Queer Writing: a dialogue across genres

Welcome to the Euro Con in Berlin!
In this panel, four authors of queer science fiction and fantasy come together to discuss topics such as the growing visibility of queer representation, what makes representation meaningful, and how queer forms and poetics might reshape contemporary writing across genres.

I want to introduce all of them, so here short bios (from the official Con website). And then you get all the links, to research their work further.

    J.S. Meresmaa

    J. S. Meresmaa (b. 1983) (she/they) is an award-winning Finnish fantasy author with more than 30 books for readers of all ages. In addition to novels, she has written numerous short stories, several of which have been translated into other languages. Meresmaa has also edited anthologies and initiated literary and cultural projects, and is a founding member and former chair of the cooperative publisher Osuuskumma. Meresmaa lives in Tampere, surrounded by houseplants, books, and guinea pigs.

    Aiki Mira

    Aiki Mira (they/them) creates queer futures at the intersection of code and body. Their novels won the Kurd Laßwitz Prize from 2023 to 2025, while their short fiction — published in English, French, and Chinese — has been honored with the Kurd Laßwitz Prize and the Deutscher Science Fiction Preis and the Chrysalis Award of the European Science Fiction Society (2023). Essays on embodiment and utopia have appeared in Zeit Online and SWR Kultur.

    Neongrau was adapted into an ARD radio drama series. Proxi is currently being translated into English for a US edition, and the latest novel Denial of Service, published by Fischer Tor in October 2025, is nominated for the Kurd Laßwitz Prize. Their first short story collection, Deshalb kann ich nicht fort, was released in March 2026 by Carcosa.

    Beyond writing, Aiki co-hosts the podcast Das war morgen and divides their time between Hamburg and the realms of their imagination.

    Jol Rosenberg

    Jol Rosenberg landed on earth in 1976. They is a queerfeminist writer of essays, short-fiction and novels and a blogger. Their short-stories have been published in several magazines such as Queer*Welten, c’t and Weltenportal. In autumn 2024 they edited „Psyche mit Zukunft“, an anthology about mental health and future. Their latest two-parts-novel „Etomi. Erwachen“ and „Etomi. Aufbruch“ was nominated for Kurd Laßwitz Preis.

    October K Santerelli

    October K Santerelli is an American author who came to Germany to study castles for his fantasy books. When not visiting historic buildings, he writes dark fantasy and romantasy books for adults and YA. He works as an LGBTQ+ and disability sensitivity editor within the publishing industry, and often features those stories – and his identities – in his works. His best selling works include the Nightfall series and The Book of the Witch’s Son.