Blue Cactus Press

11/08/2025

Rekindle your imagination.

Blue Cactus Press will be having a writing workshop for parents seeking to reconnect with their writing practice on Sunday, August 24th, from 9:30-11:30am at King County's Tolt-MacDonald Park & Campground. This generative writing workshop will get you writing & get you thinking about what you can build at the crossroads of parenting & creative writing.

This workshop is a part of Refuge Outdoor Festival, a 3-day, 2-night immersive camping experience curated for BIPOC, allies, and outdoor lovers of all identities. From August 22-24, experience workshops, music, outdoor activities, a youth summit, a silent disco, and so much more. No matter if you’re an expert or new to exploring the outdoors, this event is a safe space for emotional and physical safety, accessibility, connection, joy, and belonging.

Join us for a weekend of exploration, laughter, and shared experiences. For more information and to register for Refuge Fest 2025, check out this link!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2025-refuge-outdoor-festival-tickets-1333176429589?fbclid=PAQ0xDSwMHH5VleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABpzb5cT9IIBgIG3V99u_Y9fLojws_cPMdapB-WwEaxSnrdg42-ZojU4HLXIC2_aem_KrQgOwJJ18cPKNDsSIjXLQ

08/08/2025

Listen and engage in thoughtful conversation with us.

will be having a fireside chat Thursday, September 11th, from 6-7pm at in conversation with Chris Vega for the release of their newest poetry book, Recovery Commands.

To RSVP, check out this link: https://gritcitybooks.com/events/3243720250911?fbclid=PAQ0xDSwMDOMpleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABp9VFep5Kdcm9KjDJ8vJJXNtbgFI9oPpAdMtuuF7axQqYOhdfYxSMKW19TzY6_aem_Kp8Iiy_jJW1qiSX1yTfL_A

About Recovery Commands:
Recovery Commands is a book of poems about the collision of military and civilian life found inside one loving, long-term, and contradictory marriage. Two people, each informed by and embedded within cultures that would seem to be at odds with one another, somehow hold fast to each other through decades of war and its lasting legacies. Recovery Commands is an instruction manual for how to love despite the practical reasons not to.

About Abby Murray:
Abby E. Murray (they/them) is the editor of , a literary journal concerned with the impact of violent conflict and military service beyond the combat zone. As a nonbinary pacifist married to a cis-gender active duty army officer, they’ve spent their adult life writing and researching the struggle for voice and listening between communities.

Abby served as the 2019-2021 poet laureate for the city of Tacoma, Washington, and currently teaches writing to Army War College fellows at the University of Washington.

06/08/2025

Gift yourself the space to be in a place of fun, play, and imagination!

Join poet and artist Kellie Richardson for a fun and empowering collage workshop on Saturday, August 16th, from 11 am-1 pm at the BCP Studio. We will use collage to reclaim, celebrate, and explore our right to dream. No experience needed, just your enthusiasm and curiosity!

Tickets include all supplies, brunchy drinks and treats, a signed copy of Kellie’s book, and a goodie bag. The workshop is limited to 20 participants and is an adults-only event. Pre-purchased tickets are required. Masks are encouraged.

This space will center Black, Indigenous, and people of color. There will be ZERO TOLERANCE for anti-Blackness, xenophobia, transphobia, homophobia, ableism, sexism, misogynoir, or racism.

Grab a friend or come solo to use collage to practice joy and resilience! For more details and to get your tickets, use this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rip-and-sip-collage-in-community-workshop-tickets-1505286565639?aff=oddtdtcreator&_ga=2.150143796.346551822.1754426694-933204441.1754199042&fbclid=IwQ0xDSwMAmeNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHlkF_OkLPw7yZv0lO_RwPXwqR7825FkXa_md_mt0dx4vjRr3W30o__agpXF__aem_C24_1vQWVqGjwGdHMdTvLA

05/08/2025

Create in community with us.

Next Tuesday, August 12th, join us for Q***r Tacoma Makers from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the BCP Studio. This free event is open to q***r creators of all mediums. Bring your own craft and come hang out!

Be respectful of our hosts and each other. No oil paints. Bring projects you can easily clean and pack by the end of the gathering.

***rtacomamakers is brought to you by .tattoo and , two Tacoma q***r makers.

05/08/2025

Join us for a book fair you’ll never forget!

Floating Bridge Press is hosting "Bridges Book Fair: Building Bridges and Community” at the beautiful Owen Beach Pavilion in Tacoma on Saturday, August 9th, from 12 to 5 p.m. Shop and meet cool, local literary presses and organizations!

We’re so excited to be attending this year, and we can’t wait to celebrate National Book Lovers Day with you all. Come stop by!

01/08/2025

Oh hi. Have you seen our latest creation: Kellie Richardson‘s new “Walking Tall” artist journal?!

We’ll let us introduce you to this stunning, hardcover journal!

‘s artist journal offers creatives the ideal space to capture multidisciplinary works in progress, including lined pages for writing, dotted pages for brainstorming or collaging, and blank pages for letting your imagination run free on the page.

