25th anniversary of PINS: San Francisco Public Library event Oct. 15

 

25th anniversary of PINS

Author Jim Provenzano in conversation with Mark Abramson

at Eureka Valley San Francisco Public Library, Oct. 15, 6pm.

 

(posting my press release)

 

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the debut novel by local author Jim Provenzano, he will be joined by popular local author Mark Abramson in a one-hour conversation about their early publishing successes with independent presses and self-publishing. Provenzano will also sign and give away free copies of PINS.

 

In 1997, having completed an early version of his Masters thesis novel about gay high school wrestlers, Jim Provenzano succeeded in getting the attention of two high-profile literary agencies. But after both failed to snag a deal, he continued writing and improving the work, changed the title, and decided to self-publish it on October 1, 1999. 

 

With the guidance of the late Richard Labonté and other colleagues, he succeeded in getting reviews and booked multiple reading events in Ohio, New York, California, and even Sydney, Australia. Part of his success, along with being a first-time author, was the fact that at the time Provenzano was an accomplished masters-level wrestler himself.

 

After the first 1000 print run sold well, he decided to print 5000 more copies. In 2000, PINS was the #1 gay fiction title on Amazon.com for several weeks. A commissioned stage adaptation followed in 2002 and premiered at San Francisco’s New Conservatory Theater Center. Since then, Provenzano’s books have been mostly self-published in print, e-books, and audiobooks. 

https://www.jimprovenzano.com/

 

With a legendary local history as a bartender, and as a benefit revue and dance party coproducer, Mark Abramson’s life in San Francisco is documented in his fiction and memoir books. He also recounts his youthful days in Minnesota living on a farm in his other memoirs. His earlier Beach Reading series follows the life of Castro Street waiter Tim Snow and the intriguing stories set in the Castro district and around San Francisco.

https://markabramson.net/

 

The two authors discuss their early books, their inspiration, and their successes in small press and self-publishing in the gay fiction genre. Provenzano will also sign free copies of his debut novel, PINS. Other books will be available for sale.

 

San Francisco Public Library/Harvey Milk Memorial Branch, 1 Jose Sarria Court

October 15, 6pm. (415) 355-5616 Free

https://sfpl.org/locations/eureka-valley

 

 (RSVP on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/874431874224738 )

Pride month production, publishing and procrastinations

@ Fabulosa Books

Happy Pride Month! I know it's a bit late and it's almost over, but it's been a busy month. Who decided to make it a whole month, anyway? Remember when it was just a day or a week? It's kind of exhausting when you think about it.

This month, not only did I publish my novella, Lessons in Teenage Biology, I also arranged a reading at Fabulosa Books in San Francisco with two of my pal authors, Trebor Healey and Gar McVey-Russell. That was June 24.

 

And only days before that, I completed my 40-page portion of the Bay Area Reporter's annual Pride issue. I edited 12 articles and wrote two on my own. I'll get to those in a bit.

But the big news for me was publishing Lessons in Teenage Biology. I had a good time putting it together because it's short and sweet. It's based on a short story I wrote way back in 1986 and cleaned it up and made some artistic changes but basically tried to keep the same adolescent voice going for the story which expanded to 24,000 words. 

That's a bit too much for a short story. So that's why I didn't submit it to any anthologies, because I just wanted to do it myself and experiment with some marketing techniques. 

If you heard about the book, then it may have succeeded, but I actually found that several types of recommended promotions don't exactly work right, specifically the practice of giving away your book as an advance reader copy (ARC). Two different services mostly resulted in people who didn't read it, looked at it, or gave a negative review. So enough with that.

What's really surprising as a success are Ingram's promotions that go directly to libraries and bookstores for only $150. That was the real bargain. It saved me having to buy email lists, purchase them, do a mass mailing etc. 

I had a bit of a flop with MailChimp. I sent out press release to about 200 verified press email addresses and only got about three responses for any kind of coverage.

But moving forward, I set up reading event at the local bookstore Fabulosa Books, which is the location of the late great A Different Light bookstore. In its heyday before the Internet, the staff would hand sell-books by local offers like me. And going to see an author was a big big deal.

This time around we had about 20 people show up, including some known literary authors, which was great. Three people inquired on social media if there would be a live feed. We didn't set that up and that would not have been a hassle, but it's not the point. People have come to expect that kind of convenience since the pandemic and I've done quite a few since 2020 (including one at Fabulosa with Baruch Porras-Hernandez), but not this time around.

