ReadOut 2021 Festival of Lesbian Literature Revisited:

Pearls

November, 2021

Premiered Each Week on Youtube

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Join us in revisiting the Pearls from 2021's ReadOut Festival of Lesbian Literature. We will be premiering different pearls each week on Youtube throughout the month. The schedule for premieres is below. If you miss one of the premieres, don't worry -- the Pearls videos will remain online for viewing on demand.

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• November 3rd at 6:00pm EST: Opening Pearls - View on Youtube

• November 10th at 6:00pm EST: Poetry & Politics - View on Youtube

• November 17th at 6:00pm EST: Mystery & Fantasy - View on Youtube

• November 24th at 6:00pm EST: Memory - View on Youtube

• November 30th at 6:00pm EST: Romance - View on Youtube

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ReadOut: Putting the LGBTQ in P.I. Crime Fiction with Cheryl Head, Kristen Lepionka, and J.M. Redmann / ReadOut Special Event Saturdays

Saturday, October 30, from 2:00 to 3:30 pm EDT

Zoom event

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Cheryl Head, Kristen Lepionka, and J. M. Redmann discuss their work as queer authors who write private investigator (P.I.) series with LGBTQ protagonists, including their writing process, how they choose series themes, how they select stories, and what their stories and protagonists bring to the genre. Audience members will be able to ask questions. This event is for those interested in literature by, for, and about lesbians across the spectrum of social identities.

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Cheryl Head's first book, Long Way Home: A Word War II Novel, was shortlisted for the 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Awards in the African-American fiction and the historical fiction categories. Cheryl Head writes the award-winning, Charlie Mack Motown mysteries set in Detroit and whose female PI protagonist is queer and Black. The series is included in the Detroit Public Library’s African-American Books List. Head, a Goldie winner, participates on the national board of Bouchercon, the crime fiction fan convention. In 2019, Head was named to the Hall of Fame of the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival. Cheryl Head’s latest book, Warn Me When It’s Time, was reviewed in "The New York Times." 

 

Kristen Lepionka writes the Roxane Weary mystery series for which she won the Shamus Award two times and the Goldie Award.  Also nominated for the Anthony Award and the Macavity Awards, Lepionka is a cofounder of the feminist podcast, “Unlikeable Female Characters.”  She serves as the president of the Midwest Chapter of Mystery Writers of America.    

 

J. M. Redmann writes the Micky Knight series set in New Orleans, winning multiple Lammy Awards for her works. She is the co-editor of three anthologies, including Night Shadows: Queer Horror, which was nominated for a Shirley Jackson Award. J. M. Redmann is a gay rights activist, and she works as the director of prevention at NO/AIDS Task Force.

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ReadOut Writing Workshop with R. J. Samuel / ReadOut Wonderful Writing Wednesdays

Wednesday, October 20, from 7:00 to 8:30 pm EDT

Zoom event

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ReadOut writing workshop focused on character development within the structure of writing. For those interested in literature by, for, and about lesbians of all ethnicities and across the spectrum of social identities. Interactive & participative. Event opens at 6:45pm for meet & greet.

 

R. J. Samuel, author who appeared in ReadOut 2021 Pearls, has published five novels, including An Outsider Inside (2017). She currently lives in Atlanta. She was born in Nigeria, to Indian parents. She studied medicine in Nigeria, then in Ireland, where she remained for many years, interspersed with a few years in the southwest of France. R. J. Samuel considers herself almost Irish, almost Indian, and almost American. Please read more about her considerable accomplishments at: www.RJSamuel.com.

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ReadOut Workshop with Sonja Franeta & Winn Gilmore

Wednesday, September 8, from 7:00 to 8:30 pm EDT

Zoom event

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ReadOut writing workshop with prompts and sharing. Workshop is for those interested in literature by, for, and about lesbians of all ethnicities. Interactive & participative. Event opens at 6:45pm for meet & greet.

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Sonja Franeta, writer, educator, translator, and international, lesbian-feminist activist, worked with Judy Grahn in the early years, an indelible influence. She wrote Pink Flamingos: 10 Siberian Interviews in Russian in 2004, translating it into English in 2017. She published My Pink Road to Russia in 2015. Born in the Bronx, New York, to an immigrant Yugoslav family, now retired, Sonja Franeta splits her time between Florida and Spain with her partner and their two cats. She has been engaged with ReadOut since its inception. Sonja Franeta: https://www.sfraneta.com.

