Jessica Kendall

Chair

Jessica Kendall has a BFA in creative writing with minors in both English and History. She is an editor for CookieLynn Publishing and lives in Meridian Idaho with her hunky, science nerd husband and four brilliant, creative, and crazy kids. She is a self-proclaimed reading omnivore who loves to read and write in multiple genres, so long as someone is kissing… or stabbing. If no one is kissing or stabbing, there is no point to reading or writing it. She is a world class hugger and an enthusiastic procrastibaker who loves experimenting with new flavors and ruining diets. When she isn’t baking, hugging, or chasing her kids, she can be found spending “quality time” with the Leverage team, Buffy Summers, Michael Scott, Fran Fine, or the Golden Girls.

Emily Huey

Co-Chair

Emily Inouye Huey writes historical fiction for children and teens. Her first novel, BENEATH THE WIDE SILK SKY, released with Scholastic in 2022. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University and teaches at Salt Lake Community College. Besides books, her passions include education, the arts, the outdoors, and her family. You can visit her on Instagram @emily_inouye_huey or at www.emilyhuey.com.

Sarah Alva

Assistant to the cHairs

Bio to come.

T.J. Bronley

Finance

Pre-published author (means no contract). Originally from So Cal, but currently lives in Utah. T.J. and his wife have been married for 17 years and have four children. In his day job, T.J. is an accountant who really likes numbers, but has been known to correct grammar for an occasional email for one of his managers.

Kaushay Ford

Emcee

Kaushay is thrilled to join the Storymakers Conference for her third year as the emcee! Kaushay grew up in the Midwest, in a family that valued their rich history and culture. Her first foray into authorship, “The Little-Known Heroes” series, was inspired by the stories her grandmother told her about Claudette Colvin. She and her husband Spencer co-authored the first volume of the series, and are currently working on the second.

Kaushay studied broadcast journalism at Brigham Young University, where she learned her eye for detail, and bringing out people’s experiences to tell their stories. By day, she is the owner and lead planner for Kaushay & Co. Events, telling stories through the events she creates. In her spare time she acts, sings, dances, and adds books to her “to be read” list; occasionally taking the time to actually read them!

Jaime Theler

Facilities

Jaime Theler is the author of two non-fiction books with a small press, Enjoying the Journey and Parenting the Ephraim’s Child. She has also been a newspaper writer and proofreader, corporate social media coordinator, marketing project manager, and freelance content writer and editor for fiction, non-fiction, and business writing. She now manages a large team of writers and editors at a digital marketing agency that has helped hundreds of companies like Avis/Budget, NuSkin, Visionworks, and Pluralsight improve their online presence. Jaime has been on the Storymakers committee for over ten years and is passionate about helping authors succeed.

Serene Heiner

Agents & Editors

Serene is a mom of seven kids who self-medicates her creative ADD with copious amounts of chocolate as she juggles writing novels, running a small sewing business, teaching workout classes, driving kids to jobs and practice, watching a billion sports games, and doing a bit of drawing on the side. She also creates magical photos for Bookstagram and spends a great deal of time convincing her children to be in a Booktok video with her. Serene has a degree in visual arts and has taught bookbinding classes at BYU.

Taryn Skipper

Whitney President

Taryn has degrees in Philosophy and International Studies with a minor in Spanish and concentrations in Logic and Russian. She’s also studied Japanese, Latin, and French and builds websites, runs a watercolor portrait business, and works as a real estate agent. Hobbies include playing euphonium, lock picking, travel, and practicing martial arts. So, obviously, she writes YA Sci-Fi novels because that just makes sense.

Brittney Mulliner

Instruction

Brittney Mulliner writes contemporary, young adult, and sports romance novels for readers of all ages. As a life-long avid reader, growing up, her parents would often take away her books to make her go play outside, but nothing could compare to the adventure of a good book. Born and raised in Southern California, she now lives in the Rocky Mountains with her husband and Goldendoodle, Freddie Mercury. She’s a devout hockey fan, loves working out while listening to audiobooks, and is on a lifelong hunt for the best gluten-free cinnamon roll.

Rachel Schieffelbein

Instruction

Rachel lives in Minnesota with her husband and four kids. She coaches high school speech and theater, shows Arabian horses, and reads as much as she can. She writes YA and mg fiction and is repped by Tina Schwartz.

Deb Stevens

Instruction

Bio to come.

Don Carey

Tech / App

Don Carey is an author, software team leader, and writing conference addict who lives in the Kansas City area. He has written in a variety of genres and is currently dabbling in SciFi Romance, pondering the future of human relationships in an age of artificial intelligence. Don is also an amateur musician, a graduate student, and a bedtime story reader who can do all the voices.

Maria Hoagland

Registration

Bio to come.

