MORE INFO AUTHOR VISITS TO ATLANTA: SEPTEMBER Sept. 8 Michael Luongo, ‘Gay Travels in the Muslim World’ Outwrite Bookstore & Coffeehouse, 7:30 p.m. www.outwritebooks.com Sept. 10 J.L. King, ‘Love On A Two Way Street’ Outwrite, 7:30 p.m. R. A. and Geno Salvatore, ‘The Stowaway” Wordsmiths Books, 7:30 p.m. www.wordsmithsbooks.com Sept. 12 Stephane Dunn, ‘Baad Bitches & Sassy Supermamas: Black Power Action Films’ Charis Books & More, 8 p.m. www.charisbooksandmore.com Sept. 13 Brian McNaught, ‘Are You Guys Brothers?’ Outwrite, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 17 Christopher Beckwith, ‘What’s In It For Me?’ Outwrite, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 18 Matthew Rothschild, ‘Dumbfounded’ Outwrite, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 19 Judy Gold, ‘25 Questions for A Jewish Mother’ Outwrite, 8 p.m. Brad Meltzer, ‘The Book of Lies’ Wordsmiths, 7:15 p.m. Sept. 26 Candace Chellew-Hodge, ‘Bulletproof Faith: A Spiritual Survival Guide for Gay & Lesbian Christians’ Charis, 8 p.m. Sept. 28 Linda Villarosa, ‘Passing for Black’ Charis, 6 p.m. OCTOBER Oct. 6 Candace Bushnell, ‘One Fifth Avenue’ Margaret Mitchell House, 6 p.m. $10, www.gwtw.org Jon Michaelsen, 'Men', Outwrite, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 7 William Conescu, ‘Being Written’ Outwrite, 7:30 p.m. Honor Moore, ‘The Bishop’s Daughter’ Margaret Mitchell House, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 9 Nancy Floyd, ‘She's Got a Gun’, Charis, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 14 BJ Elliot, ‘Hope Through Courage’ Outwrite, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 15-19 Atlanta Queer Literary festival www.atlqueerlitfest.com Oct. 17 Jenny Block, ‘Open’, Outwrite, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 20 Maureen McCormick, ‘Here’s The Story’ Outwrite, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 23 Rinku Sen and Fekkak Mamdouh, ‘The Accidental American: Immigration in an Age of Globalization’, Charis, 8 p.m. Oct. 28 Gregory Maguire, ‘A Lion Among Men’ Outwrite, 7:30 p.m. NOVEMBER Nov. 6 Wendy Burns-Ardolino, ‘Jiggle: (Re)Shaping American Women’ Charis, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 8 Charis' 34th birthday party Charis, 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 12 Nikolas Kniel Ribbon, ‘The Art of Adornment’, Outwrite 7:30 p.m. Nov. 14 Jaen Black, ‘Bastante’ Charis, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 15 Outwrite 15th anniversary party Outwrite, 7 p.m. DECEMBER Dec. 4 Rene Jacobs, ‘Provocateur Women’ Outwrite, 7:30 p.m. Compiled by Matt Schafer
RELATED STORIES Queer quills Strong works dotted the 2008 literary landscape Out writers Gay authors descend on Decatur Book Fest End of the ‘Rainbow’ Gay author Alex Sanchez wraps up his trilogy of books for gay teens with ‘Rainbow Road’ and two stops in Atlanta. Literary homecomings Season showcases authors with strong ties to Atlanta
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HOME > SOVO SCENE > BOOKS

Sep 05, 2008  |  By: EMILY WAGNER  | COMMENTS |   |  

THIS YEAR, FALL BOOK RELEASES are a gay potpourri, ranging from new “boyfriend fiction” to friction at the intersections of the queer community. These are just the highlights of thousands of titles.

Sneaking in before summer’s end, “The Black Tower,” by gay writer Louis Bayard, came out last week. This historical mystery follows Eugène François Vidocq, a detective and police chief in the Parisian underworld of 1818.

Debuting in September is a compilation called “CRISIS: 40 Stories Revealing the Personal, Social and Religious Pain and Trauma of Growing up Gay in America,” edited by Mitchell Gold. CRISIS features the stories of high-profile gay personalities coming out in the heartland of America. Contributors include Joe Solmonese, Human Rights Campaign president; Tammy Baldwin, gay congresswoman; and Brian Graden, president of entertainment for MTV and VH1.

Chicago writer Drew Ferguson releases his debut novel, “The Screwed Up Life of Charlie the Second,” in September as well. Neither erotica nor literature, Ferguson’s novel is a candid glimpse of a gay teenage boy suffering an extreme Napoleon Dynamite complex — boyfriend fiction at its best.

For the more literary-minded, “The Letters of Allen Ginsberg,” edited by Bill Morgan, also comes out this month. Poet Ginsberg corresponded with men like Jack Kerouac and Philip Glass, and his collection of letters is something of a historical epistolary novel, documenting his work and acting as a guide to the Beat generation.

OCTOBER FEATURES CONTRIBUTIONS from a few female writers. A memoir called “Sex Talks to Girls,” by Lambda Award-winning writer Maureen Seaton, hits the shelves early in the month. Within this fictionalized autobiography, Seaton recasts herself as “Molly” and records her antic-filled evolution from meek girl to full-fledged gay woman.

Amy Sedaris, who likens herself to Martha Stewart, give or take a few cocktails, releases the paperback edition of “I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence.” In a voice that’s both sardonic and sincere, apron-sporting Sedaris includes recipes, conversational icebreakers and hospitality tips.

IN NOVEMBER, GRAPHIC NOVELIST Alison Bechdel releases “The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For,” a selection of strips from her previously published collections, plus 60 of her newest strips.

Also set for November is a fresh collection of short stories by new gay writers. “Cool Thing: the Best New Gay Fiction from Young American Writers,” edited by Lambda Award-winning novelist Blair Mastbaum, is an anthology that includes contributors who are writers, poets, filmmakers and modern gay aesthetes.

Lambda Award-winning writer Michelle Tea’s long anticipated omnibus, “Transforming Community,” will  also be out in November. The book explores the relationship between transgender and gay communities.

DECEMBER BRINGS A CRITIQUE of evangelical views and commentary on the current debate about gay marriage, “Thou Shall Not Love: What Evangelicals Really Say to Gays.” Gay anthropologist Christian Patrick Chapman puts out the book just in time for the holiday season. Chapman provides an exhaustively researched, point-by-point argument against the rationales conservative Christians use to condemn homosexuality.

In stark contrast — and always popular as gifts — come three hardcover coffee table books of male erotic photos from German publisher Bruno Gmunder. “Virility,” a hefty $77 tome featuring the photos of Fred Goudon, is slated for November, while “Michael Lucas’ Gigolos” (Gmunder, $49.99) and “Christopher and the Boys” (Gmunder $64) are set to drop in October.