Meredith Bland
Meredith Bland is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in Brain, Mother; Narratively; Blogher; Time; and Parentmap among others. She also writes at her humor blog, Pile of Babies.
Jerry Bonner
By day, Jerry Bonner works as the Senior Writer for Headlines and Global News (HNGN.com). By night, he writes for, and about, the interactive entertainment and technology industries. He is also the father of four gaming children ranging in ages from 22 to 9.
Jason de Kanter
Jason grew up a PC gamer from the days games came on cassette tapes. He has worked as a writing teacher, and knows his continued interest in gaming creates a shared vocabulary with young people. Jason loves bringing new players into the gaming hobby. His preference is for multiplayer games–particularly ones where players can form their own communities to work together. You can catch him blathering on at length about various issues with geek culture at KitschKobold.blogspot.com.
Roy Graham
Roy Graham is a writer, boxer and live action roleplayer based in Brooklyn. He’s interested in emergent narrative, monster love stories and wizardry.
Andrew Hayward
Andrew Hayward is a Chicago-based freelance writer and editor, and his work has appeared in more than 50 publications around the world. He’s also a work-at-home dad to a wild toddler.
Chris Jaech
Chris Jaech is a voice-over actor and writer. His voice-over work is featured in HER Interactive's video game Nancy Drew: The Silent Spy. He lives in Seattle.
David Jagneaux
David lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and loves everything about gaming. He has been writing about games since 2011 and has been writing and editing professionally since 2008. He has degrees in both Technical Communication and Political Science from the University of North Texas. You can find his work across the interwebs at various different publications and you can follow him on Twitter @David_Jagneaux.
Jakejames Lugo
Jakejames Lugo is a freelance writer who has worked in video game journalism for more than four years. He has worked with various websites including IGN, The Koalition, and Shifted2u. Jakejames loves playing games with a good story and a fun world to be immersed in.
Michael Martin
Michael Martin is a Seattle-based freelance writer who has far too many pop culture mash-up shirts than he'd care to admit. He writes news and features for IGN, contributes to TechnologyTell's Gaming Channel, and has written for Kill Screen. He's a father of kids ranging from newborn to 19 years old, and they've never needed to worry about not having video games, which might make him a cool dad.
Cassidee Moser
Cassidee is a freelancer for multiple outlets on the web, including IGN, GamesRadar, and CG Magazine. When not writing about games, she's usually drawing something or watching adorable corgi videos on YouTube. You can chat with her on Twitter @CassideeMoser
Nathan Meunier
Nathan Meunier has been slinging words about video games for close to a decade, writing for more than 40+ publications ranging from IGN and Nintendo Power to What They Play and Official Xbox Magazine. Now he makes games, too! You can read more of his freelance writing, check out his books, or scope his other assorted creative projects over at NathanMeunier.com
Alex O'Neill
Alex is a freelance writer, podcaster and lover of Chipotle. From Maryland, he's been writing about video games since he was a junior in high school and has been podcasting just as long. You can hear him talk games on Irrational Passions Podcast and find all his assorted thoughts on Twitter @ALFighter27
Megan Peters
Megan is a mother of two, writer, photographer and blogger based out of Kansas City. Follow Megan's adventures in motherhood and life over at her blog, CrazyBananas.com
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Nicole Tanner
Nicole Tanner has been playing games her entire life. Now that she's a mom, she's passionate about promoting games as a healthy pastime to other parents around the globe. She has been was an editor at IGN, where she launched and hosted the Girlfight podcast. In her spare time (which is not very much, honestly) she enjoys gaming, reading, and writing fiction. Most of the time she’s a mom to a crazy, intelligent, and exhausting little girl.
