Alice Wach
Children's / Middle GradeAlice Wach is a proud mother of two story-loving girlies and an aunt to a silly, little hedgehog named Sausage. She lives in her not-so-quiet home with her two daughters and her amazing husband in the tiny town of Tooele, Utah. She is the author of The Helpful Hedgehog children's book collection. She loves turning lessons she wants to teach her girls into stories, but often gets her ideas via story requests from her silly and creative daughters. When she isn't writing or making up the wildest stories she can come up with, she's playing, baking, or reading.
Anna Marasco
Multigenre FictionAnna F. Marasco has a Master’s of Fine Arts (emphasis in fiction) and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker specializing in trauma and conceptualization. These backgrounds lend her skills as an effective story editor and writing mentor in her freelance work. Her debut novel, LIVELY, was a number one bestseller with Barnes and Noble and Amazon, and her short stories and poems have won awards internationally. Her chaotic neutral personality is why Dean is her favorite Winchester brother, and why her next two manuscripts focus on misunderstood anti-heroes. When not writing, Anna can be found adventuring in the wilderness, plotting, overwhelmed by anxiety, self-medicating on sarcasm, and spending time with her ark—two cats, two dogs, and three horses.
C. H. Lindsay
HorrorC. H. Lindsay (Charlie) is an award-winning poet & writer, housewife, and book-lover—not necessarily in that order. She currently has short stories and poems in over forty anthologies and magazines including Amazing Stories, Fantasy Magazine, Moonletters, Space and Time Magazine, Strange Horizons, and Utah’s Best Poetry and Prose. She is currently working on five novels, six short stories, and at least two dozen poems (although the numbers are always in flux).
In 2018 she became Al Carlisle’s literary executor. In 2020 she became the second editor of his true crime books and now publishes them under Carlisle Legacy Books, LLC.
She is also the editor and publisher of two poetry collections: "Lost Between Light & Shadow," and "Lost Between Sea & Storm."
She is a member of SFWA, HWA, SFPA, LUW, and is a founding member of the Utah Chapter of the Horror Writers Association. Mostly blind, she lives in Utah with her “seeing-eye husband,” library of books, and a bossy cat.
Caryn Larrinaga
HorrorCaryn Larrinaga is an internationally best-selling mystery and horror author whose chief obsessions are ghosts, cats, and Basque folklore. She’s known for eerie fiction steeped in creeping dread, and her work has earned numerous honors, including the Cat Writers Association Muse Medallion. When she isn’t writing, you'll find her catering to her feline overlords and navigating life with epilepsy (because even her neurons enjoy a good plot twist).
Cote
Storytelling & poetry in SpanishCote es mamá de dos niños, escritora, poeta y bloguera, de origen chileno, reside en Utah desde hace 18 años. Formada en literatura ha recorrido la palabra desde el estudio y la experiencia, participando en talleres literarios y ejerciendo como instructora. Desde 2018, colabora con Artes de Utah México, espacio donde su escritura ha encontrado comunidad y proyección. Es autora de dos libros, Retoño, poemario (2022)y Calugas (2025) un libro de cuentos para adultos. Ambas obras dialogan con la memoria, la infancia y las raíces. En 2020 fue seleccionada para los premios Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz con su poema Indoamericano.
Dan Yocom
MultigenreDaniel Yocom writes about geeky things because people always say to write what you know. Their love of the geeky, nerdy community dates to the 1960s through games, books, movies, and stranger things better shared in small groups. They’re an award-winning writer with hundreds of articles on these topics for blogs, magazines, and gaming companies. They also have published gaming adventures, short stories, and books.
They enjoy attending conferences, conventions, festivals, sharing on panels, and giving presentations. This has included being a board member and presenter for The League of Utah Writers, Life the Universe and Everything (LTUE) Writing Symposium (Gaming Track Lead), and SaltCON Tabletop Gaming Convention (Panel Coordinator). They have also been a panelist and/or presenter at FyreCon, FilmQuest, Authors in the Dungeon, and FanX. They serve on the selection and awards juries for FilmQuest. They have been a guest at ProtoCON, Salt Lake Gaming Con, TimpCon, Southern Utah RPG Summit, St. George Gaming Convention, and GenCon.
Since starting Guild Master Gaming in February of 2012. Dan has attracted followers from all over the world.
Dana LeCheminant
RomanceDana LeCheminant writes sweet romantic comedies, heartwarming contemporary love stories, and swoony historical romances—with a twist. Known for putting a fresh spin on beloved tropes, she lets her characters lead the way, believing they always know their stories best. Her books are full of banter, emotion, and connection—all of the swoon without any spice. When she’s not dreaming up her next twisty trope or emotional arc, she’s hiking the remote Utah backcountry or cruising down rivers in search of new inspiration. Dana has been telling stories since before she could spell and has no plans to stop anytime soon.
