We’d like to claim Spillers № 5 embodied everything we envisioned Spillers could be when we launched it one year ago, but the truth is tonight exceeded any expectations we might have harbored in the beginning.
After Spillers № 1, nothing foreshadowed that in the next 12 calendar months, Spillers would:
- Put a total of 29 talented Phoenix-area writers on stage in front of packed Crescent Ballroom crowds
- Launch the Spillers After Show podcast with 32 episodes and iTunes distribution and inclusion on Phoenix New Times’ “10 Phoenix Podcasts You Have to Hear” list
- Publish 3 Spillers chapbooks (№ 3, № 4, and № 5) containing the short stories read on each of those nights
- Prove definitively that world-class fiction is being consistently produced right here in Phoenix
To celebrate, we had cake. More importantly, we also assembled a Spillers № 5 lineup of talented and prize-winning writers to read some phenomenal short fiction:
- Anne Heintz — “Not Exacta”
- Ed Kearns — “Last of the American Buffalo”
- Aurelie Sheehan — “Wolf in the Basement”
- Kathryn Hill — “Madam Mamanita”
- T.M. “Mike” McNally — “Crescent Ballroom”
We weren’t the only ones with milestones on our minds. Mike McNally closed out the evening with his moving short story/meditative essay–written expressly for this event–commemorating his son leaving home for college.
And you great Phoenicians came out to experience it all. 150+ of you, a number unheard of for fiction readings. You bought the tickets, drank the Spillers cocktail (“The Crescent Royale”), and bought the chapbook. We love you, unabashedly, and appreciate the affection you’ve always shown Spillers.
Big thanks are due to everyone who helped make № 5 a must-attend event, so huge shout outs to:
- Jake Friedman and Kelsey Pinckney from Four Chambers Press who facilitated author introductions, laid out the chapbook, and manned the merch table–thanks, guys!
- All the good folks at Crescent Ballroom who are a pleasure to work with and incredibly flexible in response to our multitude of requests
- Event photographer Andrew Rogers
- Podcast sound editor Steve Wiesenthal
- Every Spillers alum for braving the stage and helping build the event to what it is today
As much as we like seeing where we’ve been, our eye is fixed firmly on the future. Spillers № 6 is already a go for December 2016 and includes Spillers’ own Brian Dunn reading a new short story. It’s gonna be another great night for Phoenix and its flourishing literary scene. See you there!
