GRNW 2015 – What to expect and where to go??

Library_outsideWow! We are two days away from the third annual Gay Romance Northwest Meet-Up at the Seattle Public Library on September 26!

We want to provide some up-front info for attendees wondering about the event, especially if it’s their first time. Below is some frequently asked questions (and also please feel free to share your own questions in the comments!)

Can I buy tickets online still? Yes. You can purchase a conference pass for $25 at Brown Paper Tickets.

For all tickets purchased before Friday at 9am, we’ll have a name tag printed for you at registration. Tickets purchased after that, we will have a blank name tag to fill in.

Heads-up: Online sales end Friday morning. Brown Paper Ticket sales end at 9am on Friday. You can purchase a pass after that at the Hugo House events on Friday night. (At the Old Growth table) or you can purchase at the registration desk on Saturday morning.

Can I buy a ticket at registration? Yes, you can purchase a ticket for $25 at registration. Cash, check, or credit cards are accepted.

When does the library open? For GRNW attendees, you can enter the library at starting at 9am. The library does not officially open until 10am, but since we have to start at 9am for registration, attendees can come in early.

What is the dress code? Seattle is suuuuuuuuper casual, so it’s wear what you want. Most of the conference is in the Seattle Public Library, which is also a pretty casual place.

Are there activities before Saturday? Yes! As listed in our program schedule, we have a couple free reading events the night before on Friday, September 25.

  • 6:30pm – Doors open at Hugo House (1634 11th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122)
  • 7pm – 8:30pm: #LoveWins Reading and Q&A at Hugo House with Edmond Manning, Alex Powell, Radclyffe, Anne Tenino, and Yolanda Wallace.
  • 8:45 – 10pm: 5 Minutes in Heaven reading at Hugo House with authors 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.

We hope you can join us for these Friday events! They are a great way to kick-off the weekend and to begin meeting attendees.

What times do things start on Saturday?

It depends on what you’re planning on doing:

Registration: This is from 9am – 10am, and is the best time to come, grab your name tag, swag bag, and look over the free book table to grab what you want. (First come, first serve at the free book table.)

Conference Programming: This will run from 10am – 3:15pm, with an break between 1-2pm. Come back to the auditorium around 1:50pm to see how the free book table has been refreshed. 😀

Reader Meet-Up: This will run from 3:15 – 4pm, so after the formal conference programming. This is a fun meet-up to play some games and chat with readers, and also it gives the authors time to set-up their spots at the book fest. For those who remember last year, YES, we will be playing Character Type Love Match. 😀

Book Festival: 4pm – 6pm at the Hotel Monaco (across the street from the library at 1101 4th Ave. The festival is downstairs in the Paris Ballroom.

The festival is FREE to enter, so come and enjoy!

1st Bus going to After Party: 5:30pm in front of the Hotel Monaco

2nd Bus going to the After Party: 6:15pm in front of the Hotel Monaco

After Party: 6:30pm – 9:00pm – Neighbours Night Club (1509 Broadway, Seattle, WA 98122) Come celebrate Banned! Books in Drag, a free multi-performer drag performance, hosted by The Seattle Public Library. It will be a wonderful celebration of drag and literature!

Bus back to Hotel Monaco: 9:15pm

After-After Party: 10am – Midnight (Trace Bar, 1112 4th Ave, Seattle, WA, across the street from the Hotel Monaco.) Come relax and enjoy a low-key time to chat over the day.

What should I expect at the free book festival after the conference?

The book fest will feature:

  • 50 LGBTQ romance authors to meet and chat with (See author list)
  • Both the authors and the publishers Bold Strokes Books, Dreamspinner Press, and Wilde City Press will be selling books.
  • Loads of free author swag!
  • Free appetizers
  • A cash bar (For real- it’s cash only.)

What can I expect at the After Party and the After-After Party?

Both the after party at Neighbours and the After-After Party at Trace will be a very casual setting. Neighbours is open to the public (although 21+), so there will be more than GRNW attendees there to enjoy the Banned! Books in Drag programming. Trace is the bar in the W Hotel, and will overall be very chill and relaxed.

Where do I pick up my swag bag? You can pick it up at registration.

I hear there will be free books at the conference? Yep! We have loads of free books that you can just grab and take with you. Enjoy!