 For my day job as the Arts Editor of the Bay Area Reporter, the entire month was full of hundreds of emails. I had to sort articles, assign writers, collect photos to crop and edit, etc. It was a lot of work, and of course our big Pride issue came out today. You can read the PDF version or all the articles on the web of course. In San Francisco, you can get a print copy. It's quite a collectible.

One of those articles that I wrote was a review of the biography of Richard Hunt, the gay Muppet performer of who died of AIDS in 1992. Jessica Max Stein's biography is a very special and touching story about the affable and funny guy who played many characters on The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, and some of Jim Hanson's films. 

You can read my review here. I'll probably post that on Goodreads and Amazon later on.

So, when the actual Pride day comes, I'm so exhausted all the rainbow stuff that I've had to process and produce and publish, that I haven't even gone to Civic Center in a few years, even though it's only a few blocks away from my home. 

It's just a big crowd of young kids, which is great, but it's just not to my taste to be enveloped by clouds of cooked meat, loud music, and drunk people. In fact, most of my friends don't even go anymore. 

We went during the earlier days in the '80s and '90s when it was a radical thing to march in the Pride parade. Specifically, my New York days where I was just coming out were pivotal. 

Well, I had been out, but I was officially out and marching up (or down) Fifth Avenue to/from the West Village and Central Park. It was quite a revolutionary exciting wonderful time. Now it's more about consumerism and an overload of drag brunches.

Not that there's anything wrong with drag brunches! There's just so much going on now in terms of the entire month being full of LGBTQ events. It's hard to keep up. But that's my job.

I hope you're going to have some fun with your friends at Pride in your city, whether watching or marching in a parade; something I did many many times with sports groups and Mikes on Bikes in years past. 

It's always fun to participate and I've done my share to participate, and encourage other people to do so.

Happy June, happy LGBTQIAetc. Happy Pride.

Fabulosa to host banned books reading marathon

Books with LGBTQ themes are under attack while anti-gay harassment is spiking nationwide. To counter the book bans, Castro district Fabulosa Books has organized Read For Filth, a 24-hour celebration of queer literature, on October 7-8.

The event is a fundraiser for Books Not Bans, the store's program to send queer books to LGBT centers and groups in red states. It's timed with the national Banned Books Week, Oct. 1-7, created by the American Library Association, with bookstores and libraries highlighting censored books.

(photos: Authors Rasheed Newson with Jonathan Escoffery at a recent Fabulosa Books event; a stack of banned books to be shipped to LGBTQ community centers. (photos: Fabulosa Books))

So far, Fabulosa Books has shipped 15 boxes to groups in Tulsa, OK, Cheyenne, WY, Charleston, NC, Ft. Meyers, FL, Hattiesburg MS, and Montgomery, AL.

Sister Roma

"We fill each box with 20 new and popular queer books that are a mix of current titles and classics," said Bex Hexagon, events manager for Fabulosa, and the creator of Books Not Bans. "It is very easy to feel powerless, but books show us a road to what is possible, and stories save lives. This event is an affirmation of hope and our resilience as a community."

Fabulosa Books owner Alvin Orloff said, "We may be far from the worst of the book bans and anti-LGBT bigotry, but we can do our part to support our community. If I can help the kids of today weather the stupidities of Ron DeSantis and Don't Say Gay, you bet I'm going to do it."

Fabulosa's round-the-clock series of events will include activities for all ages to celebrate stories with, and written by, LGBTQ authors. 

The various events begin on Oct. 7, 10:30am with Drag Story Hour for families, with San Francisco Library staff in attendance to register people for library cards. Sister Roma will guest-host part of the event.

"We'll have a parklet in front of the store for the day of the event and events in-store all night long and the next morning," added Hexagon.

From 2:30pm to 6:00pm, an expansive lineup of authors, performers and members of community groups will read poetry and stories, and musicians and attendees will perform and read as well. The celebration of books will include a diverse lineup of community leaders, Castro merchants, and other community members.

The event will also include a full group reading of George M. Johnson's "All Boys Aren't Blue: a Memoir Manifesto," which is currently one of the most banned books in America.  

For the full schedule of events, read my full article on www.ebar.com and visit https://www.fabulosabooks.com/

 

Saints & Sinners Literary Festival online March 11-14; including my panel and reading

 

Literature online is now nothing new, but with an entire literary festival, from readings to panels, all online, the 18th annual Saints & Sinners LGBTQ Literary Festival, usually held in New Orleans, returns with a robust roster on March 11-14, and most events are free to the public. I’ll be participating with a panel on Memoir & Fiction, and as part of the reading line-up.

