Time: 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Location: Crystal Peak AKA The Aethon Laser Palace

Description: VR Laser Tag presented by Aethon Books!

Laser Tag!

Time: 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Location: Colorado Ballroom

Panel Name: Crit Fails and Combat Boots: Women in LitRPG

Panel Description: From tanking trolls to breaking tropes, join a panel of powerhouse authors and creators as they talk female leads, writing with agency, and why girls absolutely do game harder.

Moderator: Andrea Parsneau

Guests & Panelists: Shami Stovall, Rose Reynolds (TJ Pen Name), K.T. Hanna, Erin Ampersand, Rachel Ní Chuirc

Time: 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Location: Sopris A

Panel Name: Skill Trees and Story Arcs: Crafting Character Growth

Panel Description: How do you make leveling up feel meaningful both in stats and personal development? Authors and fans discuss favorite growth arcs.

Moderator: Johnathan McClain

Guests & Panelists: Tommy "SourpatchHero" Kerper, Gabriel L Rathweg, Waldo Rodriguez, Ryan Maxwell, Robert Gagnon

Time: 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Location: Sopris B

Panel Name: That Wasn’t in the Script!

Panel Description: Bloopers, weird character names, surprise steamy scenes—narrators share their most chaotic, hilarious, and awkward recording moments.

Moderator: Rhea Lyons

Guests & Panelists: Steve Campbell, Gary Furlong, Laurie Catherine Winkel, Jeremy Frazier, Zura Johnson

Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM

Location: Colorado Ballroom

Panel Name: International Talent

Panel Description: From timezone tangles to language quirks, international authors and narrators share what it’s like building global fanbases, navigating cultural nuances, and writing stories that cross borders—and hit bestseller lists.

Moderator: Ryan Maxwell

Guests & Panelists: Haylock Jobson, Benjamin Kerei, Brian J. Nordon, Adam Beswick, RinoZ

Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM

Location: Sopris A

Panel Name: Diverse Realms: Exploring Inclusion in LitRPG

Panel Description: LitRPG worlds offer endless possibilities—but how well do they reflect the rich diversity of real life? This panel dives into the importance of representation across race, gender, sexuality, ability, and culture within LitRPG stories.

Moderator: Noret Flood

Guests & Panelists: Rose Reynolds (TJ Pen Name), Ryan H. Reid, Jonathan Smidt aka Ryn Stryker, Marsh AKA Reck Well, JP "Nixia" Valentine

Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM

Location: Sopris B

Panel Name: Apocalypse 101

Panel Description: When the world ends, the XP begins. From system crashes to alien invasions, authors dig into LitRPG-style apocalypses, how their worlds fall apart, and what it takes to survive when the rules of reality change overnight. Would you make it past Day One?

Moderator: James Osiris Baldwin

Guests & Panelists: Aoife Wai, Craig Hamilton, Ben Wolf, Alex Knight, Daniel Schinhofen

Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

Location: Colorado Ballroom

Panel Name: Plus 10 to Humor: When LitRPG Gets Funny

Panel Description: From pun-laced item drops to existential dread in dungeon form, comedy can turn a good story into a great one. Join authors as they discuss where humor fits in, how far is too far, and whether fart jokes scale with intelligence stat.

Moderator: Eric "Gary" Ugland

Guests & Panelists: Dakota Krout, Hunter Mythos, James Hunter, Matt Dinniman, Brian J. Nordon

Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

Location: Sopris A

Panel Name: Tropes: The Secret Sauce or Crippling Curse?

Panel Description: From OP protagonists to harem chaos, join a lively discussion on which LitRPG tropes keep readers hooked, which ones need a fresh twist, and which ones should be quietly nerfed.

Moderator: Robert Gagnon

Guests & Panelists: Alex Karne, Gabriel L Rathweg, James Osiris Baldwin, JD Glasscock, Aleron Kong

Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

Location: Sopris B

Panel Name: Voices in Sync: How Authors and Narrators Make Audiobook Magic

Panel Description: Authors and narrators team up to share the real story behind the audiobook—how voices are cast, how characters are brought to life, and what it’s really like turning words into performance.

Moderator: Jack Fields

Guests & Panelists: Johnathan McClain, Shawn Wilson, Ryan Rimmel, Heath Miller, Haylock Jobson

Time: 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM

Location: Sopris B

Panel Name: Min-Max Mayhem: The Great Stat Debate

Panel Description: Strength? Charisma? Luck? Authors and game-lit nerds go head-to-head to argue which stat rules them all—and which ones are just digital dead weight. Expect hot takes, wild builds, and probably at least one bard.

Moderator: Brian J. Nordon

Guests & Panelists: John Stovall, Hunter Mythos, Jonathan Brooks, Stuart Grosse, Dakota Krout

Time: 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Location: Sopris B

Panel Name: Menus, Pop-Ups, and Skill Trees—Oh My!

Panel Description: Creative uses (and abuses) of system UI elements in storytelling. How much is too much? What's just right?

Moderator: Ben Wolf

Guests & Panelists: K.T. Hanna, Seth McDuffee, Jonathan Brooks, Maxwell Farmer, Bosloe (Nick)

Time: 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM

Location: Sopris B

Panel Name: This Panel Knows It’s a Panel

Panel Description: A discussion on fourth-wall breaks, meta-magic, and stories that wink back at you. Exploring characters who know they’re in a game... and still can’t find the pause button.

Moderator: Sean Hall

Guests & Panelists: A.F. Kay, Ben Wolf, Chris Vines, Craig Hamilton, D. Petrie

Time: 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Location: Sopris B

Panel Name: Respawn? Not This Time

Panel Description: Permadeath, stakes, and how LitRPG authors make consequences actually matter.

Moderator: Jeffrey “Falcon” Logue

Guests & Panelists: Timothy McGowen, TJ Lombardi, Johnathan McClain, Jay Krauss, Erin Ampersand

End of Saturday Laser Tag and Panels