Articles on Utah literary arts, Utah authors, Utah literature and poetry published in 15 Bytes.
Since its inception in 2013, the 15 Bytes Book Awards have honored exceptional books by Utah authors or those with a Utah connection, showcasing the diverse voices in the state’s literary landscape. Artists of Utah is proud to announce the finalists for this year’s award in Fiction. The […]
He lived every second of his life for acclaim while pretending it was merely this unexpected, unwanted byproduct of his oh-so-authentic and eccentric cutting-edge art. Like he would produce that art whether or not he got the veneration. Bollocks. Everything he did he did to be adored. That’s […]
Not unlike the historical epoch from which it emerged, What Falls Away is a novel that looks back in anger, while it looks ahead with hope. As in our lives, the anger is aimed at a greedy, patriarchal order that refuses to yield power, while the hope is […]
In considering the stories collected in David G. Pace’s American Trinity: And Other Stories from the Mormon Corridor, I keep thinking of lineage. Not priesthood lineage but the literary kind. Mormon writers—excuse me, Latter-day Saint writers—have inherited the problem of genre writers through the ages. Each generation of […]
Celebrating its launch with events in both Ogden and Salt Lake City, a new literary magazine promises a fresh voice, blending tradition with a modern sensibility. Co-founded by poets Rachel White and Ken Waldman, The Nomad takes its name from Waldman’s life as a wandering writer and musician, […]
If you never thought to burn down your father’s house, or to murder him in his sleep—included here as a free psychic bonus—Michael Gills’ collection of 11 stories, accurately labeled “short,” may not be for you. If you were so fortunate as to grow up in a perfectly […]
“All the lives I could live, all the people I will never know, never will be, they are everywhere.” With those words, Aleksandar Hemon introduces readers to the voice of a cipher, the mystery man at the center his novel The Lazarus Project. This might also be a […]
Too many immigrant stories in America are about innocents who come here seeking a new life, only to run afoul of hostility and violence. Think of John Lennon, citizen of the world, harassed by the government and then shot down in cold blood on a New York City […]
“I was taught from a young age that the earth was sacred,” is how Stacie Shannon Denetsosie’s The Missing Morningstar and Other Stories begins. “Yet, every two weeks or so, I’d back my little truck up to the edge of the Divergent Dam and throw our garbage into […]
The 15 Bytes Book Award, which has been recognizing literary excellence since 2013, honors Rio Cortez’s Golden Ax, published by Penguin Poets, with its 2023 award in poetry. With her debut poetry collection, Cortez offers a window into the complexities of the Black experience in the American West. […]
Craig Childs’ Tracing Time, a compelling work of creative nonfiction inspired by the author’s excursions through the American Southwest, has been awarded a 2023 15 Bytes Book Award. With a career spanning several decades, Childs has distinguished himself through a unique blend of adventurous exploration and deep scholarly […]
In recognition of its innovative syle and bold storytelling, Alyssa Quinn’s debut novel Habilis has been awarded this year’s 15 Bytes Award for Fiction. Published in 2022 by Dzanc Books, Habilis is a mesmerizing confluence of history, science, and personal narrative. Quinn’s groundbreaking novel follows Lucy, a woman […]
Patrick Ramsay is a queer Utah-based poet who was raised in and along the wetlands of the Great Salt Lake. He earned his B.A. in English & creative writing at Weber State University, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of Metaphor Literary Journal. He owns Happy Magpie Book & […]
David Pace was the inaugural literary editor for 15 Bytes for seven years. He is the author of the novel Dream House on Golan Drive (Signature Books) and the forthcoming collection of short fiction American Trinity (BCC Press, February 2024). His creative work has appeared in two anthologies […]
Ghost Apples, the ninth collection of poems by Katharine Coles – who might be a witch (IMHO) given the ready way she connects with animals (including her parrot Henri, pronounced in the American fashion) and who surely has a magical way with words and their readers — kept […]
Informally trained and largely self-taught, Angelika Brewer was taught to read, write and embrace her creativity by her teenage mother and her almost entirely blind grandmother. With encouragement from a high school English teacher, she discovered the world of Spoken Word Poetry. She has been a featured speaker […]
Artists of Utah is excited to announce that Cedar City writer and SUU professor Danielle Beazer Dubrasky has won the 2022 15 Bytes Book Award for Poetry. A graduate of Stanford (MA, English/Creative Writing) and the University of Utah (PhD, Creative Writing), Dubrasky is a three-time winner of […]