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Winn Gilmore is a celebrated lesbian author from Birmingham, Alabama, where she lives part of the time. Winn Gilmore’s stories have appeared in Sinister Wisdom, Herotica, and On Our Backs. The story she read in the Memory Pearls of Readout 2021 is called “The Oyster,” and it is part of a work in progress. Winn Gilmore: http://www.sinisterwisdom.org/SW54. 

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ReadOut Writing Workshop with R. J. Samuel

Wednesday, September 15, from 7:00 to 8:30 pm EDT

Zoom event

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ReadOut writing workshop focused on structure and form. For those interested in literature by, for, and about lesbians of all ethnicities.  Interactive & participative. Event opens at 6:45pm for meet & greet.

 

R. J. Samuel, author who appeared in ReadOut 2021 Pearls, has published five novels, including An Outsider Inside (2017). She currently lives in Atlanta. She was born in Nigeria, to Indian parents. She studied medicine in Nigeria, then in Ireland, where she remained for many years, interspersed with a few years in the southwest of France. R. J. Samuel considers herself almost Irish, almost Indian, and almost American. Please read more about her considerable accomplishments at: www.RJSamuel.com.

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ReadOut Presents: Celia Lang and Reading Your Work Aloud 

Saturday, September 25, from 2:00 to 3:30 pm EDT

Zoom event

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ReadOut workshop on how to effectively read your work aloud in-person and on Zoom. This workshop is interactive and participative and is for those interested in literature by, for, and about lesbians of all ethnicities. 
 

Come prepared to exercise your voice. If you can, bring a 1 minute piece to share for practice and feedback. Tips will be included for making a recorded submission for the 2022 ReadOut Festival of Lesbian Literature.

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Celia Lang is a poet, prose writer, and writing workshop leader based in Northampton, MA. Individual work has been published in and on small press platforms. The past Covid year has offered time to begin work on her first full-length book of poems. An avid kayaker, she leads women's writing workshops while on the water, called "Poetry Paddles." In 2022, she plans to publish a compilation that is part poetry and part New England kayak guide, entitled "Quiet Channels." 

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ReadOut Presents: Betty Jean Steinshouer: "Long Road from Red Cloud: Life Lessons from Willa Cather"

Saturday, August 28, from 2:00 to 3:30 pm EDT

Zoom event

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Betty Jean Steinshouer will talk with author friend Edie Daly about how the conclusions she reached in the book have informed her ongoing feeling and understanding about Willa Cather, whom she has spent her life studying and portraying. Steinshouer will show us short videos about Cather's rightful place in history and culture. Participants can ask questions by raising their hand and through the chat. Zoom opens for meet & greet at 2:00 pm EDT.

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Betty Jean Steinshouer excelled at public speaking in both high school and college, winning awards in oratory, oral interpretation of literature, and debate.  She did her graduate work in English Literature, focusing on Virginia Woolf as a subject for her thesis. Then, after discovering Willa Cather and planning to pursue a PhD in Cather studies, she was convinced by the director of the Willa Cather Pioneer Memorial to turn her research into a Chautauqua presentation instead.  Steinshouer spent 30 years on the road as a performance artist and lecturer, touring 44 states, often with funding from the state agencies of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and through the Big Read initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts. Upon her first tour of Florida, in 1989, the Florida Humanities Council awarded her an Individual Scholar Grant to add Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings to her repertoire. She thus continued expanding her scope. In 2000, Steinshouer was asked to write a book about women authors in Florida for the History and Culture Series, to be published by University Press of Florida, a project she plans to complete this year. In 2004, Steinshouer was named a Fellow in Florida Studies at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg. Please see more at: www.bettyjeansteinshouer.com.

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ReadOut Workshop with Sonja Franeta and Winn Gilmore

Wednesday, August 11, from 7:00 to 8:30 pm EDT

Zoom event

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Interactive participant writing workshop with prompts and sharing. Zoom opens for meet & greet at 6:45 pm EDT.

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Sonja Franeta, writer, educator, translator, and activist, worked with Judy Grahn in the early years, an indelible influence. She wrote Pink Flamingos: 10 Siberian Interviews in Russian in 2004, translating it into English in 2017. She published My Pink Road to Russia in 2015. Born in the Bronx, New York, to an immigrant Yugoslav family, now retired, Sonja Franeta splits her time between Florida and Spain with her partner and their two cats. She has been engaged with ReadOut since its inception.  Sonja Franeta: https://www.sfraneta.com.