Is there still a book drive for Gay City going on? Yep! We are also gathering book donations for the Gay City LGBTQ library. Every book donated will get a raffle ticket, and a chance to win some prizes! Books can be donated at the Gay City table at the conference and book festival.

Where can I park? The Seattle Library has parking all day for $8, but it ends at 7pm. Downtown also has some nearby lots. Street parking becomes free after 8pm.

What other questions could we answer? Let us know! 😀

GRNW 2015 News – New LGBTQ Romance Titles in the Seattle Public Library

Library_outsideAs we gear up for GRNW 2015 later this week on Sept. 26, we’re excited to share some great news from the Seattle Public Library!

Since GRNW started in 2013, we’ve worked with SPL to help increase their collection of LGBTQ romance titles, and in 2013 and 2014, thanks to all of SPL’s wonderful efforts, the library’s collection increased by over 400 titles.

And this year, ahead of the conference, we’re delighted to share that SPL has added over 100 more LGBTQ romance and LGBTQ genre fiction titles to their collection, including works by:

Dani Alexander, Vicktor Alexander, Tamara Allen, Astrid Amara, Heidi Belleau, Sarah Black, Sam Burke, Mary Calmes, KJ Charles, LC Chase, Charlie Cochet, Karenna Colcroft, Megan Derr, Charley Descoteaux, Grace R. Duncan, RG Emanuelle, Kim Fielding, Lauren Gallagher, Amelia Gormley, Alexis Hall, Dena Hankins, Kaje Harper, Lou Harper, Daisy Harris, Lane Hayes, David Holly, Jae, SE Jakes, Amber Kell, Carol Lynne, Josh Lanyon, Edmond Manning, Kate McLachlan, Christopher Hawthorne Moss, MJ O’Shea, E.E. Ottoman, J.K. Pendragon, Alex Powell, Jordan Castillo Price, Mark Probst, Radclyffe, Rick R. Reed, Devon Rhodes and TA Chase, Michael Rupured, KZ Snow, Andrea Speed, Karelia Stetz-Waters, Ariel Tachna, Anne Tenino, Yolanda Wallace, Sheri Lewis Wohl,

And for those trying to read titles by more GRNW 2015 authors, we were delighted to see these authors also part of the collection!

Jove Belle, Dev Bentham, Ginn Hale, J. Tullos Hennig, Heather Rose Jones, Nicole Kimberling, Morticia Knight, Jill Malone, and Andi Marquette.

Reader access to books is a big part of GRNW’s core mission, and increasing library collections is a great way to increase the community’s ability to find and read these wonderful books!

Interested in working with your local library?

To learn more about how to work with libraries, whether you are a reader, publisher, or writer please see:

Gay City LGBT Library Book Drive at GRNW 2015

MCWLibSpeaking of access, we’re thrilled to work with the Seattle nonprofit Gay City for the third year to raise awareness and encourage book donations for the Gay City LGBT Library Book Drive!

At the GRNW 2015 conference on 9/26, Gay City will have a table and will be welcoming LGBT book donations. For every book donated, the donor will receive a raffle ticket and have a chance to win some cool prizes, including an Amazon Fire!

All LGBT book donations will be greatly appreciated, and thank you to everyone who has given to the Gay City Library and allowed it to be one of the most robust free resources on LGBT romance in Seattle!

Happy Reading! 😀

Announcing GRNW 2015 Panels and other news!

Panel_1_1

GRNW just announced the 2015 panels for this year’s Gay Romance Northwest Meet-Up at the Seattle Public Library on Sept. 26, including panels on publishing, kink (and maybe having a publishing kink?), the changing dynamics in lesbian romance, elevating underrepresented characters, hearing harrowing research stories, and more!

We have an amazing crew of panelists sharing their thoughts and expertise and this year. We hope you will come join us!

See the full 2015 Programming Schedule and 2015 Panel Descriptions.

You can still reserve your seat for GRNW!

Tickets are selling, but there are still seats left for this year’s conference. Come join us for the only conference in the Pacific Northwest that highlights the awesomeness of LGBT romance fiction!

Grab your pass from Brown Paper Tickets!

It’s going to get HOT on September 25!

