Nathen Lueth
Nathan Lueth came into existence with a pencil in his hand, a feat which continues to confound obstetricians to this day. No one knows for sure when he started drawing or where his love of comics came from, but most experts agree that his professional career began after graduating from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design as a caricaturist in the Mall of America.
Now a 20-year veteran freelance illustrator, storyboard artist, and graphic novelist, Nathan has pleased clients and publishers of all sizes. He’s worked with Target, General Mills, Inverse Press, Wannabe Press, Writers of the Round Table Press and drawn countless thousands of caricatures at fairs across the Midwest.
He is the co-creator of the steampunk graphic novel series, Impure Blood, the editor/publisher of the modern fantasy comic anthology, Concrete Arcanum, and to date has raised over $100,000 on Kickstarter. His latest comic series, The Canon of Vangel, is the heartwarming tale of a girl, her demon, and the end of the world.
When life and limitations demand that he not draw for a bit, he enjoys reading, over-analyzing movies, tabletop RPGs, martial arts, cross country skiing, and goofing off with his two amazing daughters.
Brooke R Calder
Brooke’s multifaceted experience in the music industry began with being cast as a dancer for Prince. That opportunity transformed into a studio apprenticeship with Morris Hayes, as well as musical collaborations with Doctor Fink, Jean-Marc Lederman, Jellybean Johnson, John Matthews, Monte Moir, Scarlet Fantastic, The Nature of Wires and more.
She also…
Studied Media Relations and Music Business, culminating in a two+ year internship with Twin/Tone Records.
Post Twin/Tone, worked as a personal assistant to Chris Strouth at the American Composer’s Forum, followed by several years with Monte Moir of Warner Brothers and Lagoon Records.
Spent three years as a music journalist for PULSE, interviewing David Bowie, Dave Navarro, Thomas Mapfumo and countless others.
Built and populated social media for The Time ahead of their 50th Annual Grammy Awards appearance with Rihanna.
Served a year as interim Director of Communications for Rock The Cause.
Co-fronted U.K. Synthpop act POP INC for half a decade (and did time in assorted Minneapolis acts before and after).
Co-founded electronic label Manual Control Records.
Segued into television soundtracks with Phil Solem.
Currently serves as an advisor for the Minneapolis Sound Museum.
Having helped numerous entertainment professionals navigate the digital age, Brooke now offers CALDER CREATIVE- an A.I. informed consulting firm focused on helping musicians and visual artists craft conversation-inciting content.
Amanda Meuwissen
Amanda Meuwissen is a queer author with a primary focus in M/M or gay fiction and romance, dabbling in every subgenre. She is a board member for Big World Network, a non-profit publisher working toward education and growth opportunities for aspiring authors in underrepresented, economically disadvantaged, and rural communities.
As the author of LGBTQ+ Fantasy #1 Best Seller, Coming Up for Air, LGBTQ+ Horror #1 Best Seller and #1 New Release, A Delicious Descent, and #1 New Release in Fantasy Erotica and Gay Erotica, Last Courtesan of Olympus, Amanda’s extensive library of titles continues to grow.
Her organization of the massive 22-author series collaboration, Tales from the Tarot, has raised two thousand in donations for SAGE, a charity dedicated to advocacy and services for LGBTQ+ Elders, and her contributing title to the series, Cleric of Desire, continues to be an inspiration to readers as it delves into demi-gender identity.
She lives in Minnesota with her husband, John, and their two cats.
Chris Kissoon (Art of CK)
The Art of CK is the creation of Twin Cities-based Christopher Kissoon who was born in St. Paul, raised in the Caribbean, and returned to Minnesota in the 90s. Chris has always had a passion for art and grew up drawing using any pen or medium he could find. Western comics and Eastern anime have been the main influences on his unique style, which he works diligently to perfect and transform -- always studying and applying new techniques to his brush strokes and coloring. Chris skillfully draws and colors first by hand and only digitally enhances his work at the end to add effects and color for printing. His work has a signature texture that comes from paper grocery bags he up-cycles for his canvas. The color and texture of the bags add a richness to his characters that is uniquely his own. Most of his originals will be sold on these grocery bags! Chris's work includes a diverse collection of characters spanning many anime, comics, and popular video games (such as Elden Ring) to his own "Poke-fusions" and original characters.
Art of CK - Christopher Kissoon
Dennis Vogen
I’m a writer, artist, designer, musician, and definitely not several squirrels in a human costume, who uses pop culture and my own work to talk too much about stuff we don’t talk too much about, like addiction, sobriety, loss, grief, pain, anxiety, joy, hope, and creativity.
I’ve been publishing since 2013, releasing over ten books in my first ten years. I’m an active blogger and an overactive oversharer; an unfortunate practitioner of radical empathy.
Creator of Jojo, Brushfire, The Weirdos, Maple Island, Cold World, Theia, Flip & Push, Them + Us, Sunny Days of Rain, Time is a Solid State & more.
Jax Rose
Jax Rose is an artist, writer, and arts educator working out of Alexandria, MN. He attended Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design for his Bachelors of Fine Arts and moved to Minnesota after to begin anew.
Jax began teaching in 2023 as a part of a grant awarded to him by the Minnesota State Arts Board. This reignited a fervor for the arts as his students are so inspiring in their talent and imagination; and there is such joy drawing all together. Working in education has taught much about cooperating in the arts and he is thankful for this ongoing experience.
He does not consider himself an artist but a creator, for one is a definition and the other is an act and he lives for action. Art is his joy and reason, so he does not ponder its meaning, believing there is freedom in the unknown and thank you for reading.
David Bruns
David earned a Bachelor of Science in Honors English from the United States Naval Academy. (That’s not a typo. He’s probably the only English major you’ll ever meet who took multiple semesters of calculus, physics, chemistry, electrical engineering, naval architecture, and weapons systems just so he could read some Shakespeare. It was totally worth it.)
After meeting Tom Clancy and reading The Hunt for Red October as a midshipman at the Naval Academy, he served six years as a commissioned officer in the nuclear-powered submarine force chasing the Russians in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic. When the Soviet Union collapsed, David left the Navy for corporate life. For two decades, he schlepped his way around the globe as an itinerant executive in the high-tech sector and did a stint with a Silicon Valley startup.
David is the author of more than twenty novels, including the six-book SynCorp Saga series about a corporate takeover of the solar system with co-creator Chris Pourteau. His short fiction has appeared in dozens of magazines and anthologies.
With retired naval intel officer JR Olson, he writes contemporary national security thrillers that look less like fiction every time he checks the news.
