OutWrite DC 2017: LGBTQ Literary Activism

LGBTQ voices will be heard and welcomed as OutWrite DC opens its 7th year with Smut Slam Cabaret an evening of smutty storytelling, nerdy burlesque and literary euphemisms. A full lineup of readings, workshops, and panels of LGBTQ writers, editors and publishers continues through Saturday and Sunday.

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Lambda Literary Review of Solace: Writing, Refuge, and LGBTQ Women of Color

Solace: Writing, Refuge, and LGBTQ Women of Color is published by Black Feminist Press (BLF), “an author-centered independent, Black feminist press dedicated to amplifying the work of women of color.” In Solace, a collection of prose, quotes, photographs, and poetry edited by S. Andrea Allen and Lauren Cherelle, BLF does just that—it amplifies and illuminates ruminations centered around finding comfort and resistance, especially in sadness and alienation.

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Lez Talk: A Collection of Black Lesbian Short Fiction Named 2017 Goldie Finalist

Our first title, Lez Talk: A Collection of Black Lesbian Short Fiction, was named a 2017 Goldie finalist! We are honored and humbled that our work is being recognized by the Golden Crown Literary Society. Listen below to Lez Talk contributor Krystal A. Smith read an excerpt from her story "Two Moons."

Here is the link to the finalists list: http://www.goldencrown.org/general/custom.asp?page=2017Finalist

 

Lez Talk: A Collection of Black Lesbian Short Fiction named 2016 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist

March 17, 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: S. Andrea Allen
706.254.9582

Lez Talk: A Collection of Black Lesbian Short Fiction named 2016 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist

Clayton, North Carolina, March 17, 2107—Today, BLF Press is pleased to announce Lez Talk: A Collection of Black Lesbian Short Fiction has been recognized as a finalist in the 19th annual Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards.

As part of their mission to discover, review, and share the best books from small, university, and indie publishers (and authors), independent media company Foreword Reviews hosts its annual awards program each year. Finalists represent the best books published in 2016, and submitted to Foreword Reviews for award consideration, and were narrowed down by Foreword’s editors from over 2,200 individual titles spread across 65 categories. A complete list of finalists can be found at:

https://awards.forewordreviews.com/finalists/2016/

“We are thrilled that Lez Talk has been recognized as an INDIES finalist in LGBT Adult Fiction,” said S. Andrea Allen, BLF Press founder and publisher. “BLF Press is honored to be in the company of so many forward-thinking presses doing the work of amplifying marginalized voices.”

INDIES finalists are moved on to final judging by an expert panel of librarians and booksellers curated specifically for each genre and who will determine the books who will be named Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award winners. Winners in each genre—along with Editor’s Choice winners, and Foreword’s INDIE Publisher of the Year—will be announced during the 2017 American Library Association Annual Conference in Chicago on June 24, 2017.

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About Foreword: Founded in 1998, Foreword Magazine, Inc, d.b.a Foreword Reviews is an independent media company featuring a Folio:Award-winning print magazine, stable of e-newsletters, and an online platform. Foreword exclusively covers small, university, and independent (non “Big 5”) publishers, the books they publish, and the creators they work with. Foreword is based in Traverse City, Michigan, USA, and has employees and writers all over the world.

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Entropy Magazine Interview with S. Andrea Allen Founder and Publisher

How did BLF Press start?

I started BLF Press when I was still in graduate school working on my dissertation. I had been researching Black lesbian writers for a few years, and I came to realize that the challenges that the women faced in regards to publishing still existed (lack of diversity in publishing; the [false] notion that lesbian literature was now “mainstream;” lack of access to agents, editors, and other publishing professionals; and more than anything, the notion that our stories were somehow unworthy or had no literary merit). I decided right then that I could do something about that.

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Interview. Entropy Magazine. January 17, 2017.

A Dream Undeterred: An Interview w/ Black Lesbian Feminist Press On Their Debut Title, Lez Talk: A Collection of Black Lesbian Short Fiction

In 2012, after her dissertation proposal defense, Dr. Stephanie Andrea Allen had the idea of creating her own Black lesbian feminist press to pay homage to Barbara and Beverly Smith and their Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press. It was part writer’s urge to continue the legacy of Black lesbian feminist storytelling and part a need to read books that represented her life today.

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Duque, Catalina Sofia Dansberger. "A Dream Undeterred: An Interview w/ Black Lesbian Feminist Press On Their Debut Title, Lez Talk: A Collection of Black Lesbian Short Fiction." The Huffington Post. December 7 2016. 

Q&A: Dr. Stephanie Allen and Lauren Cherelle on Black Lesbian Feminism and Fiction

 

In this anthology Dr. Allen and Lauren Cherelle, author and manager of Resolute Publishing, collaborated on this first BLF project in an effort to give voice to current Black lesbian voices exploring realistic fiction, science fiction, fantasy and erotica that reflects the diverse professions, education and socio economic experience of Black lesbians.

Continue reading here. 

Duque, Catalina Sofia Dansberger. "Q&A: Dr. Stephanie Allen and Lauren Cherelle on Black Lesbian Feminism and Fiction." Ms. Magazine Blog. November 28, 2016.