Michael G. Williams

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

On June 11, 2022, Williams was a speaker for the WriteHive Annual Conference, the world's largest free virtual writing conference. 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."

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?" He will also record his podcast Arcane Carolinas at the Con with Charlie Mewshaw.

June 2021, Williams was a literary guest speaker at the ConCarolinas. 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?"

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

Michael G. Williams is an American author, podcaster, and speaker who writes queer-themed science fiction, horror, and urban fiction novels and short stories. His novel, Fall in Autumn, won the 2020 Manly Wade Wellman Award.

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). This juried competition included more than eighty titles. 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."

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

Williams works in information security, serving as the network team lead at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. With his former co-worker Charlie Mewshaw, currently chief information security officer at Fayetteville State University, Williams produces the podcast Data@Rest. 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.

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…"

From July 14 through July 16, 2017, he was a literary speaker at the dual event ConGregate 4 / DeepSouthCon 55. 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." He also gave the presentation "I'll See Your Again in 25 Years" and "Java & Pros", the latter with author William C. Tracy.

Williams was a speaker at ConGregate 2, a speculative fiction convention, on July 10 through July 15, 2015, in High Point, North Carolina. 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." Williams also gave two readings of his works.

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

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

Williams lives in Durham, North Carolina with his husband. He has resided in the Research Triangle area since 1992. He serves as the historian of the Xi chapter of St. Anthony Hall at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.