Diane Turnshek (Alpha Director and Founder) is an astronomer and a science fiction author whose short fiction has been published in Analog Magazine and elsewhere. She’s currently teaching astronomy at the University of Pittsburgh, the Community College of Allegheny County, Sinclair Community College and Carnegie Mellon University. At St. Vincent College, she teaches both astronomy and creative writing. Since 2002, Diane has been mentoring graduate students at Seton Hill University in what’s now the MFA Program in Writing Popular Fiction. She founded the largest genre writing group in Pittsburgh in 1996 (Write or Die) and started a local, yearly series of anthologies, editing the first book (Triangulation 2003). From 2004 to 2007, she served as Eastern Regional Director for SFWA, a professional organization of 1500 genre writers. She’s helped organize science fiction conferences, including running the 2007 SFWA Nebula Awards in NYC. She has four delightful sons.
David Barr Kirtley has been profiled as part of “Speculative Fiction: The Next Generation” by Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market. His short fiction appears in magazines such as Realms of Fantasy and Weird Tales, and in anthologies such as New Voices in Science Fiction and Fantasy: The Best of the Year. He has a Master’s degree in screenwriting and fiction from the University of Southern California, and lives in New York.
Karina Sumner-Smith is a Toronto-based fantasy author. Her short fiction appears in magazines such as Strange Horizons, Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, and Fantasy, as well as various anthologies. Her story “An End to All Things” was a finalist for the 2006 Nebula Award. She is a graduate of both York University and the Clarion Writers Workshop (2001).
Thomas Seay’s fiction has appeared in Realms of Fantasy, Boys’ Life, Fantastic Stories, and various other publications. He received an MFA in creative writing from the University of Kansas, where also he served as volunteer coordinator for the Center for the Study of Science Fiction and built the AboutSF.com website. He lives in Washington, D.C. and works as a press secretary for a Congressional committee.
Catherine Krahe’s fiction has appeared in Realms of Fantasy and Nature Futures. She recently received a Master’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of Iowa and plans to save the world by telling stories and planting trees.
John Schmid is the Chief Administrator of the Alpha Workshop. In normal life John is a Systems Administrator for the University of Pittsburgh.
Amy Treadwell likes to write what she likes to read: characters that sound like real people. Her work has been published in the 2008 Triangulation anthology, Flash Fiction Online, and has won first and second prize in the 2008 PARSEC contest. She has taught writing classes for the University of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Writing Project, and Moore High School. In her spare time, she enjoys kayaking, traveling, and reading fantasy. She is a reviewer for Broad Universe and is currently at work on her third novel.
