The Authors Quil authors S M Stirling Bill Fawcett and Melissa Olthoff

Steven “S.M.” Stirling is a writer by trade, born in France but Canadian by origin and American by naturalization, living in New Mexico. His hobbies are mostly related to the craft of writing. He loves history, anthropology, and archaeology, as well as interest in the sciences. Steven has published over 40 novels, at least 5 of which are New York Times bestsellers and he has won awards including the Dragon Award for his novel, Black Chamber. Steven has been a Writers of the Future Judge since 2021. After writing for the early issues of Dragon Magazine in the 1970s Bill Fawcett became one of the founders of and lead designer at Mayfair Games. He has continued his board and electronic game design work including a number of RPGs and PC games. His first books were chosen path novels for TSR in the early days of D&D. His first fantasy series was Lord of Cragsclaw in the 1980s. Bill’s historical "Mistakes" series includes It Seemed Like a Good Idea, It Looked Good On Paper and You Did What, How To Lose A Battle, How To Lose a War, How To Lose WWII, How To Lose a War at Sea, and How To Lose the American Civil War. Among his non-fiction books are Oval Office Oddities, 100 Mistakes that Changed History, 100 Leadership Mistakes that Changed History and 101 Stumbles in the March of History. As an author Bill has written or co-authored over a dozen fiction books plus close to fifty articles and short stories. Bill collaborated on several mystery novels with Chelsea Quinn Yarbro including the authorized Mycroft Holmes novels. He interviewed for and edited two oral histories of the US Navy SEALs Hunters and Shooters and The Teams. As an anthologist Bill has edited or co-edited over 40 SF anthologies. Bill Fawcett & Associates has packaged over 400 books science fiction, fantasy, military, non-fiction, and licensed books for major publishers. Find out more about Bill at,... www.billfawcett.com “ In a time in which entry for new creators is desperately difficult, WOTF is a path for identifying and nurturing excellence and giving it that first precious leg up. I received generous help and mentoring from established pros when I started out, and being a WOTF judge lets me ‘pay it forward’ to the rising generation in a way that truly helps new writers and the field as a whole.” —S.M. Stirling Melissa Olthoff spent her youth daydreaming about riding dragons and slaying monsters. After joining the United States Air Force, she might not have gotten to ride a dragon or slay any monsters, but she had plenty of real-world adventures over the years—including flying the T-6, becoming a certified Air Traffic Controller, and her personal favorite, somehow surviving the shenanigans of her airmen. Eventually, she rejoined the civilian workforce as a responsible adult. Sort of. She now works as an accountant (seriously) and is back to daydreaming of adventure. Sometimes those daydreams even make good stories. Melissa currently resides in Tennessee with her husband, two children, and two dogs. Find out more about Melissa at,... www.MelissaOlthoff.com