GRNW is hosting TWO, yes, TWO public reading events on Friday, September 25, on the eve of the conference, at the illustrious Seattle literary hub Hugo House.

#LoveWins- Celebrating LGBTQ Love Stories_banner

#LoveWins: Celebrating LGBTQ Love Stories

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

For our first event, come join us for a special reading with five GRNW 2015 authors—Edmond Manning, Alex Powell, Radclyffe, Anne Tenino, and Yolanda Wallace! Doors open at 6:30pm, and this event is free! (And there’s a bar!)

Join on Facebook!

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!

Join on Facebook!

BookFestBar2015

GRNW BookFest – Bigger and Better and still FREE!

Once again, GRNW is taking over the Hotel Monaco after the conference for the GRNW 2015 Book Fest, featuring 50 LGBTQ romance authors, tons of swag, free apps, a tasty cash bar, tables with lots of books and freebies from your favorite publishers Bold Strokes Books, Dreamspinner Press, Wilde City Press, and Riptide Publishing!

We hope you can join us at the main event at the Seattle Public Library on September 26, but just in case that’s not in the cards, come join us that evening, 4pm – 6pm, at the Hotel Monaco for the book fest. It will be a blast!

Join the Book Fest on Facebook!

The 2015 Gay City Library Book Drive is Back in Action!

MCWLibFor the past two years, GRNW attendees have generously donated over 400 LGBT books to the nonprofit Gay City LGBT Library, and we’re once again hosting the GRNW book drive to continue to add LGBTQ romance books to the library and the greater Seattle community.

Donate a Book and Get a Chance to Win!

For every book donated during the event, you will get a raffle ticket and chance to win some prizes, including an Amazon Kindle! Raffle prizes will be handed out during the GRNW Reader Meet-Up, held on Sept. 26 from 3:15pm – 4pm at the Seattle Public Library.

GRNW 2015 Authors

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

  • Vicktor Alexander
  • Astrid Amara
  • Ralph Josiah Bardsley
  • Laura Baumbach
  • Jove Belle
  • Heidi Belleau
  • Dev Bentham
  • Sarah Brady
  • Shannon Brady
  • James Brock
  • Tonie Chacon
  • L.C. Chase
  • Ethan Day
  • Charley Descoteaux
  • Grace R. Duncan
  • Cjane Elliot
  • R.G. Emanuelle
  • Kim Fielding
  • Amelia C. Gormley
  • Ginn Hale
  • Lane Hayes
  • Lou Harper
  • Daisy Harris
  • J. Tullos Hennig
  • David Holly
  • Laylah Hunter
  • Heather Rose Jones
  • Amber Kell
  • Nicole Kimberling
  • Morticia Knight
  • Sandy Lowe
  • Carol Lynne
  • Jill Malone
  • Edmond Manning
  • Andi Marquette
  • Kate McLachlan
  • Annette Mori
  • Christopher Moss
  • M.J. O’Shea
  • JK Pendragon
  • Alex Powell
  • Jordan Castillo Price
  • Radclyffe
  • Michele Rakes
  • Rick R. Reed
  • Devon Rhodes
  • Andrea Speed
  • Karelia Stetz-Waters
  • Anne Tenino
  • Joseph Lance Tonlet
  • Yolanda Wallace
  • Sheri Lewis Wohl

Visit our 2015 Authors page to read more about who is attending.

We’re looking forward to seeing everyone in just a few weeks!

And if you have a question, ask away! 😀

GRNW 2015 Registration is now OPEN!

GRNW_300x300AvatarCall us fashionably late (or just call us late!), but attendee registration for the third annual Gay Romance Northwest Meet-Up is now OPEN!!! For those wanting to register and save your seat for this year’s conference, please visit our Brown Paper Tickets site!

What’s the scoop about this year’s GRNW?

We got lots to share!

We’re back at the Seattle Public Library!

We love our local library, and they sure do like being invaded by LGBTQ romance fans! We’ll be taking over SPL’s Central Branch once again to hold our main conference programming there, both in the auditorium and in the conference rooms on the fourth floor.

The conference programming will be from 9am-4pm, with a break from 12pm-1pm for attendees to go grab lunch.

We’re keeping that awesomely low early-bird rate!