David Alan Armstrong
DevotionalBorn and raised in Long Beach, California, David Alan Armstrong received his B.A. in Elementary Education from Brigham Young University and his M.S. in Instructional Design from the University of Southern California. After short stints as a fifth-grade teacher and a printer, the author finally found his lifetime vocation as a computer programmer and project manager. He moved his family to Utah in 1995 and worked for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the information technology department. David and his wife Evelyn raised three children and have five grandchildren. Now retired, David now writes to share his testimony of Jesus Christ.
An active member of the League of Utah Writers, David has received Gold Quill awards for three non-fiction books: A Walk with the Master, Searching Isaiah, and Flooding My Life with the Book of Mormon. He also received the Silver Quill award for his novel, The Porch.
David Rodeback
General fictionDavid Rodeback is the author of two award-winning collections of short fiction and one recently released novel. He mostly writes contemporary realistic fiction for adult and teen audiences, typically focusing in such themes as love, loss, memory, faith, friendship, and family. He was the League of Utah Writers 2025 Writer of the Year. He has lived in American Fork, Utah, since 1998.
Hillary Slaughter
RomanceHillary Slaughter is a crafting addict, avid reader, and hiking enthusiast. Born and raised in Utah, she loves exploring the mountains, especially if she can bring her dogs with her. She has a Bachelor's degree in English from Brigham Young University and a Master's of Business Administration from Utah Valley University. She writes sweet contemporary romance full of humor, heart, and happily ever after. She is the author of the Lost Roommates Series, The Ruse of Romancing, and The Romancing the National Parks Series.
Inna Lyon
Fantasy / RomanceInna Valerie Lyon is a Russian bumpkin raised on a steady diet of cabbage and potatoes peppered with the required reading of Chekhov and Dostoevsky.
During the day, Inna works as an accountant and specializes in producing colorful aging reports and cute collection letters.
At night, she writes stories about life, miracles, and cats.
Inna is a member of the League of Utah Writers, Blue Quill’s president, and an active member of the Infinite Monkeys chapter. She has dozens of writing awards for her essays and stories in different genres. She writes in both languages, English and Russian, and received the title of 2026 LUW Writer of the Year. Inna lives in Utah with a big, happy family.
Jazmin Lister
Science Fiction / FantasyJazmin Lister is half-boricua spice-free sci fi and fantasy author, who loves character and setting driven stories, science that feels true, and fantasy that feels whimsical and possible.
Jenna Eatough
FantasyJenna Eatough is an award-winning short story, poetry, and flash fiction author, including Best Steampunk Short Story in Critters 2020 Readers Choice Award. She has been writing a flash fiction story a week for over ten years. They are the perfect bite-size morsel to fire your imagination.
John B Hammond
FantasyJohn Bonner Hammond is a fantasy/Sci-fi author on the autism spectrum.
John started writing at a very young age, and has taken it on as his calling in life. He places a special emphasis on lovable characters, interesting dialogue, and fascinating settings.John and his wife, Audry, live at the base of the beautiful Wasatch Mountains of Utah.
John M. Olsen
Science FictionJohn M. Olsen believes ordinary people are capable of extraordinary things, given the proper impossible situation. He writes and edits speculative fiction that blends science fiction and fantasy, with a soft spot for stories that leave readers feeling like everything might actually end up okay. When he's not building worlds, he's building things in his secret lair with an alarming number of dangerous power tools, applying the same engineering mindset to both with equally unpredictable results. He lives in Utah with his lovely wife and a rotating cast of grown children and extended family.
Johnny Worthen
Science FictionJohnny Worthen is a widely published, award-winning, best-selling author of books and stories. Trained in stand-up comedy, modern literary criticism and cultural studies, he writes excellent multi-genre fiction, symbolized by his love of tie-dye and good words. "I wear tie-dye for my friends, but I write what I like to read," he says. "This guarantees me at least one fan and easy dressing decisions in the morning."
Johnny teaches creative writing at the University of Utah and lives with his wife and assorted cats.
Look for Johnny’s new Sci-Fi adventure FRESH START at a bookseller near you. “A battle-weary Soldier-Priest seeks one murderer on a planet of criminals.” It’s a great read.
Julia S. Allen
RomanceJulia Allen has been writing since the second grade and loves editing just as much. She earned her degree in Technical Writing from Utah State University and started her editing business as soon as her kids were big enough to pour their own cereal.
