Mike Allen, past President of the Science Fiction Poetry Association, will again be MC for Readercon’s Rhysling Award “poetry slan.” He’s also the editor and publisher of Mythic 2, the latest in a fantasy anthology series, featuring the likes of Leah Bobet, Richard Parks, Cherie Priest, Lawrence Schimel, Sonya Taaffe, Catherynne Valente, Jo Walton, and others. And he’s also the long-time editor of the poetry journal Mythic Delirium which his wife Anita co-edits.

His own recent books include a retrospective of 10 years of his poetry and fiction, Strange Wisdoms of the Dead, called “poetry for Goths of all ages” by The Philadelphia Inquirer. His short stories have turned up recently in Interzone, H.P. Lovecraft’s Magazine of Horror and Helix, his poetry in Asimov’s Science Fiction and the Nebula Awards Showcase series.

All that stuff happens in his spare time: by day, he’s a newspaper reporter at The Roanoke Times who covers criminal and civil courtroom trials; though his favorite assignment to date remains his interviews with the inventor of The World’s Only Ass-Kicking Machine. He also performs regularly at the local improv theatre, and has played both God and the Devil, though not yet in the same skit. Along with his wife, his household also includes a demonic, demanding cat, and a loving, goofy dog.