Registration prices are staying the same this year! That’s right–you can buy a pass at the early-bird rate of just $17.50! (And this includes a pass to the main conference, your swag bag, and access to all those giveaways!)

The early-bird rate ends on August 31. After that, tickets go up to $25.

Panel Programming Created by YOU!

2015 is our first year with panel submissions, and we’re excited to reveal later this summer all the great panels that you contributed! From celebrating heroism to chatting about kink to exploring which publishing path to take, there will be a wide variety of programming to enjoy!

Lots of Returning and New Authors!

GRNW 2015 has a growing list of authors joining the event this year, including con alums Ginn Hale, Radclyffe, and Jordan Castillo Price, and lots of new authors like JK Pendragon, Ethan Day, and Jill Malone. Check out the growing list on our author’s page!

The Return of Character Type Love Match!

Did you attend the GRNW 2014 Reader Meet-Up last year? Then you might have played our first game of Character Type Love Match, a hilarious and interactive game where YOU, yes, YOU vote for the BEST couple.

In 2014, attendees voted for the couple Soldier + Tattoo Artist. (May they forever have their HEA!)

Now who will win 2015??? Will it be your favorite character type? Come and see! (And vote!)

The Book Fair!

Once again, GRNW will be back at the Hotel Monaco for the 2015 GRNW Book Festival, featuring LGBTQ romance authors from around the country, and TONS of free swag! The Book Fest will be held from 4pm-6pm after the main conference and will be free for the public to attend.

OMG! Free Books!

At GRNW 2014, publishers and authors donated HUNDREDS of free books to give away during the main conference at the library, and we look forward to unleashing all the new books for this year! (As well as some cool new giveaways, like a Kindle!)

The Epic After Party – Banned! Books in Drag!

BannedFINALLY! We’re excited to announce GRNW’s partnership with the Seattle Public Library, who is hosting on the evening of September 26 the amazing performance event Banned! Books in Drag 2015! This is a multi-performer event celebrating all that is awesome about drag and banned books. (How could we not join in???)

Banned! Books in Drag will be GRNW 2015’s official After Party, and we will be busing attendees who wish to join to the nightclub Neighbours to participate in this free performance event. It’s going to be Epic!

That’s the news so far, but there will be MORE to come! If you’re curious about our developing schedule, check out our schedule page, and if you’re ready to register, please visit our ticket site.

Questions? Or have any favorite character types to suggest before the conference? Let us know in the comments!

Join us in Portland on February 14 for the Queer Valentine author event!

AnotherReadThroughSave the Date for Valentine’s Day, 2015!

GRNW will be holding our first Oregon LGBTQ romance author reading event on February 14 in Portland at the bookstore Another Read Through. Along with the reading event, we’ll also be holding our next Portland LGBTQ romance readers meet-up that day, which is always a great time to chat about your favorite books with other readers and authors.:D

Come celebrate LGBTQ love stories with readings by five amazing local LGBTQ romance authors!

  • Talya Andor, author of A Cut Above the Rest and Signal to Noise
  • Lori L. Lake, author of Eight Dates, Like Lovers Do, and Gun Shy
  • Cait Spivey, author of I See the Web and A Single Thread
  • Ethan Stone, author of In the Flesh and Wolf Moon
  • Anne Tenino, author of Frat Boy and Toppy and Sweet Young Thang

Event Schedule

  • 12pm-1:15pm: Portland Reader Lunch Meet-Up (Mac!, next to the bookstore, located at 3936 North Mississippi Avenue, Portland, OR 97227.)
  • 1:30pm – 3:00pm: Reading Event at Another Read Through! (3932 North Mississippi Avenue, Portland, OR 97227)Books will be for sale at the reading event, so it’s an excellent time to pick up a copy and get it signed by one of the attending authors!
  • 3:00pm – 5:00pm+: Post-Event Reader Meet-Up (Location pending, near the bookstore)

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Talya Andor lives in the Pacific Northwest with her girlfriend and their girl-kitty who they believe to be cutest cat in the world, and is constantly balancing a busy slate of boylove stories to write with her day job, hobbies to upkeep, and nail polishes to collect. She has been writing fiction since elementary school and progressed to guy on guy erotica during college, honing her chops on fan fiction until original fiction lured her with its siren call. She loves writing and reading, routinely geeks out over gaming and movies, and watches far too many cooking shows. You can find Talya at her WordPress blog, http://dreaminginfinity.wordpress.com/ and twitter @TalyaAndor.

