Philcon 2026 Guests

Charlie Jane Anders

Principal Speaker

Charlie Jane Anders is the author of Lessons in Magic and Disaster (Tor Books, 2025), All the Birds in the Sky, The City in the Middle of the Night and the young-adult Unstoppable trilogy. She’s also the author of the short story collection Even Greater Mistakes, and Never Say You Can’t Survive, a book about how to use creative writing to get through hard times. She’s won the Hugo, Nebula, Sturgeon, Lambda Literary, Crawford and Locus Awards. She co-created Escapade, a transgender superhero, for Marvel Comics and wrote her into the long-running New Mutants comic. And she’s currently the science fiction and fantasy book reviewer for the Washington Post. With Annalee Newitz, she co-hosts the podcast Our Opinions Are Correct.

You can learn more about Charlie Jane from her website: https://www.charliejaneanders.com/

Donato Giancola

Artist Guest

Donato Giancola is recognized as one of the leading narrative visual artists in the SFF genre. He holds three Artist Hugo Awards for outstanding professional work from the World Science Fiction Society, a World Fantasy Award for Best Artist, the prestigious Hamilton King Award from the Society of Illustrators, twenty-three Chesley Awards from the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists, and six silver and two gold medals from the juried annual Spectrum: The Best of Contemporary Fantastic Art. His paintings have graced book covers appearing from Tor Books, Random House, Simon & Schuster, Time/Warner, and Scholastic. He has done concept design work for LucasFilm, SyFy, Milton Bradley and Hasbro. 

Giancola’s work has ranged from art inspired by The Lord of the Rings to a US postage stamp commemorating Ursula K. Le Guin, to art for Magic: The Gathering. His work for Magic: The Gathering has made him a “cult hero” among fantasycollectible card game players, and his paintings of Tolkien’s fantasy world have been described as making him “the Caravaggio of Middle-earth.” He teaches at the Illustration Master Class and mentors online through the SmArt School. He also appears at various institutions, seminars, and conventions, performing demonstrations in oil paint and lecturing.

You can see Donato’s work and learn more about him at his website: https://donatoarts.com/

Sarah Pinsker

Musical Guest

Sarah Pinsker, better known now for her fiction, spent years as a touring singer/songwriter, putting out three solo albums on various independent labels and one with her rock band, the Stalking Horses. She has played at hole-in-the-wall bars and DIY venues, and on festival stages in front of tens of thousands. It shows in her music-related fiction, such as the Nebula Award-winning novel A Song For A New Day and the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and Eugie Foster Award winning short story “Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather.” It also makes its way into her non-music stories in more subtle ways, in the rhythms of roadside motels and diners. She has gotten lost in nearly every state on the map, and learned to recognize that getting lost is often the best way to find stories. While these days she focuses more on her fiction than her music, she sees them both as colors in the storytelling palette.

You can listen to Sarah’s music and read some of his writings on her website at https://sarahpinsker.com/