OA members fill new anthology September 29, 2009
Posted by mbranesf in : announcements, publications, queer-friendly publishers , add a commentPlease indulge me in a little bit of bragging about a very special group of people that I am having the honor of publishing.
The pre-order period for M-Brane SF’s anthology of queer sf, Things We Are Not, began this week, and I wish to draw some extra attention to its writers, nearly all of whom are Outer Alliance members. Several posts at the TWAN blog from September 17 onward, introduce the book’s writers and their stories. Some of these writers have been writing and publishing for a long time, while some are fairly new. They are all wildly imaginative and, as a group, represent the great diversity of the Outer Alliance’s membership. So, even though this project started well before the founding of the Alliance, I am delighted that the timing of the publication is such that I am able to proudly print the Alliance’s Mission Statement on its acknowledgements page.
Followers of artist and writer Mari Kurisato’s work, will recognize her vivid style in the book’s cover art. Newer members of the Alliance may be unaware that Mari is also the designer of the Outer Alliance logo and its various banners and badges.
Lee Wind wins GLBT book blogger award September 16, 2009
Posted by mbranesf in : announcements , 2commentsOuter Alliance Member Lee Wind’s blog “I’m Here. I’m Queer. What the Hell Do I Read?” , focused principally on queer-related YA books, is now, officially, an award-winning blog. Lee won the Book Blogger Appreciation Week “Best GLBT Review Blog” blue ribbon. Huzzah!
Lee Wind
Outer Alliance folks will want to visit Lee’s site frequently for its wealth of great information.
Nicola Griffith and Kelley Eskridge Announce Sterling Editing September 9, 2009
Posted by Natania in : The Outer Alliance, announcements , 1 comment so far
OA members Nicola Griffith and Kelley Eskridge have just announced the formation of Sterling Editing, an editing, coaching and mentoring service for writers. As Nicola says:
If you want to make your writing better, we can help you.
We’ve both done a lot of teaching (Clarion West, Arts Council of Great Britain, Emory) and have been mentoring and coaching informally with those students and friends, but now it’s time to codify and formalise what we do.
We love to teach. We love to share.
From the site:
Many people who offer editing services have never had a story, essay or book professionally published. They’ve never worked with an agent or publisher. They may have excellent theoretical knowledge — but we believe there’s no substitute for experience.
We are expert writers with excellent editing, teaching and coaching skills. We can help you both improve your writing and meet the challenges of a writer’s life, whether you’re trying to build a career, make a mid-career transition, carve out time from your busy life to work, or understand how the money works.
Serious congratulations are in order! Best of luck to you both. A truly wonderful resource for writers.
Lambda Literary Foundation and Giovanni's Room Team Up for Read-a-Thon September 2, 2009
Posted by Natania in : announcements, events , add a commentOuter Alliance member Nicola Griffith says:
Just got this. It looks like a great opportunity for queer writers of all stripes and persuasions to meet, drink some free wine, eat some fab free food, chat–and even sell books. Think of it as a mini-festival. I wish I could be there.
Dear LGBT authors:
The Board of Directors of the Lambda Literary Foundation and Ed Hermance, owner of Giovanni’s Room, would like to invite you to read at our first “Read-a-thon”. The event, to be held at 7:30pm on Saturday November 21, 2009, at Giovanni’s Room in Philadelphia, will be a benefit for both the Foundation and the bookstore. We’d like to invite LGBT authors to read from a recent or classic book and answer questions for approximately 15 minutes each. 100% of the proceeds from the event will go to the two beneficiaries. We will be serving donated wine and snacks during the marathon reading. While the foundation and the bookstore can’t offset any expenses authors might incur participating in this benefit, we can possibly arrange housing in local homes. Both the Foundation and Giovanni’s Room will be very grateful for your help in these trying economic times. While this is a fundraising event, we’re hoping it will be a lot of fun for a community of people who treasure our words and writers.
The Lambda Literary Foundation is dedicated to raising the status of openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people throughout society by rewarding and promoting excellence among LGBT writers who use their work to explore LGBT lives. The Foundation sponsors the annual Lambda Literary Awards and held its first Writer’s Retreat in 2007.
Giovanni’s Room, located at 12th & Pine in Center City Philadelphia, is the oldest LGBT bookstore in the USA. The store is faced with a financial challenge as their front wall of their historic structure is being replaced. The queer community of Philadelphia, rather than lose their cherished bookstore, is organizing fund-raising events through the fall to ensure the store’s survival.
We hope that we’ve enticed you to participate at this, sure to be wonderful, event. If you would like to read, or have any questions/comments/suggestions, please contact Scott Cranin at scranin@tlavideo.com or 267-765-9840.