Eric Watson
Eric is a freelance writer who enjoys talking about video games, movies, books and Dallas-based sports teams. He's a featured community blogger on GameInformer.com and the PC Section Editor for Leviathyn. Every week he watches a random film from his collection of several hundred DVDs and live tweets about it @RogueWatson. He also makes a mean tuna quesadilla. He lives in Fort Worth, Texas with his wife and daughter, two dogs, two cats, two fish tanks, some hermit crabs and a bookshelf full of Transformers.
Guest Contributors
Kelly Allard
Kelly Allard is an Associate Editor for Engaged Family Gaming in the far reaches of Upstate New York. She was raised on family card nights and thought playing poker with wild cards was a “kid’s game” by the time she was five. Like many a geek-parent, she spends her days in the clutches of Corporate America playing buzzword bingo and longing for some time with her Xbox! When Kelly isn’t working, she’s usually engaging in Live Action Roleplaying, tabletop roleplaying, board games, comic books and classic fantasy novels with her pre-school daughter and husband.
Laura Blum
A long time ago Laura Blum played Street Fighter 2 on a friend’s SNES. She fell in love the moment her fingers touched the controller and she has been gaming ever since. Laura is currently working on her Masters of Public Health degree at UC Berkeley and enjoys dabbling in the emerging field of games for health. In her spare time she plays mostly RPGs, JRPGs, and tabletop games, and is an avid watcher of Let’s Plays.
Joseph Bradford
Joseph is a Las Vegas-based freelance writer, husband, and father. When not talking about video games to anyone who will let him speak, Joseph can be found spending time with his family, reading fantasy books, or listening to a great jazz album. A Tolkienist, Joseph also spends his time trying to convince people that Blarogs don't actually have wings and that Sam is the true hero of the story. He currently contributes to The Inqusitr News and Legendarium Media, and you can find him constantly blathering on his weekly podcast, Gaming the Industry.
Justin Brooks
Justin Brooks has been playing video games since around the age of two, when he was just old enough to run into the same Goomba over and over again in Super Mario Bros. He enjoys RPGs, strategy/tactics, Metroidvanias, Bullet Hells, and, above all, point-and-click adventures. In college, he learned how to fix airplanes. He lives in Seattle with his sexy wife, whom he met thanks to an esoteric EarthBound reference, and two children, one of whom is almost old enough for the Goomba Lesson.
Mark Chen
Mark Chen is an independent researcher of gaming culture and spare-time game designer. He holds appointments at Pepperdine University, UW Bothell, and University of Ontario Institute of Technology, teaching a variety of online and offline courses on game studies and games for learning. Recently, Mark was a post-doctoral scholar at UW Seattle in the College of Education, working with Computer Science & Engineering’s Center for Game Science on evaluating science and math games. He holds a PhD in Learning Sciences/Educational Technology from the University of Washington.
Fritz Comden
Fritz Comden is 15 years old and has been playing video games for as long has he can remember. He loves games with a great story and enjoys thinking critically about themes in video games.
Stephen Duetzmann
Stephen is the editor for EngagedFamilyGaming.com, a website dedicated to providing families with the information they need to make informed gaming decisions.He has been playing games of all types for almost thirty years. But, his fondest memories have been about sharing the joy of gaming with his children and other families.
Dr. Kelli Dunlap
Kelli Dunlap, PhD, first became interested in the interaction between video games and mental health while studying psychology as an undergraduate. Her integration of video games and video game culture into the therapy room helped her to quickly establish rapport and trust with clients. Dr. Dunlap used her knowledge of video games not only to rapidly build a therapeutic alliance, but to explain psychological constructs, model behaviors, and provide a space for her clients to feel empowered, competent, and safe.
Ben Foster
Ben Foster was raised on a steady diet of NES games, comic books and tabletop roleplaying. Now he exists on a steady diet of sriracha, board games and coffee (lots of it). He wears many hats as writer for Engaged Family Gaming, Corporate Minion™ in the financial services industry, and freelance illustrator. Outside of work, Ben can be observed in his natural habitat (Connecticut), playing with his three children, running obstacle course races, or snowboarding
Lucas Gillispie
Lucas Gillispie has been an educator for nearly 15 years, working as a high school science teacher for 10 years before taking a position as a district-level instructional technology and media coordinator in southeastern North Carolina. Lucas holds a MS in Instructional Technology from the University of North Carolina Wilmington where he completed thesis work researching the effects of a 3D video game on middle school students’ achievement and attitude in mathematics.
