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posted by [personal profile] marygriggs at 06:05pm on 05/07/2016 under ,
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I'm very excited that I will be hopping on a train at the end of next week to take me to Washington, DC and the 2016 Golden Crown Literary Society Annual Conference.

While there, I will be catching the 4th of July fireworks, seeing the White House and getting a tour of the Library of Congress. However, I'm most looking forward to the horde of literary lesbians who will be descending on our nation's capital.

I've waxed lyrical before on what the GCLS means to me; suffice to say I can't wait to catch up with all those readers and authors and publishers whom I'm honored to call friends. And buying books. Lots and lots of books!

If you want to catch me at the conference, I'll be doing the following:

I will be moderating a panel discussion on Sci-fi and Social Justice on Thursday, July 7th from 9:30am to 10:20am. My panelists include: Jewelle Gomez, Elizabeth Hodge, Lise MacTague, MB Panichi, and Tiffany Shamaly. Since speculative fiction allows a reimagining of the universe, we'll be looking at just what is the writer's responsibility for creating diverse, inclusive, and just worlds as well as discussing how we as readers and writers use science fiction to organize for social change.

I will be moderating the Author Spotlight on Thursday from 4:40 to 5:30pm with the following authors: Julie Blair, Jessie Chandler, Bev Prescott, MJ Williamz, and Sheryl Wright

On Friday morning at 8:30am, I will on the panel titled Blood and Gore I. The moderator is Justine Saracen and my fellow panelists are Ann Aptaker, JD Glass, Elizabeth Parmer and Allison Solomon. This panel will focus on violence in the setting of the lesbian novel.

At 9:30am, I will be participating in the Author Spotlight alongside these great authors: Lynn Ames, Marie Castle, Fay Jacobs, Susan X Meagher and moderated by the marvelous Melissa Brayden. I will be reading from my latest novel, Bitter Heart.


I will be signing my books (and anything else a person could want signed) during the author autograph session at 4:30 on Friday afternoon. This session is open to the public so come on down!

Rise early and join me at 8:30 on Saturday morning for Blood and Gore II. Moderated by Alison Solomon, my fellow panelists are: J.L. Gaynor, Laydin Michaels and Justine Saracen. This panel will focus on violence with the protagonist or in the relationship of the lesbian novel.

I'm also looking forward to the always funny and insightful Fay Jacobs who will be delivering the Keynote Address at 10:40 on Saturday morning. Later that night, we'll all get dressed in our finery for the GCLS Awards Ceremony.

I can't wait to see y'all there!
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posted by [personal profile] marygriggs at 11:07pm on 27/08/2015 under
Turning on the television or radio these past few days has meant an inundation of media coverage of the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. There are memorial services, art shows, documentaries, public speeches, political theater and lots and lots of pictures. Pictures of suffering and loss, of courage and quiet dignity, of humor and protest, of life and death. I don't know about the rest of you but it is triggering my PTSD.

I'm not ungrateful that the world has not forgotten the result of the post-hurricane levee breaks that devastated New Orleans -- 1,800 dead, 1 million people displaced, 1 million homes damaged, 250,000 homes destroyed, and a cost of over $150 billion. It is the almost pageantry of the events surrounding this anniversary that raises my hackles and sinks me further into depression.

I'm going to do my mourning in private and use this blog post to talk about books and how their loss (and what I gained) led to my recovery.

Just a couple of months before the storm, I attended the inaugural Golden Crown Literary Society conference, held at the Renaissance Hotel along Tchoupitoulas Street in the Warehouse District of New Orleans. It was amazing to sit in the same room as many of the authors who not only had entertained and enlightened me but whose books helped me come out.

That might have been all it was except then came the storm.

I evacuated ahead of landfall, expecting to be back in my house in a few days. As it was, it took a month before my neighborhood opened for me to make a trip over there to see for myself what the floodwaters had wrought.

My house is raised up three feet off the ground, so I only had a few feet of water inside. It was enough to wreak havoc on my books, though. You can see in the first picture the water level in this area of the house was recorded in the wood of the bookcase itself.

Den 5

As the books soaked up the water, the pressure pushed on the sides of the case, dropping shelves of books that were above the waterline into the water (as seen on the left of this picture).
Bkcase Den Center of Wall

Mold covered the books that escaped the waters or the falling. Paperbacks were the hardest hit, with some of the mass market paperbacks almost melting away.

