Guests of Honor

ShawnTheGirl

This year's Artist Guest of Honor is ShawnTheGirl! Over the years you may have seen her at a convention selling her arts and various crafts, or caught one of her streams cracking jokes with her friends, or, more likely, you bumped into her at your local Safeway, shopping for snacks like a cryptid in pajamas (her words, not ours).

She is classically trained in 2D animation by Don Bluth himself, and recently earned her Bachelor's in Psychology. Though she absconded with pets and kids (and Husbeast too) to New York, she's been a part of the fandom and the PNW for 18 years and still considers this place home. With her love of punk, pirates, and fantasy, we knew she'd be a great fit for this year's theme and are glad to showcase her work this year!

Al Song

Al Song (not A.I. Song) is a Lao-American kangaroo who grew up in the Greater Seattle Area and currently resides there. He mostly frequents coffee and tea shops in order to partake in the craft of prose while also brewing up new ideas for future stories, some more heated than others. His stories are mostly suited for adult readers, but he has prose for all audiences as well.

The roo took his first creative writing class during his senior year of high school and has remained clacking his claws on the keyboard ever since. His stories focus on the intersection of being gay and Asian-American along with discussions of class, body positivity, and the joys of music. A University of Washington and Western Washington University graduate, he took on German studies and comparative literature during his undergrad years, and he recently graduated with his Master of Fine Art in creative writing. During his time as a grad student he taught English courses and was the managing editor of the university’s literary journal.

Al's first publication was in the anthology, Fang vol. 8, and from there he continued to get stories published in Roar vol. 9, Tales from the Guild: World Tour, The Furry Cookbook and many more. He also works as a freelance editor and is credited as lead editor for four novels.

Even though he loves to write he also is a polyglot and an amateur musician who recently got into floral design. Between his day jobs, D&D sessions, writing gay erotica, and editing stories for friends, the roo will always make time for watching nonsense on YouTube.

You can find him on Bluesky and FurAffinity where he posts stories and his spicy art commissions.