Contributors
Click a contributor's name or image to browse all of their articles.
Amanda Keim-Morrison
Amanda Keim-Morrison brings updates about J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world to Nerdvana. She's a former East Valley Tribune reporter and State Press editor; she now lives in Minnesota, where she's been a writer, web producer and editor and currently works on the tech side of several news sites. Amanda is a Ravenclaw at Hogwarts, a Horned Serpent at Ilvermorny and has a white stallion for a Patronus.
Anabel Martinez
Anabel Martinez is a concept artist, graphic designer, events coordinator, and creative consultant residing in Chandler, Ariz. She also founded the Men vs Cosplay calendar series.
Bob Leeper
Bob Leeper is the co-owner and manager of "Arizona’s Pop Culture and Alternative Art Network," Evermore Nevermore. He is the co-creator of the pop culture events Steampunk Street and ENCREDICON, and is a member of the Phoenix Film Critics Society. He also curates the Facebook fan site The Arizona Cave – AZ Fans of Edgar Rice Burroughs, and is one of the few brave and bold fans of Jar Jar Binks.
Christen Bejar
Christen Bejar is a freelance gaming writer who started the local blog The Pause Button while studying at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. For Nerdvana, Bejar reviews video games and also previews, recaps and photographs many local events from a gamer's perspective.
Dustin Diehl
An avid reader, freelance writer, content strategist and traveler, Dustin Diehl is a longtime Nerdvana contributor with sources placed deep in the heart of the Star Wars universe. No Bothans died to bring you this information.
Jayson Peters
Nerdvana's founder and owner. A former East Valley Tribune copy editor, page designer and website editor, he is now Digital Editor for The Pueblo Chieftain in Southern Colorado, a web design instructor at Pueblo Community College and president of the Southern Colorado Press Club. He has contributed to the popular GeekDad blog and taught online media at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, his alma mater. Lifelong Star Wars fan and Trekker who also worships all things Tolkien and Doctor Who.
Lee Whiteside
Lee Whiteside has been writing about science fiction and fantasy in various forms online since before the WWW existed. His website, sftv.org, keeps track of genre TV shows. He also is quite involved with organized fandom, having chaired CopperCons (16 & 23), LepreCons (28 & upcoming 36), The 2006 Nebula Awards, and the first North American Discworld Convention. And he runs the official Connie Willis Website at ConnieWillis.net.
Madison Houston
Madison Houston is an aspiring video games journalist working with Nerdvana to hone her skills and bring us a new perspective on gaming.
Nerdvana
Nerdvana has hosted many occasional contributors over the years. If you're interested in being one, reach out to us!
Rusty Schmidt
Rusty Schmidt has been into gaming since the family had to get a second Atari 2600 so everybody could play at once and interested in computer gaming since playing Math Blaster and The Oregon Trail all the way back in 5th grade. Later he found the original Diablo and StarCraft games to get hooked on Blizzard games and eventually stopped playing SNES games trading them for PC games because of the online persistence of worlds like SWG and WoW. Currently a Blizzard Correspondent, he looks forward to becoming a Senior Blizzard Correspondent for Nerdvana some day.
Russ Kazmierczak Jr.
Russ Kazmierczak, Jr. is the creator of Amazing Arizona Comics, a minicomic book satire of Arizona news, history, and culture. He also hosts Phoenix Tonight, a monthly late night talk show at Space 55. Find his work at amazingarizonacomics.com.
Scott Kirchhofer
One of Nerdvana's founding bloggers, Scott Kirchhofer is a graphic artist and designer of the Nerdvana logo, as well as a gamer and comic book movie fan.
The Klute
The Klute is an award-winning slam poet from Phoenix, Arizona, and an amateur shark conservationist. His latest book, “Chumming the Waters”, is a collection of poetry for sharks, by sharks, is available at Lulu Press and all the profits are donated to Fins Attached to help keep sharks in our dreams and in our oceans.