The virtual SASFest will include literary discussions, writing workshops, readings, and special events, all via Zoom or YouTube. While the convivial gatherings at previous SASfests at New Orleans restaurants and bars will be missed, the online version packs the talent with literary legends and acclaimed new writers. Literary panels and discussion topics include a wide array of genres: mystery, romance, young adult, poetry, memoir vs. fiction, and short fiction.

Since 2003, Saints + Sinners Literary Festival brings together the who’s who of the LGBTQ literary world. The Festival features panel discussions and writing workshops by authors, editors, and publishers for emerging writers and LGBTQ literature fans. 

Among the highlights are a discussion with the Literary Luminaries of the Violet Quill —Andrew Holleran, Felice Picano, and Edmund White­–  and a discussion of Jewish Lesbian Literature and Activism with Elana Dykewomon, Judith Katz, Irena Klepfisz, and Michele Karlsberg. 

The Reading Series includes new voices and literary icons sharing their work including Meredith Doench, Cheryl Head, Michael Lowenthal, Daniel W.K. Lee, David S. Pederson, JD Scott, Tammy Lynne Stoner, and Sassafras Lowrey.

Also reading: the winners from the festival’s first annual poetry contest —Danielle Bero, Ezra Adamo, and Steven Riel and three contributors to the festival’s 12th annual short fiction contest: Colby Byrne, Lisa Hines, and Laura Price Steele. 

(from upper left) Farzana Doctor, Colby Byrne, Dorothy Allison, Bryan Washington (from lower left) Phil Gambone, Regie Cabico and Judy Grahn are just seven of the many authors participating in SASfest 2021.

A new addition to the Festival lineup is a Conversation Series featuring authors interviewing authors. Bryan Washington will discuss his acclaimed first novel Memorial, a New York Times Noteable Book of 2020, with author Matthew Griffin. 

Scholar & Poet Julie R. Enszer will host a talk with literary icon Judy Grahn regarding her new book, Eruptions of Inanna: Justice, Gender and Erotic Power.

Founder of the Son of Baldwin media community, Robert Jones, Jr. discusses his groundbreaking new novel The Prophets, recently featured in the New York Times, with The Reading Life’s Susan Larson.

 

Journalist Merryn Johns will discuss sex and censorship and the modern gay rights movement with author and political activist Naomi Wolf; and Jenn Shapland and Carlos Dews discuss their passion for the work of Carson McCullers.

 

Special Events

SASfest this year will be more than books. Bay Area favorite Fauxnique (Monique Jenkinson) will perform excerpts from her provocative cabaret works and will read passages from her forthcoming drag memoir Faux Queen.

The New Orleans-based band The Slick Skillet Serenaders play a set of their 1920s and ‘30s-era Ragtime, Blues, and Jazz music stylings.

Jewelle Gomez

Members and donors to the festival can also view a partial screening and discussion of the Project Legacies documentary, In Her Words: 20th Century Lesbian Fiction. 

SASFest also offers established and emerging LGBTQ authors, as well as students and readers, an opportunity to network via Padlet, a free community building app, and nurture their craft with a diverse array of artistic and educational offerings.

 

The Writing Workshop Series will feature Dorothy Allison, Michael Nava, Matthew Clark Davison, and Radclyffe. Acclaimed writer Jewelle Gomez will lead a poetry workshop, and also included is an instructional workshop from Kindle Direct Publishing to familiarize authors with their services and self-publishing options. Workshops will have a fee.

 

Tubby & Coo’s Mid-City Book Shop is the official bookstore of Saints and Sinners. Buy authors’ books from the shop via BookShop and the store will donate a portion of sales back to the Festival. All events are free this year with the exception of the Writing Workshops. Tickets on sale at

www.sasfest.org. (Reprinted from my article in the Bay Area Reporter.)

Finding Tulsa - book release event Sept. 22 at Dog Eared Books with Baruch Porras-Hernandez

Join me in a chat with author Baruch Porras-Hernandez on Sept. 22 at 8pm PST as we discuss my seventh novel Finding Tulsa. Hollywood, the 1990s, gay sexuality and musical theatre are among the topics in my new novel, which is available now (pre-order until Sept. 22) through online retailers and by ordering through your favorite independent bookstore.

 While I will be at Dog Eared Bookstore, it will be closed by that time. But if you're in San Francisco, you'll soon be able to buy my new and previously published books there. Yes, Dog Eared and many other bookstores are cautiously open to the public. Mask up, squirt some sanitizer on your hands, and shop on!

