ADAM SAVAGE has worked as a projectionist, animator, graphic designer, carpenter, interior and stage designer, toy designer, welder, and scenic painter, and has built everything from giant Buddhas and futuristic weapons to fine-art sculptures and dancing vegetables. He created special effects for more than 100 television commercials and a dozen feature films, including Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Galaxy Quest, and the Matrix sequels. With Jamie Hyneman, Adam produced and hosted MythBusters from 2003 to 2016, for a total of 279 episodes, 1,015 myths, 2,950 experiments, eight Emmy nominations and 83 miles of duct tape. Adam also hosted and executive produced MythBusters Jr. as well as a solo series, Savage Builds, for Discovery Channel. Today, Adam stars in and produces content for his YouTube channel, Tested.com. Adam’s first book, Every Tool’s a Hammer, chronicles his life as a maker. Adam lives in the San Francisco Bay area with his wife and their amazing dog Maggie.
MARY ROBINETTE KOWAL is an American author and puppeteer. A puppeteer by trade after receiving a bachelor’s degree in art education, she became an art director for science fiction magazines and by 2010 was also authoring her first full-length published novels. The majority of her work is characterized by science fiction themes, such as interplanetary travel; a common element present in many of her novels is historical or alternate history fantasy, such as in her Glamourist Histories and Lady Astronaut books. Kowal acted as secretary, vice president (2010), and later president (2019-2021) of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, as well as Chair of Programming for the 2018 and 2021 WorldCons. She received the Astounding Award for Best New Writer, four Hugo Awards, and a Nebula Award. The Calculating Stars won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novel. Her most recent novel, The Spare Man, blends her no-nonsense approach to life in space with her talent for creating glittering high society, in an entertaining and stylish SF mystery. She continues to write and puppeteer, in addition to voicing audio books, and lives in Nashville with her husband and cats.
