Worldbuilding Consulting

Are you an author, filmmaker, or game designer who needs help with your worldbuilding?

Anthropologists, Michael Kilman and Kyra Wellstrom offer professional worldbuilding consultations. With graduate degrees, several years experience of cross-cultural research each, and 15 years of combined higher education teaching experience on anthropology, real-world cultures, evolution, forensics, language, and diversity, Kyra and Michael’s worldbuilding is informed by years of professional experience. You can also check out their book, Build Better Worlds: An Introduction to Anthropology for Game Designers, Fiction Writers, and Filmmakers.


What we help you with in consultations:

  • Comprehensive approaches to making your worlds more realistic and holistic
  • Help creating better, more relatable characters through understanding the complexities of identity and culture
  • A more immersive world that your audience won’t soon forget
  • Navigating issues surrounding diversity, representation, and language
  • Better understanding of the relationships between biology, environment and culture


Learn more about Michael and Kyra’s thoughts and approaches on Worldbuilding on the following podcasts and check out their bios below.

Podcasts:
Build Better Worlds: Anthropology for Game Design, Film, and Writing on This Anthro Life Podcast

Build Better Worlds: Anthropology For Writers With Michael Kilman on The Creative Penn Podcast

For Questions, Inquiries and Rates for Worldbuilding Consulting Please Contact Us

About the Consultants:

Kyra Wellstrom M.Sc. in Forensic Anthropology

Kyra Wellstrom earned a Bachelor’s Degree in anthropology from Metropolitan State University of Denver and a Masters Degree in forensic anthropology from the University of Edinburgh. The Applied Anthropologist published her paper Forensic Anthropology and Facial Reconstruction as Applied Anthropology in Vol.35.No.1 She has taught at Front Range Community College and other schools since 2014, where she has composed courses in biological anthropology and human evolution, forensic anthropology, and medical anthropology. She currently teaches archaeology, cultural anthropology, forensic anthropology, and biological anthropology, always with a focus on biocultural interaction and holism. Kyra has a passion for teaching and enjoys helping students engage with material by encouraging their creativity. She designs her courses with a focus on game play, multimedia interaction, and world building.

Michael Kilman M.S. Applied Anthropology

Michael Kilman is an anthropologist and a lecturer at the University of Colorado at Denver and host of the YouTube series Anthropology in 10 or Less. His graduate research focused on the Romero Theater Troupe, a community organization that seeks to address stereotypes in media and gives a space for individuals to share their stories and represent themselves. After teaching anthropology for 7 years and working with representatives from 25 native American Tribes over the course of ten years, Michael published four science fiction novels in a series called The Chronicles of the Great Migration. His most recent co-written book, Build Better Worlds: An Introduction to Anthropology, for Game Designers, Fiction Writers, and Filmmakers, uses the social science of anthropology to help people with fictional worldbuilding. As a documentary filmmaker Michael has produced several documentaries including the short form pieces titled Native American History in Colorado and The Language Hunters. His long form documentaries include Unbound: The Story of the Romero Theater Troupe and The Crossroads at Stonewall. Michael Gave a Ted Talk in September 2021 titled, Anthropology, Our Imagination, and How to Understand Difference. In 2020 he was elected President of the High Plains Society for Applied Anthropology and will serve as president till December of 2022.