RSVP on the Facebook event page, or directly on the EventBrite invite. You'll get a link to the Zoom chat, where, after talking with Baruch, I'll take questions from attendees. Once again, Tuesday, Sept. 22 (which is also the Autumnal Equinox) at 8pm Pacific Time, 11pm East Coast, so you can show up in your pajamas, considering you may have spent all day in them anyway.

Yes, the West Coast is burning, the East Coast is flooding, political turmoil is daily -heck, more than daily- inducing nausea and outrage in millions nationwide, and a global pandemic is killing thousands a day. So why and how do authors and other artists continue to promote their works? We'll discuss that as well.

It's often a struggle to get fans to show up at readings. I dislike relying on social media platforms that have been proven to be complicit in corruption and disinformation. But most of us, the smart ones, at least, can weed through the political lies to share good news. I hope you can do the same.

 

 

And, on Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 7pm PST, I'll be online again, reading a short except from Finding Tulsa with three other gay male writers; Richard May, Wayne Goodman and Rob Rosen. Visit the Perfectly Queer Readings Facebook page for info and a Zoom link.

For links to my previously recorded talks, visit my events page.

Also, my first advance review has been shared on GoodReads:

"'Finding Tulsa' belongs in company with 'The Lost Language of Cranes' by David Leavitt and 'The Mysteries of Pittsburgh' by Michael Chabon. If I had not known going in that this novel was a work of fiction, I would have assumed it to be an autobiography. The narrator is focused on himself alone and makes no assumptions about the other cast of characters around him. In the first chapter, narrator Stan gives a clear indication of what to expect: "This story goes back and forth, but loops around itself. My life/career/whatever, misguided as they come, is based purely on the loss and discovery of men."

 

And check out my first (online) published review on Joyfully Jay! Reviewer Camille really got the intent of Finding Tulsa and offers insight and some apt critique.

 

Keep up with events and reviews on my Facebook author page and website, www.jimprovenzano.com.

And follow me on the other things!

https://twitter.com/jim_provenzano

https://www.instagram.com/jimprovenzano/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/620500.Jim_Provenzano

http://www.amazon.com/author/jimprovenzano

https://www.youtube.com/user/Cyclizen

Finding Tulsa on NetGalley, Bookshop, Publishers Weekly, and around the world

My seventh novel, Finding Tulsa, is getting around with less than a month before its official publication date. You can choose from supporting my IndieGogo campaign, simply ordering it in advance, or even get a free copy in exchange for an honest review. I've also got more interviews online and even a YouTube playlist.

First up; my fundraising campaign has raised enough to pay a few bills (money already spent, by the way). Yesterday I shipped almost a dozen paperback editions the day after they arrived at my work office. I could have waited a few days to leave them for our postal worker to pick them up, but since I only work at the office a few days a week, I decided to trek to the nearest post office to 'get 'er done.' and buy stamps. A full hour later, in a socially-distanced line of 15 or so people, I got that taken care of.

You can still get a paperback and/or ebook edition, and for larger donations, receive some of my previously-published acclaimed novels. I also still have free promo codes for the engaging audiobook adaptations of my my fourth and fifth novels, Every Time I Think of You and its sequel, Message of Love. Both got lovely reviews on the Big Gay Fiction Podcast.

Of course, advance orders on Amazon will help my book's ranking upon its release, placing it higher with more visibility. Understandably, some people are not using Amazon for a bunch of justified reasons. So I asked the folks at BookShop.org to list Finding Tulsa, and they kindly obliged. You can support independent bookstores by buying it and my other books there. 

Feel free to 'game the system' by then posting your reviews on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and Kobo (ebook only) as well.

With Kobo, I did notice some country restrictions, so you can chose your area, be it through a U.S., French, German, Dutch (?), Canadian or Japanese distributor.

Finding Tulsa got a brief mention in Publishers Weekly, and on Lambda Literary's website, which will help bookstores and libraries consider stocking it. As I wrote in my IndieGogo campaign notes, small presses face multiple obstacles to get buyers' attention, from stories to shoppers. I may have to buy some more ads, but want to focus on indie LGBT media buys, and not on feeding the quit evil machine of Facebook. Yes, I have to using it and other morally bankrupt social media outlets.

But wait, what was that about a free copy of Finding Tulsa? Well, you can catch the Erie Gay News contest for a chance to win a no-obligation copy. 

