Signature Books Podcast

Some Hard Stars with David Thacker

How do you write deeply personal poems without revealing too much about the people you care about? In this episode, poet David Thacker talks about his collection Some Hard Stars [https://www.signaturebooks.com/books/p/some-hard-stars] and the delicate work of writing about people and events that hold meaning to him.  David’s poems don’t turn away from hard topics, but they don’t leave us there either. With insight and tenderness, he reminds us to notice beauty, even in heavy moments, and to hold both loss and hope at once. David Thacker is a recipient of the Creative Writing Award from the Western Literature Association, a Pushcart Prize Special Mention, and he was selected by Tracy K. Smith for Best New Poets. His poems have appeared in Image, The Kenyon Review, Orion, Ploughshares, Tin House, and elsewhere. He received his MFA from The University of Idaho and his PhD from Florida State University. He teaches at The Ethel Walker School, where he chairs the English Department, runs the Visiting Writer Seminar, and is the Director of Community Partnerships (a relationships-based service program). Some Hard Stars [https://www.signaturebooks.com/books/p/some-hard-stars] is his first book. You can follow David on Instagram @_david_thacker

Inside "These Saints Are Stones": Millie Tullis on Her New Poetry Collection

After uncovering complex and, at times, troubling family history, Millie Tullis did what she does best: she wrote about it in verse. She joins Beth Brumer Reeve to discuss her new collection, These Saints Are Stones [https://www.signaturebooks.com/books/p/these-saints-are-stones]. We talk about the process of researching her family history and what it means to sit with the unknown—how gaps in the archive can be approached with both truth and imagination. Millie shares how writing this collection became a healing act, helping her confront her roots and make sense of inherited history, faith, and identity. We also explore the balance between vulnerability and restraint: how do you write honestly about family while deciding what to protect, if anything? A thoughtful conversation for poetry lovers and anyone interested in Mormon history. Millie Tullis is a poet, editor, and researcher from northern Utah. She holds an MFA from George Mason University and an MA in American Studies & Folklore from Utah State University. Her poetry has been published in Dialogist, Sugar House Review, Cimarron Review, Dialogue, Ninth Letter, and elsewhere. Her digital micro-chapbook, Dream with Teeth, was published by Ghost City Press in 2023. Her research has won awards from the Utah Historical Society, the Folklore Society of Utah, and the American Folklore Society. She is the editor-in-chief of Exponent II. Find more at millietullis.com [http://millietullis.com/]. You can also follow Millie Tullis on Instagram @millie_tullis. Check out all of our books at SignatureBooks.com, and follow us on Instagram @signature.books.

We're Thankful for the Moisture: A Gay Guy's Guide to Mormon Faith, Family, and Fruit Preservation

Do Eli McCann’s parents think he is funny? Hear his answer on our latest podcast episode while we talk about his new book, We’re Thankful for the Moisture: A Gay Guy’s Guide to Mormon Faith, Family, and Fruit Preservation [https://www.signaturebooks.com/books/p/were-thankful-for-the-moisture], a collection of essays adapted from his humor columns in The Salt Lake Tribune. Eli shares how he knew from a young age that he wanted to be a writer—and how voices like David Sedaris, Erma Bombeck, and Tina Fey shaped his comedic style. We also talk about his childhood love of Lucille Ball and the unforgettable Halloween when he and his friend Sam dressed as nuns after watching The Sound of Music. It’s a funny, heartfelt conversation about faith, family, queerness, and finding your voice. Eli McCann is a lawyer, writer, and podcaster. His monthly humor column for The Salt Lake Tribune explores cultural and religious ideas, usually through his experiences living as a gay man in Utah. Since 2016, McCann has produced and cohosted the storytelling podcast and live show, Strangerville. His work has been featured in publications around the world, including The Washington Post, Newsweek, HuffPost, BBC, and others. His writing and other creative projects can be found at his website, It Just Gets Stranger. [https://www.itjustgetsstranger.com/] Please join us at his book launch on February 24th, 2026, at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art at 7:00 PM. Seating for this event is limited, so get your tickets here [https://elimccann.eventbrite.com]. You can follow Eli on TikTok, Instagram, and X.

Tracy Y. Cannon: Tabernacle Organist & Pioneering Musician 1879-1961

Tracy Young Cannon had a vast influence on the musical voice of Mormonism in the twentieth century. In this episode, Shelby Fisher, a professor of music and a gifted organist, shares what she learned about Cannon as she researched his life. Cannon was a Salt Lake Tabernacle organist from 1905 to 1930, oversaw the creation of two hymnals and an expansive organist and chorister education program while chairing the General Music Committee of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Fisher’s new biography, Tracy Y. Cannon: Tabernacle Organist & Pioneering Musician, 1879–1961, [https://www.signaturebooks.com/books/p/tracy-y-cannon] is now available in paperback and ebook formats. Fisher earned masters’ degrees in both organ performance and education from the University of Utah and a doctorate in sacred music from the Graduate Theological Foundation. Her scholarly work centers on the influence of religious belief on musical performance practice. She serves as Director of Organ Studies at Utah State University and is an active musician. She and her husband are the parents of three daughters.

Game Changers: AJ Dybantsa, BYU, and the Struggle for the Soul of Basketball

In one of the most unlikely coups in college basketball history, BYU signed basketball phenomenon AJ Dybantsa—the number one high school player in the U.S. Dybantsa’s decision stunned the sports world, and AJ continues to garner national attention.  In their new book, Game Changers: AJ Dybantsa, BYU, and the Struggle for the Soul of Basketball, [https://www.signaturebooks.com/books/p/game-changers] guests Matthew Bowman and Wayne LeCheminant explore why it is that a player like Dybantsa, who had his pick of any college in the nation, chose BYU. In answering that question, the authors delve into recent court rulings and institutional reform that put money at the forefront of college sports in ways the American public has never seen. And for generations before that, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints built a theological structure and institutional commitment to basketball that historically led to the sport being central in its youth and missionary programs as well as at BYU. Bowman and LeCheminant place Dybantsa in the context of this history and culture and explore the tensions in the sport today.  Game Changers  [https://www.signaturebooks.com/books/p/game-changers]is now available in hardback, paperback, ebook, or audiobook format.