We are excited to announce our two outstanding plenary speakers for Realizing Resistance III: The Expanding Universe, May 4–6, 2023.

Like so many Star Wars fans, Patty began dreaming up galactic adventures the moment she stepped out of the movie theater in 1977. After committing those dreams to paper, young Patty vowed that one day her stories would be part of the Star Wars universe. And in 1993, she made good on that promise by publishing her first story “Out of the Cradle” in the Star Wars Adventure Journal by WestEnd Games. She has been working on expanding the Star Wars universe ever since. An accomplished author of sci fi and fantasy broadly, Patty has written numerous Star Wars stories including the award winning Star Wars: Gambler’s Choice.

Patty is also a teacher and fierce advocate of the LGBTQIA+ community, especially when it comes to children. She facilitates The Beautiful People, the student-led Gay/Straight Alliance at the high school where she works, and is also the co-advisor of the Panther Anti-Racist Union (PARU). Recently, along with PARU co-advisor Benjamin Hodge, Patty supported students who led a series of successful protests to reverse a racially motivated ban on books by and about people from the BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities.

To find out more about Patty’s adventures as a Sith Princess, follow her on social media, and be sure to join us on May 6, 2023 when Patty will speak to us about why representation matters in the Star Wars universe and beyond.

Dr. Chris Kempshall is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Exeter and a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Army Leadership, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He was a co-author of Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy (2021). As a historian he has written several other books including; The First World War in Computer Games (2015), British, French and American Relations on the Western Front, 1914–1918 (2018), and The History and Politics of Star Wars: Death Stars and Democracy (2022).

Chris is also a series editor for the De Gruyter academic book series ‘Video Games and the Humanities‘ and a co-presenter on ‘Oh! What a Lovely Podcast‘ which explores the portrayal of the First World War in popular culture and media.

To hear more about Chris’ latest book, The History and Politics of Star Wars, check out our Pop Up Shop where we have a recording of the book launch! The book is also available to buy through online retailers. Follow Chris on social media and again, be sure to join us in May to hear more about his work in The Expanding Universe.