By:
On:
In: Author Guests, Imaginarium, Official Guests, programming, Spotlighted Guest

Imaginarium 2027 proudly welcomes award-winning, bestselling author Virginia Smith as a Spotlighted Guest! A USA Today and ECPA bestselling author, Virginia has written over fifty books with sales approaching 2 million copies worldwide. Her novel, Guilty Secrets, was produced as a full-length movie under the title, “The Lies We Bury,” and is now streaming on Lifetime. Virginia has received a number of awards, including two Holt Medallion Awards of Merit and a National Bookseller’s Best Award. In 2025 she was inducted into the Imagination Hall of Fame. She is the President of Bluegrass Writers Coalition, and serves on the World Fantasy Award admin committee. We are honoredRead More →

By:
On:
In: Film Festival Awards, Imadjinn Awards, Imaginarium, Literary Awards

Imaginarium 2027 is proud to announce that nominations are now open for the 2027 Imadjinn Awards! Titles published in 2026 are eligible to be nominated in a broad array of categories. The Imadjinn Awards will be presented live at next summer’s Awards Banquet, on Saturday, July 24th, 2027 in our new home at the Crowne Plaza! The Imadjinn Awards are a comprehensive series of juried writing awards that recognize outstanding achievement in a broad range of genres and categories. The Imadjinn Awards have become a highly respected writing award internationally, and encompass many spheres of writing including screenwriting, comics, song lyrics, and game development, inRead More →

By:
On:
In: Author Guests, Imaginarium, Official Guests, panelists, programming

Imaginarium 2027 proudly welcomes author Carly B as an Official Panelist! Carly. will be participating in our extensive Panel and Workshop Programming at Imaginarium 2027! Learn more about Carly below! About Carly B Carly Bryant writes romance with heat, heart, and fearless heroines reaching for love. Carly Black explores the darker side of human nature through psychological thrillers and horror about the things people bury, and what happens when they surface. Some people are born storytellers. Carly just took the long way around to admitting it. She started writing at thirteen, little stories tucked into journals, just for her. Teachers noticed. Most encouraged her. OneRead More →

By:
On:
In: Author Guests, Editor Guests, Imaginarium, Toastmaster, Workshop Hosts

Imaginarium 2027 proudly welcomes award-winning author and editor Michael Knost as Toastmaster! A Bram Stoker Award-winning editor and author of science fiction, fantasy, horror, westerns, and supernatural thrillers, Michael has written in many different genres and helmed several anthologies. Recently, Michael won a Will Rogers Medallion Award for his Western short story “Come Necessary,” published in the anthology Four Guns & Sixteen Trails by Lawless Trails Press. As an instructor, Michael has taught writing classes and workshops at several colleges, conventions, and online, and his novel, Return of the Mothman, was made into a feature film that premiered in 2022! Michael is a member ofRead More →

By:
On:
In: Author Guests, Imaginarium, Official Guests, Paranormal Guest, programming, Spotlighted Guest

Imaginarium 2027 proudly welcomes bestselling, award-winning author, psychic medium, and paranormal expert Andrea St. Amand as a Spotlighted Guest!  A former partner in a national law firm, Andrea appeared as the paranormal expert throughout the full series of Travel Channel’s True Terror with Robert Englund, a show that explored truths behind legends and folklore. Andra is also the author of Ghost Light, a non-fiction book that blends a raw personal memoir with a practical guide on intuition and self-acceptance. We are honored to have Andrea join us for our 14th year, taking place July 23-25, 2027 in Louisville, Kentucky at the Crowne Plaza! For furtherRead More →

By:
On:
In: Author Guests, Imaginarium, Official Guests, Podcaster Guest, Publicist Guests, Spotlighted Guest

Imaginarium 2027 proudly welcomes author, podcaster, and publicist Dan Klefstad as a Spotlighted Guest! Currently on an extensive book tour for his new release Sins of the Sire, Dan is the author of the Fiona’s Guardians series, a dark, gritty story set in a world with vampires. He is the co-host (with Eva Vertrice) of the vampire-themed podcast Vamp Chat With Dan & Eva, a podcast that has featured such notable guests like NYT bestselling author P.C. Cast, Three-time Oscar award-winning makeup artist Ve Neil, and international bestselling author Dacre Stoker! Dan is also a publicist for writers, and he authored the book DIY PromoRead More →

By:
On:
In: Author Guests, Imaginarium, Imaginators, Official Guests, Workshop Hosts

Imaginarium 2027 welcomes #1 NYT and #1 USA Today bestselling, award-winning author P.C. Cast as an Imaginator Guest! P.C. has more than 30 million books in print in over 40 countries. The author of the enormously successful House of Night Series, now being made into feature films, she is also known for her Goddess Summoning and Partholon series. Her novels have been awarded the prestigious Oklahoma Book Award, YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, Booksellers’ Best, and many, many more! P.C. is a member of the Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame. We are honored to have P.C. join us forRead More →

By:
On:
In: Author Guests, Imaginarium, Official Guests, programming, Spotlighted Guest, Workshop Hosts

Imaginarium 2027 proudly welcomes international bestselling author and lecturer Dacre Stoker as a Spotlighted Guest! Dacre is the great grand-nephew of Bram Stoker and the international bestselling co-author of Dracula the Un-Dead,  the official Stoker family endorsed sequel to Dracula! Dacre is also the co-author of Dracul, a prequel to Dracula, that was published by Putnam in North America, Penguin Random House in the UK, as well as publishers in numerous other countries, with film rights sold to Paramount Studios. A former Olympic modern pentathlon coach, Dacre manages the Bram Stoker Estate and regularly conducts international tours and lectures about the world of Bram Stoker, his writing ofRead More →

By:
On:
In: Author Guests, Filmmaker Guests, Imaginarium, Official Guests, panelists, programming

Imaginarium 2027 proudly welcomes award-winning author and filmmaker K.B. Carlisle as an Official Panelist! K.B. will be participating in our extensive Panel and Workshop Programming at Imaginarium 2027! Learn more about K.B. below! About K.B. Carlisle K.B. Carlisle is an award-winning Southern fantasy author, Appalachian folklore enthusiast, and professional purveyor of questionable magical decisions. His debut, The Book of Rose, won the 2024 Imadjinn Award for Best Young Adult Novel, while its sequel became a 2025 finalist. He writes small-town magic, strange suspense, and characters who probably should have known better. K.B. is also a co-founder of Tattooed Authors of Southern Appalachia.Read More →

By:
On:
In: Author Guests, Imaginarium, Official Guests, panelists, Podcaster Guest, programming

Imaginarium 2027 proudly welcomes artist, bookstore owner, and podcaster Lindsay Schultz as an Official Panelist! Lindsay will be participating in our extensive Panel and Workshop Programming at Imaginarium 2027! Learn more about Lindsay at her bio below: About Lindsay Schultz Lindsay Schultz is a bookstore owner, artist, and podcaster who owns The Spine Bookshop, located in Smyrna, TN. The Spine celebrates local and independently published authors, and spotlights banned books. The shop hosts a wide range of events, including children’s story times (Tuesdays at 4 p.m. and Saturdays at 10 a.m.), book clubs, craft sessions, and a Veterans Coffee Hour on Friday mornings. A co-hostRead More →