Thursday, June 02, 2011

The buzz: Simon and Schuster will publish John Irving's thirteenth novel, In One Person, written from the point of view of a bisexual man.

Magnus Books will publish in 2013 Cassandra Langer's All or Nothing: The Life, Loves & Art of Romaine Brooks, repositioning Romaine Brooks, the lesbian artist, fashion icon and confidante to a cast of characters, including Jean Cocteau, Collette, Gertrude Stein, Carl Can Vechten and Radclyffe Hall as modernism rises at the beginning of the 20th century.

In July 2011 Modernist Press will release Art From Art, edited by Stephen Soucy .A special full color limited edition will also be available for purchase through the press Web site. Soucy has also written and directed a short film set in Palm Springs. The trailer can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVF_xfM55mo.

Next Spring Magnus books will publish activist Marsha Aizumi's Two Spirits, One Heart, a courageous story of unconditional love, acceptance and support during Aizumi’s daughter's struggles with her gender identity and transformation into a beloved son.

The first four chapters of Collin Kelley's forthcoming novel, Remain in Light are online at Scribd. A free sampler of Kelley's first novel, Conquering Venus, and Remain in Light at available at OmniLit. The novel, a mix of mystery, suspense and a love story between two young gay poets, will be released by Vanilla Heart Publishing in ebook format in October and in print in January 2012.

Lethe Press has released Hellebore and Rue: Tales of Queer Women and Magic, edited by JoSelle Vanderhooft and Catherine Lundoff. Haunted Hearths and Sapphic Shades: Lesbian Ghost Stories, edited by Catherine Lundoff, received a Gaylactic Spectrum Award nod for "Best Other Work" as well as having three short stories picked for the finalist list. Lethe Press is issuing a new edition of the book featuring a new cover and redesign.

Jewell Gomez’s The Gilda Stories is celebrating its twentieth year in print. Gomez’s new play, Waiting for Giovanni, exploring the inner life of James Baldwin, will have its world premiere at the New Conservatory Theatre Center this fall.

Sibling Rivalry Press will publish Bryan Borland and Stephen Mills’ The Hanky Code in late 2011.

Amy Briant’s second novel Romeo Falls is forthcoming from Bella Books in February 2012.

Among the new releases coming from Bold Strokes Books: Detours, a novel by Jeffrey Ricker in November 2011; Rob Byrne’s new novel Holy Rollers in late 2011; Murder in the Irish Channel by Greg Herren December 2011; William Holden’s new book, Words to Die By, in 2012; Steve Berman’s young adult anthology, Boys of Summer in 2012.

This month Chelsea Station Editions releases Chelsea Boy, a debut collection of poetry by Craig Moreau. Moreau also begins his summer book tour, with stops in DC, Chicago, San Francisco, Iowa City, and Minneapolis. For a full list of reading dates, visit the Web site. http://www.chelseastationeditions.com/chelsea-tour.html.

Rob Rosen has launched Fierce Publishing with Good & Hot, a collection of twenty erotic shorts by the author that have appeared in Men, Freshmen, and [2] magazines.

Novelist Farzana Doctor was named this year's recipient of The Writers' Trust of Canada's Dayne Ogilvie Grant for Emerging Gay Writer. Dani Couture and Matthew J Trafford received Honours of Distinction.

Kelly Smith, Achy Objeas, Jameson Currier, Otis Fennell, and Michele Karlsberg were inducted into the Saints and Sinners Hall of Fame at the recent literary festival in New Orleans.

Edward Albee and Val McDermid were feted with Pioneer Awards at the 23rd Annual Lambda Literary Awards. Winners of the twenty-four book categories can be found on the Web site www.lambdaliterary.org.

Felice Picano has filmed interview segments for forthcoming documentaries on Vito Russo and Wakefield Poole.

Publisher Cecilia Tan did a live blog while on a panel titled “Publicizing Your Book” at the Saints and Sinners Literary festival which can be read at http://blog.ceciliatan.com/?p=733.

Passport magazine became the first gay magazine to be made available to Barnes and Noble’s customers on The Nook.

Philip Rafshoon, owner of Outwrite bookstore in Atlanta, emailed that the store is “in jeopardy,” and urged customers to buy e-books from the store online; visit the coffeehouse; use the coffeehouse lounge for free for meetings of companies, businesses or organizations; volunteer to help the store in web design, bookkeeping, finance, banking, retail management, retail sales, collections and legal services; and tell others about the store.

This month the Lambda Literary Foundation is launching an online book club. The Web site also has a new managing editor: William Johnson: wjohnson@lambdaliterary.org.

After almost a decade on line, the Velvet Mafia Web site has shuttered. Edited and designed by Sean Meriwether, the Web site created a vibrant community of writers and expanded the boundaries of gay fiction and erotica.

Lambda Literary Foundation received renewal of a grant of $25,000 from Amazon.com, a continuation of Amazon's support for the Writers' Retreat for Emerging LGBT Voices. This year's retreat will be held August 6th through August 13th, 2011, on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles.

There will be two readings from Persistent Voices in Washington D.C. during Gay Pride Month. Wednesday, June 8th, at 8 p.m. at Bloombars (3222 11th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001) and Sunday, June 19th at 5 p.m. at Busboys & Poets (2021 14th St. NW, Washington D.C., 20009).

David Pratt will reading from his Lambda Award winning Bob the Book, comic strip artist Howard Cruse celebrates the publication of The Complete Wendel, and Steven Haas reveals George Platt Lynes: The Male Nudes, Wednesday June 15 at 7 pm at Housing Works bookstore and café, 126 Crosby Street in Manhattan.

David Pratt and Felice Picano will read from their new books June 23 at 7:30 pm at Books Inc in the Castro at 2275 Market Street in San Francisco.

The 2011 Atlanta Queer Literary Festival will take place June 23-25 at venues in both Atlanta and Decatur. Keynote speakers will be Sibling Rivalry Press founder and poet Bryan Borland and Women of the World Poetry Slam champion Theresa Davis.

Author Kirk Read will be doing a one man show, Computer Face, June 7 at 8 pm at The Garage.
Open Calls: Editors Eric Andrews-Katz and Vincent Kovar are seeking submissions for Gay City: Volume 4-At Second Glance~Familiar stories from different views. Either historical or fictional characters are acceptable. Deadline July 31, 2011. Send submissions to: GC Anthologies, 511 East Pike, Seattle WA 98122-3617. For questions: anthology@gaycity.org.

Passages: Joanna Russ, best known for her 1975 novel The Female Man, died April 29, 2011. Writer and direct Arthur Laurents, known for West Side Story, Gypsy and The Way We Were, died May 5, 2011. He was 93. Playwright Doric Wilson died May 7, 2011. Among his most notable plays were Street Theater and A Perfect Relationship
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