But you can also sign-in or sign-up for NetGalley, where thousands of books are available in advance ebook format. Members are asked to post reviews on Amazon, Goodreads or on the Net Galley website. Get Finding Tulsa here.

Instead of bookstore readings, like many others, I'm adapting to online interviews and events. You can view my recent chats with Nicholas Snow on PromoHomoTV, and with new fiction author David Eugene Perry, plus my recent talk with author Wayne Goodman on his Queer Words podcast.

Upcoming, join my September 22 Facebook Live  event with Dog Eared Books on the official release date of Finding Tulsa.

With more than 20 review copies sent to various media and freelance reviewers, I'm eager to read what they think of this, my most epic, adult, and frankly mature novel about summer theater crushes, 1990s Hollywood, gay life, lost and rediscovered loves, and a lot more.

Readings by Rob Rosen, Baruch Porras-Hernandez and Jim Provenzano

I haven't blogged in more than a month - oh my! - but I did do a reading on Facebook Live on April 20 hosted by prolific author and editor Rob Rosen, and with Bay Area poet, author and amiable event host Baruch Porras-Hernandez. 

You can see it on Rob's page HERE.

My reading was as excerpt from the title tale in my short story collection, Forty Wild Crushes. It's available in print and Kindle editions.

I hauled out an old oversize construction paper picture book that I used for the first reading of this childhood tale (with pop culture footnotes, visualized in the picture book) way back in 1994 at the old A Different Light bookstore on Castro Street. 

After being the site of several other clothing stores and businesses, that location now the new Dog Eared Books' second store, where I've already enjoyed reading a few times and attending more events.

My voice in the video was a bit nasal, since I was getting over a cold. But hey, it's there, so enjoy. And check out Rob's books HERE.

Baruch's website is HERE.

More about Forty Wild Crushes HERE and HERE. Oh, and HERE.

Comedy Salon @ Spark Arts

Enjoy stand-up comedy, and a comedic reading from yours truly, at the premiere of Marga Gomez' 'Comedy Salon,' at Sparks Arts in San Francisco's Castro district.

Hop a bar or three before or after, and enjoy the talents of Natasha Muse, Karinda Dobbins and me, with host Marga Gomez.

 Tuesday, July 26. 8pm. Spark Arts, 4229 18th St.  Gomez recently performed a version of her hit show Pound at the intimate gallery, where art shows open each month.

Here's Karinda Dobbins telling of a "Beauty Shop Beatdown."

As Gomez says, "Do reserve your tickets now - as it's limited seating. If you love comedy but not the noise and heckling of a bar - this salon is the spot for you.  Our closing act Natasha Muse is known for inspired riffing, being clever, hilarious, lovely and chill."

Here's Natasha explaining shoes and her feet. 

Here's the Facebook event page.  See you there!  I'll have copies of my books you can buy and have signed.

I'll be reading an excerpt from my 'Rocky Horror"-inspired short story. Thinking of which, someone suggested I make a trailer for #40WildCrushes, (retweet that hastag, please), like the other three I made for PINS, Every Time I Think of You, and Message of Love.

But I don't have many music references in the stories, and it isn't named after a song title, so who cares? Trailer suggestions appreciated.

Perfectly Queer: July Lit Event, Summer Reading and Serious Themes

Another reading, another bookstore! July 11, I will be part of a reading and panel discussion with two other authors at the new home for LGBT events with Books Inc, at Opera Plaza on 601 Van Ness Avenue. The Market Street/Castro district store closed, as you may know.

Here's the link to Books Inc's listing for my reading with Michael Aleynikov, author of Ivan and Misha: Stories, and Na’amen Gobert Tilahun, author of The Root: A Novel of the Wrath & Athenaeum.

Aleynikov's connected stories share the intimate lives of two brother immigrants trying to survive in Brooklyn with their own family troubles and strife.

Philadelphia Phreedoms

Setting my novel Message of Love primarily in Philadelphia in the early 1980s became a complex decision. Such a city almost becomes a character in itself; outwardly friendly, yet complicated and a little dangerous.

Philadelphia City Hall

Of course, no city is perfect. They all have their unpleasant sides, and Philly has quite a few. My research about the era proved true. I wonder if I may have 'gone soft' by depicting historically accurate aspects of crime and anti-gay violence as being nearby, for the most part. How it effects the lives of Reid and Everett, the main characters, develops gradually, not with the violent impact of reality.

