Jessy Easton grew up in a meth lab on the edge of the Mojave Desert, and writing saved her life. Her writing has appeared in The Rumpus, Good River Review, and Marrow Magazine—where her piece was named a top 10 read of 2024—and her work has been nominated for both the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net Anthology. Jessy is currently serializing her memoir, The One Who Leaves, on Substack, where it has become a Bestseller, and is at work on her next book, a nonfiction project that blends magic, memoir, and somatic practice. When she’s not writing, you can find her rocking out with her son to Alanis Morrissette, kissing the noses of her two black dogs, or walking the lake trails of the Blue Ridge Mountains she now calls home.
Title is: Write the Hard Thing: Let the Body Tell the Story will bring risk, truth, and artistry to our work.
Substack link: https://jessyeaston.substack.com/
Instagram @Jessytai
Chris Vega (they/them) is the founder and publisher at Blue Cactus Press, where they make books that spark dialogue about liberation alongside authors, artists, and creative professionals from historically marginalized groups. Chris is also a two-spirit Chicana poet from the U.S./Mexico borderlands. Currently, they live on Puyallup and Nisqually land with their daughter, Catalina.
Through their publishing practice, Chris hopes to stimulate local creative economy, build wealth among People of Color, and tell stories that allow people to reimagine themselves and the world around them. Chris’ latest poetry collection, Decay, was co-written and co-published with Conner Bouchard-Roberts of Winter Texts and Blue Cactus Press in 2025. Chris’ previous books include the poetry collections Vega and Maps (2023 and 2017, Blue Cactus Press).
Their workshop On Poetry & The Art of Publishing will bring creative technique to our work and provide in-depth, practical guidance on the world of publishing.
Prior to publishing, Chris served in the U.S. Army as a Chinese-Mandarin Linguist. They hold undergraduate degrees in Anthropology (New Mexico State University, 2010) and Chinese Mandarin Language (Defense Language Institute, 2012). They will graduate from Seattle University’s Master of Business Administration program in December 2025.
Chris believes revolution starts at home.
Linked In: Christina Vega
Facebook: Blue Cactus Press
Instagram: @BlueCactusPress, @Chris.Vega.writer
Website: Blue Cactus Press
Additional Publications
Chris co-published a hybrid poetry chapbook, Decay, with Conner Bouchard-Roberts of Winter Texts in 2024. They published the poetry collections Vega in 2023 and Maps in 2017.
Christina’s poetry has appeared in Creative Colloquy, Frontera Vol. 3: estados silvestres // natural states, International Poetry Review, Papeachu Issue 3, Timberline Review, WA129+, and Milk Gallery. Christina’s journalism has appeared in City Arts, Grit City Magazine, Hilltop Action Journal, OLY ARTS, The Ranger, VOICE Magazine and Weekly Volcano. Follow Christina on Twitter and Instagram @bluecactuspress.
Write has been trying to land Nashville’s Bobby Bare Jr. for nearly a decade, & we are delighted to announce Bobby Bare Jr. as Write 23’s Songwriting Teaching Artist & Musician.
With a true heart of gold & albums described as emotional survival guides, Bobby’s songwriting is full of creative word play & impeccable narratives & risky arrangements that are akin to sitting around a campfire with good buddies.
Bobby Bare Jr. was born into Nashville's Music Row elite. His godfather, Shel Silverstein, used to read him bedtime stories. George Jones & Tammy Wynette were his next door neighbors. He could've phoned in a career, exploited how he's the son of iconic Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Bobby Bare. Instead, Bobby Jr. blazed a path of unique songwriting craftsmanship with a voice that blows through you like an unyielding wind on the desolate prairie.
Bobby Bare Jr. is truly one of a kind, one of the greats that’s played time & time again at Doe Bay Resort & Retreat. We look forward to learning from & alongside Bobby Bare Jr. just as much as we await his Yoga Studio Concert at Write 23
Poet, archivist and museum nerd Shin Yu Pai will lead a session on how to build and curate a literary archive and collection of artistic papers, rooted in an artist's individual practice. She'll demystify what archives are and aren't, who they are for, and what it means to decolonize an archive and tell a life story through what you preserve and keep, while also imparting a few best practices. She'll also offer a writing exercise rooted in a personal archival object of your own choosing.
Shin Yu Pai is an award-winning poet, essayist, visual artist, and host of the award-winning podcast Ten Thousand Things, which she made for three seasons with KUOW Public Radio, Seattle's NPR affiliate, and continues to make independently with Wonder Media Network. In 2024, she won the Shelley Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America, which is given for poetic genius. As the former Civic Poet for the City of Seattle (2023-24) and a former Poet Laureate for the City of Redmond (2015-17), she has authored over a dozen books, including No Neutral (Empty Bowl, 2023) and Less Desolate (Blue Cactus, 2023). Her work blends poetry with disciplines like photography, filmmaking, and book arts, exploring themes of identity, culture, and the search for belonging within the Asian American experience. Shin Yu's literary papers and artistic archives are held in the collections of Yale University's Beinecke Library.
Kevin Sur is a cultural organizer, curator, and event producer dedicated to creating platforms that celebrate community, music, and storytelling. He is the creator and co-host of Sounds of Survivance on KEXP, a groundbreaking program that amplifies Indigenous voices connected through a shared struggle against colonialism. Through his work, Kevin weaves together ancestral knowledge, lived experience, and sonic exploration to highlight resilience, joy, and Native perspectives.
Beyond radio, Kevin has been deeply involved in building spaces where artists and audiences can gather, share, and imagine new possibilities together, including Doe Bay Fest and Timber! Outdoor Music Festival. His work is guided by a commitment to amplifying underrepresented voices, fostering solidarity across communities, and creating spaces where people can truly connect and be present.
Ayn Gailey and Samuel W. Gailey are award-winning authors, editors, and ghostwriters who have guided over 3,000 emerging writers through their acclaimed Novel Lab. In addition to mentoring new voices, they also collaborate with professional authors—work that has helped writers land deals with HarperCollins, Penguin, and Random House, reach the New York Times Bestseller list, and deliver manuscripts that shine on the page and screen. Their own projects have been featured in The New York Times, Esquire, Elle, and Publishers Weekly, with Ayn’s first book adapted into a feature film and Sam’s most recent novel spotlighted on NPR. While they no longer lead in-person workshops, Ayn and Sam are returning for a rare appearance at Write Doe Bay, the iconic writing retreat on their remote island home, out of deep respect for its creative community. Together, they will guide a small, focused fiction workshop for writers with finished or nearly finished manuscripts, offering in-depth assessment of novel openings along with craft guidance, publishing insights, and resources to help take each project to the next stage.