Gen Con Trade Day has announced the keynote speaker for its annual event, which will be held this year on Wednesday, July 31, the day before Gen Con opens in Indianapolis.  The speaker is Kathleen Mercury, whose topic will be “Let’s All Play together: What Educators, Librarians, & Retailers Can Learn from Each Other.”  Mercury is a lecturer in the School of Education at California Polytechnic Humboldt and a published tabletop game designer (Greece Lightning, out now, and upcoming titles Tulip Season and Valkyrie).

ICv2 President Milton Griepp will present his annual White Paper on the state of the hobby games market, with updated information on early 2024.  Other programming for Gen Con Trade Day, a day-long event for retailers, educators, and librarians, is to be announced.

As it did last year for the first time, the 2024 event will include Trade Day Marketplace, a special exhibit area.  On Wednesday evening, Gen Con will host a Demo Night & Social Mixer, where games are demoed by Trade Day presenters, exhibitors, and game publishers exhibiting at Gen Con Indy.

Registration will open in May.