Lori L. Lake is the author of ten published novels (so far) and two books of short stories and the editor of two anthologies. She’s known for her enjoyment of teaching and for sharing writing resources with both aspiring and published writers. Her 2013 mystery, Jump the Gun, recently won a Rainbow Award. She received the Ann Bannon Award for Snow Moon Rising, Golden Crown Goldies for Buyer’s Remorse and Snow Moon Rising, and was honored with the Alice B. Reader Appreciation Award. Her work has been a Lambda Literary Finalist in the anthology category. She loves to hear from readers. Her website: www.LoriLLake.com.

Cait Spivey is a Portland-based freelance editor and author of paranormal romance (I See the Web) and mystery (A Single Thread). She has a penchant for fantasy, horror, and diverse representation, preferably at the same time. When she’s not writing, she’s planning her next tattoo.

Ethan Stone has always loved to write and one point thought journalism was his dream career. He eventually accepted that writing because he had to was nowhere near as much fun doing it because he wanted to.

Stories starring gay men have always been in his head, but he thought they would always be relegated to erotica websites.  And then he discovered the wonderful world of M/M publishing. Visit Ethan’s website.

Anne Tenino: Raised on a steady media diet of Monty Python, classical music and the visual arts, Anne Tenino rocked the mental health world when she was the first patient diagnosed with Compulsive Romantic Disorder. Since that day, Anne has taken on conquering the M/M world through therapeutic writing. Finding out who those guys having sex in her head are and what to do with them has been extremely liberating.

Wondering what Anne does in her spare time? Mostly she lies on the couch, eats bonbons and shirks housework. Check out what Anne’s up to now by visiting her website.

We hope you can join us this Valentine’s Day in Portland! ❤

Publisher Spotlight: What’s in the works for the new DSP Publications? (Plus Giveaway!)

dsp-twitter-profileThis fall, Dreamspinner Press launched a new imprint DSP Publications, that will focus on LGBTQ genre fiction. This is super exciting news, so we wanted to chat with DSPP and see what their plans are for the coming plans, as well as what does this new imprint mean for books previously published under the Dreamspinner imprint.

(And don’t forget to check out our ebook giveaway at the end!)

GRNW: It’s exciting to see the launch of DSP Publications. Why the new imprint? And how is DSPP different from Dreamspinner Press or Harmony Ink Press?

DSPP: Over time we recognized that some of the stories we’ve published through Dreamspinner Press are more strongly focused in a specific genre than on their romantic elements, and the authors would be better served by our marketing them to the appropriate genre communities. The goal of DSP Publications is to present compelling stories in genres such as mystery and suspense, science fiction, fantasy, historical, horror, and urban fantasy which feature LGBTQ+ characters but do not necessarily focus on a primarily romantic relationship.

What is the initial plans for the next year for DSP Publications?

infected-epitathOur production schedule for the next year is already completely booked. Some of these will be rereleases of previous Dreamspinner Press titles, such as Greenwode and Shirewode by J. Tullos Hennig or the Wolf’s Own series by Carole Cummings. There will be new books in existing series – like Andrea’s Speed’s Infected: Epitaph and Infected: Paris, as well as several more books in the Wode series. We’re also publishing new books such as Rick R. Reed’s Third Eye and John Inman’s Willow Man.

We’ve heard that DSP is targeting a more “mainstream” audience. What does mainstream mean to you?

The marketing focus is not so much mainstream as it is genre-specific. For example, we timed rerelease of the first books in the Wode and Wolf’s Own series to coincide with the 2014 World Fantasy Convention and featured advertisements in the convention materials. Similarly we will be marketing specifically to readers of mystery and suspense, science fiction, and other genres. We want to get DSPP books into the hands of readers within the appropriate genres who are not necessarily looking for romance titles.

Dreamspinner Press has really been leading the way with both translations and converting books to audio. Will we see a similar direction with DSP Publications as well?

