Pre-GRNW Conference Events – Sept. 25, 2015 – Seattle

Come join us for a pre-conference meet-up and public reading event! These Friday events are free to join and open to the public.

#LoveWins: Celebrating LGBTQ Love Stories

7pm – 8:30pm – Hugo House (1634 11th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122)

(Doors open at 6:30pm)

2015 is a monumental year for love stories in all its rainbow colors! Come join us for #LoveWins, as we present a special reading event at Hugo House with five amazing authors—Edmond Manning, Alex Powell, Radclyffe, Anne Tenino, and Yolanda Wallace. From contemporary romances to sci-fi space romps to college coming out stories, each writer shines a spotlight on LGBTQ lives, loves and relationships, and promotes the theme that there’s Happily Ever After for everyone, and Love really does win in the end.

5 Minutes in Heaven: Fast and Flirty LGBTQ Love Stories to Ignite Your Night!

8:45pm – 10:00pm – Hugo House (1634 11th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122)

Gird up your loins, my lovelies, because on Friday night, September 25, queer romance writers from across the country are coming (ahem) together to serve up the sauciest sauce that ever did sauce a plate, a bed, a shower, or that rickety hammock in the backyard that bravely attempted to meet your sex swing dreams. From the lava-hot erotic to the sweetly romantic—this is a night to celebrate the gaiety of boys and girls in love with other boys, girls, and those that happily proclaim “up yours” to the gender binary and transcend to new levels of love. Grab a glass of your favorite *cocktail* from the bar, pull up a chair, adjust what needs adjusting, and strap in to whatever (or whoever) has straps. It’s going to be a bumpy night!

Participating Authors include: Vicktor Alexander, Ralph Josiah Bardsley, Heidi Belleau, Austin Chant, Ethan Day, R.G. Emanuelle, Daisy Harris, Andi Marquette, Rick R. Reed, and Karelia Stetz-Waters, and MC-ed by local author Evan J. Peterson.

Gay Romance Northwest Meet-Up – Sept. 26, 2015 – Seattle

Locations: Seattle Central Public Library; Hotel Monaco; Neighbors, Trace

Conference Snapshot

• GRNW 2015 Conference: 9:00am – 4:00pm
• GRNW Book Fair: 4:00pm – 6:00pm
• Banned! Books in Drag: 7:00pm – 9:00pm
• The GRNW “After After” Party: 10:00pm – Midnight

PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE

Gay Romance Northwest Meet-Up 2015

(Seattle Central Public Library, 1000 4th Ave., Microsoft Auditorium)

9:00am – 10:00am: Morning Registration Period (Microsoft Auditorium)

10:00am – 11:00am: Conference Introduction and Keynote (Microsoft Auditorium)

Opening Remarks: Tracy Timmons-Gray (Gay Romance Northwest)

Keynote Address: “Read With Pride” with:

• Jessica Blat (Board Member, Old Growth Northwest)
• Susan Lee (Blogger, Boys in our Books)
• Austin Chant (Author, Silver and Gold)

Opening Plenary Activity:

The last session of the day is going to be built right here, during the first session. Come join us and share how YOU want to see the LGBTQ romance genre grow!

11:00am – 12:00pm: Panels Series 1 (Multiple Locations in the Library)

• Celebrating and Elevating Underrepresented Characters in Queer Romance Fiction
• Like Fine Wine: Romance After 40
• Roundtable Discussion: Research Tips for Your Contemporary Romance
  
• Writing a Historical, Fantasy, or Sci-Fi? Do your Research – And How!

See Panel Descriptions

12:00pm – 1:00pm: Panels Series 2 (Multiple Locations in the Library)

• Changing Dynamics of Lesbian Romance
• Loving Kink, Hot Kink: Why and How to Write it Responsibly
• Traditional or Self-Publishing? Which Route to Choose?

See Panel Descriptions

1:00pm – 2:00pm: Lunch Break

2:00pm – 3:00pm: Final Plenary Session (Microsoft Auditorium)

The Evolving LGBTQ Romance Genre – Where do you want the genre to go?

In the past, GRNW’s last panel of its annual conference examined diversity and how the genre is growing, and this year, we’re “evolving” the evolving panel, keeping the theme around where *you* want the genre to go, but taking it in new directions, and the content will be built by the audience during the opening session. Come find out what everyone voted on, and see how you want the genre to grow and prosper!