Arin Greenwood
Arin is a writer, gamer, and graduate student in Molecular Engineering. She has an awful habit of creating science fiction premises out of daily activities in her nanotechnology laboratory and experience working for NASA. On the off-chance that she manages to escape from her hectic real world, she can always be found creating new worlds or exploring virtual worlds from the corner of any building that reminds her of Hogwarts. She tries to keep people entertained on Twitter @argwood.
Sam Harris
Sam Harris is a Cornish College of the Arts graduate who majored in Theater. His other passions are writing and, you guessed it, playing video games. He is a big fan of science fiction and fantasy and loves to go swimming in the sunshine.
James Helms
An amateur game player, and professional procrastinator, James once played a Japanese game, which led him to do harder Japanese, like anime and manga. Eventually he had developed a crippling addiction that put him down the road of studying Japanese at the University of Washington. Once he graduates in Summer of 2014 it may be too late to save him.
Carson Hill
Carson is a technical writer with a degree in Culture, Literature, and the Arts from UW Bothell. He is a sometime author, amateur ukulelist, master of dungeons, and enthusiast of both science fiction and fantasy. He is also an avid tabletop gamer, video gamer, player of roles, singer of songs, and reader of all things fiction. Carson spends his spare time playing games, following tech news, cooking things, and creating fictional worlds that may eventually find their way to the internet.
Daniel Konicek
Daniel Konicek is a design student living in Lakewood, WA, and cannot possibly make time for all the great games out right now.
Dr. Randy Kulman
Randy Kulman, PhD, is the Founder and President of LearningWorks for Kids, an educational technology company that specializes in using video games to teach executive functioning and academic skills. For the past 25 years, Dr. Kulman has also been the Clinical Director and President of South County Child and Family Consultants, a multidisciplinary group of private practitioners that specializes in assessment and interventions for children with learning disorders and attention difficulties.
Isabelle Lafreniere
Isabelle trained to be an actual Tomb Raider but apparently Lara Croft has the job market cornered. Now she lives in Seattle and writes more than Stephen King. Do yourself a favor and don't ask her about Monomyth and video games.
Steve Lubitz
Steve Lubitz got a copy of ET for the Atari 2600 at age four, and loved video games so much that even playing that game couldn't turn him away. Steve is the dad to three daughters, two of whom are on the autism spectrum. He is also one of the hosts of the Isometric podcast on the 5by5 network.
Mariko McDonald
Mariko McDonald is a freelance writer, indie game evangelist, and amateur cat-wrangler. Her favorite games are Mass Effect and Bubble Bobble. You can see more of her pop-culture ramblings on her blog, Gamerwife.com and on Twitter.
Isaac Meyer
Isaac Meyer is a PhD student in History at the University of Washington specializing in modern Japan and modern China. In his (very limited) spare time, he writes and produces the History of Japan Podcast, and still finds time for video games on top of everything else.
Mike Mika
Mike Mika, aka Donkey Kong Dad, is Chief Creative Officer at Other Ocean Interactive and the father of two tech-savvy kids. He received national attention in 2013 when he hacked the classic arcade game so his daughter could play as Pauline, the female character, and save Mario.
Richard Moss
Richard is a freelance writer based in Melbourne, Australia. He covers science and emerging technology news and writes features about the cool ways people play, develop, or modify video games both new and old. He’s also stay-at-home dad to a mischievous, temperamental, and neurotic (but beautiful and sweet) Bengal kitten.
