LibertyCon 38: Full Schedule

1:00pm EDT

Out and About for Newcomers at LibertyCon

Friday June 26, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT

Author Nick Braker and his wife Charita host Out and About at LibertyCon, a look into the local eateries, shops and sightseeing nearby to the LibertyCon venue.

Moderators

Nick Braker

Author

Nick A. Braker is a sci-fi author blending interstellar intrigue, time travel, and cosmic alliances in series like Galactic Satori Wars & Essence Chronicles. A LibertyCon panelist on space opera, he also crafts gothic albums like Masquerade of Shadows. Drawing from Indiana roots... Read More →

Friday June 26, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT
M - Plaza Ballroom C

Main Program, Panel

1:00pm EDT

The Xenoarchaeology Roadshow

Friday June 26, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT

CC - Meeting Room 5 (Main Event)

Our colleagues from the University of Antares shipped us a fresh crate of alien artifacts, all in need of identification. Can you decipher their true use?

Moderators

Jody Lynn Nye

Author, Past LGoH

Jody Lynn Nye lists her main career activity as ‘spoiling cats.’ When not engaged upon this worthy occupation, she writes fantasy and science fiction books and short stories.

Before breaking away from gainful employment to write full time, Jody worked as a file clerk, book-kee... Read More →

Guests

Julie Cochrane

Author

Julie Cochrane was born in Ohio and begin crafting her first stories when she was five years old. She made her first attempts at novels in Social Studies and English classes. Cally's War with John Ringo was the first manuscript she ever finished. Sister Time and Honor of the Clan... Read More →

Karen Bogen

Author

A cat-loving native of Texas, K.B. Bogen is a self-confessed knit-/yarn-aholic. She spends much time knitting something (with the help of her three cats), inventorying her stash (also with the help of the cats), or fondling yarn anywhere within driving range (the cats don’t like... Read More →

Jim Beall

STEM, Past SGoH

Jim Beall (BS-Math, MBA, PE) has been a nuclear engineer for 50 years, beginning as a nuclear engineering officer in the US Navy. Civilian experience includes design, construction, inspection, enforcement, and assessment with a nuclear utility, an architect engineering firm, and the... Read More →

Shami Stovall

Author

Shami Stovall is a multi-award-winning author of fantasy and science fiction. Before that, she taught history and criminal law at the college level. She loves John, reading, and writing about herself in the third person.

Friday June 26, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT
CC - Meeting Room 5 (Main Event) Chattanooga Convention Center 1 Carter St, Chattanooga, TN 37403

Main Program, Panel

9:00pm EDT

My Strangest True Experience

Friday June 26, 2026 9:00pm - 10:00pm EDT

M - Plaza Ballroom C

They say you write what you know. A panel where programming participants with very eclectic backgrounds share their strangest, true experiences, whether written down or not.

Moderators

Ian McMurtrie

Author, Publisher

Born on the island of Malta to an Oklahoma oil engineer and a Texas school teacher, author Ian McMurtrie a.k.a. LawDog was raised in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. He has been a soldier, an EMT, a volunteer fireman, a short-order cook, the world's worst rodeo clown, and a peace... Read More →

Guests

Oren Truitt

Artist

Oren Truitt suffers from chronic insatiable curiosity. With a thirst to learn something new, he’s been a biologist, chemist, photographer, jeweler, gunsmith, actor, stuntman and teacher. Working on adding WRITER to the list. His passion is history. Oren needs a time machine and... Read More →

Ted Begley

Author

Ted Begley's career has consisted of such fields as cook, farmer, lightning rod salesman, and accountant. He lives in Kentucky with his wife of more than thirty years, Laura, who acts in the capacity of his first reader and editor. He has several short stories published in as many... Read More →

Wayland Smith

Author

WAYLAND SMITH is the pen name for a native Texan who has lived in Massachusetts, New York, Washington DC, and presently makes his home in Virginia. His rather unlikely list of jobs includes private investigator, comic book shop owner, ring crew for a circus (then he ran away from... Read More →

William Lehman

Author

William Lehman can’t stay out of hot water… or cold water, either. After retiring from two careers in and around submarines, and a decade as a Reserve Police Officer for the City of Bremerton, Washington, (where far more things go on than you’d think) he’s traded in his police... Read More →

C.S. Brown

Author

C S Brown retired from the daily grind and moved to Central America to enjoy the warm weather and friendly atmosphere. Writing was the result of needing to make at least some of his time productive. In many ways, it is the embodiment of his lifelong dream. He has always wanted a pet... Read More →

Friday June 26, 2026 9:00pm - 10:00pm EDT
M - Plaza Ballroom C

Main Program, Panel

2:00pm EDT

Building the Ultimate Bug Out Bag

Saturday June 27, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm EDT

CC - Meeting Room 5 (Main Event)

Panel discussion of the pro and cons of bugging in vs. bugging out and why you always should have a bug out bag. John Locke moderator.