Back Hall BedroomI couldn't help the tears. And, let me tell you, crying in air mask is not recommended by the manufacturer or fun for the wearer.

There was a citywide curfew, so my Dad and I took only pictures and left only footprints before closing up my home and making the three-hour trip back to their house to regroup.

Sitting in what would be my temporary home for the next ten months, I saw that someone from GCLS had forwarded me an announcement from the board. It read in part:
In light of the truly devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina, the board of the Golden Crown Literary Society (GCLS) has established a special GCLS Relief Fund. This fund, to be administered by the GCLS Advisory Board, will take donations from the public on behalf of all those authors, publishers, and supporters in our community who have been affected by the storm.

I found out later that in less than 48 hours of the relief fund being set up, they raised $7000. I don't know the final numbers of monies dispersed but I was a grateful recipient. I want to thank all who donated because those funds were crucial to my rebuilding.

But that wasn't the end of it.

I missed the next conference as I was across the country, in California. When I made it to the 2007 conference, many of the friends I made the first year remembered me and remembered New Orleans.

Some of those folks went beyond simple hugs (although those were nice, too). Lee Lynch and her then partner (now wife) Elaine Mulligan donated books from their private library to help me rebuild mine.

I cried when I opened the box and saw books that I hadn't been able to find because they were out of print or the publisher no longer existed. Even in the San Francisco Bay Area, lesbian novels aren't easily found in used bookstores. I had despaired finding many of the books which marked milestones in my life. I have always been a voracious reader and much of my development from questioning teenager, to baby dyke, to fully fledged lesbian activist can be attributed to the possibilities I first glimpsed between those pages.

Lee and Lainie weren't the only ones who opened their hearts (and, sometimes, their libraries) for me. I received other boxes but, even more importantly, I gained the great gift of friendship from so many of the participants and attendees at that conference and every subsequent one since then.

I was so pleased to be able to be a part of bringing the 2015 conference back to New Orleans. I hope those who came caught a glimpse of the mystique of New Orleans which endures despite the tragedy of the post Katrina levee breaks.

It is the spirit of a city and its people that makes a city what it is. A disaster cannot kill the creative spirit, the zest for life, or the abundance of hospitality that makes me proud to call this city my home.

And it is that love and spirit that embodies so many of the members of the Golden Crown Literary Society. It is why I am proud to be a member and why I would encourage anyone who cares about lesbian literature to become a member and to attend the conference as you are able.

I hope to see you next year in Washington, DC from July 6 to July 10, 2016. Until then, don't be a stranger!

Originally published on my blog - https://marygriggs.wordpress.com/2015/08/27/katrina10-and-how-gcls-helped-me-recover/
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posted by [personal profile] marygriggs at 07:50am on 29/07/2015 under ,
gcls_crownI really love the Golden Crown Literary Society's Annual Literary Conference. I attended my first one in 2005 (also their first one) and have only missed one since (the first Atlanta conference when I was still homeless after the post-Katrina levee flooding destroyed my city).

It was like finding my tribe when I first walked into one of the conferences and the feeling has just gotten stronger for each subsequent one. I do a lot of political work and I get to hang out with lots of passionate queer folk and that is amazing. It is something else, though, to be surrounded by these literary lesbians. To be able to talk for hours about lesbian fiction; to discuss reading and writing with other book lovers is like a balm to my thirsty soul. GCLS_NO_color_h This year's conference came back to New Orleans (the first one was also held here). I was on the ground committee and I worked with the GCLS Executive Director, Liz Gibson, and the event coordinator, Judy Comella, to make this one of the best conferences ever.

While I was still on the GCLS board, we were able to secure Dorothy Allison as the keynote speaker. I'm so very glad we did. She exceeded every possible expectation. She is irreverent, charming, poignant, funny, profane and I am in awe. I was in the room when she read from Bastard Out of Carolina and had chills. I was in tears during her speech and the standing ovation she received lasted for more than five minutes. I was also beyond lucky to get to have lunch with her and the recipient of the this year's Lee Lynch Classic Award, Rita Mae Brown, the author of Rubyfruit Jungle.

