It’s been an exciting couple of months here “backstage” at Realm Makers, where our planning committee has been busy at work combing the field of possible faculty for the 2015 conference. It is with barely-contained excitement that we introduce to you a selection of faculty members we have on board.

Keynote Speaker Robert Liparulo sets the stageRobert Liparulo

We are thrilled to have Mr Liparulo opening and closing the Realm Makers conference with what we are sure will be inspiring and challenging thoughts for lovers of speculative fiction.

Former journalist Robert Liparulo is the best-selling author of the thrillers Comes a Horseman, Germ, Deadfall, Deadlock, and The 13th Tribe, as well as The Dreamhouse Kings, an action-adventure series for young adults. He is currently working on the sequel to The 13th Tribe, as well as writing an original screenplay with director Andrew Davis (The Fugitive.)

When not writing, he loves to read, watch (and analyze) movies, scuba dive, swim, hike, and travel. He lives in Monument, Colorado, with his family.

New for 2015: Continuing Sessions

In addition Evangeline Denmark and Donita Paulto our usual 50 minute elective courses that we’ve had the first two years of Realm Makers, this year we are adding three tracks of continuing sessions: one on world building, one on self-editing, and one on marketing. So there’s something for every stage of your writing journey.

In the world building track, we’re excited to offer you an opportunity to learn from a team of teachers whose names might sound familiar. Worldbuilding will be taught by award winning Christian fantasy and romance author Donita K Paul and her daughter Evangeline Denmark, who specializes in SteampunkDavid_Farland.

For the editing track, we welcome acclaimed author and teacher David Farland to the Realm Makers faculty. To date, David is the author of 50 books, and many have spent time on the New York Times Bestseller list. His authorial range includes science fiction and fantasy, in anything from picture books to novels for adults.

Some of you may know him better under the name Dave Wolverton, the byline you’ll find on his science fiction work, including the well-known Star Wars novel The Courtship of Princess Leia.

David is the coordinating judge in the Writer’s of the Future contest, the author of his Daily Kick in the Pants, a web newsletter/resource for writers, and has taught a long list of authors who have rocketed to the top of their genres, including Stephenie Meyer and Brandon Sanderson.

Elective Teachers-an awesome pile of experts:

We’ll be fleshing out the information available on each of these teachers and their classes as we develop the details, but for now, here is a brief sampling of some of the amazing talent we have joining us on elective faculty in 2015

Jill Williamson, author Subjects TBD
Kirk DouPonce, Designer,Dog Eared Design Cover art/working with an artist
Steve Laube-owner, Enclave Publishing, The Steve Laube Agency Subjects TBD
Rowena Kuo, editor at Brimstone Fiction, a speculative imprint of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas Subjects TBD
LB Graham, author Keeping the magic in Christian Speculative Fiction
Mike Duran, author The Theology of Horror, The Christian Crossover Novelist
Morgan Busse, author Subjects TBD
Amanda Luedeke, agent, MacGregor Literary Subjects TBD


elective teacher lineup
We will also be adding a few names to this list going forward, but since the details with those teachers are still in development, we didn’t want to shout them out prematurely.

That being said, it is at this time that we must announce that Realm Makers:2015 is closed to teaching proposals. We apologize that our schedule can’t fit everyone who wants to teach each year, but time and space are still factors that limit even speculative fiction authors. We may be looking to fill a few panelist spots as we firm up the conference content, but those spaces will be populated by invitation.

We hope you’re as excited as we are about the faculty members on this list. Coming soon, look for more faculty names to be confirmed, and details on a short story contest, where the grand prize is a free registration to the conference.