We want to establish a base of print and eBook releases first, but yes, we do plan to offer translations and audiobook versions of DSP Publication titles over time.

We won’t lie—we’re nervous romance readers and appreciate that Dreamspinner has often labeled their books, including using the “bittersweet dream” tag to help alert readers that a work may not have an HEA or a Happily Ever After.

Will DSP Publications still be geared towards books with hopeful endings or should readers come in with an understanding that the endings may be more varied?

Because the focus of DSP Publications is not romance, it’s possible not all releases will end with a “happily ever after.” Some will continue to include an element of LGBTQ+ romance, but not necessarily every book will.

ReawakeningIf books previously released by Dreamspinner are now being moved to DSP Publications, will there be a window when they’re not available to purchase? (I’ll use an example of a stellar book that we highly recommend, Amy Rae Durreson’s fantasy Reawakening, which we heard will be moving to DSP.)

As books near their release dates through DSP Publications, any previous Dreamspinner Press versions will be taken out of print. This will usually happen about eight weeks prior to the new release date.

Will DSP Publications be accepting submissions? (If not now, will they in the future?)

As our publication schedule is currently full for at least the next year, we are not currently accepting submissions for new titles, but we will be doing so at some point when we can realistically schedule them for release.

What books can readers get excited about for the DSP Publication’s first year?

the-last-grand-masterWe’ll be continuing a number of existing series, such as the Blessed Epoch by August Li, Champion of the Gods by Andrew Q. Gordon, Desert World by Lyn Gala, Dreamlands by Felicitas Ivey, and Flesh by Ethan Stone.

Readers can also look forward to the Little Goddess series by Amy Lane and new urban fantasy from Rhys Ford (The Four), new horror from Rick R. Reed (A Demon Inside) and John Inman (Boys on the Mountain), a steampunk novel from Carole Cummings (Blue on Black), fantasy from Connie Bailey (The Bastard’s Pearl), and spiritual fiction from Greg Hogben (My Daughter’s Army).

Our website is live at www.DSPPublications.com and features new and upcoming releases, author biographies, news, and events. Books purchased on the site can be downloaded directly to readers’ Kindles or smartphones for immediate gratification and enjoyment.

Thank you for stopping by! It sounds like it will be a fantastic first year for DSP Publications! 😀

******GIVEAWAY TIME**** 😀

DSPPLeave a comment below and  you will be automatically entered into a random drawing to win a “prize pack” of new DSP Publication ebooks written by GRNW 2014 authors J. Tullos Hennig, Rick R. Reed, and Andrea Speed!

The contest will run until December 31! Happy Holidays, and thank you to DSP Publications for their generous gift!

Come Meet Aleksandr Voinov and L.A. Witt on December 5 at Gay City in Seattle!

mta-voinov-wittThis Friday, December 5, come celebrate two of the most dynamic and daring duos of queer fiction, Aleksandr Voinov and L.A. Witt, at Gay City’s latest Meet the Author event!

Witt and Voinov—Lambda Literary finalists, Rainbow Award winners, and possibly secret superheroes–have co-written ten works together, as well as authored enough books on their own to overwhelm a library shelf, from historical fiction to contemporary romance, cyberpunk sci-fi to sexy BDSM club erotica. If you can imagine the genre, Voinov & Witt have conquered it, written it, and are working on the sequel as you read this.

They won a 2014 EPIC ebook award for their short fiction Quid Pro Quo, were 2013 Lambda Literary finalists for their novel Capture & Surrender, and won the 2013 Rainbow Award for the novels If it Flies and If it Fornicates.

This event starts at 7pm at Gay City’s Calamus Auditorium, and is free and open the public!

Meet the Authors: Aleksandr Voinov and L.A. Witt is cohosted by Gay City and Gay Romance Northwest.

Join this event on Facebook! Or visit Gay City to learn more!

??????????????Pre-Reading Meet-Up!

Come join us at the cafe at Gay City for a pre-reading meet-up starting from 5:30pm this Friday!

Just look for the table with the GRNW sign! 😀

About the Authors

VoinovWittAleksandr Voinov is an emigrant German author living near London, where he works as a writing coach, complementary therapist and freelance corporate editor. At 39 years of age, Voinov has written more than a dozen novels and commercially published five print books with German publishers. After many years working in the horror, science fiction, cyberpunk and fantasy genres, Voinov is now primarily writing contemporary and historical erotic gay fiction.