Tifani Clark

Registration

Tifani Clark loves to write in many genres, but has a special love for suspense. She  grew up on a potato farm in Idaho where she had a lot of space to imagine and daydream, and often pretended to be characters from her favorite books. She is the host of the weekly podcast Additional History: Headlines You Probably Missed, where she tells little known stories from history. Tifani is married to the love of her life and is the mother of four fabulous children. When not writing, she enjoys playing the violin in her community orchestra and traveling to new places on her quest to see the world. You can find all her books at http://www.tifaniclark.com.

Varvara Jones

First Chapters

Varvara writes and publishes sweet romance as Arya Matthews, but when she’s not writing or thinking about writing, she attempts to parent two children and a black cat and shares the home office with her eternal sidekick. She also binge watches Korean dramas and always schemes a trip into the big wide world to soothe her wanderlust.

Emily Paxman

First Chapters

Emily is a writer and artist from beautiful British Columbia, Canada. She studied Anthropology and Philosophy at the University of Victoria and has her MFA in Creative Writing from Chatham University. Professionally, she works as a video game writer/story developer for a local indie game studio. You can find her comic, Neptune Bay, online on Webtoon.

Risto Snow

First Chapters

Bio to come.

Emily Adams

Thursday Workshops

Emily Ann Adams holds a degree in English Education and is the author of, “Is There No Other Way: Exploring Growth Through Grief” as well as an informational children’s books series entitled, “Loss for Littles” addressing death rituals from a variety of religious perspectives. Emily is the creator of Ministering Moms of Missing Multiple, a bereavement support group for mothers who have lost one or more of their multiples. An advocate for exploring the world and embracing diversity, Emily has lived in Paris, France, taught English in Mexico, and worked with a nonprofit organization in southern India helping those afflicted with leprosy. She and her husband are the parents of four living children and one angel son.

Kiri Patterson

Thursday Workshops

Bio to come.

Stacey Lebas

Agents & Editors

Bio to come.

Brittany Larsen

Agents & Editors

When she’s not writing, you’ll probably find Brittany Larsen in child’s pose, savasana, or any of her other favorite yoga poses. In addition to traditionally and indie publishing ten novels and novellas, she is a certified yoga instructor and meditates daily.

Megan Walker

Tech / App

Megan Walker is an author in progress. She loves to read and write YA Fantasy and Sci-Fi. She lives in Utah with her husband and dog. She graduated from Utah Valley University and works full time in the military. When she’s not at work you can usually find her writing, playing board games or adventuring somewhere outside. She’s attended Storymakers the last two years and is excited to part of the committee bringing you Storymakers 2023.

Tiana Smith

Website

Tiana Smith is a web designer turned novelist who grew up in the Rocky Mountains. She graduated from Westminster College with double degrees in Honors and English with a focus in creative writing. In her spare time she’s learning sign language with her hard of hearing husband and she volunteers with special needs individuals attending the bi-weekly activities for Utah County’s SNAP program. She is the author of MATCH ME IF YOU CAN and HOW TO SPEAK BOY, both from Macmillan. Her latest book, THE SPY AND I, is coming from Berkley / Penguin Random House in 2024.

Loury Trader

Volunteers / New attendees / guides

Loury Trader is a former slush pile reader for Deep Magic. Her love of literature has enabled her to introduce her family and students to stories that enrich, educate and help others see the world through a different lens. Loury is a Spanish Immersion Teacher, a mother of two boys, a foodie with food allergies and YA-thriller writer.

Tara Lundmark

Volunteers / New Attendees / Guides

Tara Lundmark spent her pre-college life moving all over Europe, Central, and South America. She speaks Spanish and German and considers herself a third-culture kid, all grown up. Her BA in International Relations taught her to write grant proposals, but it wasn’t until she was challenged to write a novel during NANOWRIMO in 2014 that she fell in love with writing YA fiction. It goes without saying that her stories are all inspired by the magical places she’s lived in and visited.

Jared Quan

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Jared is an Author/Gamer/Writer – Twitch Affiliate, a former writer for SI.com and Yahoo. Published works include Changing Wax, Ezekiel’s Gun, and Really Random and Ridiculous Ride-share Rumors. He has served roles with Storymakers, League of Utah Writers, Cultural Arts Society of West Jordan, EMAA, BigWorldNetwork, TEDxSaltLakeCity, Teen Author Boot Camp, LTUE, UVU Book Academy, Utah Poet Laureate Selection Committee, and countless events/organizations. Jared has received awards from two Presidents of the United States, from Utah State Governor, and Lt. Governor. Has worked with the Utah State Governors’ office to reestablish “Utah Authors Day”. He has been interviewed by several websites and podcasts, including Joseph Batzel, Artifice, and Writing Excuses Podcast.

