Michael G. Williams

Williams wrote The Withrow Chronicles, a vampire suburban fantasy series set in North Carolina.[2] Perishables, the first book in this series, won the 2012 Laine Cunningham Novel Award.[5][8]

His gay science fiction, detective novel, A Fall in Autumn, received the 2020 Manly Wade Wellman Award from the North Carolina Speculative Fiction Foundation (NCSFF).[3][4][9] This juried competition included more than eighty titles.[4] The NCSFF writes, "Fall in Autumn features staggering world-building in technology, culture, and religion; an amazing, living, breathing, dying, flying city; a private eye for the science fictional ages; and a mystery with plenty of twists and turns that add up to a truly stunning book which reflects on human and artificial human nature, past, present, and future."[4]

Williams also wrote the Servant/Sovereign trilogy, an urban fantasy series of novellas set in San Francisco.[10] His short stories have been included in a number of anthologies, and he also helps develop tabletop role-playing games.[10][2] In addition, he reviews comics under the name Klarion for the website Pink Kryptonite.[5]

Williams was a speaker at ConGregate 2, a speculative fiction convention, on July 10 through July 15, 2015, in High Point, North Carolina.[11][12] He participated in panel discussions, including "Defining Rogues and Scoundrels," "The Evolving Role of Authors," "Successful Self-Publishing: Tricks and Traps," "What Horror Should We Be Reading," "The Location Next Door," "The Cross Appeal of Niche Genres," "Beyond Spandex Studs," "Other Loves," and "Tail End in Seat."[11] Williams also gave two readings of his works.[11]

From July 14 through July 16, 2017, he was a literary speaker at the dual event ConGregate 4 / DeepSouthCon 55.[13] He was a panelist for "Mystery Science Theatre 3000 (MST3K): The Reboot," "Heroes, Anti-Heroes, Villains," "Writing from Different Perspectives," "Creating Magic," and "The Dichotomy Between Good and Evil."[13] He also gave the presentation "I'll See Your Again in 25 Years" and "Java & Pros", the latter with author William C. Tracy.[13]

Williams was also a guest speaker for ConGregate 5 in July 2018, participating in the panel for "Diverse Voices In Creative Expression," "What Should I Be Reading," "Black Panther Deconstructed," "Writing Local," "Balancing Act: Life & Creative Work," "Critter in SF," "Build an Alien," "Home Recording on the Cheap," "Novellas: The Wave Of The Future," "Discover Discovery," "Silver Anniversaries on The Silver Screen," and "And Then The Thief Said…"[14]

June 2021, Williams was a literary guest speaker at the ConCarolinas.[15] He participated in the panels "21st Century Privacy and Security," "The New Media Primer," "Let's Make a Campaign," "Real Social Media," "When Art Surpasses the Artist," "Hell is Othering People," "Writing Paranormal and Fantasy with Non-Traditional Romantic Pairings," and "Who is Your Favorite Dracula?"[15]

On July 2, 2021, he was the guest speaker on the Wrote Podcast.[16] He discussed "empowering queer voices" and "relating the queer experience through horror, science fiction, and urban fantasy."[16] On July 9 and 10, 2021, he was again a literary speaker at the dual ConGregate 7 / DeepSouthCon 59 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.[17] He participated in "Explaining the Unexplainable," "State of the Federation," "Appalachian Speculative Fiction," and "Sci-Fighters: Ultimate Visual Showcase."[17] He also did a reading of his work and presented "Arcane Carolinas Presents: Strange Skies Over Chimney Rock."[17]

On June 11, 2022, Williams was a speaker for the WriteHive Annual Conference, the world's largest free virtual writing conference.[18][1] He participated in the panel discussions "Body Positive Representation in Fiction," "LGBTQ+ Rep in Historical Settings," and "Joy is Resistance: The Need for Joyful Stories by Marginalized Creators."[1]

