ANDRE CHARLES CASTAING SKIMMED the many titles stacked on the shelves at Outwrite Bookstore & Coffeehouse while waiting in line Wednesday night to have his copy of “A Lion Among Men” autographed by author Gregory Maguire, who also wrote the bestseller “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.” More than 150 people packed into the Midtown bookstore to hear the renowned author read and answer questions.
Outwrite, Castaing says, is a “very comfortable place” for people to be who they are — while also doing some serious book shopping.
“I moved here from Baton Rouge where it wasn’t as easy being out,” says Castaing, 47.
“This store is part of the community. It’s not a big-box bookstore. We can come here and look at gay titles and not feel like we have to look both ways,” he adds, smiling.
Outwrite celebrates its 15th birthday party on Nov. 15 with a DJ and drinks
and plenty more, promises owner Philip Rafshoon.
Castaing’s partner, Michael Magursky, 38, says he remembers when he was in the Navy and visiting Atlanta.
“I knew exactly how long it took to get from the airport to the MARTA [in Midtown] and to Outwrite,” he says. “I was too afraid to [be out] anywhere else. It was a neat retreat.”
“This place had meaning for me even before I moved here. And I’d much rather support a business that has meaning to me,” Magursky adds. “Outwrite is ours.”
GREGORY MAGUIRE, WHOSE “Wicked” went on to be the Tony-award winning Broadway musical of the same name, is just one of many noted authors Rafshoon brings to his store on a regular basis.
Just in the past few months, celebrities such as Maureen McCormick (Marcia Brady of “Brady Bunch” fame) and Jackie Collins have stopped by to read and sign from their memoirs. Notable gay authors to read and sign their books — and autograph the infamous wall of fame tucked in the back corner of the store — include Tab Hunter, Lance Bass, Judy Gold, Armistead Maupin, Rita Mae Brown and E. Lynn Harris.
“We’re known worldwide for the authors we bring and for really great events,” says Rafshoon, who recalls the idea for a bookstore began with a business survey advertised in Southern Voice seeking potential investors.
The store opened in 1993. Creating a bookstore and place for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people to meet and congregate during the daytime was an idea that “felt like a right fit,” Rafshoon says.
“I was born in New York, but I’ve lived here since I was 6 — I just always wanted to have a place where people could walk to and gather. I wanted to provide a community type of store.”
RAFSHOON SAYS HIS DESIRE to open a bookstore began with reading “Men on Men” anthologies, which he found at the lesbian-owned feminist independent bookstore Charis Books & More. But he was also deeply inspired by “A Boy’s Own Story” by Edmund White.
“We’ve gone from being a small store in a shopping center to a major presence on a corner,” he says. “I love what I do, I love the community, I love the people who work here and I love being able to change people’s lives by giving them the right book.”
As Midtown has evolved, so has Outwrite, Rafshoon says. The bookstore will always keep gay and lesbian readers at the forefront, but there are also plenty of books available to non-gay book lovers as well.
“Our community is defined a lot of ways,” he says. “We go through some pretty hard times and we always need every ounce of support we can get.”
One of Rafshoon’s fondest Outwrite memories is when Olympic diver Greg Louganis visited with his memoir to share his story of being HIV positive. The event began at 3 p.m. and people lined up, in the rain, beginning at 8 a.m.
It’s with authors like these that Rafshoon decided to start the “author wall” in the far back corner of the store. There you can see the autographs from such noted authors as Louganis and Maguire, but also Edmund White, Armistead Maupin, E. Lynn Harris and even Dan Savage and local favorite Hollis Gillespie.
While Outwrite continues to evolve to keep up with trends and to stay on top of the independent book seller business, Rafshoon says the store will never lose its mission of serving gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender book lovers.
“We will always remain strong to our gay and lesbian roots,” he says.
FOR CHARIS BOOKS & MORE, making it to the ...
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