Meet Our Authors

Discover the talented writers who call our region home

AV

Alyus Vasquez

Queer YA Mystery / Supernatural Thriller

Notable Work
Valley of Wolves
Authentic queer voices. Gripping stories. Spokane-grown.

Spokane-based queer trans author, artist, and designer. His debut novel Valley of Wolves is a gripping YA mystery and supernatural thriller featuring a trans Mexican-American teen. Founder of the Rainbow Alphabet Collective.

JW

Jess Walter

Literary Fiction

Notable Work
Beautiful Ruins
Wry, humane, and unmistakably Spokane.

Spokane-born, nationally acclaimed author of Beautiful Ruins, The Financial Lives of Poets, and Citizen Vince. One of the Pacific Northwest's most celebrated voices.

SR

Sarah Rooney

Poetry & Multidisciplinary Arts

Notable Work
Mother Media
Lyrical, queer, mythic — a cornerstone of Spokane's arts scene.

Spokane-based nonbinary queer poet, community builder, and multidisciplinary arts organizer. Creator of the Speakeasy open mic, co-organizer of Foray for the Arts, and author of the debut chapbook Mother Media.

SR

Shann Ray

Poetry & Short Fiction

Notable Work
American Masculine
Unflinching honesty and grace from the Mountain West.

Award-winning poet and author from Eastern Washington, exploring masculinity, faith, and the American West. His collection American Masculine won the Bakeless Prize.

SS

Sharma Shields

Fantasy & Literary Fiction

Notable Work
The Cassandra
Mythic, lyrical, rooted in the Pacific Northwest.

A Spokane native whose debut novel The Cassandra reimagines WWII through a mythological lens. Winner of the Washington State Book Award.