Just because Summer has faded into Fall doesn’t mean Fire & Ink is slowing down a whit. The heat is still on in Texas, and Fire & Ink is bringing a little heat of its own to this year’s Dallas Southern Pride weekend.

This has been a great year so far for Fire & Ink. We’re on course for Fire & Ink III: Cotillion and we’re blazing our trail there with event after event presenting blazing literary talent from coast to coast.

This year, our first for Fire & Ink Presents!, we have hosted dozens of authors at eight Black Pride celebrations from our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., to Newark, St. Louis, Portland, and Nashville!

Now we’re headed deep into the heart of Texas and we are not about to start slippin’! Join us at 10am on Saturday morning, October 4th, for an exciting event featuring four diverse and talented authors talking about their work, and reading delicious excerpts from their latest projects:

• Samiya Bashir (Where the Apple Falls)
• Tim’m T. West (Flirting)
• Nikki Rashan (Double Pleasure, Double Pain)
• Michael-Christopher (Unspeakable)

Samiya Bashir’s collection of poetry, Where the Apple Falls, was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. Samiya’s upcoming collection of poetry, Gospel, is forthcoming in 2009. Samiya is also the editor of two groundbreaking anthologies: Best Black Women’s Erotica 2 and Role Call. Her poetry, stories, articles, essays and editorial work have been widely published. She will be MC for the event, discussing her new work, and reading briefly.

Tim’m T. West is an author/publisher, poet, emcee, and activist who in 1999 co-founded Deep Dickollective, the black queer rap outfit known for putting the subgenre referenced as “Homo Hop” on the map. In 2003 he released a critically acclaimed poetic memoir Red Dirt Revival; in 2005, a chapbook, BARE. In July 2007 West released the highly anticipated Flirting through Red Dirt Publishing. Musically, he released his solo debut, Songs from Red Dirt on Cellular Records in 2004 and in July 2007, Blakkboy Blue(s). He has appeared in several documentaries including but not limited to Alex Hinton’s Pick Up the Mic (LOGO) and Byron Hurt’s Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes (PBS/Independent Lens). In July 2008 West relocated to Houston, Texas, where he happily resides.

Flirting is Tim’m's poignant follow-up to Red Dirt Revival: a poetic memoir in six breaths. Flirting is expressed through poetry, prose and essays; in it, West flirts with memory, girls, boys, danger, politics, and romance. He writes in the tradition of poets like Audre Lorde, Essex Hemphill and Pablo Neruda, who seize language as a tool reflecting social change while bridging political and erotic landscapes. Here, the distinction between the personal and political is beautifully blurred. While rooted in his experiences as black, gay-identified poet, emcee, activist, and educator, Flirting is an invitation to (re)connect others to that optimistic, joyful space where, even between rocks and hard places, hope springs eternal. Beyond word play, there is profound meaning and possibility in Flirting.

This year, Michael-Christopher celebrates ten years of self-publishing success. Since 1998, Michael has written, illustrated and published a graphic novel compilation and three literary novels, including the Living the Life series and the critically acclaimed From Top to Bottom. A graduate of New York’s School of Visual Arts, Michael plans forthcoming collections of photography and sketches and the seventh installation in his graphic novel series. Unspeakable is Michael-Christopher’s fourth novel.

In Unspeakable, Rodney Franklin seeks the comfort of family and friends in his hometown of Philadelphia following a breakup with his partner. While reconnecting with his past, Rodney discovers he and a childhood friend both share a disturbing experience—they were both victims of child molestation at the hands of the same depraved man. In their attempt to right the wrongs of the past, Rodney and his friends find themselves in very present trouble. Amidst it all, Rodney’s old flame, Katrina, enters the picture in hopes of resuming her role as damsel in distress, but this time around, she finds Rodney is not the man she once knew.

Nikki Rashan uses her ability to tap into the depths of human nature to create emotionally honest and passionate stories of love and romance, mixed with bits of humor and suspense. In her writings, Rashan utilizes the energy she experienced through her coming out journey, which she openly shared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2004. Born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rashan is the loving mom of teenage twin girls. www.nikkirashan.com

Double Pleasure, Double Pain is the story of Kyla, a woman challenged by emerging affections toward Stephanie, a female classmate. Having lived a rather charmed life, 26-year-old Kyla has remained undisturbed within the comfort zone of her supportive family, loyal sweetheart and close-knit friends. But an unforeseen yet heart-awakening physical attraction and emotional bond forms between Kyla and Stephanie. What will Kyla do?