Anthony Nash
Anthony Nash was born in NY and almost instantly fell in love with all things video games. After trying his hand at development, he found his passion in writing and discussing video games, and has been chasing that dream ever since. You can find him on twitter @_anthonynash.
Nicole Nymh
Nicole is a lot of things, all the time. Primarily she is a single mom who games, with a 4-year-old who loves it too. She is a paralegal by day and a waitress by night--writing, reading, gaming and helping charities keeps her out of trouble. She has a lot of aspirations, and she is always very passionate and known as a "doer."
Andy Robertson
Andy Robertson is a freelance family technology expert for the BBC. He runs the Family Gamer TV YouTube channel and contributes to a range of national media on the topic of video-games and family.
Emmett Scout
Emmett is an assistant editor at The Next, with ambitions of becoming a famous novelist. He was homeschooled in the woods for the first sixteen years of his life, an upbringing which taught him the value of an active imagination. His university studies include narrative design, genre fiction, and queer history and representation. In his free time he can mostly be found writing, gaming, baking, drinking too much tea, and raging about social justice.
Charles Singletary
Charles Singletary Jr. was born in Germany, raised in Birmingham, AL, but currently scribbles frivolously in San Antonio, TX. An addiction to the written word cultivated a fascination with fantastic worlds, leading to entertainment journalism and creative fiction. He continues to hone his craft with aims to be a legitimate voice in gaming culture, the seed from which his writing inspiration grows. You can check more of his work on CharlesSingletaryJr.com
Demetria Spinrad
Demetria Spinrad is an administrative assistant by day, aspiring fiction writer by night. Her favorite games are story-driven, witty, and grind-free. She also writes about science-fiction and fantasy at Attack of the 5 Foot Woman.
Sara Stern
Sara is a writer and aspiring game designer from Seattle. She's never quite let go of her childhood ambition to be an X-Wing pilot. On off days, she can be found running around Lake Union or raiding the comics section of the public library. Find her on Twitter @se_stern.
Gary Swaby
Gary hails from a town called Luton in the United Kingdom. Due to growing up with an illness, he attached himself to the most accessible mediums in his life. These happened to be gaming and information technology. After graduating from the University of Bedfordshire with a degree in Internet Computing, Gary has gone on to start up a number of websites and media projects. Today Gary enjoys nothing more than covering video games, creating eBooks, and writing blog posts. Follow Gary on Twitter @GarySwaby.
Christopher Travlos
Christopher is an ex-actor turned (back to) writer who lives in Montreal, Quebec. He currently attends Concordia University for Creative Writing and also runs a poetry blog. You can often find him in front of his Wii U or PS3 or quite possibly playing old games on his almost-broken N64.
Suriel Vazquez
Suriel Vazquez is a freelance writer who's patiently waiting for the day his nephews are old enough to appreciate cool games like Killer7, but it's going to be a while. He's written for Paste, Kotaku, and Unwinnable. Follow him @SurielVazquez
Jonathan Wai
Jonathan is a lifetime gaming enthusiast and artist, pursuing a career in game development. You can find him on Google+ and see his art at BuildMyPaperHeart.
Sophie Weeks
Born in Phoenix, Arizona, Sophie Weeks received a Masters degree in English Literature from Mills College in 2006 and completed her PhD in Victorian Literature at Rice University in 2013. Sophie resides in Payson, Arizona with two furry miscreants, who are wanted in multiple states for criminal adorableness. She is the author of Outside the Spotlight, Unsettled Spirits, and The Soured Earth. To connect, visit her website at SophieWeeks.net
Elliott White
Elliott is the editor-in-chief of The Next, a student publishing platform out of UW Bothell that highlights issues of social justice in the digital age. Professionally, he is the project manager for a series of games being developed out of UW Bothell’s Digital Future Lab while working towards concurrent degrees in Psychology and Computer Science. Unprofessionally, he is a lifelong gamer who lives at his computer when not enveloped in an epic fantasy novel.
