Tom Witherspoon is a professional writer with almost thirty years in the trade. He’s even been published! Many times! But don’t worry, you’ve probably never read anything he’s written. As a technical writer, Tom has written boring but important stories about computer hardware and software for a variety of audiences. He currently resides with the love of his life just outside of Portland, Oregon. Find him online at www.tommyspoon.net.

Jacy Morris is an Indigenous author. He is a registered member of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz. At the age of ten he was transplanted to Portland, Oregon, where he developed a love for punk rock and horror movies, both of which tend to find their way into his writing. He has written several novels, including the “This Rotten World” series and the “One Night Stand at the End of the World” series. His latest novel, We Like It Cherry will be published by Tenebrous Press in August 2025. You can find him at https://jacymorris.com

Niyyah Ruscher-Haqq writes children and adult speculative fiction, fantasy and horror, with an emphasis on Muslim American and multicultural characters. You can find her short stories in Demagogue Press, Believe in Wonder Publishing, and upcoming by Hayaat House, Bel Esprit, and Weird Fiction Quarterly. By day, she’s a healthcare provider and can get really nerdy with you about infectious disease, emergency medicine and toxicology. Prior to her healthcare career she taught ESL in South Korea, Cambodia, and Hungary. She is the medical coordinator for the PCRF Portland chapter, the Portland SCBWI Coffee Coordinator, and Co-Chair for Young Willamette Writers. She is a member of SCBWI and HWA. https://www.niyyahwriting.com

H. A. Spector, horror and fantasy author and HWA Oregon Chair, will host the event and read from his own work. He resides in the suburbs of beautiful Portland, Oregon. He holds a Masters of Fine Arts degree in Commercial Fiction from Southern New Hampshire University. You can find his work published in Dark Harbor Magazine. His advice for his fellow writers would be to do anything they need to in order to find a writing community, even if it means starting one themselves, and to invest in their local bookstores and libraries to ensure readership for all continues to exist for generations to come. Find him at https://haspector.com/

Will Boechler is an author from Fargo, North Dakota now living in Portland, Oregon. His work primarily deals with themes of memory and the past reemerging to haunt the present. He has an MFA in Creative Writing from Portland State University. He loves ghosts, folk horror, werewolves, and haunted landscapes. He is currently at work penning his first horror novel. wboechler.com

Nathan Carson was raised on a goat farm in the backwoods of Mid-Valley Oregon but has called Portland home since 1997. He is an accomplished author, music journalist, booking agent, FM radio DJ, founding member of the long-running band Witch Mountain, and a MOTH StorySlam Champion. https://linktr.ee/nanotear