Maurice Broaddus
With a dozen novels and nearly 100 short stories in print, Maurice Broaddus is a prolific author, editor, accidental teacher (at the Oaks Academy Middle School), accidental librarian (the School Library Manager), and purposeful community organizer (resident Afrofuturist at the Kheprw Institute).
His books include science fiction novel Sweep of Stars, urban fantasy trilogy The Knights of Breton Court, steampunk works Buffalo Soldier and Pimp My Airship, and middle grade detective novels The Usual Suspects and Unfadeable. His project, Sorcerers, is being adapted as a television show for AMC. As an editor, he’s worked on Dark Faith, Fireside Magazine, and Apex Magazine.
An author of many short stories, Maurice’s work has appeared in Magazine of F&SF, Lightspeed Magazine, Black Panther: Tales from Wakanda, Weird Tales, and Uncanny Magazine, with some of his stories having been collected in The Voices of Martyrs.
His gaming work includes writing for the Marvel Super-Heroes, Leverage, and Firefly role-playing games, as well as the Storium online game and working as a consultant on Watch Dogs 2 and Dungeons & Dragons. You can also find his tie-in fiction includes stories in Vampire 20th Anniversary Edition: The Dark Ages (Onyx Path), Pugmire (Onyx Path), Powered Up! (Green Ronin) and Knaves: A Blackguard (Outland Entertainment).
In 2007, Maurice became a convention runner, throwing the very first Mo*Con, a mini-convention built around food, communnity, and conversations to bring together creatives and celebrate them. Mo*Con was on hiatus during the first few years of the pandemic, but came back with a bang in May 2023.
When he is not writing or editing, Maurice spends his time on community development work. His passions have always included social justice, economic equity, and racial reconciliation, which is why he works at The Oaks Academy Middle School and does work for community organizations like the Kheprw Institute. Most of his work centers around the 46208 zip code (one of the “worst” zip codes in the country). He specializes in Asset Based Community Development, finding the gifts and talents within the community and networking them to improve the quality of the community.
Learn more about Maurice Broaddus by visiting his website mauricebroaddus.com, his Facebook Page, and following him on Twitter as @MauriceBroaddus and Instagram as @mauricebroaddus.
Colette Feehan
Colette Freehan, PhD is an audiobook director, voice actor, and linguist who has worked on and directed over 30 audiobooks. Titles she directed include 100 Animals that Can F*king End You by Mamadou Ndiaye, Monster Kids: How Pokémon Taught a Generation to Catch Them All by Daniel Dockery, I Wouldn’t Do That if I Were Me: Modern Blunders and Modest Triumphs (but Mostly Blunders) by Jason Gay, Warrior: My Path to Being Brave by Lisa Guerrero, Palo Alto: a History of California, Capitalism, and The World by Malcolm Harris, The Tailored Brain by Emily Willingham, and many more.
Collette completed her PhD in linguistics using 3D/4D (the fourth D is time) ultrasound to look at the anatomy of how voice actors make different voices. Specifically, she looked at the articulatory and acoustic phonetics of voice over to learn exactly how voice actors move around their mouth parts and what each of those movements does to the resulting sound.
As a voice actor, Collette can perform many different kinds of voice overs. Some of her favorites are: young children (male and female), animal sounds, and adult women. She can perform an array of different accents in English, as well as VO performances in Spanish (neutral or Argentinian) and Mandarin Chinese.
When she’s not performing voice overs or directing audio books, Collette is a Spanish immersion program dean and moonlights as a trivia jockey.
If you see her around the convention, feel free to flag her down to nerd out about linguistics, audio production, voice overs, or Pokémon!
You can learn more about Collette Freehan by visiting her website, cmfvoices.com, her YouTube Channel, or following her on Twitter as @cmfvoices and Instagram as @cmfvoices.
Samantha Rei
Samantha R. Crossland began her fashion design career with her label “Blasphemina’s Closet”, one of the first Lolita clothing lines in the USA, in 2000. After closing “Blasphemina’s Closet” in September of 2013, she started anew with her new eponymous label “Samantha Rei”. “Samantha Rei” embodies the sweetness, femininity and attention to detail that has come to be expected from the designer.
