Book Buzz: July 2010
Author: John Morgan Wilson
July 1, 2010
A monthly column of news and noteworthy tidbits from the LGBT writing and publishing community.
The Golden Crown Literary Society, dedicated to “the enjoyment, discussion, and enhancement of lesbian literature,” has honored Ellen Hart with its 2010 Trailblazer Award and Rosa Moran with this year’s Directors’ Award. To see all the Golden Crown Literary Award winners in thirteen categories, click here.
That’s not all for Ms. Hart. She’s included on Go Magazine’s list of One Hundred Women We Love Class of 2010. Ellen also has a poem in the current Porter Gulch Review.
Radclyffe, a triple Goldie winner this year, discusses her latest romance novel, Trauma Alert (Bold Strokes Books), in a video trailer from Dog Ear Audio.
Yet another Goldie winner, Mikaya Heart, earned a nice review for My Sweet Wild Dance (Dog Ear Press) in Edge, which called her Goldie-winning collection “soul-refreshment of the highest order.” [via]
Paul Willis reports that the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival in New Orleans is now open for submissions to its 2010-11 LGBT writing competitions. John Berendt (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, The City of Falling Angels) will serve as judge for the Second Annual Short Story Contest; the deadline is November 1. December 31 is the deadline for the Fifth Annual Playwriting Competition. For guidelines, prizes, and other details, visit www.sasfest.org. Questions should go to Paul at saintandsinnola@aol.com.
Novelist David McConnell (The Silver Hearted, The Firebrat) and Carla Trujillo, an editor (Living Chicana Theory, Chicana Lesbians: The Girls Our Mothers Warned Us About) and novelist (What Night Brings), have joined the Lambda Literary Foundation board of trustees. Katherine V. Forrest continues as Board President.
Australian Diane Simmonds, a favorite from the old Naiad Press days, is returning to the lesbian romance genre with Silver Lining, which Bella Books will publish next year. Meanwhile, Bella is releasing reprints of Simmonds’ early novels, including e-editions, more than a decade after their original publication.
Bella has also acquired Pol Robinson’s novel Open Water, inspired by her love of water recreation and adventure; a novelization, In Sight of the Seer, based on the first season of the web series “Rise of the Seer,” by its creator Linda Andersson and novelist Sara Marx; and the first three novels in a new paranormal series by Linda Kay Silva. Look for them in 2011.
ReaderCon, a speculative fiction conference to be held in Burlington, MA July 8-12, will feature a panel, “The Closet Door Dilated,” exploring LGBT writing in the genre. Panelists will include Pete Dube (Subtle Bodies, Lethe Press), Shariann Lewitt (Rebel Sutra, Tor), Charlie Stross (Saturn’s Children, Orbit/Ace), and Cecilia Tan (author/editor as well as publisher of Circlet Press). Steve Berman (author/editor as well as publisher of Lethe Press) will moderate.
Publisher-author Fay Jacobs of A&M Books has won the award for First Person Column of the Year from the National Federation of Press Woman. The column “Going Bats” appeared in Letters from CAMP Rehoboth and will be included in her third book of essays, For Frying Out Loud, due out in September.
Lethe Press has lots of news, beginning with: Icarus, the Magazine of Gay Speculative Fiction is now being offered in an electronic edition (PDF format) available for easy downloading. For more information, email editor@lethepressbooks.com.
Lethe’s Diana Comet and Other Improbable Stories, a collection by Sandra McDonald, got a starred review in Booklist, which praised the queer elements and heroic identities of the characters. For more on Sandra’s work, including a video celebrating 75 years of notable women writers in science-fiction and fantasy, click here.
Lethe has also picked up Mere Mortals, a Victorian gothic by Erastes, which is due out early next year.
James Cihlar and William Reichard have poems in The Wind Blows, The Ice Breaks: Poems of Loss and Recovery, edited by Ted Bowman and Elizabeth Bourke Johnson, an anthology recently published by Nodin Press.
Bold Strokes Books has broken into international markets, selling Russian translation rights for six of its titles to SOLID-Press. Selected BSB titles are also available in Dutch, French, Spanish, and Russian.
Meanwhile, BSB has acquired Lesley Gowan’s new erotic novella, The Collectors: Laura, scheduled for release from Aeros editions later this year; Robin Summers’s new urban fantasy, After the Fall, due out next year; and M.L. Rice’s new novel, Who I Am, scheduled for release in 2011 from BSB’s Soliloquy imprint.
Jack Fritscher’s “Interview with Anton LaVey,” from his 1972 book Popular Witchcraft, has been translated into German by Lars Peter Kronlob for his anthology, Hommage an Anton LaVey, celebrating the 80th birthday of the gay-friendly founding High Priest of the Church of Satan.
Dog Ear Audio has a new video trailer out for its latest audio book, A Pirate’s Heart, an award-winning historical romance written and narrated by Catherine Friend. To see it, click here.
“Legendary,” a poem by Emanuel Xavier from his If Jesus Were Gay & other poems and Legendary—The Spoken Word Poetry of Emanuel Xavier, a collaboration with producer El David, has been recorded into a house track and remixed into a music video, “Legendary (The E-Mix).” Here’s the link.
The Empty Closet, a publication of the Gay Alliance of New York’s Genesee Valley is running a feature on Kathryn Shay, author of The Perfect Family (Bold Strokes Books), coming in September.
Justine Saracen (Sistine Heresy) has revamped her website with videos, interviews, and photos. To check it out, click here.
Perry Brass continues to blog on gay New York, past and present, including (NYC’s Gay Pride Parade) and the historic “subway paradise” of Riis Park).
Finally:
Book Buzz asked its regular contributors to share their “must read” book this summer and tell us why it’s at the top of their list. Their responses are running separately and can be seen by clicking here.
That’s all the Book Buzz for now. So, go read a book!
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Book Buzz is a monthly column of news and noteworthy tidbits from the LGBT writing and publishing community. Book release announcements (pub dates) will continue to be covered elsewhere while Book Buzz looks for a different “angle” – an award, milestone, notable reissue, film deal, rave review, event of national interest, etc. Submit your brief item to John Morgan Wilson at jmwwriter@aol.com. No attachments please.
