Spillers № 3 was a happening. So much so, we’re still basking in the euphoria of it.

The crowd that braved a chilly (by Phoenix standards) night to pack Crescent Ballroom witnessed a turning point for Phoenix’s premier short fiction event and were treated to the strongest top-to-bottom lineup of writers we’ve ever assembled:

• Keith Rawson — “Temporary Man of the House”
• Troy Farah — “A Curious Animal”
• Ed Tankersley — “Until This Is Over”
• Leah Newsom — “On Walking Downhill”
• James David Nicol — “Wings”
• Patrick Michael Finn — “The War in the Rack”

If you missed hearing these tremendous stories in person, the Spillers After Show podcast has you covered with soon-to-be-released episodes of the live readings (Keith Rawson reading “Temporary Man of the House” drops on February 8).

Spillers № 3 was also a night of firsts.

The Spillers № 3 book–the print version of the stories told–is our initial foray into publishing. It’s a limited edition (as of this writing, only a few remain) so get your copy before they’re gone.

We packed the ballroom at Crescent (the lounge could no longer hold us) with a standing-room-only crowd of short fiction fans.

After the show, we interviewed every writer for the Spillers After Show podcast. It was a blast. These episodes drop starting February 15th.

As if all the above new stuff wasn’t enough, mixologist Ryan at Crescent Ballroom created a delicious cocktail–the Spiller, of course–specifically for the event.

Whew! It’s easy to see why coming down from this one is going to take a bit.

Big thanks are in order:

• To Dina and Andy and everyone at Crescent Ballroom
• To our event photographer Barry Satterfield and Steve Wiesenthal, our podcast sound editor
• To the writers who made Spillers № 3 a must-see event (we love you guys!)

And, of course, a huge thank you to everyone who came out to show their love for short fiction in Phoenix. It’s our honor to share the immense literary talent in our own backyard with all of you. Thanks for buying the book, listening to the Spillers After Show podcast, and just being so damn cool.

We’re not about to rest on our laurels. Spillers № 4 is booked for Monday, May 2nd, and we already have novelist Matt Bell (The Scrapper) and short-story wizard Tara Ison (Ball) signed up to spill. You don’t want to miss this one.