2026 Theme:
Secrets and Scales
We like to think of MarsCon as a weekend long party for people who enjoy Science Fiction and Fantasy. To learn more about our Con, please look at our “What is MarsCon” page by clicking here.
Please visit our MarsCon Facebook Page to view the MarsCon 2025 photos and join our community.
Meet the Marscon 2026 Guests of Honor
Author GOH
Lisa Shearin is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the SPI Files, best described as Men in Black meets The X-Files; the Aurora Donati paranormal political thrillers; and the Raine Benares novels, a comedic fantasy adventure series.
Lisa is a total and complete crochet addict and yarn hoarder. She’s also a voracious collector (and user) of fountain pens, teapots, and teacups–and consumes tea by the gallon. She lives on a farm in North Carolina with her husband, a spoiled rotten retired racing greyhound, three equally spoiled rescued Jack Russell Terriers, an ongoing parade of JRT fosters, and enough deer and woodland creatures to fill a Disney movie.
Gaming GOH
Connie Vogelmann is a board game designer from Washington DC. She is the designer of Apiary and Wyrmspan, both by Stonemaier Games. Wyrmspan is the dragon-themed sequel to the highly acclaimed Wingspan, designed by Elizabeth Hargrave and published by Stonemaier Games. Connie is a lifelong science fiction and fantasy fan. When she’s not designing games or cheering her fantasy hockey team, she’s likely watching the newest dystopian science fiction show or curled up with a good book.
Writing
TBD
Artist GOH
TBD
Musician GOH
TBD
Toastmaster
Michael Jon Khandelwal
Michael Khandelwal is the Executive Director of The Muse Writers Center, a nationally recognized literary center in Norfolk, Virginia. An award-winning writer and teacher, he writes poetry, fiction, editorials, profiles, and feature articles, which have appeared in Rattle, Coastal Virginia Magazine, Alt Daily, and elsewhere. Michael teaches poetry and fiction workshops for The Muse, and is the current Chairperson of the Norfolk Electoral Board and a member of the Norfolk Commission on the Arts and Humanities. A graduate of the University of Southern California (BA & MPW), he is a past web content management specialist for The American Council on Education and the past President of the 2008 Electoral College of Virginia.