A.P. Hawkins
A.P. Hawkins is a biologist turned speculative fiction author and editor based in Houston, Texas. Her short fiction has appeared in various magazines and anthologies, including, EscapePod, and The Librarian anthology series from Air and Nothingness Press. In 2024, A.P.’s short fiction earned a semi-finalist award in the Writers of the Future Contest. A.P. is a co-host of Writers Lunch, a weekly online writing workshop, and a co-founder of Tomeworks, an editing collective dedicated to helping genre authors build better books. She volunteered as a first reader for Hexagon Magazine from 2023 until its hiatus in 2025. When she’s not writing or editing, A.P. enjoys gaming, crafting, and spending time outdoors. She dabbles in cosplay, quilting, baking, and painting mini-figures for tabletop role playing games. One of her life goals is to visit every U.S. National Park.
12:00PM - 1:30PM EST
Sunday July 13th
Troubling Tropes
Tropes can be addictive and we all have our favorite ones that we can read over and over and over again! But sometimes, there are tropes that can undermine the readability of a story and give a reader pause. These troubling tropes make us question our sensibility, morality, and possibly, our humanity. In this panel, we’ll explore how we can identify troubling tropes and discuss ways to avoid them in our own writing. Learn what pitfalls to avoid in the creation process and make sure your use of tropes achieve what you want it to.