Known to be sinister and soulless (aka left-handed and redheaded), if there’s ever a time when she’s not editing or writing, she’ll be singing along to musicals in the car or throwing random movie quotes into conversation every chance she gets. Julia lives near the Oquirrh Mountains with her husband, four kids, and crazy dog.
Kelly Fae Wilson
FantasyKelly Fae Wilson is an award-winning author of genre-blending, romantic fantasy. Outside of writing, you can find her teaching dance, playing with faeries, or instigating a food fight at the dinner table. She lives with her husband, kids, and a plethora of funky pets in Northern Utah.
L.A. Rain
Fantasy-RomanceL.A. Rain is a fantasy romance author who lives in faraway kingdoms, flies on the backs of dragons, and practices wielding magic alongside vampires and elves—all from the corner of her cozy desk.
She loves to write slow-burn relationships, where friendships come first and the heat comes later. From romantasy to dark fantasy, her stories revolve around characters who are overly protective and fall first; reluctant heroines with a traumatic past who find their hidden power; and a group of friends who become found family and rebel against evil.
Her love of reading from an early age and traveling across the world has inspired her intricate realms, plot twists, multiple points of view, and quests for kingdoms worth fighting for.
When she isn’t dreaming of her next world to write, she is habitually moving across the real world. She loves to read physical books across genres, but will most likely opt for her e-reader since her children use her books to make their own castles. You can usually find her putting her coffee machine into overdrive and whispering ideas to her husband, who has inspired several of her cinnamon roll MMCs.
Laurie Duersch
Fantasy / Children'sLaurie Duersch is the author of the children's book The Book Machine and YA fantasy Starlight series. She has worked as a book editor for Familius Publishing for fourteen years. She is a wife and a mother of two young, energetic boys and two schnauzer dogs. Laurie is also a two-time survivor of brain tumor surgery.
Logan Sidwell
Science FictionLogan Sidwell is a science fiction and fantasy writer from Utah. He started as a writer and director in Ed-Tech. He now strives to marry his background in Computer Science and his years of storytelling to create fun, compelling ideas that explore new ground in technological and fantastical settings.
Mary W. Jensen
FantasyMary W. Jensen is a Utah author of fairy-tale fantasy and poetry rooted in light and shadow, where grief, wonder, and quiet magic give rise to enduring hope. She is the creator of the Tales of Tessagonia series and The Briarbook Lane Poetry Collection. When she isn’t writing, she is usually reading, wandering libraries, or listening for the next rhythm that wants to be followed.
Miranda Renae
HorrorMiranda Renae was not born with a love of books. As a child, she danced around their pages as though they might bite or worse, bore her. Words were chores, and stories lived only on flickering screens. But one day, her father placed a book in her hands. It whispered secrets. It was thrilling. It was terrifying. It lingered. And from that moment on, the words had her.
She became a collector of stories, a seeker of anything that made her feel. No genre was safe. But she always found herself drawn to the dark corners, where fear tangled with desire, where monsters wore familiar faces, and where love was both the weapon and the wound.
By day, Miranda is trapped in a gray cubicle jungle, knee-deep in bureaucratic nonsense. But come night, she dives into the weird, scary, beautiful places inside her mind, building strange new worlds with nothing but paper and ink. Remembering what it's like to be afraid and to fall in love. In a world full of longing, secrets, and the kind of truths that only come out when the lights go out.
Quiana Chase
Science FictionQuiana Chase specializes in fiction about queer fish aliens. She has worked as an educator, actor, and "the least terrifying gingerbread man we've ever had"
Rebecca M. Robertson
Young AdultRebecca M. Robertson has been writing nearly as long as she’s been reading. Her earliest masterpiece was entitled: “If I Owned a Stuffed Animal Factory.”
She loves to read and write young adult novels, historical fiction, unique fantasy, and anything with a great love story.
When she isn’t exploring fictional worlds and relationships, Rebecca enjoys volleyball, adventuring with her family, and chocolate milk. She is a desert girl from southern Utah, but a piece of her heart will always reside “back East.” She currently lives with her husband and three children in Lehi, Utah.
Samantha Hastings
Mystery, Historical Romance,Samantha Hastings met her husband in a turkey sandwich line. They live in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she spends most of her time reading, having tea parties, and chauffeuring her four kids. She teaches World Literature at Brigham Young University. Her young adult fiction books are Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selections and her historical romances are published around the world. She also writes murder mysteries under Samantha Larsen that Publisher’s Weekly called “wildly enjoyable.”
Scott Bryan
Young Adult / Middle GradeScott Bryan is the author of the Foresight Chronicles series available on Amazon from Big World Network. Currently he’s spending a lot of time as the scribe for a 300-year-old vampire child, sharing tales of her endless battles with Dracula across history. He also searches the Multiverse, looking for fascinating narratives to share with this world. He’s met lost fantasy creatures, demonic beings, time travelers and Multiversal agents, each of whom have offered him stories to tell. Scott is the Volunteer Chair of the League of Utah Writers, as well as a member of the Infinite Monkey chapter of that group.
