10 Utah Writing Resources
Posted by David Duhr in 
We’ve finally reached the homestretch of our State Writing Resources series; after getting over the Texas hump we’re now barreling west toward Utah. Ah, ‘tah. Its motto is “Industry.” A state of few words. A resident of Utah is known as a Beehive Stater, not because Utah is abuzz with hornets but because when one thinks of industry, one thinks of a beehive. And because some of the state’s founding Mormons initially called the place Deseret, which according to the Book of Mormon (according to Wikipedia) is “an ancient word for honeybee.”
Utah writing boasts a Pulitzer and NBA winner, Wallace Stegner (aka “the Dean of Western Writers”), Ender’s Game author Orson Scott Card, Mormon poet Eliza Snow, and author of the Runelords series Dave Wolverton.
Presented in no particular order, here are 10 Utah writing resources, from conferences to local critique groups to literary magazines. If you are a Utahn/Utahan or are planning to become one, these are some organizations you might want to take a peek at.
1) Utah Humanities Book Festival
A month-long festival featuring literary events throughout the state.
2) Anne Newman Sutton Weeks Poetry Series
Events throughout the year include readings, signings and workshops.
A prominent literary magazine offering poetry, fiction, nonfiction and new media.
Offers many readings, discussions and workshops in all parts of the state.
Members are writers and poets with various interests at all levels of skill and professionalism, meeting in local chapters around the state to write, read and discuss their work.
6) Crazy Brave River Writing Journey
An annual Utah writing adventure for women, rafting along the Colorado River.
An independent writer’s organization, promoting and supporting its creative writing community. Writers hone their skills and meet to discuss their work with fellow writers, agents, editors and publishers.
8) Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers Conference
An annual conference offering morning and afternoon workshops, seminars and discussions.
A popular poetry journal out of Cedar City, Utah.
10) Red Rock Writers
An organization which hosts an annual writing seminar, poetry contests and more.
Help us add to this list, Beehivers! Do you run a local writing group or a lit journal we should be aware of? Feel free to share info and links in the comments section below.
[…] it’s a long way from Utah to Vermont, but we here at WriteByNight roll alphabetically, yo! (Gosh, what a silly intro. I guess […]