Kathleen Bednar

Kathleen Bednar

From a young age, Kathleen Bednar empathized with storybook monsters and the creatures who lived under her bed. Drawn to the strange and unusual, her healthy obsession with history and the occult sculpted fictional worlds steeped in dark magic and ominous folklore. While working as a graphic designer, her love of comics, visual storytelling and classical arts inspired her to craft tales with quirky style and vibrant imagery. Kathleen lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, toddler and her big, old German Shepherd.

Scarsdale Rising Star

Kathleen Bednar signed a four book contract for urban fantasy.


Kate Messick

Kate Messick

Born with her head in the clouds and an imagination that never seems to turn off, Kate Messick’s every waking moment is steeped in creativity. Reading was, and will always be Kate’s comfort zone. With brave knights and daring dragons as some of her best friends, it was just a matter of time before her own ideas made their way onto paper.

Life’s never a straight path. Finding her passion, Kate earned her BA and Masters of Music while living in Colorado. Although a dedicated educator and clarinetist, Kate enjoys her odd jobs and meeting the rich characters that she works alongside. Road construction, horse wrangler, spinal technician, data miner, and security escort are just a few of the adventures she’s found for herself. Now residing in North England, Kate loves traveling around Europe with her four cats-one of whom looks more like a human husband.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katemessickauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/katemessick

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KateMessickAuthor

Website: https://justapotato.com/

Scarsdale Rising Star

Kate Messick signed a three book contract for a reverse harem fantasy romance.


Kaila Woelk

Kaila Woelk

Kaila Woelk was born in Tsumeb, Namibia before moving to Harare, Zimbabwe when she was six. Though she was a middle child, she was also the only girl and so grew up pretty spoiled. Growing up a tomboy, playing rough with her brothers prepped her to write strong female characters that are just as strong and capable as their male counterparts. Not that it isn’t nice to be saved from time to time.

Scarsdale Rising Star

Kaila Woelk signed a three book contract for an urban fantasy series.


Kaden Elliot Whitman

Kaden Elliot Whitman

Kaden Elliot Whitman is a genderless cryptid with too many hobbies and not enough time. They finished writing their first book, Windward, after graduating from Rhode Island College with a degree in English/Creative Writing. When not writing, they can be found singing, drawing, learning Welsh, and playing video games.

Scarsdale Rising Star

Kaden Elliot Whitman signed a contract for a three book Queer urban fantasy series.


John O’Hare

John O’Hare

J.P resides in sunny/rainy/icy Northern Ireland with his wonderful wife and a tiny dictator who insists no day shall pass that isn’t dedicated to the supremacy of Peppa Pig.

When not absorbed in the adventures of her excellency, J.P writes stories of fantasy and horror, which usually take place on the jolly Emerald Isle, where there is plenty of inspiration for larger – than – life characters and outlandish adventures.

When not writing, J.P spends time with his family, runs marathons (for reasons best known to the gods of concrete and agony), and works in Northern Ireland’s Social Housing sector.

Scarsdale Rising Star

John O’Hare signed a three book urban fantasy series contact.


Jawahara Saidullah

Jawahara Saidullah

Jawahara Saidullah’s first novel, The Burden of Foreknowledge, was published in 2007 by Roli (India) Press. Shorter works of her fiction and non-fiction have appeared in anthologies by Seal Press and Penguin Press, as well as, in Rind Literary Journal, Open Road Review, Feminist Wire and others. From 1995 until 2001 she was a featured writer on the now-defunct South-Asian literary website, www.chowk.com. For four years, from 2000 until 2004 she was a weekly columnist on cross-cultural issues for Mid-Day Newspaper in Mumbai, India. In 2005,Jawahara was invited to be a writer-in-residence by the Ledig-Rohwolt Foundation at the Chateau du Lavigny in Switzerland.

Jawahara procrastinates and/or reads when she is not writing, in New Jersey, where she lives with her husband, seven-year old daughter and two cats.

Scarsdale Rising Star

Jawahara Saidullah signed a one book women’s fiction contract.


Gemma Evans

Gemma Evans

Gemma Evans lives in Terre Haute, Indiana with her husband and children. Gemma found a love for reading that turned into writing her own stories at a young age. When she’s not at her day job or writing, Gemma can be found attempting to keep the big and little humans alive and tending to the furry and scaled members of her family. A good book never far from her side.

Scarsdale Rising Star

Gemma Evans signed a three book women’s fiction contract.


Everest Noel

Everest Noel

Everest Noel is a non binary trans person with a goal to write fantasy and sci fi stories with LGBT+ protagonists. They are currently working on their MFA with a goal to pursue a doctoral degree in writing in 2023. When they’re not being a work aholic, they can be found playing video games, or posting on Twitter @alwaystheprince.

Scarsdale Rising Star

Everest Noel signed a three book contract for Queer science fiction.


Emily Shaw

Emily Shaw

Emily Shaw is a writer of young adult fantasy. A writer since childhood, she’s excited to get her stories out into the world. Emily lives in the Midwest with her husband and daughter and their small, disgruntled dog. An avid reader, television, and movie enthusiast, when she is not writing you are likely to find her on the couch with a bowl of popcorn.

Scarsdale Rising Star

Emily Shaw signed a three book YA werewolf series.


E.A. Comiskey

E.A. Comiskey

E.A. Comiskey’s work is broadly described as “speculative fiction” and is often a wild mix of humor, mythology, fantasy, horror, and romance. From time to time, she dabbles in creative nonfiction and other genres that catch her fancy. She is published with Scarsdale Publishing and is a Wattpad Creator. She was honored with Watty Awards in 2018 and2021 and she was chosen as Southwest Airlines Storyteller on the Rise. Southwest produced her short story, Alone in Tombstone, as a short film that is available on their in-flight entertainment portal. In addition to other places, her work has been seen in Parade Magazine, on The Weather Channel, and in Marriott Bonvoy Magazine.

She lives in rural Michigan with her family and a veritable zoo of creatures. If there’s a festival in the area, you can bet she’s there, most likely drawing on the pavement with chalk. After all, when you live in Michigan, you go outside whenever you get the chance.

You can find her online on Amazon, her author page, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.