Sean Nathan Ricks
Mytho-Sci-FantasySean Nathan Ricks is an author, fantasy artist, game designer, and martial artist whose creative work centers on imagination, mythology, and adventure. He is best known as the creator of the iMagi universe, a growing body of novels, artwork, and games that share a common world of heroes, monsters, ancient magic, and epic conflicts.
As a novelist, Ricks writes fantasy and speculative fiction that explores themes of honor, sacrifice, perseverance, and the choices that define character. His stories often blend mythology, history, and mystery with fast-paced action and memorable characters. His published works include The Man Who Would Be Time and the iMagi series.
As a visual artist, Ricks creates acrylic paintings inspired by dragons, floating islands, dramatic cloud formations, legendary creatures, and fantasy landscapes. His distinctive style emphasizes atmosphere, bold composition, and a sense of wonder. Many of his paintings have been adapted into collectible cards and promotional artwork.
Ricks is also the creator of iMagi: Kingdom of Thor, a fantasy card game featuring original artwork and strategic gameplay. The game allows players to build customized decks and compete using characters, creatures, and lore drawn directly from the iMagi universe. Through this unique combination of storytelling, art, and game design, he has created an interconnected world that can be experienced through multiple forms of media.
Whether writing novels, painting fantasy worlds, or designing games, Sean Nathan Ricks continues to pursue one goal: creating immersive experiences that inspire imagination and adventure.
Shannon Symonds
Mystery / Women’s Fiction / YA Cozy MysteryShannon Symonds writes in an old house by the sea and in Utah. Her professional training began at age 8, when she read an Agatha Christie novel. That was it. She was addicted to mysteries. Shannon was awarded for her work as an advocate serving survivors of violence alongside law enforcement. She was nominated for the Storymakers Whitney Award, the LDSPMA Praiseworthy Award, was awarded the Author to Watch Award for her YA series, and was a finalist for the Indie Cozy Mystery of the Year Award.
Steve Capone Jr
HorrorSteve Capone Jr. is a rust-belt-raised neurodivergent writer and editor. He runs the indie publishing house Whisper House Press out of his basement. You can find his short horror fiction in numerous anthologies. Additionally, Capone’s short horror scripts have garnered top awards and nominations at film festivals around the world. Look out for his found-footage historical horror novels in the near future. Steve is an affiliate member of the Horror Writers Association, an ACES editor, and a member of the League of Utah Writers.
Susan Phelan
Children's / Middle GradeIn Junior High, Susan announced she was going to be an actress. She eventually became a professional actress, but first, she rode horses, raised five children, guide dog puppies, a zoo of assorted animals, and worked (if you could use that term) in a library. Somewhere in the midst of that, she took up writing, because life is made up of stories. When she’s not acting in stories or telling stories, Susan likes to play with her family and make messes in the kitchen, or any other flat surface. Her MG book, Miss Classified came out in 2022.
W.D. Kilpack III
Science Fiction / FantasyW.D. Kilpack III, MPC, PSMC, is an award-winning author specializing in epic fantasy and military science fiction, renowned for his emotionally intense storytelling and richly detailed mythic worlds. His acclaimed New Blood Saga, Native American sci-fi novella Pale Face, and Battle Calm Cycle trilogy have garnered 69 international awards, including prestigious honors such as Book of the Year, the International Impact Book Award and Literary Titan Gold Book Award.
Kilpack’s writing is characterized by vivid world-building, complex characters, and themes that explore duty, fate, and sacrifice. His work seamlessly blends mythic depth with gripping military sci-fi action, appealing to readers who crave both emotional resonance and thrilling narratives.
Beyond his literary achievements, Kilpack brings a diverse professional background that enriches his storytelling, including being a former college professor, writing coach, world-ranked athlete, and editor with a background in journalism, philosophy and communication. He has experience in screenwriting, film production, and professional media work. All of this contributes to the cinematic quality of his narratives.
Readers praise Kilpack for his ability to create unforgettable characters and immersive worlds that stay with them long after the last page. His stories have been endorsed by critics and fans alike, cementing his reputation as a leading voice in contemporary speculative fiction.
Kilpack holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Westminster University, where he double-majored in communication and philosophy and completed the Honors Program. He later earned a Master of Professional Communication with a writing emphasis. As a high-performing athlete, he qualified to represent the USA in Greco-Roman wrestling. He is happily married to his high-school sweetheart and helped raise five children and five step-children.