I helped the Bella Books crew get the many boxes of books up from the loading dock to the conference. The hotel was trying to charge $2 per box, so we liberated a pallet jack and moved them ourselves. The freight elevator did smell like it had been transporting dead bodies but we made it up in one piece. At the vendor room, a number of folks then helped bring them the rest of the way. It was great to see so many people step up to do what needed doing but that is pretty typical for GCLS.

While I wasn't able to attend every panel or reading I wanted, I enjoyed being on the Dystopian panel moderated by SY Thompson with fellow panelists Linda Kay Silva, Jane Fletcher and Liz Hodge (who later won a Goldie for her poetry). We talked about hope and fears and the importance of writing the books you want to read. The special speaker this year was Ali Vali and she gave a funny (and scary) talk on her writing process. She knows she's on the right track when her wife walks away muttering, "What is wrong with you?" Not my process but funny to hear hers.

I was also honored to receive a volunteer recognition award at the annual membership meeting. The meeting is live streamed here, if you want to watch it. You will not see me, as I unfortunately had to run to Baton Rouge for work and missed it! volunteer award The awards ceremony was hilariously MC'd by Lynn Ames and Ann McMan. I have already posted a list of the winners (here) but I want to congratulate all the finalists and winners. I also want to thank all those whose hard work made it possible - the awards committee, the judges, the presenters and the behind the scene tech folk that kept it all moving smoothly. The night was magical - many people were dressed to the nines and the energy was high and the enthusiasm that greeted each announced winner was gratifying to hear.
Marie Castle, winner for her paranormal novel, The Devil You Know and I at the Goldies. (Picture by RJ Layer)
Marie Castle, winner for her paranormal novel, The Devil You Know and I at the Goldies. (Picture by RJ Layer)

Speaking of thanking folks - the GCLS board puts in many, many hours throughout the year for not only the conference but also to make the organization itself successful and sustainable. This is an all volunteer organization and they do it all for love not money. I'm very proud of the job they do.

I'm very much looking forward to next year's conference in DC (actually Alexandria, VA) from July 6 to 10th, 2016. I can't wait to reconnect with old friends, make some new ones and recharge amongst other readers and writers. Please consider joining us!
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The schedule is out for the GCLS Annual Conference in New Orleans from July 22 to 26, 2015.

The special speaker this year is Ali Vali and the Keynote speaker is the incomparable, Dorothy Allison!

I will be on a panel at 9am on Thursday called Dystopian Novels - Who Writes Them, Who Loves Them, Why Are They So Popular?
The moderator is S.Y. Thompson and the other panelists include Linda Crist, Elizabeth Hodge and Linda Kay Silva. Here is the description: Dystopian novels are filling the shelves faster than ever before. Why are these dark thrillers so popular? Are they a precursor to a new genre or a flash in the plan? Hear some of the best discuss their approaches to writing the great dystopian novel!

On Friday at 10:40am, I will be reading from my forthcoming book, Bitter Heart. Other authors in my time slot include Melissa Price, Elizabeth Hodge, Baxter Clare TrautmanAndi Marquette and Anastasia Vitsky

Come and see me at the Author Autograph session on Friday from 4:30 to 6. This is open to the public, so for all you fans of lesbian literature, even if you can't come for the conference, come for the signings!

I will also be hanging out a lot in the vendor space and around the Bella Books and Distribution table (they are the official bookseller of the conference).

You can pre-order books for pickup at the conference. Here is my author page at Bella Books.

Can't wait to see you there!

Oh, and keep up the Golden Crown Literary Society on Facebook by liking their page!
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posted by [personal profile] marygriggs at 08:15am on 30/06/2013 under ,
The 9th Annual Golden Crown Literary SocietyLiterary Conference is pretty much over and it has been a wonderful experience.

MISSION: The Golden Crown Literary Society (GCLS) is an educational organization whose mission is for the enjoyment, discussion, and enhancement of lesbian literature and creative non-fiction. Our goals are to support and strengthen quality lesbian writing by providing places for readers and writers to interact; to encourage and assist new writers and established authors to develop their craft; and to recognize and promote lesbian work.


Being able to spend four days hanging out with readers and writers and lovers of lesbian fiction is the highlight of my year and I can’t recommend attending this event enough.