L.A. Witt is an abnormal gay romance writer currently living in the glamorous and ultra-futuristic metropolis of Omaha, Nebraska, with her husband, two cats, and a disembodied penguin brain that communicates with her telepathically. In addition to writing smut and disturbing the locals, L.A. is said to be working with the US government to perfect a genetic modification that will allow humans to survive indefinitely on Corn Pops and beef jerky.

This is all a cover, though, as her primary leisure activity is hunting down her arch nemesis, erotica author Lauren Gallagher, who is also said to be lurking somewhere in Omaha. Gallagher’s latest novel is the lesbian suspense Razor Wire.

Guardians of the Gaylaxy take over the Seattle Public Library on Nov. 17!

GuardiansOfTheGaylaxy_BannerJoin GRNW, Gay City, and the Seattle Public Library on Monday, November 17 as we present a free public reading event highlighting local LGBTQ science fiction and fantasy authors. Authors reading include: Astrid Amara, Ginn Hale, Laylah Hunter, Langley Hyde, and Nicole Kimberling.

It’s going to be an out-of-this-world evening of storytelling and discussion! We hope you will join us!

The event starts at 7pm! We hope to see you there!

Visit the Seattle Public Library to learn more!

RSVP on Facebook!

Pre-Reading Meet-Up at Vovito!

For those that want to meet prior to the reading, GRNW will be hanging out at the Vovito cafe across from the library from 5:00pm – 6:30pm. Just look for the table with the GRNW sign! 😀

About the Authors:

Astrid Amara, author of the Lambda Literary-nominated fantasy The Archers Heart, and the new fantasy novel set during the Crimean War, The Devil’s Lancer.

Ginn Hale, is a Lambda Literary nominee and Spectrum Award winner for her fantasy/steampunk novel Wicked Gentlemen, and author of the new novel Champion of the Scarlet Wolf.

Laylah Hunter’s first novel, the fantasy Gabriel’s City, releases November 2014. Laylah is also the author of short fiction, including “Safe Harbor.”

Langley Hyde, is a Clarion Writer’s Workshop graduate whose first steampunk fantasy novel Highfell Grimoires was released spring 2014.

Nicole Kimberling, winner of the Lambda Literary award for her speculative fiction novel Turnskin and founder and editor of the LGBTQ speculative fiction press Blind Eye Books.

GRNW 2014 Authors Celebrate Queer Romance Month

QRM_Badge-2-300x300From October 1 – October 31, over 120 authors and readers came together to celebrate a new blog project, Queer Romance Month.

Throughout the entire month, contributors shared 3-4 essays posted daily that celebrated the many facets of queer romance fiction, and the many layers of being queer, of being an ally, of loving romance stories, and highlighting this rising supply of romance stories that represent and celebrate LGBTQIA lives and relationships.

Please go and enjoy the many wonderful and heartfelt posts and stories that share so much about love and desire, about sadness and loneliness, about separation and rejection, and about resilience and realization, hope and triumph.

(Not to mention some hilarious and fantastic posts about writing, about slash fanfiction, and about what it felt like to first discover the existence of queer romance books and their Happily Ever Afters for queer characters.)

Among the many amazing contributors, you will find posts by GRNW 2014 authors as well. Please find them listed below, but please also enjoy the Bounty that is the QRM library. It is reading not to be missed.

GRNW 2014 Authors Writing for QRM 2014

Title Hell by Astrid Amara

“So trying to find a title that’s catchy (UnderWere) , memorable (The Anus of Caesar), but not disturbing (The Anus of Caesar), captures the story (Disenchanted Angel Seeks Revenge on God), but doesn’t reveal the end (Balls No More) is a real challenge.”

Mambo Italiano and My First happy Ending by Heidi Belleau

“Mambo Italiano was my very first queer rom com. My very first queer love story. My very first queer happy ending.”

Shimmer by L.C Chase

“I don’t know how long we stood like that, gazes locked, bodies frozen, with five feet of marbled tile between us. He was the one who decided it had been long enough though.”

