Urban Fantasy: Layering Another World Over Our Own – June 4, 2022 at 12:30 – 1:30PM EST
While the medival period tends to inspire the bulk of older fantasy stories, the genre has expanded to include the unique terrains and challenges facing city-dwelling protagonists. Urban fantasy writers face the challenge of balancing the fantastical and realistic elements of their stories in a way that highlights meaningful themes and situations. This panel will explore how to layer your character development and focus your worldbuilding to reach Urban Fantasy readers!
This panel is part of Storycrafting Sessions: Fantasy, a 100% FREE virtual conference happening on June 4th!
Sign up for this panel or look at the full event schedule!
The Moderator
Bethany Baptiste
Bethany Baptiste grew up in Jacksonville, Florida where she thrived on southern food and stories. Now as a slightly responsible grown-up, she lives in a little brick house with her fiancé, three chaotic evil dogs, and too many books.
Bethany holds two degrees in Early Childhood Education. For the last six years she’s had the pleasure of teaching kids how easy it is to fall in love with reading and writing.
When not prying a shoe from a Schnauzer’s jaws, she writes about Black kids with big hearts and little morals. Bethany is represented by John Cusick of Folio Literary Management.
Find her online here.
The Guests
Mato J Steger
Mato J. Steger is an openly out and proud Queer and Anishinaabe (North American Indigenous) fantasy and sci-fi writer, who can’t resist making everything he touches a romance. He is proudly represented by Hannah VanVels of BelCastro Literary Agency.
KA Wiggins
K.A. Wiggins (Kaie) is a Canadian speculative fiction author, speaker, and creative writing coach known for the award-winning YA Urban Fantasy/Paranormal (/Ecopunk, /Dystopian Gothic) Fantasy series Threads of Dreams. She writes difficult stories about difficult people (usually in entertainingly difficult situations.) Find her at kawiggins.com or @kaiespace on social (newsletter subscribers access free ebooks!)
Lex Vranick
Lex Vranick is a poet and dark fiction writer from Long Island, New York. She currently lives in Florida with her dog and an over-abundance of houseplants. Lex holds a B.A. from Excelsior College and is a J.D. candidate at Florida State University. Her work has been published by or is forthcoming with Eerie River Publishing, Kissing Dynamite Poetry, and Cagibi, among others. Lex can be found across the internet at @lexvranick.
Sophia Beaumont
Sophia Beaumont is an Ohio native who currently resides mostly in the Pacific Northwest, and occasionally in fantasy worlds and the late 1800s.
Sophia’s first training was as an artist, which she quickly learned was no longer her passion. It did, however, provide a gateway into historical research which has been instrumental in her writing. She is the author of seven novels and several knitting patterns, which are produced through her company, KnotMagick Studios, which ties together fantasy and textiles. Sophia writes contemporary and urban fantasy with a side of humor and mental health. Her book All For One was the 2017 ShoreIndie runner up, and she has contributed to several knitting magazines, websites, and podcasts as an author of nonfiction and historical researcher.
When she isn’t plotting horribly ambitious projects, she can usually be found pinned under one of her four cats, probably with a good ghost story on the tv.
Find the full schedule for all our event panels here! Urban Fantasy: Layering Another World Over Our Own is a part of the Storycrafting Sessions: Fantasy virtual conference.
This event is hosted by the Weeknight Writers group and sponsored by Renaissance Press.