Kayleen Martin

Salt city queers

Nestled in a bowl in the Wasatch Mountains is a small but busy city. Salt Lake, named for the remnants of Lake Bonneville, is a messy mix of contradiction. It is full of hippie, granola types who go hiking and skiing, business types who thrive in the endless real estate grabs, devout Mormons who march as allies in Pride parades, and queers who both love and hate their home. It is idyllic and scenic and frustrating as hell - especially when the dust blows in off the lake. It is a small city that dreams of being bigger than it can be, while pushing back against what it means to grow and change.In the dense, progressive areas of downtown, only a twenty-minute drive from some of the most conservative areas in the country, you find a thriving Queer community. Bookstores and gaming shops and theaters and art galleries, all only a few steps from artisan coffee and craft beer, all nestled in the shadow of the Temple, all raising a sego lily pride flag in defiance of a legislature who think that their lives are up for debate.Here, you find Jenn, Brooklynn, Merrick, Meg, Katie, Siobhan, and an entire found family of Salt City Queers.

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Scribblers Newsletter

A monthly update on life in Queer Salt Lake, where you can find and support the cause, and of course, cat pictures.

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Shauna Kayleen Writes

Shauna Brock is a writer, community organizer, and game master from Salt Lake City. She has spent most of her life in activist spaces, including Americans with Disabilities Act actions, racial equity protests at UT Austin, working with BiNet during Lawrence v. Texas, and managing volunteers for Meals on Wheels. She also worked with Pagan Pride in North Carolina, and co-created the 1 to 5 Club, a networking space for the B+ community in Utah.For over fifteen years, she has been the coordinator for the Salt Lake City Writers Group. During that time she has presented at multiple League of Utah Writers conferences and led workshops at the Salt Lake City Community Writing Center and Under the Umbrella Bookstore.Writing under the name Kayleen Martin, Shauna writes queer romance set in Salt Lake City. Her desire is to not just give Salt Lake City queers a happily-ever-after story, but to celebrate an often misunderstood city. She is a regular game master at the Utah Museum of Natural History Dinos & Dice event, has been published in Bi Women Quarterly, and two of her novels have been recognized by the Utah Arts and Humanities Novel Writing Contest.