I was able to share about my own work as well as sit at the feet of the masters as they talked about ways to improve my craft and getting my work into the hands of readers. I learned a lot and laughed even more. Heck, I did so much hugging I think the Con T-shirt should read, “Embrace Your Favorite Author!”

Check out the schedule for all the fun and interesting things that were  offered to attendees and start saving your money now for July 9 -13, 2014 in Portland, OR – the site of the 2014 GCLS Conference.

On Saturday night, the Goldie Awards Reception, Ceremony and Dance was held. Everyone was glittering in their finery – butches in tuxes and ties, femme’s in gorgeous dresses and a few folks in the new style (popularized by Ann McMan and Jessie Chandler of dressing up on top and ready to party down below).

We started by honoring the sisters we lost since the last conference – Julie Penelope, Jovette Maechessault, Gerda Lerner, Roxanne Jones, Jeanne Manford and Nancy Spry.

Here is a list of the Winners and Presenters (the full listing of finalists can be found here).

Anthology (Non Erotica)Lori Lake and Ann McMan, presenters.
Winners: Women of the Dark Streets, Radclyffe and Stacia Seaman, eds and OMG Queer, Radclyffe and Katherine Lynch, eds.

Debut Author Award: presenters KG MacGregor and Karin Kallmaker. Winners: Lemon Reef by Robin Silverman; The Furthest City Light byJeanne Winer; Art on Fire by Hillary Sloin

Dramatic/General Fiction: Presenters Bev Prescott and MJ Williamz. Winners: Raven’s Heart by Jesse Blackadder; Being Emily by Rachel Gold;
The Raid by Lee Lynch

Historical Fiction: Presenters Georgia Beers and Mary Lou Heintz. Winners: Awake Unto Me by Kathleen Knowles and The Last Nude by Ellis Avery

Lesbian Erotica: Presenters Kenna White and Cheyne Curry.
Winners: The Night Off by Meghan O’Brien; Initiation by Desire by MJ Williamz and Girls Who Score: Hot Lesbian Erotica by Ily Goyanes

Mystery/Thriller: presenters Carsen Taite and JM Redmann.
Winners: Hide and Snake Murder by Jessie Chandler; Being the Steel Drummer by Liz Bradbury and Runaway by Anne Laughlin

Paranormal: presenters Carleen Spry and Barb Clanton.
Winners: Sometime Yesterday by Yvonne Heidt; The Book of Eleanor by Nat Burns and Touch Me Gently by D. Jackson Leigh

Poetry: Presenters Nann Dunne and VK Powell.
Winners: Wor(l)ds of Love, Loss and Longing by Beth Mitchum and Secession by Amy Sara Carroll

Romantic Suspense/Intrigue: Presenters Linda Kay Silva and Chris Paynter.
Winners: Playing With Fuego by KG MacGregor; After Mrs. Hamilton by Clare Ashton and Beyond Innocence by Carsen Taite

Short Stories/Collections: Presenters Brenda Adcock and Pam Sloss. Winners: Slices of Life by Georgia Beers; Tea Leaves by Janet Mason and Sidecar by Ann McMan

Speculative Fiction: Presenters Pol Robinson and Ali Vali.
Winners: Just Killing Time by Linda Kay Silva; The Smuggler, the Spy, and the Spider by Diana Rivers and Soulwalker by Erica Lawson

Traditional Romance: presenters Lynn Ames and Mary Griggs.
Winners: Snow Falls, Gerri Hill; Almost Heaven by Susan X. Meagher and Heart Block by Melissa Brayden

Ann Bannon Popular Choice Award, presenter Jessie Chandler
This award is voted on by members of the Golden Crown Literary Society
Winner: Survived by Her Longtime Companion by Chris Paynter

Directors’ Award, presenter Patty Schramm.
The GCLS Directors’ Award is presented to a single GCLS member in recognition of contributions made to the Golden Crown Literary Society during the past year and/or to the ongoing mission of the organization over a longer period of time.
Winner is the GCLS website guru, who spent countless hours on website migration and the membership database: MB Panichi!

Lee Lynch Classic Award, presented by Lee Lynch.
The award recognizes an individual work that conveys meaningful lesbian experiences with influential historical value to lesbian community and predates the Goldies (2004).
Winner: Vin Packer for Spring Fire.