Guests

Tammie Darden

STEM

Tammie Darden is an everyday scientist in charge of a small production lab. Much to her surprise her work and insight has been found useful to story development by author friends.
Academically she continues her studies independently with a special emphasis on food science (which... Read More →

Kevin Pulliam

STEM

Kevin Pulliam, an Aerospace engineer, farms 130 acres of woods and pasture in North Alabama producing Grass Finished Beef, Forest Raised Pork, and Pastured Poultry and markets his regenerative farmstead’s products direct to the consumer. Regenerative farming improves the land through... Read More →

Tim Bischoff

Author / Owner, Southern Wilds

Tim “Cajun” Bischoff, born in Kentucky and raised in Bourbon country on a dairy farm. Writing along with cooking, fishing and cruising in his restored 1973 Chevelle are some of his passions. Tim has had three short stories published, the newest as author Timothy Hardy in 3 Ravens... Read More →

Bethanne Kim

Author, Publisher

Bethanne Kim is a publisher with the new alternate history magazine “Eric Flint’s 1632 & Beyond” and a writer in the 1632verse. She also writes about emergency preparedness (including on TheSurvivalMom.com), zombies, being a Scout leader, the US Constitution, and whatever else... Read More →

John Locke

Professional Panelist

John M. Locke is a Retired Veteran of the United States Army. Notable assignments included the 3rd Armored Div, 82nd Airborne Div and 2nd Infantry Division. He served in the first Gulf War with 3rd Bn, 73rd Armor, the only Airborne Armor unit in the free world. John retired from the... Read More →

Saturday June 27, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm EDT
CC - Meeting Room 5 (Main Event) Chattanooga Convention Center 1 Carter St, Chattanooga, TN 37403

Main Program, Panel

10:00pm EDT

Monster Hunting for Fun and Profit

Saturday June 27, 2026 10:00pm - 11:00pm EDT

M - Plaza Ballroom C

Monster Hunting for Fun and Profit - H.P. Holo moderates - kill monsters, get paid (or maybe build armor out of their bones)! Join these authors as they chat about what goes into writing a good monster hunting story.

Moderators

H.P. Holo

LibertyCon 38 Master of Ceremonies, Author

H.P. Holo grew up in a family where it was dangerous to say, “I’m bored.” She’s also an incorrigible smart aleck. So when her parents told her to fix her boredom by reading a dictionary, she did. And then, just to be extra sassy, she began writing novels that required them... Read More →

Guests

Philip K. Booker

Author, Editor

An award-winning editor and genre writer, Philip K. Booker lives near Chattanooga, Tennessee, with his wife and five children collectively known as Clan Booker (trademark pending).

Writing stories across any genre, but he focuses on Urban Fantasy, Science Fiction and Horror-comedy. His stories are littered with humor, snark, and pop culture references. He is convinced that if his characters were alive and aware he's to blame for their problems, they'd be waiting... Read More →

Julie Frost

Author

Julie Frost is an award-winning author of every shade of speculative fiction. She lives in Utah with a herd of guinea pigs, her husband, and a “kitten” who thinks she’s a warrior princess. She enjoys birding, and is on a quest to photograph 500 bird species in a calendar year... Read More →

Marisa Wolf

Author

Marisa Wolf is a second-generation nerd who started writing genre stories at six. At least one was good enough to be laminated, and she's been chasing that high ever since. Over the years she taught middle school, was headbutted by an alligator, built a career in education, earned... Read More →

Jason Cordova

Author, Editor

National bestselling author Jason Cordova is both a John W. Campbell Award and Dragon Award finalist (though not in the same year). He is the author of Mountain of Fire, To Tread Obsidian Shores (w/ Melissa Olthoff), and Monster Hunter Memoirs: Fever (w/ Larry Correia), and edito... Read More →

Geoffrey Mandragora

Author

Geoffrey Mandragora is a storyteller, not an author. He refuses to take himself seriously, or write anything too serious. His work is exciting, scary, and thrilling; but overall he strives to make his books fun, both to write and read. Which is why he writes in different genres.

Saturday June 27, 2026 10:00pm - 11:00pm EDT
M - Plaza Ballroom C

Main Program, Panel

1:00pm EDT

1:00pm EDT

9:00pm EDT

2:00pm EDT

10:00pm EDT

Get help with the event