Writers Cantina

Alumni Alerts: Auntie Heroes, edited by Rita Beeman

by nshumateAlumni April 28, 2026May 2, 2026No Comments

Spotlighting new work by Writers Cantina participants (specifically, Nancy Frye and Spearman Burke): They’ve been overlooked, underestimated, and politely sidelined for decades. Fine. That’s fine. Let them keep underestimating. In the pages of Auntie Heroes, meet ten women of a certain vintage who possess particular sets of skills and absolutely zero patience for the alternative. …

Presenter spotlight: Bryce Beattie

by nshumatePresenters April 27, 2026April 27, 2026No Comments

Bryce is a family man living just north of Salt Lake City. He loves writing, jazz and blues music, firearms, martial arts, pulp magazines, computer programming, escape rooms, brisket, high fives, kettlebells, two-wheeled transportation, his wife, and his kids. Not all exactly in that order. More about him at BryceBeattie.com. Schedule: Fri, 4pm: “Sword & …

2026 Schedule is Live!

by nshumateSchedule April 24, 2026No Comments

Check out this year’s programming, with presentations and panels covering the craft, art, lifestyle, and business of speculative fiction writing! Plus, as a special bonus, I guarantee that the two events that you personally want most to attend are opposite each other! (It’s a special skill.) Check it out here!

Alumni Alerts: Armies of the Forgotten Lands: The Vanished Book 5 by Jay Barnson

by nshumateAlumni April 23, 2026April 25, 2026No Comments

Spotlighting new work by Writers Cantina participants (and it’s apparently Jay Barnson Week around here!): Enemies march on Alcort! Aiden Holt and his allies built the impossible: a free community in the heart of the Frontier, the most monster-haunted wilderness in the known world. Sheltering in an ancient Vault, a fortress full of forgotten magic, …

Presenter spotlight: Nancy Frye

by nshumatePresenters April 22, 2026July 11, 2026No Comments

With a BA in Drama from the University of Washington, Nancy Frye hit the ground at graduation working in costume shops at the UW, Seattle Opera and others. While driving a wagon at a Civil War reenactment, she met her future husband who introduced her to the wacky world of film and TV work. This …

Alumni Alerts: Tales from the Clockwork Coyote by Jay Barnson

by nshumateAlumni April 21, 2026No Comments

Spotlighting new work by Writers Cantina participants (and that’s right Jay Barnson is the subject of two posts in a row!): Brass gears. Steam engines. Impossible machines. In this collection of six high-adventure steampunk tales, daring heroes, stubborn heroines, and dangerous mechanical creations collide in worlds powered by steam and imagination. From desperate airship combat …

Presenter spotlight: Jay Barnson

by nshumatePresenters April 20, 2026April 27, 2026No Comments

Jay Barnson is the author of the Blood Creek Saga, the Vanished series, and dozens of published short stories and articles. He’s a former (or lapsed?) video game developer based in the Salt Lake City area. By day, he creates Virtual Reality-based training simulators, and by night he writes imaginary worlds. It’s questionable if he …

Presenter spotlight: John M. Olsen

by nshumatePresenters April 17, 2026April 27, 2026No Comments

John M. Olsen edits and writes speculative fiction across multiple genres and loves stories about ordinary people stepping up to do extraordinary things. His short stories have appeared in dozens of anthologies. He’s also written several novels across multiple genres, including the Polecat Protocol science fiction series (Discovery, Breakdown, Emergence), the Riland Throne fantasy series …

Presenter spotlight: Jonna Hayden

by nshumateUncategorized April 15, 2026June 23, 2026No Comments

UPDATE: Jonna Hayden will not be able to attend. Jonna Hayden, Production Manager of Raconteur Press, is a retired Costume Designer and Clothing Historian who spent the better part of 40 years in SF fandom collecting authors. She began her love of SF as a Navy brat, reading Heinlein Juveniles and spending her formative years …

Hotel Deal for Writers Cantina!

by nshumateVenue April 14, 2026April 14, 2026No Comments

For those coming in from out of town, we again have a special deal!! The Crystal Inn in West Valley City is holding a bunch of rooms with a special price — these are rooms with either a king-sized bed or two queen-sized beds (i.e., up to four adults) for $140 per night (cheaper than …