Benjamin Inouye

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Ben Inouye is an 8th Grade English teacher in eastern Colorado. He received his bachelor’s degree (English Teaching) from BYU and his master’s degree (Literacy: Curriculum and Instruction) from the University of Texas at Arlington. Ben’s roles within the school district are various and sundry: teacher, wrestling coach, cross country coach, bus driver, and advisor to the Anime Club. He writes adventure paths for homebrew RPGs where he and his children have defeated evil once and for–all on three separate occasions. At bedtime, Ben enjoys telling his four children stories about well-protected pitchers of gravy, lost kittens, and the Kiri bird. Ben’s greatest dream is to try every type of cuisine this world has to offer.

Kristina Atkins

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Kristina Atkins writes speculative fiction inspired by mythos from around the world, complex human relationships, and her own experiences living with mental illness. In 2012, she received her MFA in creative writing from Converse College. She lives in Denver, where she and her husband spend countless hours chasing their three young sons (and sometimes catching them!). She loves collecting Tarot decks, dyeing her hair mermaid colors, and drinking far too much Diet Dr. Pepper. Her debut fantasy novel, “Feathers Sharp as Knives,” releases on May 2, 2023.

Julie Matern

VENDORS / SPONSORS

Julie Matern writes Regency romance under her own name and historical cozy mysteries under the pen name Ann Sutton. She has another pen name waiting in the wings for when she gets around to finishing the DNA mystery she began. Her first two Regencies were published with Cedar Fort Publishing and Media. Her consequent titles have been indie published. Julie became a full-time author in 2019 after dabbling in writing for several years. She is the mother of six and the grandmother of five. Born and bred in England, Julie moved to the US for her prince charming. She became a US citizen in 2002. She has lived in more US states than most Americans, speaks fluent French and taught tap dance for six years. Julie has served on PTAs for over 25 years and loves beaches, photography, and pickleball. 

Clarissa Kae

VENDORS / SPONSORS

Clarissa Kae (Wilstead) is the former president of her local California Writers Club after spending several years as the Critique Director and Conference Coordinator. She’s a former contributor for Equus and editor for Writer’s Digest. She’s the author of Award Winning Once And Future Wife and her Victorian Fairy Retellings, A Dark Beauty and Cinders Like Glass. She and her family live in the agriculture belly of California with a farm of horses, alpacas, dogs, and chickens.

Cassie Mae Cook

PR / Social Media / Giveaways

Cassie is an author, nerd, and a Hufflepuff. She is a #1 Amazon Bestseller with over thirty books to her name. She’s published with Random House, Swoon Romance, and on her own for ten years and started an editing company in 2015 that now edits for NYTimes Bestselling authors such as Nicole James, Melanie Shawn, and Katy Regnery. She is a Storymakers regular, and has been a mentor, teacher, committee member, and chair over her years of attending. She likes all things romance and all things nerdy.

Marcia Mickelson

PR / Social Media / Giveaways

Bio to come.

To Come

Photographer

Bio to come.

Shari Phippen

Finance

Shari Phippen loves words. She has loved words since 92-year old Nat Blumenthal taught her how to write poetry in the 1980s. She is terrified of rejection, so wanting to be a writer is the most natural career choice. When she’s not writing about dating disasters, family history scandals or the secret life of the pigeon she saw on the subway, she works in local government. She always has a Diet Coke on hand and at least 4 types of cheese in her fridge.

Amy Bell

Tech / App

Bio to come.

Adi James

Tech / App

Bio to come.

Mary Bronley

Green Room

Mary loves to read and has no set genre or age range she’ll read from. She’s a strong supporter of all authors: published and pre-published alike. Mary wants authors to do their best and loves finding ways to help where she can. While a busy wife and mom of four active children, Mary has joined her husband’s critique group  just to read and give reader-based feedback. When Mary isn’t leisurely reading, she works as a reading aid at her kids’ elementary school as well as a consistent volunteer for the local high school marching band. (Go Crimson Regiment!)

Wendy Jessen

Chair Advisor

Wendy is the author of “Hope and Healing: A Survivor’s Faith-Based Perspective on Recovering from Sexual Abuse,” runs a website for survivors of sexual abuse and those who support them, and spoke at a TEDx event on sexual abuse. She has spent a lot of time researching the impact of trauma on the brain, mind, and body, as well as attending therapy to experience healing first-hand.  Wendy also regularly talks to survivors of sexual abuse and works as a victim advocate to support victims of various crimes and traumas find recovery and healing.

Scott & Julie Wright

Bookstore

Julie Wright is the author of over twenty novels, including Lies Jane Austen Told Me and Lies, Love, and Breakfast at Tiffany’s with Shadow Mountain’s Proper Romance line.She is a Whitney Awards winner and a Crown Heart recipient. She is represented by agent Sara Crowe. She loves reading and writing, playing on the beach or hiking with her kids, and watching her husband make dinner.

Visit her at her website.