GeekGirlCon Blog

Where to Find the GeekGirlCon 2024 Featured Contributors

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.

Navigating the Publishing World
Time: 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Location: Garnet
Speakers: Michelle Chan (moderator), Natalie Naudus, Ngozi Ukazu, Mad Rupert, Maia Kobabe

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!

Emerald Peterson
“Rock On!”

Workshops at GeekGirlCon 2019

Ahh… fall is in the air! Which means that GeekGirlCon 2019 is rapidly approaching. With that knowledge, I have the distinct pleasure of unveiling to you the first peeks at our amazing lineup of workshops! Here is a sample of what we will be offering at this years Con:

Wellness for Geeks Who Sit by GeekGirlStrong

In our daily lives we often pursue activities in which we have to sit a lot ━ working at a desk, bending over a sketchbook, or getting lost in a video game. All that time sitting can take a toll on your body. Our workshop ‘Wellness for Geeks Who Sit’ is geared towards improving the health and well-being of geeks of all ability levels. Pick up a few techniques to take to your next RPG day and become the wellness hero you were born to be!

 Foulplay Presents: A Murder Mystery Pop-Up Party

There’s a mystery afoot and we need your help to solve it! Come and enjoy an evening of deception and deduction to solve the who-done-it murder mystery of The Curios Carnival! This workshop is recommended for ages 15 and up.

Adult Lightsaber Choreography Class with Saber Guild: Kamino Temple

In this workshop presented by the masters of the Kamino Temple, you can realize your dreams of becoming a true Jedi (or Sith). Here you will learn the skills to wield a lightsaber in capable and elegant movie-quality combat. While this particular workshop is for adults and teens with parent or guardian supervision, there is also a special class for the younglings!

Space-Travel Puppet Performance on Interactive Stage

Let your child’s creativity reach for the stars in this workshop that combines the ideas of interactive storytelling and engineering! Make learning fun while using recycled materials to create a unique space adventure and a lifetime of memories.

Mini Battle Bots Workshop by Reign Robotics

We have all had daydreams about building our own battling robots (Anyone? No? Just me?). In this special workshop hosted by Reign Robotics, participants will get to build actual mini battling robots from mini-motors and toothbrush heads. At the end, participants can have a chance to show off their new little mechanized creations in an obstacle course or in a mini sumo ring! Whose mini-robot will reign supreme?

Mystery-Box Game-Design Challenge

In this workshop, teams will be given boxes of mystery items with which to create a game! Working with tabletop gaming industry experts, you must use your ingenuity and creativity to make the best game you can. The best game will win a special prize!

Rebecca Anglesey
“Rock On!”

Get Ready for Amazing Workshops at #GGC18!

I don’t know about you, but one of my favorite things about GeekGirlCon is how interactive it is. Whether you’re speaking to artists, makers, and entrepreneurs in the Exhibitor Hall, asking questions at an incredible panel, or just meeting fellow geeks, the Con is a space to learn, play, listen, and have fun. Probably nowhere is this more apparent, though, than in the workshops we offer every year.

Spanning a huge swath of topics, from fandom to gaming to cosplay to consent (and beyond!) our workshops are the perfect place to learn how to bring all the joy, passion, excitement, and general goodness from GeekGirlCon out into your day-to-day life.

This year’s workshops promise to be some of the most exciting and intriguing yet! Here’s a look at just a few we have coming up during #GGC18 weekend.

Creating a Culture of Consent: From Cosplay to Classrooms

Sunday, 10/28 at 4:00 // Furiosa

Learn about what consent means, sounds, and feels like. We will discuss how and when questions of consent appear in our relationships, in our communities, and in geek culture in this workshop by Planned Parenthood’s Teen Council members. Ages 13+

Image Description: An illustrated gif of Amber Rose wearing dark sunglasses and speaking. Words written on either side of her head read: “When I say no, it means no.” Source: Giphy

Mystery Box Game Design Challenge

Saturday, 10/27 at 5:30pm // America

Teams will work together with table top industry experts to create a game using only a box of mystery items. At the end, games will be judged on a set of predetermined criteria and a winner selected!

Image Description: A gif of a commercial for the Sweet Valley board game. The commercial depicts a group of friends walking into a house and playing the board game together. Source: Giphy

Hanna Hupp
“Rock On!”