Trailblazer Award, presented by Rachel Spangler.
This award is for lifetime achievement and is presented each year to a single author in recognition of their contributions made to the field of lesbian literature.
Award goes to: Marijane Meaker, who writes as Vin Packer, M.E. Kerr, Ann Aldrich and Mary James

marygriggs: (Unbroken Circle)
posted by [personal profile] marygriggs at 08:35am on 17/06/2012 under


It was a beautiful night in Minneapolis with the butches and bois handsome in their finery and the femmes and grrls dazzling in theirs. Jewelle Gomez sat beside me and we laughed and cried and clapped for all the wonderful books and authors.

The evening started by remembering our lost sisters. Since the last conference, Rosemary Curb, Sarah Dreher, Adrienne Rich, Barbara Grier and Akilah Oliver left us. Keeping with the theme of the conference of honoring our literary freedom fighters, it was fitting to spend some time thinking of the women who left such signs for us to follow.

My novel was up for two awards in categories that were chock full of terrific books. While I didn't win, I am so honored to have been a finalist for my first book!

The highlight of the evening were two of the specific Goldie awards - the Trailblazer Award went to Marianne K Martin. I know of her as an author and publisher and editor. It was her editorial advice I followed to improved Unbroken Circle for publication. What I didn't know was that she blazed a trail for women coaches by taking her high school to court when they refused to pay her for coaching basketball and softball, while they were paying the male coaches. That landmark case helped ensure that both women's sports and women coaches would be taken seriously.

The Director's Award went to Lori L Lake. She was a founding mother of the Golden Crown Literary Society and served for over 7 years on the Board.

The newest award was for books that pre-date the Goldies (2004) but have stood the test of time. The first winner and the woman for whom the award is named is Lee Lynch for Swashbuckler. It was so fabulous to get a butch hug from her afterwards!

2012 GCLS Goldie Award winners

Debut Author Award

After the Fall by Robin Summers
Open Water by Pol Robinson
Waiting in the Wings by Melissa Brayden

Dramatic/General Fiction Award

Marching to a Different Accordion by Saxon Bennett
Maye's Request by Clifford Henderson
Shaken and Stirred by Joan Opyr

Historical Romance Award

Hidden Truths by Jae

Lesbian Erotica Award

A Ride to Remember and Other Erotic Tales by Sacchi Green
The Collectors by Lesley Gowan (Anne Laughlin)

Mystery/Thriller Award

Beyond Instinct by Lynn Ames
Buyer's Remorse: Book 1 in the Public Eye Series by Lori Lake
Hell's Highway by Gerri Hill

Paranormal Romance Award

Before the Dawn by Kate Sweeney
Blood Hunt by L. L. Raand

Poetry Award

Head Off and Split by Nikki Finney
Things I Say To Pirates On Nights When I Miss You by Keely Hyslop

Romantic Suspense/Intrigue/Adventure Award

Dying To Live by Kim Baldwin & Xenia Alexiou
Nothing But The Truth by Carsen Taite
Tats by Layce Gardner

Short Stories/Essays/Collections (Non-Erotica) Award

When We Were Outlaws by Jeanne Cordova

Speculative Fiction Award

After The Fall by Robin Summers
The Dark Wife by Sarah Diemer
When An Echo Returns by Linda Kay Silva

Traditional Contemporary Romance Award

96 Hours by Georgia Beers
Camptown Ladies by Mari San Giovanni
Waiting in the Wings by Melissa Brayden

Ann Bannon Popular Choice Award

Bingo Barge Murder by Jessie Chandler

Director's Award - Lori Lake

The Lee Lynch Classics Award - The Swashbuckler by Lee Lynch.

The Trailblazer Award - Marianne K Martin 

marygriggs: (Unbroken Circle)
posted by [personal profile] marygriggs at 02:14pm on 16/06/2012 under
It was a bit of a Bacchanal last night during the karaoke and people were dragging a little this morning when coming into the Keynote. We were so very happy to be able to have anyone of the stature of this year's speaker. I was honored to be able to introduce her and I'm including here what I said:
We are honored to have Jewelle Gomez as the keynote speaker for the Eighth Annual GCLS Literary Conference. Author, poet, playwright and activist, she was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts but resides now in San Francisco, California. Jewelle has been the recipient of a literature fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, two California Arts Council fellowships and an Individual Artist Commission from the San Francisco Arts Commission.