 

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ReadOut Writing Workshop with R. J. Samuel

Wednesday, August 18, from 7:00 to 8:30 pm EDT

Zoom event

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Interactive participant writing workshop with sharing. Zoom opens for meet & greet at 6:45 pm EDT.

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RJ Samuel, author who appeared in ReadOut 2021 Pearls, has published five novels, including An Outsider Inside (2017). She currently lives in Atlanta. She was born in Nigeria, to Indian parents. She studied medicine in Nigeria, then in Ireland, where she remained for many years, interspersed with a few years in the southwest of France. She considers herself almost Irish, almost Indian, and almost American. Please read more about her considerable accomplishments at: www.RJSamuel.com.

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ReadOut Workshop with Sonja Franeta and Winn Gilmore

Wednesday, June 9, from 6:45 to 8:30 pm EST

Writing workshop by, for, and about lesbian literature, with prompts and interactive sharing. Meet and greet at 6:45 pm, and event starts at 7:00 pm.

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Sonja Franeta, writer, educator, translator, and activist, worked with Judy Grahn in the early years, an indelible influence. She wrote Pink Flamingos: 10 Siberian Interviews in Russian in 2004, translating it into English in 2017. She published My Pink Road to Russia in 2015. Born in the Bronx, New York, to an immigrant Yugoslav family, now retired, Sonja Franeta splits her time between Florida and Spain with her partner and their two cats. She has been engaged with ReadOut since its inception. 

 

Winn Gilmore is from Birmingham, Alabama where she lives part of the time. Her stories have appeared in "Sinister Wisdom," "Herotica," and "On Our Backs." The story she read in the Memory Pearls of Readout 2021 is called “The Oyster,” part of a work in progress.

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ReadOut with Jane Fleishman

Wednesday, June 16, 2021, from 6:45 to 8:30 pm EST

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Jane Fleishman, author of The Stonewall Generation: LGBTQ Elders on Sex, Activism & Aging, presents an interactive discussion with participants on lesbian issues including sex, activism, and aging. Meet and greet at 6:45 pm, and event starts at 7:00 pm.

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Jane Fleishman, PhD, is an award-winning sexuality educator who focuses on senior living communities to teach older adults about aging issues including sexuality. She co-hosts an award-winning podcast, and blogs with Sex Rebelle, Hot Octopuss, and AgeRight.  An AASECT certified sexuality educator, she completed her M.Ed. and Ph.D. at the Center for Human Sexuality Studies at Widener University. https://www.janefleishman.com/

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ReadOut: Writing Herstorical Fiction with Ellen Levy

Saturday, June 5, 2021, from 1:45 to 3:30 pm EST

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Celebrated author Ellen Levy reads from her book, Struggles in a Boston Marriage, followed by interactive participant discussion about writing on lesbian issues with a perspective that blends history and fiction. Meet and greet at 1:45 pm, and event starts at 2:00 pm.

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Ellen Levy is a speaker, workshop leader, and the celebrated author of Struggles in a Boston Marriage, the second book in her historical fiction series about lesbian relationships and lesbian romances. https://www.wllwnlwvy.net

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ReadOut with Debra Gish and Crone Chronicles 20-20

Saturday, June 26, 2021, from 1:45 to 3:30 pm EST

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Debra Gish, author and international lesbian feminist activist, reads from her book, Crone Chronicles 20-20: Intimately Inspiring Glimpses into the Lives of Wise Women 52+, and facilitates the 90-minute, interactive participants' discussion by, for, and about lesbians. Meet and greet at 1:45 pm, and event starts at 2:00 pm.

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Debra Gish, international, lesbian-feminist activist, and author of Crone Chronicles 20-20: Intimately Inspiring Glimpses into the Lives of Wise Women 52+, is the Managing Editor of Crone Chronicles 20-20, the Founder of Crones Landing®.  Also author of Displaced: A Perilous True Story of an Expatriate Working to Right Wrongs from the Past, along with several published short stories and poems, including "Best Poets of 2015, 2016 and 2019," Debra Gish is a multicultural leader, a linguist, a sociologist, and an international peace mediator holding degrees from leading universities in the Americas. https://cronechronicles20-20.com/mission-vision/

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ReadOut Workshop

Writing Workshop with Sonja Franeta and Winn Gilmore
Wednesday, May 12, 2021, from 6:45 to 8:30 pm EDT

Sonja Franeta and Winn Gilmore, authors, offer a woman-focused writing workshop for 90 minutes. Workshop participants are asked to send through our website contact or on our FB page a brief statement about yourself and what you would like to gain from this workshop. Meet & greet begins at 6:45pm; event begins at 7:00pm.

