Mike Perschon is best known in steampunk circles as “The Steampunk Scholar,” owing to the blog of the same name he started in 2008, which has been hailed as the best website for reviews of steampunk fiction by The Steampunk Tribune. In addition to his web presence, Mike has been interviewed extensively on steampunk, for books such as James Carrot’s Vintage Tomorrows, documentaries such as Unwoman’s Beautiful Fish, and websites from personal blogs to the New York Times online. He has published a mix of academic and popular articles on steampunk, most notably articles for Tor.com, Locus, On Spec, the second Tachyon Steampunk anthology, the first critical anthology on steampunk, Steaming into a Victorian Future, and the introduction for The Omnibus of Doctor Bill Shakes and the Magnificent Ionic Pentatetrameter: A Steampunk's Shakespeare Anthology. He has presented on steampunk at fan conventions around the world in a black smoking jacket with the goggles he was given by Captain Nemo. While he’s never written any steampunk fiction of his own (yet), he did steampunk the ancient epic Gilgamesh for Tor.com, and committed the ultimate sin of a Tolkien fan by bringing steam to Middle-earth with his tabletop roleplaying buddies. He is currently completing the steampunk FAQ title for Backbeat Books.