People

Author Bio: Elizabeth Barrette

Elizabeth Barrette lives in central Illinois, where she works as a writer and editor. She writes articles, essays, short stories, reviews, interviews, poetry, and more. Her main fields include speculative fiction, gender studies, and alternative religions. She served as Managing Editor of PanGaia magazine for seven years and Dean of Studies at the Grey School of Wizardry for four years. She often presents panels and workshops at conventions and festivals. She has eagerly observed the rise of electronic publication and online writing, and hopes to continue working with this cutting edge of literature. She enjoys suspension-of-disbelief bungee-jumping and spelunking in other people’s reality tunnels.

Previous publication credits include the nonfiction book Composing Magic: How to Create Magical Spells, Rituals, Blessings, Chants, and Prayers; articles ”The Richness of Giving” in Communities, ”Appreciating Speculative Poetry” in Internet Review of Science Fiction, and a four-part series “Cyberfunded Creativity” in EMG-zine; stories “Peacock Hour” in Triangulation: Taking Flight and “Frustration” in Cicada; and poems “Artifacts of Intelligent Design” in the SFPA 2008 Poetry Contest and “A Door into Summer” in Abandoned Towers.

Editor Bio: John Casker

John Casker is the editor of Geek Universalis. He is a 36-year-old man living outside of Seattle with his darling L and his newest love, Sasha the Wonder Dog. He has a long history of developing online communities, all the way from dial-up Wildcat! BBSes to current fansites for game systems (he didn’t make the connection until just now, oddly enough). Despite strong advice from all quarters that a blog should have a clear focus, he just couldn’t decide on a single topic; as a long-time gamer, he realized that just meant he had to find a set of rules that let him play like he wanted to play. What he didn’t realize was that anybody was going to be spelunking in his reality tunnels. Take only pictures, leave only footprints, please.

In addition to editing Geek Universalis, he currently maintains Delver’s Square, the fansite for Ptolus: Monte Cook’s City by the Spire, and Ashland Link, a site devoted to the cultural scene in Ashland, Oregon and particularly the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. His blogs here at Geek Universalis include The Geek @ Geek U, Pitchwife’s Gaming Life, and Seattle Bulldog.