We were lucky to catch up with Brandon Mead recently and have shared our conversation below.

Brandon, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The first time I shared my writing with an audience was at an open mic night in Orlando, Florida. Just days after the Pulse tragedy, I had some very raw words inside of me that I scrawled down as I sat with my coffee.

As the Writers of Central Florida group assembled, they welcomed me into their world and by the end of the night they shared my tears as I read my work to them from the stage. I went back week after week, always with something new. Their reactions and support helped me understand what was working and what wasn’t in the short fiction collection I was slowly putting together. A laugh from the right side, a gasp from the left. I remember every unexpected silence and round of applause.

As tough as it was to leave the group, I now call Seattle home. When I started my role with local independent chain Third Place Books, they were not able to hold events. Like a lot of things the pandemic claimed, in-person writing-related events were among them. Gradually, one signing at a time, the authors returned. The crowds followed. My position with the bookstore became focussed on our local authors and selling their books in our store.

As I brought in more and more titles from these local authors, I realized there was a gap. While we filled our calendar with big names and large-scale releases that often drew audiences of up to 900 people, the authors brave enough to self-publish, indie-publish, or publish through small presses were not getting time in the spotlight. That is why I pitched the Local Author Open Mic Night to our Events Team.

Now, after almost a year of holding the event, I’ve had the opportunity to host hundreds of Washington authors from all genres. In a single night a crowd of anywhere from 50-80 people gather to share their words and listen to poetry, fiction, non-fiction, memoir, personal essays, and children’s stories. We get dark fantasy, hard sci-fi, mystery, and special sneak peeks of works in progress. The energy is always incredible and the talent in this area never ceases to amaze me.

Every so often we have someone step up to the mic who has never read their work to a crowd. Maybe they’ve never shared their writing with anyone. It’s that moment––when they finish their piece and the audience erupts with applause––that makes me remember what it was like to bring my stories to my first open mic night. To feel that love and support from other people who share a passion for storytelling and craft.

No matter the genre, writing is deeply personal. Sometimes we forget when it comes to sharing your art, a few smiles in a crowd can change your entire world. Being able to bring that opportunity to the Seattle area and potentially grow this event to our other stores, is deeply meaningful to me. Facilitating this monthly event, and creating a space for people to get positive feedback, has been my favorite project since relocating to Seattle.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m a Best of the Net nominated bathtub writer, group leader, author event host, bookseller, and cat dad who calls the Pacific Northwest home after living my whole Nomi Malone fantasy in Las Vegas, Nevada. My work has appeared in journals such as Taco Bell Quarterly, Vagabonds by Weasel Press, 86 Logic, and Thought Catalog. I am also reader for the Black Mountain Institute’s magazine, Witness.

Determined to one day have my Anne Rice moment, I publish trans-inclusive gay erotica inspired by the work of Edgar Allan Poe under a semi-secretive pen name. My favorite thing to do, other than write, is support other authors and I am grateful to have been the recipient of endorsements from the Nevada Arts Council, the Las Vegas Writing Conference, Hugo House, and the Writers of Central Florida.

Presently, I am a Book Buyer/Event Host with Third Place Books and the creator of QueerBewks, an online organization focussed on promoting LGBTQIA+ writers. I love working with local authors and using my experience in the publishing industry as a Marketing Manager to help them get their books in the hands of as many readers as possible.

While my first love will always be short fiction and personal essays, I am currently working on my debut novel.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

If there is any piece of advice I find myself constantly offering new writers it’s this: Find a writing group. Nothing can replace the support and networking opportunities gained from being part of a collective which shares your passion. I wish I would have joined a group sooner because the moment I did my writing and my career changed for the better.

Make sure it is tailored to what you need. Some groups are centered around open mic readings, others on critique and feedback, but all are there for the same reason, to support each other.

Although they can be pricey, I would also suggest attending writing conferences. Look for art organizations in your area offering financial support to creators, they often offer grants which can be applied to any fees (including travel) related to a conference. Some conventions and conferences also offer scholarships to underprivileged writers. They want you to be there! Take advantage of these whenever you can because there’s nothing quite like making a connection in a workshop or bumping elbows with people at a reading. Those connections are so valuable and even a chance encounter talking about vegan options in the buffet line can change the trajectory of your entire writing career.

It can be hard to leave the house as a creative. To not just stay behind the computer doing the work, but as important as growing your social media presence can be, these IRL encounters can also make a HUGE difference!

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I love storytellers as much as I love telling my own stories. When I have a new book about to be released or find out a piece is going to be included in a literary magazine, it brings me so much joy. It’s a feeling that is difficult to replicate, but what I’ve discovered is that I get to experience something similar every time I host an author event, especially an open mic night. When a new or returning writer steps up to the podium and a hush falls over the crowd, that 5-7 minutes when the stage belongs to only them and their story fills the room, it is incredibly rewarding to know I helped create that space.

No matter where I go with my own work, it will always be important to me to lift up and facilitate an open forum for authors. I learned from the best over at the Writers of Central Florida and continued my education in Las Vegas with so many wonderful groups and writers there. Their spirit of inclusiveness and admiration for all storytellers has stayed with me since my first night on stage. My ultimate goal is to spread that message to anyone who appreciates the written word, art, or has a story to tell through any medium.

There is a place in this world for everyone’s story, whether it is distributed through a major publisher or an author is brave enough to do the entire process on their own. I am happy to be working with authors local to the Seattle area and hope, under the QueerBewks and Fierce Storytelling brands, to continue to help other creatives thrive.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.fiercestorytelling.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fiercestorytelling/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fiercestorytelling
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon–mead/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/fiercestories
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/queerbewks