Samantha Rei draws her inspiration from such illustrators as Chris Riddell, Brom, Tony DiTerlizzi, Brett Helquist and Mihara Mitsukazu as well as stories like Alice in Wonderland and Snow White. Her hero Alexander McQueen, along with designers Vivienne Westwood, Hirooka Naoto, John Galliano, and Anna Sui, have all influenced her style.
In 1998, Samantha began attending the Perpich Center for Arts Education in Golden Valley, Minnesota, choosing to hone her skills as an illustrator and painter so she could pursue comic book art. After graduating in 1999, she spent some time at the College of Visual Arts (CoVA) in Saint Paul to major in illustration before continuing her education at the Minneapolis Community and Technical College for Apparel Technologies.
She and her work have been featured in Huffington Post, Shojo Beat, The American Gothic and Lolita Bible, Gothic Beauty, Glamour UK and Vogue UK. Samantha was named one of 2014 City Pages “Artists of the Year”, 2016 Best of the Twin Cities “Best Fashion Show”, and 2016 and 2017 Reader’s Choice “Best Local Fashion Designer.” In 2015 she authored and illustrated Steampunk and Cosplay Fashion Design and Illustration, a how-to book on subculture fashion design.
Samantha was a contestant on season 16 of Lifetime’s Project Runway in 2017, the final season to appear on the station. You can still catch her in front of a camera in her YouTube series, Cinemattire, where she reviews sci-fi and fantasy costumes.
Learn more about Samantha Rei by visiting her website, samantharei.com, her YouTube channel, her Facebook page, and following her on Twitter as @thesamantharei and Instagram as @samanthareiofficial.
Michael “Knightmage” Wilson
Michael “Knightmage” Wilson is an international cosplay entertainer, philanthropist, and stuntman.
He began cosplaying in 2012, drawing from a life-long love for comics and video games, and has since created over 100 costumes, many of his works having been praised and displayed on numerous platforms in print and online. Michael has been listed as one of the top male cosplayers in the world from websites such as The Richest, Screencrush, The Nerdery, Kotaku, Geeks are Sexy, and more. Throughout his convention appearances, Michael has judged multiple cosplay contests and hosted cosplay panels and workshops showcasing the positive, inspiring, and supportive side of cosplay. An avid wrestling fan, Michael has also created various costumes for World Wrestling Entertainment superstars.
Pursuing a love for acting and stunt work, Michael has worked on several Hollywood comic book movie productions including The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, Captain America 2: Winter Soldier, and more. He was also an alternate for the 2006 reality show “Who Wants To Be A Superhero” hosted by Stan Lee. Michael has also worked on and has been featured in several fan films and productions such as “Flash Fall” by Together Brother Productions, and the popular YouTube series MAN AT ARMS: Reforged.
Michael is a spokes model for independent comic companies Shot In The Dark Comics and Transgenesis Comics, having lent his likeness to be used for comic book characters.
Genuinely loving to entertain, make a positive impact, and bring smiles, Michael most often uses his costuming for charitable events, benefits, parades, birthdays, and hospital visits to children. This has led him to become a member of esteemed costuming groups The League of Heroes, The Heroes Alliance-Ohio Branch, East Coast Avengers, Costumers with a Cause, Superheroes to Kids in Ohio, and Heroic Inner Kids. Michael often works closely with local and national charity organizations as a sponsor, using his cosplay to generate support for The Make-A-Wish Foundation, Capes 4 Heroes, Putting Downs First, Angels for Animals, and many others. Michael has received numerous awards for his charitable deeds including the Outstanding Service Award from Credit Where Credit Is Due, and most notably the Presidential Volunteers Award from President Barack Obama and the White House.
Michael was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio and now resides in Youngstown, Ohio. He is a current decorated veteran Deputy Sheriff for the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office in Ohio.
Learn more about Michael “Knightmage” Wilson by visiting his Facebook Page, and following him on Twitter as @Knightmage and Instagram as @Knightmage100.
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