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AJ “Poppy” Alexanders

Speaker & Moderator
A.J. (Poppy) Alexanders (she/they) is world-acclaimed procrastinator with specific honors in: gibberish, head-in-cloudsitis, and space walking (figuratively). When they aren’t paying the bills as a chemist, they spend their time writing and talking to people. Most of her work aims to bring awareness to the LGBTQIA+ community through fantasy fiction. In January 2024, she started interviewing as many people as she could get her hands on about their work in relation to story-telling. The results speak for themselves. Some day, they want to be an astronaut, but they’re pretty sure it might be a little late to start that. Maybe next time around. A.J.'s work can be found on Amazon: Underleveled Legend, Not Your Mountain,  An Ambitious Woman and her Very Normal Pet  
3:00PM - 4:00PM EDT

Saturday July 11th

Kickstart Your Author Career

Are you ready to become an author but don't know where to start? You may already have everything you need to move forward. Join K. J. Harrowick, Alli Martin, and Kira Anderson for how to get down to business and kickstart your author career. (Moderator: AJ "Poppy" Alexanders)

7:00PM - 8:30PM EDT

Saturday July 11th

Cozy Stories and Why They Matter

Cozy stories have been on the rise in recent years. Join our panel of cozy authors to explore why this is, how to write an effective cozy story, and where the future of cozy stories might be heading next. (Moderator: Valerie Valdes)

11:30AM - 1:00PM EDT

Sunday July 12th

Steering Fiction Away From Abusive Characters (featuring Authors Against Abuse)

Depictions of abuse and violence against women and children are everywhere. In stories, in the media, in both our lives and escape mechanisms. Join K. J. Harrowick, Justine Manzano, and Kasey Rogers of Authors Against Abuse in this panel discussing the pitfalls of abuse in fiction and strategies for writers to avoid reinforcing this narrative. (Moderator: AJ "Poppy" Alexanders)

1:00PM - 2:30PM EDT

Sunday July 12th

Avoiding Bi-Erasure: Writing Bisexual/Pansexual Representation

Ships love to qualify relationships as straight or gay, and when a character is in a relationship, readers tend to define this by the gender of their partner. But how do we combat this with bi characters in committed relationships? Join our panel on Avoiding Bi-Erasure for tips and tricks on how to write awesome bi relationships and where to find them in fiction! (Moderator: AJ "Poppy" Alexanders)