Monica Valentinelli is an Italian-American game designer, author, essayist, editor, and game developer. She studied at
University of Wisconsin–Madison, and holds a B.A. in English with a Creative Writing Emphasis.[citation needed] She started working in the hobby games industry in 2005.[citation needed] She is the author of several
roleplaying games and supplements, as well as short stories and essays, and is an anthologist as well. Since 2016 she has been an industry speaker and Guest of Honor at several game conventions.
Aside from her contributions to roleplaying games, Valentinelli co-edited the
anthology, Upside Down: Inverted Tropes in Storytelling with Jaym Gates.[3]Publishers Weekly described as "both enjoyable to read and an incisive work of commentary on the genre" of speculative fiction.[4]Charles de Lint wrote that he loved the anthology, Upside Down.[5] Valentinelli has also authored reference works in the
Firefly franchise for
Titan Books, including the Firefly Encyclopedia and Firefly: The Gorramn Shiniest Language Guide and Dictionary in the 'Verse.[6][7]
Valentinelli was one of the selected Industry Insider speakers for
Gen Con 2016, the first time that the convention had majority of women speakers, and she wrote on her blog that she had seen critics falsely describe the list as being composed of
indie gaming people, which she felt indicated it was "meant as a slight as it is inconsequential to the opiners. Much like small press or self-published to some, in fiction."[8] She cancelled her Guest of Honor invitation to OdysseyCon in 2017, citing a previous experience of
sexual harassment by OdysseyCon volunteer
Jim Frenkel, leading to a discussion of sexual harassment at gaming conventions and more generally in the RPG industry.[9] In 2017 she was Guest of Honor at
Ropecon in Finland [10]
Bibliography
Short fiction
2015
“Furies (Three of a Kind).” Gods, Memes, and Monsters, Stone Skin Press, 2015.[11]
2012
“Bored to Fu.” The Lion and the Aardvark,Stone Skin Press, 2012.[11]
“Fangs and Formaldehyde,” New Hero Volume 1,an anthology from Stone Skin Press, 2012.[11]
“Tomorrow’s Precious Lambs.” Extreme Zombies, Prime Books, 2012. (Reprint)[12]
2011
“Tailfeather”, Apexology: Science Fiction and Fantasy, Apex Publications, 2011. (Out Of Print)[11]
Wonderbook (Revised and Expanded): The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction. Edited by Jeff VanderMeer, Harry N. Abrams, 2018. (Contributor)
Firefly: The Gorramn Shiniest Language Guide and Dictionary in the 'Verse. Titan Publishing, 2016.
Roleplaying Games
Hunter: The Vigil Second Edition, Chronicles of Darkness, Onyx Path Publishing/Paradox Interactive, 2022. (Developer)