Love Is Love Everywhere, Everywhen, Everyhow by Kim Fielding

“Love is love, right? It’s one of the mottos of Queer Romance Month, and it’s a concept that I—and all the other authors featured this month—recognize as a basic tenet of our work. But I want to add three more words to the motto: everywhere, everywhen, everyhow.”

Well now what? by Rhys Ford

“I’d want someone—gay, straight, purple or polka-dotted—to be able to carry themselves through life without having to fight for the right to love or to live.”

9 stories and 10 links by Ginn Hale

“But we writers aren’t the only ones exploring expanding the definitions of romance. Numerous amazing creators are writing, illustrating and producing, (often completely at their own expense) brilliant web comics. And I’d like to share a few that stand out for me.”

What Organizing a Gay Wedding Taught Me About Being a Romance Writer by Nicole Kimberling

“For a lot of readers, venturing through any of the doors marked L, G, B, or T is going to be as confusing as the bride-free wedding was for my previous client. Even readers of G might never try and see what’s behind the door marked T. Does that make them bad people? Not at all. It just means they haven’t found the book that can translate the experience into terms they understand or are able to feel comfortable engaging.”

Why We Need Trans Romance by E.E. Ottoman

“I refuse to believe that I will always be alone, that being trans has doomed me to isolation and unhappiness. I refuse to raise another generation of trans children who believe that is true, that they are fundamentally unlovable because they are trans. Who live without ever seeing people like them portrayed as being in a happy, healthy relationship. Who never get to see themselves as the heroes of a story about love and being loved.”

Components of Gay Romance by Jordan Castillo Price

“I may not consider myself to be a romance writer. But whether the love interest in my stories functions as a contrast to the main character, or a liability, or an ally, I find the relationship subplot to be a critical component of the work I’ve written so far.”

Lesbian Romance — Becoming Visible with a Little Help from our (M/M) Friends by Radclyffe

“While we who write LGBTQ romance may have different audiences, we have a common theme, and what unites us is far more significant than what separates us.”

It’s All About Me by Anne Tenino

“Most of those people who’re freaking out, telling LGBTQ people that they’re going to burn in hell? They aren’t doing it to save you. They’re doing it because they’re afraid of being punished for not saying anything.”

Why Queer Romance Matters by LA Witt

“I would have given my right arm for some believable, realistic queer characters when I was a teenager. Maybe then I would have seen myself and learned that there’s nothing wrong with me. I might’ve even learned what in the world ‘bisexual’ meant before I realized it also meant ‘me’.”

And GRNW lead Tracy contributed an essay prior to QRM’s launch:

Working in your Community to get the Word Out about Queer Romance by Tracy Timmons-Gray

“You may think that building community awareness around queer romance fiction is limited to gaining social media followers or GoodReads friends, but there are actually a lot of ways to build awareness within your *real life* community as well, and in ways that can have a big impact for other local readers and writers.”

Thank you to the organizers and contributors to the Queer Romance Month project.

With still so much celebration to do, where will QRM go next? We look forward to finding out! 😀

And please share with us YOUR favorite(s) QRM posts, and what they meant to you!

Help create the 2015 GRNW Program! 2015 Panel Submissions now open!

GRNW_ButtonAvatarIt’s official! the 2015 Gay Romance Northwest Meet-Up conference will be held on Saturday, September 26, 2015 at the Seattle Public Library!

And like for 2014, we will also have some activities on the evening before, but the plan is for once again to have the main activities on Saturday.

Submit a Panel for GRNW 2015!

For our third conference and for the first time, we are opening up panel submissions! We would love for authors and attendees to help co-create the programming for next year.

  • Do you have a great idea for a panel?
  • Do you know others who could speak on that topic?
  • Do you share our interest in promoting voices from across the LGBTQ romance writing spectrum?

Then check out our 2015 Panel Submission Guidelines for info on what we’re looking for in a panel and how to apply!

Setting up an event is actually pretty easy! What’s difficult is setting up the foundation for interesting and thoughtful discussions on LGBTQ romance, and we’d appreciate YOUR help!

2014 was a great conference, but we hope 2015 will be even better, and we’d love for you to be a part of creating that program.

Together, we can celebrate the awesomeness of LGBTQ romance and the many writers and readers who love it! 😀

WritingDiversity