She is the author of the award-winning novel, The Gilda Stories, which won the Lambda Book Award for both Lesbian Fiction and Lesbian Science Fiction in 1992. It follows the life of an African-American lesbian vampire through the nineteenth through the twenty-first centuries.

Her fiction, poetry and essays have appeared in numerous periodicals, among them: The San Francisco Chronicle, The New York Times, The Village Voice; Ms Magazine, ESSENCE Magazine, The Advocate, and Black Scholar. Anthologies have included Home Girls, Reading Black, Reading Feminist, Swords of the Rainbow, The Best Lesbian Erotica of 1997 and Dark Matter.

Her other publications include three collections of poetry -- The Lipstick Papers, Flamingoes and Bears and Oral Tradition. She is also the author of a book of essays called Forty-Three Septembers and a collection of short fiction, Don’t Explain. She has written a play based on the life of James Baldwin, entitled Waiting 4 Giovanni.

Jewelle is currently at work on a second volume of Gilda stories. She works as the Director of Grants & Community Initiatives at Horizon’s Foundation.

She went beyond all my expectations, talking about the the history of the movement and the power in our reclaiming myths and the history of women writing. She left us with the exhortation to be sure and leave signs of our struggle.

As usual, the membership meeting ran overlong and the directors had to cut down their remarks. We were also unable to take questions, something I definitely regret. We did manage to pass the one issue--past Board members who served at least two years and left the Board in good standing are now entitled to a 50% discount on the price of the ticket to the conference. The Board will define what 'in good standing' means and will also determine if this will be a lifetime amount or equal to the number of years of service the Board member gave; ie someone who served for 7 years would be able to have 7 conferences at the rate.

The silent auction had a flurry of activity around 2pm and we were able to raise a good bit of money from the proceeds. Following that, we all headed to our rooms to prepare for the awards ceremony. My next post will be a list of the Goldie Award winners. Follow this like to see who are the finalists: http://www.goldencrown.org/Default.aspx?pageId=1277881
marygriggs: (Unbroken Circle)
posted by [personal profile] marygriggs at 01:33pm on 15/06/2012 under ,
The ice cream social on Wednesday was very well attended. It was a family reunion with authors I have known and loved and familiar faces from past years coming back together after a long time apart. 

On Thursday, I started the day by attending the Con Virgins session to get to know the first timers to the Golden Crown Literary Conference. After that, I had a great time on the panel listening and laughing to the stories of how other writers came up with their ideas and got them into print. That evening we held the Board of Director's meeting that was one of the best attended that I've ever seen. Following that, the Bella authors went over to the Mall of America for dinner at Napa Valley Grill. I posted about the meal on my food/restaurant/eating blog.

Friday started with both tears and laughter as we remembered Barbara Grier in words and pictures and shared memories from some of the authors she nurtured (and occasionally kicked in the butt). The Author Auction (where the first dance after the Awards Ceremony with your favorite author is up for grabs) was a huge success $3600 raised (almost a thousand dollars more than last year) for next year's conference scholarships.

After lunch, I sold a couple of books and then did a reading from Unbroken Circle. I'm looking forward to the author autograph session this evening.
marygriggs: (Unbroken Circle)
posted by [personal profile] marygriggs at 07:56am on 13/06/2012 under ,
I'm finally at the Doubletree Hilton Hotel in Minneapolis, Minnesota for the 8th Annual Golden Crown Literary Society Literary Conference after a day of flying SNAFU's. I left New Orleans at 8am and arrived in Nashville only to learn that the connecting plane was having mechanical problems and hadn't even left the ground in Florida. After finally scrubbing that flight, Southwest put me on a plane to Orlando where I was to get on a flight to Denver that continued on to Minneapolis. Unfortunately, due to a huge thunderstorm, the connecting flight was diverted to another airport to delay us over two hours. Instead of arriving around 1pm, I finally landed at 1:30am. All in all, one long damn day!

