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”

Next up? Meet us in St. Louis!

Join author Tim’m West and many others at St. Louis Black Pride this weekend, August 15-17th from 3:00pm – 4:00pm at Drury Plaza Hotel, #2 South 4th Street, St. Louis, MO.

What’s A Word Worth: The Spoken and Written Word of The Black LGBT Community: African American LGBT persons have made great contributions to the literary and spoken word art forms. This discussion group celebrates those contributions by highlighting local spoken word artis, and nationally recognized authors. Brought to you by St. Louis’ own Sista Speak, this workshop will certainly increase your knowledge and appreciation for this form of artistic expression.

The event will be facilitated by “AP of St. Louis Black Pride” — “AP” is Audrey Pearson, a member of the St. Louis Pride programming committee, as well as of Sistah Speak, a St. Louis performance poetry group.

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.

Tim’m will be reading from his new book, Flirting is Tim’m T. West’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.

Click here to review the rest of the event schedule in St. Louis and meet us there!

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.

Art and culture, our stories and our fantasies, are a crucial part of our lives. Fire & Ink is excited to continue in its mission to strengthen and nourish our creative community by rolling out Fire & Ink Presents! – a new initiative through which we are curating literary events at Black Pride Celebrations around the country.

Memorial Day Weekend 2008 brings the first in the Fire & Ink Presents! series, and we are starting it off on a high note. This year, in honor of the 18th Anniversary of D.C. Black Pride, Fire & Ink launches this exciting new program with a roster that will leave you jumping up and down and screaming for more.

Fire & Ink Presents!
2-4 p.m. Saturday, May 24, 2008
Renaissance M St. Hotel, Potomac Room, Lower Level

Come share this afternoon with us, and hear 10 exciting authors read from their latest books:

• Laurinda D. Brown (The Highest Price for Passion)
• James Earl Hardy (A House Is Not a Home; new introduction to In the Life)
• Zelda Lockhart (Cold Running Creek)
• Rodney Lofton (The Day I Stopped Being Pretty)
• Michael-Christopher (Unspeakable)
• M.W. Moore (Internal Chaos)
• Kimberly Q (Orchids I & II)
• Dorothy Randall Gray (Tamarinda, novel-in-progress)
• Michelle Sewell (Just Like a Girl)

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

June 12th: Newark/Essex Pride (featuring: James Earl Hardy, Jonathan Plummer, Kimberly Q, Sharon Bridgforth)

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: –>

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.

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 Source. An honors graduate 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.

A House Is Not a Home: In 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. As they prepare for the birthday party of Raheim’s fifteen-year-old son, Errol (formerly known as “Junior” and “Li’l Brother Man”), Mitchell and Raheim both juggle their own midlife crises and consider once-in-a-lifetime opportunities

Zelda Lockhart is author of the novel Fifth Born, which was a 2002 Barnes & Noble Discovery selection and won a finalist award for debut fiction from the Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Legacy Foundation. Lockhart holds a bachelor’s degree from Norfolk State University, a master’s in English from Old Dominion University, and a certificate in writing, directing and editing film from the New York Film Academy. Her other works of fiction, poetry and essays can be found in anthologies, journals and magazines. Lockhart’s recent novel, Cold Running Creek (LaVenson Press, 2007), is a work of historical fiction that has already garnered the attention of noteworthy literary organizations, such as the Historical Novel Society, and has won a 2008 Honor Fiction Award from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. She is currently working on her third novel, and facilitating a variety of workshops that empower adults and children to self-define through writing. She lives in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and welcomes visits to her web site, www.zeldalockhart.com.

Cold Running Creek: During one of the most tumultuous times for the North American continent (pre and post Civil War) three generations of women both Native American and African American, struggle to be free. Cold Running Creek is enlightening in its untold historical truths, and relevant to all time with its soul-stirring revelations. With a chorus of swamps, voodoo, floods, creeks and rivers, Cold Running Creek is rich, passionate, and leaves the reader breathless.

Rodney Lofton is the author of The Day I Stopped Being Pretty. Lofton has been a voice and face for those living with HIV for the past ten years. He has served as a keynote speaker and requested facilitator by the New Jersey World AIDS Day Celebration, the U.S. Conference on AIDS, and many other events. He has presented on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues at the National Gay & Lesbian Taskforce Conference Creating Change and the Gay & Lesbian Medical Association Conference. Lofton is a former freelance writer with SPICE Magazine, Music Biz and the African-American gay publication The Malebox. Lofton is also a former public relations professional, having represented the likes of Kool and the Gang, Mary Wilson of the legendary Supremes, dancehall reggae artist Shabba Ranks and the R&B recording group RIFF. Lofton is currently a columnist for GBMNews, which focuses on issues related to the African-American gay community. He resides in Virginia.

