Blue Cactus Press

04/02/2026

After a birth experience, many people carry stories like:

“My body failed me.”
“I should have done something differently.”
“I didn’t know enough.”
“I wasn’t supported the way I needed.”
“I should have done X. I wish I had known Y.”

These stories can turn into guilt, shame, resentment, anxiety, or feeling disconnected from your body — sometimes for years.

In our Laying Down Stories workshop, we create a space where BIPOC birthing folks and families can:
• reflect on their birth experience
• talk about the stories they’ve been carrying
• be witnessed in community
• practice self-compassion
• and begin releasing the stories that no longer serve them

Some stories kept us safe once. But we don’t have to carry them forever. Join us to release at our in-person workshop on April 7, 10–11:30am in Tacoma.

Registration requested: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/laying-down-stories-bipoc-birth-story-processing-workshop-tickets-1985491714165

Please share with someone who might need this space.

Join Center for Indigenous Midwifery & Blue Cactus Press for a writing and emotional processing workshop related to birth experiences

03/25/2026

Check out this amazing article in by our author, Rahim Thawer, published online by The British Psychological Society! The article is in direct conversation with Practice and Politics, which was edited by Rahim and published by BCP last December!

"When politics enters the therapy room"
Author, activist and psychotherapist Rahim Thawer on political countertransference.

Author, activist and psychotherapist Rahim Thawer on political countertransference.

03/13/2026

As part of a long-awaited upgrade to the membership program, I recently commissioned Vaquezo Azul, a Mexican Indigiqueer illustrator based in Tacoma, to create artwork for the membership page and for future marketing!

It's an absolute joy to be able to support working artists, and to experience the joys of meaningful storytelling along our publishing journey. Check out Vaquero's playful, layered, and dreamy images below or on the membership homepage. You'll also see this artwork on upcoming member ephemera we're sending out this summer!

About the artist:
Vaquero Azul is a Mexican Indigiqueer and Boriken-Taíno, Two-Spirit illustrator and sewist. Their work focuses on Trans Mexican Euforia and Mesoamerican joy. By weaving Charro & Folklorico culture and the theatrics of Q***r Fantasy aesthetics into one they create visually stunning pieces capturing moments of sacred euforia.

Vaquero builds spaces of serenity and emotional vulnerability by honoring our past Trancestors through Ofrendas all year long. They create empowerment for LGBTQ2IA+ voices within their workshops and culturally relevant presentations. He believes in a world where Trans, Two-Spirit & Dos Espíritus people are celebrated, loved, and left feeling proud of who they are as expressed in their body of art.

03/11/2026

Blue Cactus Press is so excited to join the Kent Book & Art Festival this Saturday, March 14th, from 10am to 3pm! If you're a fan of our work, come visit us at the Book & Art Fair to catch a glimpse of our full catalog and talk about what liberation means to you.

BCP publisher and author Chris Vega will read from their latest poetry book, Decay, during the event, as well! Chris reads at 10am, so drop by early to listen to poetry, talk about books and publishing, and grab some snacks and coffee while you browse books!

03/08/2026

If you're a writer looking for information on how to self-publish your own book, or how to navigate the publishing process, join BCP publisher Chris Vega for the monthly Publish It Yourself workshop! We're meeting on March 22nd at 10am at 1901 Jefferson Ave, Tacoma, WA.

This month, we're focused on the prepress process (preparing your edited manuscript for design and adding/understanding paratextual content that surrounds the book, like title pages, copyright pages, acknowledgements, further reading lists, about the author, etc.).

Sign up for the workshop here:
https://bluecactuspress.com/product/publishing101/

02/18/2026

For those who haven’t heard, Blue Cactus Press is closing its publishing studio at the end of March.

Don’t worry, we’re still in the business of making books–that isn’t changing. But we’re saying goodbye to having a physical space, for a myriad of personal and professional reasons. For now, please just know that I’ve deeply enjoyed holding a studio space over the last two and a half years and living, writing, and surviving alongside you all. Together, we’ve hosted community events, held fundraisers, held writing workshops workshops, swooned at readings, participated in writing and art-making clubs, and even danced it out on a DJ hosted-dance night.

I could not be more thankful and proud of all the ways we’ve been able to collectively hold space for our community of readers, writers, and creative collaborators. And in this new chapter, I hope to continue to steward the press in ways that remove gatekeeping in the publishing industry; increase representation of authors and collaborators in our communities; and craft books that expand ideas of who and what we can be in this world, of what we can build.