For example, last week a swastika was painted on the windows of a kosher shop in northeast Philly. In a similar hate crime, a synagogue endured the same cowardly graffiti hatred.

And on September 11, of all dates, a gay couple was assaulted and beaten by a gang of up to fifteen "clean-cut" white men and women in Center City.

On the Radio

I don't often –heck, I rarely, if ever– discuss my day job here, because, hey, it's work. 
But this is pretty special: 

Sarah Dash!

I'll be on radio podcast in San Francisco, with Sarah Dash, Raquela (okay, phone-ins, but still) and host Tweaka Turner. Some other guests may be on, too, so it's not, like odd that I'm paired with these immensely talented women.

But yeah; I get to share a program with them on the local podcast. Previous guests include dozens of movers and shakers in nightlife, arts and gay stuff. 

The podcast itself is in a funky little Mission studio, but that's not the point. It's fun, and I think out next week.
Find out more on the House of Pride Facebook page.

A Bookstore's End: How 'Evil' Are You?

Giovanni's Room, the oldest U.S. LGBT bookstore in America, if not the world, will soon close. And it's our fault.

Giovanni's Room in June 2012

Think about it. We buy books on Amazon.com. I self-published my last two books with them. It proved to be the easiest and most profitable format for self-publishing authors like myself. Expanding our culpability, we use the arrogant Google, whose motto has quite obviously re-punctuated from "Don't be evil," to "Don't. Be evil!" Google the term "Google buses" to catch up on this ongoing San Francisco controversy. Feel guilty? Use Bing.com instead (even though it pales in comparison).

Our smart phones and Apple computers are manufactured by near-slaves in China who will die from the toxins made with these products. I wrote all my novels on Apple computers. I am right now blogging on a Google platform.

We're evil by association. And the last great American gay bookstore is our latest sacrifice.

Tragedy Tomorrow

"Why are you so cruel?" asked a young writer in my most recent online interview. It's a good question. Why bring misfortune and tragedy upon one's fictional characters?

Telling a compelling story inevitably must involve some sort of conflict, otherwise it's a fairy tale. And even fairy tales often have a level of gruesome tragedy. But what is it about consciously bringing unfortunate events into fictional characters' lives that's such an onerous task?

I like my characters. Heck, in Every Time I Think of You, like many readers, I fell in love with them. So why make them unhappy?

Oscar Pistorius in court

Who could make up a story like that of Oscar Pistorius? Only months ago, I was posting about his amazing victories at the Olympics and the Paralympics. Pistorius was a sexy role model and a hero to millions. 

Then, on Valentine's Day, he allegedly shot his girlfriend four times before crushing her skull with a cricket bat. The owner of numerous guns, Pistorius was allegedly paranoid about home break-ins, and also had prior violent outbursts. Who could make up such a horrid story? Who would want to?

Lambda Lits Out Loud

Tuesday, April 24!

Join Bay Area LGBT authors in a group reception and reading event celebrating finalists in the 24th annual Lambda Literary Awards.

Confirmed readers include:
Ryan Van Meter (If You Knew Then What I Know Now, Gay Memoir/Biography)
Daphne Gottlieb (15 Ways to Stay Alive, Lesbian Poetry)
Justin Chin (98 Wounds, Gay Debut Fiction)
Tirza T. Latimer (Seeing Gertrude Stein: Five Stories, LGBT Nonfiction)
Jan Steckel (The Horizontal Poet, Bisexual Nonfiction)
Malinda Lo (Huntress, LGBT Children’s/Young Adult)
Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha (Love Cake, Lesbian Poetry)
Jim Provenzano (Every Time I Think of You, Gay Romance)
Lara Fergus (My Sister Chaos, Lesbian Debut Fiction)


San Francisco Public Library
Latino/Hispanic Meeting Room A & B
100 Larkin Street, San Francisco, California 94102
5:00 pm Reception - 6:00 pm Reading

Here's the Facebook Event Page for the SF Public Library event. Please do RSVP!

Here are other U.S. (and Canadian) events.

Can't attend? Listen in to my live (then archived) online interview with host Nate Klarfeld, on Stonewall Live! Thursday, April 12, 9pm Eastern; 6pm Pacific Time.


While looking up links for fellow finalists, I found this amazing and deservedly praised book trailer for Ryan Van Meter's memoir. It's not a trailer, it's a short film!


If You Knew Then What I Know Now, essays by Ryan Van Meter from Sarabande Books on Vimeo.

See/listen to more Vimeo videos of more than 70 authors, posted by Lambda Lit.