St. George Literary Arts Festival
Meet Our Speakers
Lisa Bickmore
LISA BICKMORE is Utah’s Poet Laureate with BA and MA degrees from Brigham Young University. She recently retired from Salt Lake Community College as a Professor of English who received the SLCC Foundation Teaching Excellence Award in 2006. Author of three books of poems: Haste, flicker and Ephemerist, she also helped found the SLCC Publication Center and the non profit Light Scatter Press. Lisa has a mobile micropress project to help authors and poets throughout the state to publish micro editions of their work. See www.lisabickmore.com
CHRISTOPHER G. JONES
Chris writes under the pen name Topper Jones and is a mystery writer/poet. His first novel in the Thad Hanlon Bri del la Guerra Mystery series––All That Glitters––debuts September 20, 2023. Chris is an avid fan of Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat approach to story structure and will share insights from STC workshops and his own experiences. Check out his author website at www.topperjones.com
WENDY WILSON SPOONER
Wendy is a Genetic Genealogist by day, a writer by night and an artist in between. Her love of what we can learn from history compels her to write the true stories she unearths during her research because she has found that truth is indeed, much more exciting and inspiring than fiction. As an award-winning author of professional articles and poems, she’s turned to novel writing to inspire a greater audience. See her webpage for more about her historical Irish novel at wendywilsonspooner.com
SHANE D. WILLIAMS
Shane shares his unique humor in a variety of ways, including writing, designing, teaching, speaking, and stand-up comedy. Shane is the author of four books: three for children and one non-fiction. “The Endless ‘ACHOO’ his first literary achievement, is a fun rhyming tale about a fellow that is allergic to his own sneezes. His poem compilations are: an award-winning, “”The Sun is on Fire.” “All-Mixed Up,” and the non-fiction publication: “Apantasia And Beyond,” are among his literary achievements. See https://www.shanesbraingifts.com/books.
MARLEEN BUSSMA
Marleen’s writing has earned numerous honors, including Cowboy Poetry Book of the Year Awards, Will Rogers Medallion Awards, the Georgie Sicking Award, and the Spur Award from the Western Writers of America for Best Western Poem. Marleen has also been named Poet Laureate for Saddlebag Dispatches Magazine. Originally born on a North Dakota farm, she is retired now with her husband Vaughn and lives in Dammeron Valley, UT. See www.marleenbussma.com