For those who don't know, the Golden Crown Literary Society (GCLS) is a literary and educational organization for the enjoyment, discussion, and enhancement of lesbian literature. Their goals are to support and strengthen quality lesbian literature by providing places for readers and writers to interact, to encourage and assist new writers and established authors, and to recognize and promote lesbian work.The Golden Crown Literary Society (GCLS) is a growing organization that brings people together who are interested in the enjoyment, discussion, and enhancement of lesbian literature.

I've been to all but one of the conferences and am very excited to be back here again. Not only do I have a lot of friends and authors I admire here but my novel, Unbroken Circle, is a finalist for two Goldie Awards - Debut Author and the Ann Bannon Popular Choice Award. The awards ceremony will be held on Saturday. 

Before that, I am running a strategic planning session for the Board of the GCLS and I will be participating in a panel entitled "So I had this idea..." The basic premise is to give us a chance to talk about how we conceived our first novel, what our work style is like, what it was like finishing it, and then what path we chose to publish it. The goal is to give writers in the audience the example that there's no one "right" way to create and the readers in the audience the chance to get to know us better and a feel for why they might find our book to their liking. 

I'm also super excited that I get to introduce the keynote speaker. This year we have Jewelle Gomez and I'm really looking forward to what she has to say. There will also be a tribute to Barbara Grier, who died recently, as had a major impact on lesbian publisher as a publisher with Naiad and in all the ways she nurtured lesbian writing.
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posted by [personal profile] marygriggs at 09:01am on 06/06/2010 under
Golden Crown Literary Society (http://www.goldencrown.org/) held its 6th Annual Conference in Orlando. The highlight of the conference is the Awards Reception on Saturday night.

The winners of this year's Goldies are:

Ann Bannon Popular Choice Award

Beggar of Love by Lee Lynch

Anthology (Non-Erotica)

And Baby Makes More ed. by S. Goldberg and C. Brush
Year's Best Lesbian Fiction '08 ed. by Fran Walker

Debut Author

Keile's Chance by Dillon Watson
October's Promise by Marianne Garver
Waltzing at Midnight by Robbi McCoy

Dramatic/General Fiction

Detours by Jane Vollbrecht
Family Affair by Saxon Bennett
Gemini by Geonn Cannon

Historical Romance

Backwards to Oregon by Jae
Kicker's Journey by Lois Cloarec Hart

Lesbian Erotica

Attractions of the Heart by Cheri Crystal
Night's Kiss by Catherine Lundoff

Mystery/Thriller

Possessing Morgan by Erica Lawson
Veritas by Anne Laughlin
Who'll Be Dead For Christmas by Kate Sweeney

Paranormal Romance

Barking at the Moon by Nene Adams
Everafter by Nell Stark and Trinity Tam

Poetry

Bird Eating Bird by Kristin Naca
In Praise of Falling by Cheryl Dumesnil
The Heart's Traffic by Ching-in Chen

Romantic Suspense/Intrigue/Adventure

Next of Kin by Jae
The Scorpion by Gerri Hill
Thief of Always by Kim Baldwin and Xenia Alexiou

Short Story/Essay/Collections (Non-Erotica)

Mean Little Deaf Queer by Terry Galloway
My Sweet Wild Dance by Mikaya Heart
Outsiders by Lynn Ames, Georgia Beers, JD Glass, SX Meagher and Susan Smith

Speculative Fiction

Forever Mine by KD Williamson
Second Nature by Jae
The Veil of Sorrow by Crystal Michallet-Romero

Traditional Contemporary Romance

Keile's Chance by Dillon Watson
Stranded by Blayne Cooper
Worth Every Step by KG MacGregor

Directors' Award - Rosa Moran
Trailblazer Award - Ellen Hart


Many thanks to Lynn Pierce of LesFicUnbound who posted the list of winners first! If you love lesbian fiction, join that yahoo group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lesfic_unbound/

The Golden Crown Literary Society (GCLS) is a literary and educational organization for the enjoyment, discussion, and enhancement of lesbian literature. Our goals are to support and strengthen quality lesbian literature by providing places for readers and writers to interact, to encourage and assist new writers and established authors, and to recognize and promote lesbian work.

See everyone next year at the GCLS Conference! It will be the second week of June in Orlando, so make your plans now!
location: lake buena vista, fl
Mood:: 'jubilant' jubilant

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