So far this year Fire & Ink Presents! has been working to produce outstanding literary events at seven different Black Pride celebrations. We’ve had a great time presenting dozens of authors in Washington, D.C.; Newark, New Jersey; Portland, Oregon; St. Louis, Missouri;  and Nashville, Tennessee.

Don’t miss us this weekend in Atlanta where the lineup promises to melt those Georgia peaches into juicy cobbler.

Reading from their latest books are:

• E. Patrick Johnson (Sweet Tea: Black Gay Men of the South—An Oral History)
• Fiona Zedde (Hungry for It)
• G. Winston James (The Damaged Good; Voices Rising)
• Laurinda D. Brown (The Highest Price for Passion)
• Michael-Christopher (Unspeakable)

E. Patrick Johnson is professor, chair and director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Performance Studies and professor in the Department of African American Studies at Northwestern University. A scholar/artist, Johnson has performed nationally and internationally and has published widely in the area of race, gender, sexuality and performance. His books include Appropriating Blackness: Performance and the Politics of Authenticity, (Duke University Press, 2003), which won the Lilla A. Heston Award, the Errol Hill Book Award, and was a finalist for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award; Black Queer Studies: A Critical Anthology (co-authored with Mae G. Henderson, Duke University Press, 2005); and Sweet Tea: Black Gay Men of the South (University of North Carolina Press, 2008). He is touring in a one-man show based on the narratives in Sweet Tea. He hails from Hickory, North Carolina.

Sweet Tea: Black Gay Men of the South—An Oral History is a collection of oral histories from black gay men who were born, raised and continue to live in the South. The men hail from fifteen different states and range in age from 19 to 93. E. Patrick Johnson will read from the oral history of Atlanta’s own Duncan Teague.

Fiona Zedde lives and writes in Atlanta, Georgia with her partner. She is the author of the novels Bliss, A Taste of Sin, Every Dark Desire, and Hungry for It, as well as the novellas “Pure Pleasure,” “Going Wild” and the soon-to-be-published “Sweat,” which appear in the collections Satisfy Me, Satisfy Me Again, and Satisfy Me One More Time, respectively. Find out more at www.fionazedde.com.

In Hungry for It, her newest novel, Zedde presents Rémi Bouchard. With good looks, limitless sex appeal, and the wealth and popularity that comes from owning the city’s hottest jazz bar and restaurant, Rémi Bouchard can have anyone she wants. Lately though, the allure of wild one-night stands and no-strings flings is starting to wear thin. Rémi craves something more. At her best friend’s wedding, she looks across the crowd and finds exactly what she’s been searching for—an intense, soul-searing connection. But passion this deep has its dangers—especially when it means falling in love with the one person who should be off limits.

G. Winston James is a Jamaican-born poet, short fiction writer, essayist and editor. He holds an MFA in fiction from Brooklyn College, City University of New York, and is the author of the poetry collections The Damaged Good and the Lambda Literary Award-nominated Lyric: Poems Along a Broken Road. James is a co-editor of Spirited: Affirming the Soul and Black Gay/Lesbian Identity, and lead editor of Voices Rising: Celebrating Twenty Years of Black Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Writing.

With The Damaged Good, Lambda Literary Award nominated author G. Winston James returns to the literary landscape with a raw, moving poetry collection of searing, unapologetic honesty. Homophobia, sex, desire, longing and liberation mark the terrain of these terse, often unsettling poems. From the unwelcoming streets of Kingston, Jamaica to the parks of Brooklyn, New York, G. Winston James skillfully chronicles new times in black and gay history. The Damaged Good is one of the bravest, most authentic collections of poetry in years.

Laurinda D. Brown uses her writing to tell universal stories that apply to all cross-sections of society. She is the author of six novels, Fire & Brimstone, UnderCover, Walk Like a Man, Strapped, The Cathouse, and The Highest Price for Passion, and a contributing author to Zane’s Purple Panties. In 2007, Laurinda won the Lambda Literary Award for Best Lesbian Erotica with her book of short stories, Walk Like a Man, which became a critically acclaimed stage play now in its third year of production. A graduate of Howard University, she writes about life, not lifestyles. She currently resides in the Atlanta metro area with her two daughters and her partner of twelve years, Charlotte.