For now, just know that the studio will remain open through the end of February, and we plan to vacate by the end of March. It’s too early to name drop, but we’re in discussion with another small, community-oriented BIPOC-led organization who will take over the space in March. They are gracious enough to allow BCP’s ongoing programming to continue without interruption.

I’m also transitioning the donated studio equipment, furniture, and office supplies that have been given to BCP over the years to the incoming org. This way, much of what has been generously donated by community members will continue to have lasting social impact.

Lastly, we’re holding a studio closing sale on February 28th from 11am to 3pm. I hope you’ll come by for a hug, to purchase books, and snag some heavily discounted studio equipment (including a DSLR camera and tripod, podcasting equipment, microphones, and art). Everything must go! All purchases will help us transition back to a more flexible, nimble publishing model over the spring and cover the costs of the studio closure.

02/13/2026

We’d like to introduce you to Lorenzo Béquer, the author of Runtimes and publisher of the brand new publishing house, Loyal Industries!

Runtimes is our newest book, set to release mid-March. It’s a sci-fi, dual language Spanish-English novel told in a series of interstellar flight logs and transcripts. It blends spec-fic and philosophical inquiry to examine our rapidly unraveling world. Themes explored in these pages include ancestral memory, state surveillance, smoking🪴, spiritual transformation, cosmic consciousness, and fatherhood.

While expansive in scope, the book is anchored by intimate moments— reflections of family, fatherhood, and quiet connections that persist through time and space.

Patreon members can expect this book in their mailboxes later this month. If you’re not a member, become one 🙏🏽 ! Or snag this beauty before its mid-March publication date *exclusively* at .

02/10/2026

📚✨ Join the Blue Cactus Press Community — Become a Member Today! ✨📚

If you care about independent publishing, community-rooted storytelling, and uplifting marginalized voices, I invite you to become a member of Blue Cactus Press today by joining our Patreon. Your monthly support directly sustains a grassroots, independent publishing house committed to making books that serve as community resources and move us toward liberation.

By joining the Blue Cactus Press membership, you’re not just subscribing — you’re actively helping fund equitable, accessible publishing and supporting writers whose work opens dialogue around community building, healing, self-actualization, poetry, fiction, and social justice.

As a member, you’ll:
📖 Support sustainable, community-centered publishing
📬 Get exclusive behind-the-scenes posts and early updates
🎁 Receive perks like early access to events, books, and merch
🤝 Help keep gate-free, liberatory literature alive

Membership starts at just $5/month and makes a real difference.

👉 Join here: https://www.patreon.com/c/bluecactuspress

Your support helps ensure that literature remains a tool for connection, care, and collective liberation. 🌵📚

02/09/2026

I get dozens of writers, workshop facilitators, consultants, and specialists who come to me each year looking for information on how to publish a book, yet information on how to move through the publishing process and prepare your files for print and publication is still wildly inaccessible.

If this sounds like you, and you need assistance learning how to craft a workbook, a how-to or bets practice guide, or your memoir story as an example of how to overcome adversity or challenge, join me for Publish It Yourself, a publishing workshop in which I teach folks how to publish their own books, on their own terms, for their specific markets.

Here’s a link to the upcoming workshop, which will be held on February 22nd, from 10am to 2pm in Tacoma:
https://bluecactuspress.com/product/publishing101/

February's workshop will focus on the editorial process.

And here’s a link to the workshop zine, which includes a step by-step guide through the process, as well as templates, budgets, pro tips, and a resource guide:
https://bluecactuspress.com/product/publish-it-yourself/

02/06/2026

Folks, we have a few upcoming workshops in the BCP space that we don’t want you to miss out on, including an erotica writing workshop (Feb 14th) and a publishing workshop (Feb 22). Check out our upcoming workshops and events at the link below:

https://bluecactuspress.com/events/

01/28/2026

This Thursday, January 29th at 12pm, BCP Publisher Chris Vega is holding a writing workshop in Tukwilla in partnership with Minority Vets Training Program: Using Science Fiction to Dream New Futures

This workshop is free and open to all, and is geared toward anyone interested in thinking creatively about the work needed to create new futures.

This will be a writing focused workshop, but beginners and non-writers should feel welcome to attend.

Those interested should register here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/using-science-fiction-to-dream-new-futures-tickets-1980140003053?fbclid=IwY2xjawPnJM9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe3eVBo1LW_FNRXS-3-bLWMguBAO8VqZyZDMpzc4zSF6qQLWPJqpdklFsbjYw_aem_TVyIwXDjblWY--t0_WP-ag

Designed for: Community Members, Community Providers, Employers, Educators and Students