Author: Jan@HSFCon

Angelique is someone who’s always been drawn to various crafts. About 20 years ago, while browsing for inspiration for a Sinterklaas Surprise (A typical Dutch Secret Santa type thing), she came across a tutorial on how to crochet a flower. Immediately intrigued, she MacGyvered herself a crochet hook out of a paperclip, grabbed some cotton yarn from her friendship bracelet making days and started on a new journey. Instantly hooked, she ended up with a pretty flower, a cramped up hand, and a love for a new craft. Over the years she acquired knowledge of many different techniques, a vast collection of yarn, hooks, even knitting needles. You can usually find her happily hooking or knitting away wherever she goes. She loves giving advice, tips or second opinions when it comes to her crafts, so feel free to approach her for a chat.

Niels’s love for the genre, and especially in combination with music, has been present from a young age. His native North Brabant zest for life certainly contributed to this. He’s a devourer of books and music albums. His professional life allows him the freedom to combine work and hobbies. During his frequent concerts and festivals, Niels has seen and heard everything from the virtually unknown to the world-famous. He’s also met a large number of Dutch-language genre authors at conventions and different occasions. Niels enjoys taking people on a journey into the never-boring universe of Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror and music.

In other words, as he himself says matter-of-factly:

“Hi, I’m Niels, 45 years young, and a lover of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror, as well as the musical aspects of the genre.”

Cindy-Louise is a pop singer-songwriter whose music blends cinematic soundscapes with empowering storytelling, creating songs that feel like the soundtrack to your own main-character era. Originally from South Africa and now based in the Netherlands, she draws inspiration from her love of fantasy fiction, weaving drama, emotion, and imagination into every performance. In 2024, she showcased her artistry on the Belgian TV competition Lift You Up, where her theatrical style and powerful vocals stood out. With a flair for combining bold pop with a cinematic twist, Cindy-Louise continues to craft music that invites listeners to step into a world of confidence, passion, and magic.

Robin Rozendal (b. 1984) writes and illustrates fantasy books, as well as working as a video maker and photographer. She lives in Amsterdam with her cat Frodo. She is working on a fantasy series ‘Levende steden’ in which have appeared so far ‘Verloren aluria’ and ‘Scherven van verzet’. Before that she collaborated with other writers on publishing the short story collection ‘Werelden Ontwaken’, containing another story set on Erimaer. In addition, she makes the drawings for her own covers and other illustrations, and she makes illustrations on commission for books, magazines and online publications. And you might also know her from her own YouTube channel ‘Robin Rozendal’.

Erwin van Ballegoij (b. 1965) has been hooked on science fiction and fantasy since he was a teenager. At first he was only a reader and film fan, later he became involved in the organisation of Benelux- and Cosycons (2008 – 2012), Imagicons (2014-2019) and in the short film programme of BUT Film Festival (2019 – present). In the latter capacity he selected some (short) films for the film programme. Apart from being a genre fan, he is also an avid amateur astronomer (and has published a couple of articles in professional scientific magazines), plays a mean game of bridge and plays korfball on a recreational level. So, if you see him at the l’Empereur bar, at least you’ll know what to talk about.

Professor at Utrecht University specialised in water, sand and plants. Rivers, deltas and coastal areas are dynamic landscapes, consisting of sand, mud and (dead) vegetation. These aspects combine in colourful and variable patterns and form landscapes that are important to the communities that live there. Our research group looks into these phenomena, using – among other things – experiments and computer models. In other words, we like to play in the sandbox and with computer games.

Heidi van der Vloet has been a science fiction fan for as long as she can remember, and that’s a pretty long time! At one time she tried her hand at writing a couple of short stories, but she gets her biggest buzz from reading, organising conventions and handicraft.

Apart from being part of the HSFCon committee, she is active in the Fantastisch Genre Foundation, responsible for organising the Harland Awards and the Afternoon of Fantastic Books. In the gaps between organising, singing, reading and crafting she works as an advisor on Energy Transition. Her day job is to Solarpunkify the coolest city in the Netherlands. If you want to know how to get a city off fossil fuels, Heidi is the one to talk to!

Eddie A. van Dijk (b. 1980) was exposed to the science fictional genre at an early age thanks to his dad, who used to read to him. It was the start of a life-long fascination with stories of all sorts and the fantastical genres in particular. It should come as no surprise that he grew up to be a true geek. After taking a degree in Computer Science he made an attempt at defying fate by studying history, but he ended up working in IT after all.

For HSF Magazine he writes articles about the interaction between various media, such as movies, computer games and novels. He also writes the occasional short story and has won third prize at the Harland Awards for his story Vleeshandel.

Foto: Bart Treuren