The Highest Price for Passion: A century of unrest equals ten decades of change. The Highest Price for Passion uses as background one hundred years of the most volatile era to divide American soil, interspersed with the uncontrollable fervor from the unlikeliest of sources—when both master and mistress vie for the affections of a slave too beautiful to destroy, with a quiet intelligence neither can outwit.

This year, Michael-Christopher celebrates ten years of self-publishing success. Since 1998, Michael has written, illustrated and published a graphic novel compilation and three literary novels, including the Living the Life series and the critically acclaimed From Top to Bottom. A graduate of New York’s School of Visual Arts, Michael plans forthcoming collections of photography and sketches and the seventh installation in his graphic novel series. Unspeakable is Michael-Christopher’s fourth novel.

In Unspeakable, Rodney Franklin seeks the comfort of family and friends in his hometown of Philadelphia following a breakup with his partner. While reconnecting with his past, Rodney discovers he and a childhood friend both share a disturbing experience—they were both victims of child molestation at the hands of the same depraved man. In their attempt to right the wrongs of the past, Rodney and his friends find themselves in very present trouble. Amidst it all, Rodney’s old flame, Katrina, enters the picture in hopes of resuming her role as damsel in distress, but this time around, she finds Rodney is not the man she once knew.

Read more: “NEWS RELEASE: Fire & Ink Hosts ITLA Literary Café”

Well fear not! Because we’re just getting started. Stay tuned for more information about upcoming Fire & Ink Presents! events, as well as continuing programming from Fire & Ink that you won’t want to miss.

Fire & Ink thanks Newark/Essex Pride and everyone who participated in Fire & Ink Presents! on Saturday, June 14, 2008.

Here are a few pics from the event, with thanks to Steven G. Fullwood:

Don’t miss more fabulous pics of the event by featured reader (and blogger extraordinaire) Sharon Bridgforth.

Did you capture photos at a recent Fire & Ink event? We’d love to share them with the world, so Email ‘em in! Let’s show the world what we’re doing both small scale and large!

You? What’d you think? Let us know!

Us? We’re keepin’ it movin on to Newark, New Jersey! Come on out and don’t miss it!

• Sharon Bridgforth (the bull-jean stories, Love Conjure Blues
• James Earl Hardy (A House Is Not a Home; new introduction to In the Life)
• Herukhuti (Conjuring Black Funk)
• Shelton Jackson (The Second Chapter: Acceptance)
• Lisa C. Moore (Spirited: Affirming the Soul and Black Gay/Lesbian Identity, Does Your Mama Know?)
• Jonathan Plummer (Balancing Act)
• Kimberly Q (Orchids I & II)
• Kai Wright (Drifting Toward Love)

Save the Date for upcoming Fire & Ink Presents! events coming to a city near you:

June 12th: Portland, Oregon
June 25-29: Columbia, S.C.
Dates soon to be announced for Fire & Ink Presents! events in Memphis & Nashville.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE WRITERS AND THEIR WORK HERE: –>

Sharon Bridgforth is the Lambda Award winning author of the bull-jean stories (RedBone Press), and love conjure/blues (RedBone Press). Bridgforth has broken ground in the creation and presentation of the performance/novel and in doing so has advanced the articulation of the Jazz aesthetic as it lives in theatre. An Alpert Award Nominee in the Arts in Theatre, Bridgforth’s work has fostered the study of black lesbian performance literature in academic settings. She has received support from the National Endowment for the Arts Commissioning Program; The National Endowment for the Arts/Theatre Communications Group Playwright in Residence Program; National Performance Network; and the Rockefeller Foundation Multi-Arts Production Fund Award. A touring artist whose work has been presented nationally, Bridgforth is Anchor Artist for The Austin Project (sponsored by The Center for African and African American Studies, University of Texas at Austin).

