Walt Boyes is a journalist, analyst and authority on 21st Century manufacturing and automation. He is a Fellow of several scientific organizations both in the US and the UK, and is a member of the Association of Professional Futurists.  At night, however, he transforms into the Bananaslug of Baen’s Bar and writes science fiction, fantasy, and alternate history. He was the editor of the Grantville Gazette and Co- Editor in Chief of Ring of Fire Press with Joy Ward, to whom Walt is lucky to be married. In 2022, Walt and Joy joined Top of the World Publishing as the acquisition editors of their new SFF/AltHist book imprint Novus Mundi Books. To pay it forward, Walt has been a Director of The Heinlein Society for several years, and now serves as Vice President.