Moderator

Gunner Scott (Program Director, Pride Foundation)

Panelists

• Austin Chant: (Author, Silver and Gold)
• Laylah Hunter (Author, Gabriel’s City, Resurrection Man)
• Alex Powell (Author, Rangers Over Regulus, Sky Knights)
• Karelia Stetz-Waters (Author, Something True, Forgive Me if I’ve Told You This Before)

3:00pm – 3:15pm: Closing Remarks and Looking Ahead (Microsoft Auditorium)

3:15pm – 4:00pm: GRNW Reader Meet-Up! (Microsoft Auditorium)

While the GRNW authors head over to the book fest to set-up, come join the second annual GRNW Reader Meet-Up for a rollicking good time as readers gather to gab about their favorite books, grab giveaways, and once again, play the amazing interactive game Character Type Love Match! You decide the couple that ends all couples for GRNW 2015!

Other 2015 GRNW Meet-Up Conference Activities:

* Loads of free books from authors and publishers!

* The Gay City LGBT Library Book Drive will throughout the conference. For every LGBT book donated, a donor will receive a raffle ticket and a chance to win a free Kindle.

* Free conference snacks and swag will be available.

Gay Romance Northwest Meet-Up Book Festival

(Hotel Monaco, 1101 4th Ave.)

The GRNW 2015 Book Fest is free to enter and open to the public!

4:00pm – 6:00pm: Book Festival (Paris Ballroom, one floor down from the lobby.)

Please see the author list below or visit the GRNW Authors page for a full list of the 2015 Attending Authors.

Other Book Fest Activities:

* The Book Fest will feature free appetizers and a cash bar for cocktails and other drinks.

* Lots of free swag from publishers and authors!

* Select titles by GRNW Attending Authors will be available for sale during the Book Fest from authors and publishers.

* The Gay City LGBT Library Book Drive will run throughout the Book Fest.

5:30pm: First Bus for Banned Books in Drag

6:10pm: Last Bus for Banned Books in Drag

For those joining us at the Book Festival, we will have a bus to take attendees to Capitol Hill to attend the Seattle Public Library free performance event “Banned! Books in Drag 2015.”

The Seattle Public Library Presents Banned! Books in Drag 2015

(Neighbours, 1509 Broadway, Seattle, Washington 98122)

6:30pm – 9:00pm: Banned! Books in Drag 2015 (21 and Over only)

Join us at Neighbours Nightclub for a free evening of drag and literature for Banned! Books in Drag hosted by The Stranger’s David Schmader! This event is 21 and over.

Some of Seattle’s favorite drag performers and comedians will give performances inspired by their favorite works of literature.

Check out our collection of titillating fiction, find your next great read or sit back and enjoy a combination of drag and literature that is too hot to have in a library building!

Celebrate the Freedom to Read. Banned! Books in Drag will be a night to remember!

9:15pm – Bus back to the Hotel Monaco

GRNW 2015 “After After Party”

(Trace, 1112 4th Ave, Seattle, WA – Inside the W Hotel and across the street from the Hotel Monaco)

Time: 10:00pm – Midnight

Feeling very Banned and now ready for some low-key mingling? Come join GRNW at the Trace Bar at the W Hotel downtown as we wrap-up the evening and enjoy their late night happy hour.

GRNW 2015 Attending Authors

GRNW 2015 Authors will be available for meetings fans and answering questions during the Book Fest. 2015 Attending Authors include:

• • Nicole Kimberling
  • Morticia Knight
  • Susan Lee
  • Sandy Lowe
  • Carol Lynne
  • Jill Malone
  • Edmond Manning
  • Andi Marquette
  • Kate McLachlan
  • Annette Mori
  • Christopher Moss
  • Chris Muldoon
  • M.J. O’Shea
  • JK Pendragon
  • Alex Powell
  • Jordan Castillo Price
  • Radclyffe
  • Michele Rakes
  • Rick R. Reed
  • Devon Rhodes
  • Gunner Scott
  • Andrea Speed
  • Karelia Stetz-Waters
  • Anne Tenino
  • Tracy Timmons-Gray
  • Joseph Lance Tonlet
  • Yolanda Wallace
  • Sheri Lewis Wohl

  Visit the 2015 Authors page to learn more about who is attending!

  GRNW Sponsors and Partners

  Old Growth Northwest and the Gay Romance Northwest Meet-Up wish to thank the following organizations for their support of GRNW 2015:

  GRNW Sponsors: Blind Eye Books, Bold Strokes Books, Dreamspinner Press, Harmony Ink Press, Less Than Three Press, MLR Press, Riptide Publishing, Wilde City Press

  GRNW Partners: Gay City, Gay City LGBT Library, Inland Empire Chapter of the Romance Writers of America, Lambda Literary Foundation, Rainbow Romance Writers, Rose City Romance Writers, The Seattle Lesbian

  Questions?

  Questions about the schedule for the 2015 Gay Romance Northwest Meet-Up and Book Fest? Please contact Tracy Timmons-Gray, Director and lead volunteer, Gay Romance Northwest Meet-Up.