He is scheduled to be a literary guest speaker at ConGregate 8 in July 2022 with the panels "This Wasn’t the Dystopia I Ordered: Post-Pandemic Storytelling," "Telling the Future through Science Fiction," "The Factual Places Behind Fictional Stories," "Stories of Joy & Resistance: Marginalized Communities in Speculative Fiction," "Saving the Day While Getting Stepped On: The Antihero's Anti-Journey," "Queer Fiction on the Rise," "How Did It Hold Up," "Is Horror Back? Did It Ever Leave?" and "Science Fiction: Broken Todays or Better Tomorrows?"[19] He will also record his podcast Arcane Carolinas at the Con with Charlie Mewshaw.[19]

Williams is also scheduled to be the guest of honor at the Ret-Con Literary and Fandom Convention in February 2023.[2]

Williams and Charlie Mewshaw co-host the podcast Arcane Carolinas, exploring legends and myths of North Carolina and South Carolina.[6] The two met when they both worked for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.[6] Since its start in the fall of 2020, Arcane Carolinas has expanded to include a fanzine, live events, trading cards, and clothing.[6] In addition, an Arcane Carolinas book was released in 2023 for which Williams authored the foreword.[20]

Although they have been approached by sponsors and podcast networks, Williams and Mewshaw want their podcast to remain independent as long as possible.[6] However, they have been in discussions with several production companies about turning the podcast into a television show.[6]

On January 12, 2023, Arcane Carolinas won the WRAL Voter's Choice Award in the podcast category. [21]

Williams works in information security, serving as the network team lead at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.[22] With his former co-worker Charlie Mewshaw, currently chief information security officer at Fayetteville State University, Williams produces the podcast Data@Rest.[22] Data@Rest was started by the duo in 2019 and is released by the university's Information Security Office on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and the web.[22]

Williams hosts and produces Social Distancing Radio where he reads fiction and interviews writers.[2]

• Perishables: (Falstaff Books, 2017) ISBN 978-1946926098[5]
• Tooth & Nail (Falstaff Books, 2017) ISBN 978-1946926104
• Deal with the Devil (Falstaff Books, 2017) ISBN 978-1946926111
• Attempted Immortality (Falstaff Books, 2017) ISBN 978-1946926128
• Nobody Gets Out Alive (Falstaff Books, 2019) ISBN 978-1645540045

• A Fall in Autumn (Falstaff Books, 2021) ISBN 979-8482455654
• New Life in Autumn (Falstaff Books, 2022) ISBN 979-8830012157

• Through the Doors of Oblivion (Falstaff Books, 2019) ISBN 978-1698272320
• All the Pomp of Earthly Majesty (Falstaff Books, 2020) ISBN 979-8640981995
• Shut the Gates of Mercy (Falstaff Books, 2022) ISBN 979-8404949469

• Theme-Thology: Invasion ( HDWPbooks, 2013) ASIN B00FG1DF9Q
• Wrapped In Red: Thirteen Tales of Vampiric Horror (Sekhmet Books, 2013) ISBN 978-1491026342
• Wrapped In White: Thirteen Tales of Spectres, Ghosts, and Spirits (Sekhmet Books, 2014) ISBN 978-1496027153
• Wrapped In Black: Thirteen Tales of Witches and the Occult (Sekhmet Books, 2014) ISBN 978-1502512376
• Write to Rescue (SideStreet Cookie Publishing, 2014) ISBN 9781505469882
• Holiday Wrappings: A Selection of Witches, Ghosts, and Vampires from the WRAPPED Anthology Series (Sekhmet Books, 2014) ASIN B00PJID9G0
• WeAreNotThis: Carolina Writers for Equality (Falstaff Books, 2017) ISBN 978-1542523417
• Falstaff Pride 2020: A Celebration of LGBTQIA+ Authors (Falstaff Books, 2020) ASIN B08BBK885X

"The Elusive Book Publishing Process: A Little Risk, a Little Reward." Open Source, September 26, 2012.[23]