reviews_and_ramblings | Event: READING - WRITERS TO WATCH OUT FOR

Date: Tuesday December 06, 2011
Time: 7:00 PM
Place: Barnes & Noble
82nd & Broadway
2289 Broadway, New York, NY 10024

Hosted by Lou Pizzitola. Rob Byrnes (Holy Rollers), Michael Graves (Dirty One) and Laurie Weeks (Zipper Mouth), three writers-to-watch from the LGBT community read from their latest works of fiction.

Holy Rollers by Rob Byrnes
Paperback: 264 pages
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books (November 15, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1602825785
ISBN-13: 978-1602825789
Amazon: Holy Rollers

When Grant Lambert and Chase LaMarca—partners in life and crime—learn that $7 million in not-so-petty cash is hidden in the safe of a rightwing mega-church, they assemble a team of gay and lesbian criminals to infiltrate the church and steal the money. But this Gang That Can’t Do Anything Straight quickly finds its plans complicated by corrupt congressmen (and their gay aides); an “ex-gay” conference; an FBI investigation; the unexpected appearance of a long-lost relative; and—most jarring for these born-and-bred New Yorkers—life in the northern Virginia suburbs. And then there is Dr. Oscar Hurley—founder of the church—and his right-hand man, the Rev. Dennis Merribaugh, who prove themselves every bit as adept as the professionals when it comes to larceny…

Dirty One by Michael Graves
Paperback: 152 pages
Publisher: Chelsea Station Editions (September 6, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0983285101
ISBN-13: 978-0983285106
Amazon: Dirty One

Set in the 1980's, Dirty One follows a pack of adolescent characters who live in the acid-drenched, suburban town known as Leominster, Massachusetts-the plastics capital of America, as well as the birthplace of Johnny Appleseed. In the story, "From Kissing," a sixth-grader named Butch has his first homosexual tongue kiss during a monster truck show and, after a bout of the flu, he is convinced he has somehow contracted AIDS. With "Curls and Curls," nine-year-old Lee hates his kinky, brown head of hair and is seemingly possessed with magic, casting spells to unfurl his evil tresses. In "A Snow Day," eleven-year-old Cassidy longs to be the next mega-watt, teen pop star, but is forced to deal with her crazy classmates, her gay father, and her dog that continually vomits in the driveway. "Do It" follows a tween named Denise as she seeks her first sexual experience with a boyfriend who can never remain erect. Denise strives for high school greatness while her gay best friend is crowned king of all local paper routes. These selections join five more, constructing the remarkable world of Dirty One.

Zipper Mouth by Laurie Weeks
Paperback: 144 pages
Publisher: The Feminist Press at CUNY (October 4, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1558617485
ISBN-13: 978-1558617483
Amazon: Zipper Mouth

Selected by Dave Eggers for Best American Nonrequired Reading.

"Laurie Weeks' Zipper Mouth is a short tome of infinitesimal reach, a tiny star to light the land."—Eileen Myles, author of Inferno

Zipper Mouth is a brilliant rabbit hole of pitch-black hilarity, undead obsession, the horror of the everyday, and drugs drugs drugs."—Michelle Tea, co-founder of Sister Spit

In this extraordinary debut novel, Laurie Weeks captures the freedom and longing of life on the edge in New York City. Ranting letters to Judy Davis and Sylvia Plath, an unrequited fixation on a straight best friend, exalted nightclub epiphanies, devastating morning-after hangovers—Zipper Mouth chronicles the exuberance and mortification of a junkie, and transcends the chaos of everyday life.