World-Building for Writers

February 21, 2026 @ 9:30AM Pacific Time

presented by Jonathan Maberry

Whether it’s a fantasy realm, an alien world, an unknown past, an apocalyptic future, or our very own planet Earth, the ‘world’ of any story should be real, interesting, unique, and useful. Building these worlds, including variations of our own can enrich any story and even serve as a kind of character. NY Times bestseller Jonathan Maberry will take you through fun and surprisingly easy steps to show how to build the perfect world that will bring your story to life.

JONATHAN MABERRY is a NYTimes bestselling author, 5-time Bram Stoker Award-winner, 4-time Scribe Award winner, Inkpot Award winner, poet, and comic-book writer. He writes in multiple genres: suspense, thriller, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and action. V-WARS (Netflix) was based on his books/comics; Alcon is developing his teen post-apocalyptic novels for film; and Chad Stahelski, director of JOHN WICK, is developing his bestselling Joe Ledger thrillers for TV. Marvel’s BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER was partly based on his work. He’s president of the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers, and the editor of Weird Tales Magazine.