Using traditional storytelling and nontraditional verse to chronicle the course of love returning in the lifetimes of one woman-loving-woman named bull-dog-jean, the bull-jean stories give cultural documentation and social commentary on African-American herstory and survival. Set in the rural South of the 1920s, the bull-jean stories herald the spirit of African-American people.

James Earl Hardy’s byline as a music critic, cultural writer and essayist has appeared in Essence, Newsweek, Entertainment Weekly, the Washington Post, Out, the Advocate, and the Source. An honors graduates of the Columbia School of Journalism, Hardy has been honored by the American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors and is the recipient of the E.Y. Harburg Foundation Arts Award, the Educational Press Association Award, and the Public Service Award from Gay Men of African Descent (GMAD). Born and raised in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, Hardy now lives in Atlanta, Ga.

In A House Is Not a Home, the sixth and final title of his groundbreaking, bestselling B-Boy Blues series, James Earl Hardy brings his beloved couple—Mitchell, the Buppie from Brooklyn, and Raheim, the homeboy from Harlem—into the twenty-first century. James Earl Hardy draws on the themes that put him on the map—love, family, and high drama in tandem with media phenomena like same-sex marriage, the down-low, gay adoption, and homo thugs—to create A House Is Not a Home, another vivid, vibrant, and saucy portrait of Black same-gender-loving life and love.

Herukhuti is a sociologist/anthropologist, sexologist, educator, shaman, BDSM practitioner, artist, cultural animator, and author. He is the founder of Black Funk, a sexual cultural center dedicated to providing a space for the exhibition and exploration of sensual awareness, sexual consciousness, erotic power, and pleasure. Herukhuti has contributed to the development of the perspective known as Afrocentric, Decolonizing Queer Theory. Herukhuti is on the faculty at Goddard College, Plainfield, VT.

Conjuring Black Funk: Notes on Culture, Sexuality and Spirituality, Vol. 1 is a fiery collection of essays, poetry, creative non-fiction, and experimental writing that challenges conventional thought, offers alternative perspectives, and suggests ways of practicing Afrocentric, queer liberation/transgression. This book is an important contribution to Black Queer Theory, Black Feminist Thought, and Afrocentric Thought.

Born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, Shelton Jackson managed to escape the crime and violence of the streets through education; in the eighth grade his world was changed when he was introduced to poetry. Jackson used this medium to express his trials of coming out of the closet, falling in love at first sight with a man, becoming HIV positive for that love, and finally being reborn to do what he describes as “God’s will.” Jackson has published two books of poetry on his journey of acceptance. He now resides in Atlanta, Georgia where he has started his own publishing company, SSJ Publishing, Inc. Through SSJ, Jackson hopes to publish other authors whose personal truth will serve as a beacon of hope for others.

The Second Chapter: Acceptance is a culmination of a 6-year project: Shelton Jackson was convinced that a book of his personal thoughts, expressed through poetry, would help someone else see that HIV is not an end but a new beginning. Jackson says, “At one point in my life I thought my life was over and that I would be alone for the rest of my life. But I saw the path that God had laid down for me and I followed it. The Second Chapter: Acceptance is just that; my journey to acceptance.”

Lisa C. Moore is the founder and editor of RedBone Press, which publishes work celebrating the culture of black lesbians and gay men and promoting understanding between black gays and lesbians and the black mainstream. Most recently, RedBone Press published Spirited: Affirming the Soul and Black Gay/Lesbian Identity, Brother to Brother: New Writings by Black Gay Men and In the Life: A Black Gay Anthology. Moore is board president of Fire & Ink, an advocacy organization for LGBT writers of African descent.

In Spirited: Affirming the Soul and Black Gay/Lesbian Identity, more than 40 writers address the question of how we, as same-gender-loving black people, affirm ourselves as sexual and spiritual people. These sacred narratives are a canon for our survival—holy texts proclaiming the divinity of our lives, the righteousness of our love, and the sanctity of our being. Spirited is a must-read for those on a journey toward spiritual and self-acceptance.

