟Mad Rupert, Cartoonist:
