Author: Jan@HSFCon

Pam Hage is a multi-talented creator from the Netherlands who has a passion for fantasy. She is an author, illustrator and cosplayer. Her debut novel ‘Sterrenduister’ won Uitgeverij Zilverspoor’s manuscript contest and was published early this year.

While fantasy plays a major part in her hobbies, hard science is at the heart of her professional life. Pam did research into the Dutch coast during her PhD and is now employed as a geodata analyst at an environmental consultancy firm, where she spends a large part of her time making maps.

www.pamhage.com

mail@pamhage.com

Workshop | Realistic fantasy maps

If you open a fantasy book, chances are that you’ll not only find words inside, but a map as well. Perhaps you got inspired by those maps and now you want to create your own imaginary world. But where to begin? Can you simply scribble some mountains, rivers and coastlines on a piece of paper and leave it at that?

There is a reason why those mountains, rivers and coastlines are where they are in our own world. In this workshop you’ll find out about the mechanisms that shape the earth and learn how to use them to create your own imaginary world. This is one of those workshops where you actually get to work! Using pencils and paper, and with a little bit of help, you’ll make a blueprint for a world that is both fantastical and realistic.

Workshop | Zip tie crown

Are you looking for a true eye catcher to complement your outfit? And do you enjoy stretching those creative muscles? Come join this workshop, where we’ll make a beautiful halo crown using somewhat unusual material: zip ties. Whether you’re a novice or an expert hand at making costume accessories, you’re welcome to join!

Lecture | From fantasy to geology: the genesis of enchanting landscapes

In this lecture we’ll go on a trip around the world! We’ll visit places straight out of our imagination, such as glaciers that cannot melt or crystals the size of houses. It all sounds magical, but you really don’t need magic to make such wonders exist on our planet. During this session I’ll tell you how geological processes, climate and nature work together to form those unique landscapes. Discover the spot where fantasy meets reality and be inspired by the most surreal places on earth.

While Sophia herself is a cheerful person with an overdeveloped sense of humour, most of her stories are marked by a sense of darkness. A cosy ‘happy ever after’ is not usually on the cards.

When she was about sixteen years old the ambition to write first made itself felt. A chronic health condition meant that she was confined to her home with not a lot in the way of future prospects. As if by miracle she discovered genre literature. Especially Michael Moorcock’s books about Elric of Melniboné struck a chord for her. She recognised herself in this eternally ailing albino prince and the books about him made her realise that in genre literature you could talk about serious emotions while disguising them with lots of cool fantasy trappings.

Editors were quick to embrace her as an author, but were not necessarily enthusiastic about the books she was working on. She gave up writing for a few years out of frustration, but then a nightmare made her pick up a pen again in 2014. That was the start of her series ‘De Bloedwetten’.

Over the years she won multiple awards, among which the Millennium Award, two Indie Awards, two Bastaard Fantasy Awards, Edge.Zero and recently a Harland Award.

Even though it’s been nearly forty years since she first put pen to paper she feels like her adventures in writing have only just begun.

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Sophia Drenth loves to write about misfits, because she recognises herself in them. Her stories are usually marked by a sense of darkness, but even in the darkest night there’s always a glimmer of hope.

Photographer: Riske de Vries

The third edition of HSFCon will be held on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 November 2025 in the ever-bustling Maastricht. We found the beautiful Hotel De l’Empereur as a good place for a weekend full of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror.

After two editions in the hospitable north of the country, it is now the turn of the south. Nice and central in the BeNeLux!

During HSFCon you will follow lectures, workshops and panels for and by the fans and the writers and ‘makers’ in our genre. You will have ample opportunity to meet new people and reconnect with old acquaintances. There will be a cozy SF/F/H market with a varied offer.

And: did we already mention that there is a swimming pool?!

Ticket sales are already open!

Would you like to help with the organization, make suggestions for the program or distribute flyers? Send an email to info@hsfcon.nl and we will contact you. See you at HSFCon3!

Like a spider in a web, Marieke weaves all aspects of her life together: singing, acting, voice-acting, she does it all. But writing is the most powerful thread in her web. Story lines shoot out like silvery threads, curling and twisting through the web of her life. The books, musicals, novellas and short stories she’s written can no longer be counted on the fingers of two hands and the toes of two feet, and the next books are on the way. One thing is sure: they will have a little glimmer of magic in them, because Marieke loves to grab the tiny moments of magic in everyday life and make them shine in her stories.

Photo: Anne-Claire Philippo