Guests of Honor
Every year, BayCon welcomes creators, thinkers, and trailblazers whose work reshapes the way we imagine the universe and our place within it. In keeping with this year’s theme, “The Answer,” our Guests of Honor represent the voices asking bold questions, telling unforgettable stories, and guiding fandom toward deeper meaning, stranger worlds, and greater joy. Whether through words, art, performance, or scholarship, these individuals help us explore life, the universe, and everything; humor, heart, and brilliance. Join us in celebrating the people who make the questions worth asking, and the answer worth chasing!
Sumiko Saulson
BayCon 42 is proud and privileged to welcome Sumiko Saulson as this year’s Poet-in-Residence.
Sumiko is a two-time Bram Stoker Award® finalist for poetry, recognized for The Rat King (2022, Dooky Zines) and Melancholia (2024, Bludgeoned Girls Press). Their writing blends horror, Afrosurrealism, and speculative themes to explore grief, identity, and resilience. They are also an Elgin Award nominee and the recipient of the 2018 Afrosurrealist Writers Award and the 2021 Ladies of Horror Readers’ Choice Award.
Their most recent novel, Somnalia: The Metamorphoses of Flynn Keahi (Mocha Memoirs Press), is a powerful journey of transformation set in a surreal, mythic landscape.
Sumiko brings a distinct voice to speculative literature and poetry. Their presence at BayCon 42 reminds us that meaning can be found in metaphor, memory, and the magic of language.