Sonja Franeta, writer, educator, translator, and activist, worked with Judy Grahn in the early years, an indelible influence. She wrote Pink Flamingos: 10 Siberian Interviews in Russian in 2004, translating it into English in 2017. She published My Pink Road to Russia in 2015. Born in the Bronx, New York, to an immigrant Yugoslav family, now retired, Sonja Franeta splits her time between Florida and Spain with her partner and their two cats. She has been engaged with ReadOut since its inception.

Winn Gilmore is from Birmingham, Alabama where she lives part of the time. Her stories have appeared in Sinister Wisdom, Herotica, and On Our Backs. The story she read in the Memory Pearls of Readout 2021 is called “The Oyster” and is part of a work in progress.

 

ReadOut Pearl Divers

Lesbian Writing Discussions with Nancy Manahan and Becky Bohan 

Wednesday, May 19, 2021, from 6:45 to 8:30 pm EDT

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Join Becky Bohan and Nancy Manahan, from the ReadOut 2021 Pearl segments, as we all dive deeper with interactive discussions after a short reading from their works. 
Becky Bohan, reads from A Light on Altered Land, a finalist for the 2021 Golden Crown Literary Society (GCLS) best general fiction award, exploring finding relevance and accepting a changing world for retirees Ellie Belmont and Kathryn Kepler after suffering life-changing losses. Their chance meeting in a Minneapolis coffee shop sparks a friendship of awakening and renewal. Nancy Manahan reads from On My Honor, Lesbians Reflect on Their Scouting Experience, documenting lesbian Girl Scouts. Manahan wrote the first book to explore the contributions lesbians have made to scouting. Meet & greet begins at 6:45pm; event begins at 7:00pm.

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Becky Bohan, of North Fort Myers, Florida, earned her M.A. in English Literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has published three lesbian novels, and along with her wife, Nancy Manahan, the non-fiction, award-winning Living Consciously, Dying Gracefully: A Journey with Cancer and Beyond. 
More info: https://nanbec.com/

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Nancy Manahan and Rosemary Curb shattered centuries of taboo in 1985 with their international bestseller, Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence. Manahan documents another explosive, taboo topic with On My Honor, Lesbians Reflect on Their Scouting Experience. Nancy Manahan, Ph.D., has taught community college English, cross-cultural literature, women’s studies, and film studies. Her writing has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. More info: https://nanbec.com

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ReadOut Celebrates Lesbian Butches:

Butch Yesterday & Today: A Look From Three Generations

Presented by Rand Hall, Merril Mushroom, and Jean Zeeb

Saturday, May 29, 2021, from 1:45pm to 3:30pm EST

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Readings, then interactive discussion between the featured authors and participants. Meet & greet begins at 1:45 pm EDT; event is from 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm EDT.

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Merril Mushroom was a bar dyke in south Florida and N.Y.C. in the 1950s and 1960s. Since then, she's been a land dyke in rural Tennessee, where she continues to misbehave. She's been an activist, community organizer, taxi driver, construction worker, teacher, gardener, and great-grandmother. She has written a wide variety of published and unpublished novels, stories, and articles. Her one-act play, Bar Dykes, was most recently performed at the Flea Theatre in New York City in 2019. She's co-editor of the 6 special issues of the journal Sinister Wisdom that spotlight stories of Lesbian Feminist Activists in the South during the last half of the 20th century. She is still the butch.

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Zeeb, who did a 12-year stint in an ashram, became a psychotherapist. A former summer camp director and an avid international traveler, she came out as a lesbian in 1971. A daughter of second wave feminism, she fashioned her own identity as androgynous/butch. This worked until menopause, when she started putting on weight in all the feminine places. Now, she can only pull off soft-butch. When traveling domestically, another sure sign of butchness is that she never goes anywhere without her tool-box. Her spiritual values, which call for honoring every human being, are an extension of her feminist politics, which call for fighting for and protecting the rights of female-born humans.  This all makes for a messy interior life, matched only by her messy sense of fashion: she wears Birkenstocks every day.  She wrote, “What more needs to be said?”