Rodney Lofton felt he was living “under society’s label of being ‘dirty or unclean’” since being diagnosed with HIV. But after he woke from a failed suicide attempt, Lofton set out on a journey to overcome the adversity of racism, homophobia, rape and more to find love, not just from others, but also within himself. The Day I Stopped Being Pretty provides an insightful, inspiring perspective into the lives of those living with HIV and AIDS. It brings a face to the epidemic and shows the power of love, sorrow, and hope. It is a story of living gay, loving positively, and finding the inner strength to reach out to others despite their rejection and scorn.

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.

Novelist M.W. Moore, the NCAA track-and-field champion who captured the conscience of readers with For What I Hate I Do, autobiographical fiction about falling star Miguel Morris, shines again with the upcoming release of Internal Chaos. Internal Chaos chronicles Miguel Morris’ transition to prison after being arrested for six bank robberies. Moore is a sought-after speaker who eloquently and courageously tells about the dark side of addiction and its consequences. Moore attended Mississippi State University and West Texas State University. He is a native of Houston, Texas, where he still resides.

Internal Chaos: Rather than endure a lengthy court battle that could negatively impact his family, former NCAA track champion and crack addict Miguel Morris accepts a plea deal from the FBI for robbing six banks in Houston, Texas. However, Miguel still suffers from sexual addiction, which further threatens his safety and scant hopes in prison. After being caught having sex in another inmate’s cell, Miguel learns the consequences of deception and snitching, lessons he learns from an unlikely source: his flamboyant cellmate.

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!

Dorothy Randall Gray is author of the bestseller, Soul Between The Lines: Freeing Your Creative Spirit Through Writing (Avon/ HarperCollins), and six other books of poetry, fiction and nonfiction. She has been featured on radio and television, at museums, universities and cultural institutions. Her internationally acclaimed personal development, creative writing and spiritual empowerment seminars have inspired thousands throughout the U.S. and abroad. Dorothy was formerly a New York University faculty member, Poet-in-Residence at Hunter College, and NPR commentator for the Tavis Smiley Show. For over 16 years Dorothy has taught writing and served as creative consultant to numerous writers. She is also a certified life coach and global activist who has shared the dais with the Dalai Lama and boogied with James Baldwin.

Tamarinda: Embedded in ancestral traditions, southern roots and African spirituality, Tamarinda is novel of love, lust, betrayal and belief, a coming of age story about nine-year-old Tamarinda, who is sent to live with her grandparents in a small Georgia town after witnessing the death of her mother at the hands of her father.

Michelle Sewell is an award-winning screenwriter, poet and founder of GirlChild Press. Throughout her work as a poet and a social worker, she has maintained that there must be a place for women and girls to develop and express their truest selves. With that in mind she has created open mics, workshops, and writing circles to foster that “sacred space” environment for women. The Jamaican-born artist/activist work has appeared on NPR, in Sinister Wisdom, Voices Rising, Campaign to End AIDS Anthology, Port of Harlem Magazine, and seeingblack.com. Sewell is a 2007 OutFest Screenwriting Fellow. Just Like a Girl is the follow-up anthology to Sewell’s acclaimed Growing Up Girl.

Just Like a Girl is a rough and tumble, sassy, kick-ass travelogue through the bumpy, powerful, action-packed world of GIRL: a world where girls and women know how to pick themselves up and brush themselves off. These are the clever girls. The funny girls. The girls who know there is no sin in being born one. “These women show the world what writing like a girl looks like, and how doing so just might save the world,” says writer Samiya Bashir.

Darius Omar Williams is a black same-gender-loving poet, playwright, actor and director. His play “Chocolate Cocoa On A Winter Night Part 1: Akel Dama” was produced as a featured staged reading at Boston’s Theater Offensive during its 15th Annual Out on the Edge Theatre Festival; his directing credits include “Dark as a Thousand Nights” (Boston’s Annual African American Theatre Festival); “Ain’t Misbehavin’” (Turtle Lane Playhouse); “Robert Johnson: Trick the Devil” (Jackson State University); and “Ladies in Waiting,” “A Raisin in the Sun,” “The Old Settler” and “The Wiz” (Tougaloo College). Williams received a master of arts in theatre from Bowling Green State University and a master of fine arts in creative writing from Antioch University Los Angeles; he is a Ph.D. candidate in theatre at Ohio State University. His poetry has been featured in The Encore Journal and ARISE magazine.

Available summer 2008, Silk Electric is a moving collection of poems exploring the conflict between spiritual, sexual and sacred spaces, while also juxtaposing the life of Diana Ross with black gay culture. Here is a new southern poet from Mississippi who exposes his soul through a candid, vulnerable account of his same gender loving self. Silk Electric searches for love in its most ideal form, but also reflects on love lessons from the past. Darius simultaneously takes you to church, the bedroom, the club, the bathhouse and the street corner all in one collection. Finally, Silk Electric is a celebration of the music of Diana Ross, a salute to civil rights activists including Medgar Evers, Beah Richards and Ossie Davis as well as a tribute to biological mamas, spiritual mamas and infamous drag-queens.

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!