Minicon 59

Patricia C. Wrede, author GoH

The only reason we waited until Minicon 59 to have Pat Wrede for our Guest of Honor, is that we all thought that, of course, she'd already been Guest of Honor sometime, like, maybe, Minicon 35 or 45 or something. We're not sure how our younger selves missed her. She's lived in Minnesota since graduating from Carleton College, and has participated in many Minicons. Pat is beloved by fans and librarians and teachers everywhere for her young adult fantasies, particularly the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. And now we get to have her as our Writer Guest of Honor for Minicon 59.

She's also a lovely person. Last winter, a local puppet theater put on their own adaptation of Dealing With Dragons. The young woman who played the Princess Cimorene was appropriately chatty and snarky and rolled her eyes at proper princess behavior. The woman who played Cimorene's dragon, Kazul, was kind, quietly intimidating, and just a little bit prim. When you meet Pat, you mostly see Kazul, but if you pay close attention, Cimorene's feistiness and wit will sparkle through.

Patricia C. Wrede has written lots of other books, too, including Mairelon the Magician, Sorcery and Cecilia, Snow White and Rose Red, and three Star Wars Junior Novelizations. Her most recent book is The Dark Lord's Daughter, which might be the first portal fantasy to open from the Minnesota State Fair. Everyone, including Pat, is hoping that the sequel, The Dark Lady, will be finished by Minicon 59.

Matt Leacock, gaming GoH

Matt Leacock has been designing board games since he was very young and full time since 2014. He is best known as a designer of cooperative games, including Pandemic, Pandemic Legacy, Forbidden Island, and Daybreak. Pandemic, first published in 2008, has sold over 5 million copies worldwide and is available in over 30 languages. His latest game, Daybreak, challenges players to stop climate change. He lives in Sunnyvale California.

Becca and Graham Leathers

Graham and Becca Leathers are long-time staples of the fannish music community currently based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Their talents are apparent to anyone who's ever attended a Minicon music room concert or music circle. Becca is well-known as half of Riverfolk (alongside Minicon 46 Music Guest of Honor Chas Somdahl), contributing intricate guitar work and gorgeous vocals to originals and cover songs alike. Graham writes, performs, and records his own novelty songs ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous; his song "Chocolate Is A Vegetable" won a Pegasus Award for excellence in filk music in 2017. Together they perform as the duo Bardz at Large.