Jamaican-born Jonathan Plummer was discovered at age 20 on a beach in Negril, where he was chasing his childhood dream of becoming the entertainment coordinator of a popular resort. His summer romance and subsequent union with legendary author Terry McMillan was immortalized in the #1 smash novel-turned-hit movie, How Stella Got Her Groove Back. Ten years later, in 2005, Jonathan was chasing yet another dream—styling women’s hair—when his shocking revelation that he’s gay made headlines around the world. The interest in his much-storied life was enough to garner him a multibook deal with Simon and Schuster. The first installment in his series of novels, Balancing Act, co-authored with New York Times bestseller and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Karen Hunter was one of the most highly anticipated debut novels of 2007.

In Balancing Act, Justin Blakeman is living an ordinary life in Jamaica when vacationing Tasha Reynolds spots him selling sugar cane on the street. In the ruthless modeling world, Tasha is a great white shark with an uncanny knack for finding blazing new talent in unusual places. She always gets what she wants and she wants Justin—whose hazel-green eyes, offset by dark chocolate skin, make her palms sweat, a sign that she is on to something. His perfect body and defiant attitude will make him a megastar. But soon, a relationship that began as strictly business crosses the line into a complex game of sexual desire and control. Their crazy, volatile bond—littered with dark influences from their pasts, complicated by ambition and fueled by insatiable passion—is as combustible as relationships can get. And when Justin discovers a hidden hunger for a male model, the stakes are higher than ever.

Kimberly Q aka the Lesbian Goddess is a self-published author, actress, singer and 3-time AUDELCO award winner. She has had two of her plays produced by various production companies in various cities; “J’ai Deux Amours…A Journey with Josephine Baker,” (winner of the Best Lead Actress award from AUDELCO) and “The “Q” Stands for Queer.”

Her two books, Orchids: African American Lesbian Erotica One Night Stands and Orchids II: Reality or Fantasy, are erotic episodes presented to entice, entertain and broaden the thoughts, actions and creativity of the lesbian sexual experience. Her motto: Luxuriate in the positive stimulus of your sensuousness! It will enhance your ultimate fantasies!

Kai Wright is a writer and editor in Brooklyn, N.Y., whose work explores the politics of sex, race and health. Wright contributes to publications ranging from Mother Jones to Essence magazines, and is a columnist for TheRoot.com. He is author of Drifting Toward Love: Black, Brown, Gay and Coming of Age on the Streets of New York, as well as two books of African-American history. Wright also writes and edits a series of monographs exploring the AIDS epidemic among African Americans; they are published by the Black AIDS Institute. Wright is the new editor of ColorLines magazine.

Drifting Toward Love: Black, Brown, Gay and Coming of Age on the Streets of New York tells the stories of Manny, Julius, Carlos and their friends, young gay men of color desperately searching for life’s basic necessities: homes that provide more than shelter and security against more than violence or disease. As these teenagers navigate the rocky waters of adolescence, they wade through pains and passions that are typical of any young person coming of age. But they do so with few resources—material or emotional—in a world where the cards are stacked against their success.

Here are a few pics from the event, with thanks to Steven G. Fullwood:

Have some pics to share? Email ‘em in! We’d love to share them with the world.

Writing with Passion, Power & Purpose
Renaissance M Street Hotel
1143 New Hampshire, NW Washington, DC , 20037
Admission: $20
12-1:30 p.m.
Presented by Fire & Ink || Facilitated by Dorothy Randall Gray

Learn how to:

• Use your creative spirit to write what you want when you want
• Write like you’ve never written before
• Finish your unfinished work
• Turn simple ideas into sensational stories
• Activate your personal power points
• Create powerful poetry, fabulous fiction & notable nonfiction
• Banish writers’ block forever
• Take your work from paper to publication

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT DOROTHY’S WORKSHOP HERE: –>

Come and create in a conscious community of acceptance, inspiration and enlightenment. Write like you’ve never written before.

Learn how to use the power of music, meditation, affirmation and stimulating exercises to take your
writing from routine to remarkable. Enjoy plenty of time for writing, sharing and empowering commentary and exchange of ideas.

Whether you’ve been writing 10 years or 10 days, you are welcome to join this workshop. All you need is a pad, a pen and a willing heart.

TO REGISTER

Please e-mail fireandink2009(at)yahoo(dot)com (please replace (a) with “@”, and (dot) with “.”) with the subject header “DC Pride Writers Workshop” and give your contact information (name, address, phone). Workshop fee is $20 per person and on-site registration is limited so get in early!