The journal has 150 numbered pages and is about 7x10.” It was designed by :)

Preorder your copy on our website, or order it from your local independent bookseller, like , or head to our website.

Our first printing will go out to members this month! If you’re thinking about becoming a member, this is the time, as members get each of our books as we make them (and a month of membership is half the price of this stunning journal)!

Also, congratulate Kellie on this *fourth* book through BCP! Kellie has been with us almost from the start, and her work has been a part of building the press’ foundation over the years. Thank you, Kellie, for growing with us!

05/07/2025

Shoutout to for finishing this monumental and timely book: Two Days in The Alley: a photobook in which indigenous entrepreneurship meets american past time.

I picked up a copy of wovoka’s book for the studio earlier this week at Firecracker Alley, where the project started.

I am stoked this book made its way into the world and I’m proud of wovoka for seeing this through to publication. My friend, you worked your ass off to get here. Congrats. This is the only thing I’m celebrating on the 4th of July.

For readers and fans of wovoka, you can pick up a copy of Two Days in The Alley at the Blue Cactus Press studio. It’s a thing of beauty, and it centers and celebrates indigenous artistry amid the ongoing build-up of a fascist regime and its active dispossession of indigenous peoples around the world. What better way to flip the script on the Fourth of July than to celebrate this book.

This is independent publishing at its best.

03/07/2025

Join BCP publisher, poet, and facilitator .vega.writer for a peer-to-peer gender support group for People of Color this Sunday in Olympia!

“Gender Benders” support group is offered through . It will be held from 10am to noon at Friendship Hall and is geared toward gender non-conforming and transgender people of color, though all Q***r BIPOC community members are welcome.

What to expect:
Chris will lead a reflection and writing session followed by dedicated time to listen to and share stories aloud. We’ll also have food and drink available, as well as workshop zines! Tell your Q***r friends to get out of bed this Sunday and join us!

30/06/2025

Support Blue Cactus Press on Patreon and become part of a vibrant, grassroots literary community—one that centers historically marginalized voices, fosters creativity, and balances artistry and financial viability!

You can sign up using this link: https://www.patreon.com/c/bluecactuspress

Here's more information about what you get in exchange for your support:

Moon Cactus – $5/month
Assist with general support of Blue Cactus Press. As a small thank you for your role in keeping us afloat, we'll give you access to exclusive, behind the scenes content on Patreon about the press, our collaborators, and our books!


Star Cactus – $15/month (Most popular)
Get new books as we release them! We make 4-ish books per year, plus zines and ephemera.

Cholla Cactus – $25/month
Dig deeper with immersive workshops and fresh reads. Step inside our community with more access to in-person and online writing/bookmaking experiences.

Saguaro Cactus – $50/month
Be a pillar of stability. In addition to ephemera, books, and workshops, your support sustains the foundation of Blue Cactus Press—keeping doors open, printers rolling, and stories thriving.

Red Thorn Cactus - $100/month
Red Thorn patrons play an important role in ensuring our production expenses are covered each year. Patrons will receive an invitation to a dinner and salon reading featuring BCP collaborators, plus a behind-the-scenes tour of our work space. We'll also give you by-name recognition for your support in our books! Plus, you'll get everything included in other available tiers, including every book we've made that's still in circulation, new books as we publish them, priority workshop admittance, and ephemera.

Sign up for the Patreon Membership tier that works best for you!

25/06/2025

We're now taking preorders for our newest creative endeavor: "Walking Tall" artist journal by Kellie Richardson! Take a look at the incredible cover art below.

If you want to get a copy, preorder here:
https://bluecactuspress.com/product/walking-tall-artist-journal/

(BTW: preorders help us cover print costs and estimate how many copies of a book we need! Please preorder sooner rather than later to do us, and the author, a solid!)

About the journal: Kellie Richardson’s “Walking Tall” Artist Journal offers writers the ideal space to capture multidisciplinary works in progress, such as creative writing, visual art, or philosophical musings.

Featuring three sections of lined, dotted, and blank pages, respectively, this multidisciplinary tool gives creatives the flexibility they need to seamlessly flow from one artform to another.

Get your copy now!

18/06/2025

Blue Cactus Press author Rahim Thawer just published The Mental Health Guide for CIS & Trans Q***r Guys! Please congratulate him on his work, and if you have capacity, support him by ordering your copy now!

A little bit about my book, The Mental Health Guide for Cis and Trans Guys (New Harbinger Publications, 2025). Order your copy and check out upcoming author ...

18/06/2025

Hey folks, I'm joining the good people at Tacoma Community Center for a Banned Books panel on Saturday, June 21st, at 3pm, as part of a PRIDE celebration.

The panel will be moderated by Samie Iverson, with myself, Q Gabumpa, Becca Most, and Gabby Fuentes as panelists. We'll talk about:
- The history of zines and their way of creating space for q***rs
- Zines representing ANTI-censorship (especially censorship that directly affects/targets the lgbtq community)
- Personal experiences/views on censorship of q***r artists
- How to fight back against censorship

This event will take place at Tacoma Community House/REACH Center. The panel discussion is being held in the map room. I hope you'll join us!