The Bi Writers Association (BWA) is kicking off Pride Month with their 7th Annual Bisexual Book Awards, which are being held on Sat. June 1st at the Westbeth Community Room in New York City's West Village. The awards will highlight a wide range of talented authors and artists that have creatively expressed bisexuality through their art. These authors have used their literature as a tool to debunk stereotypes about bisexuals, shine a light on issues facing the bi+ community, and show bi+ characters in a variety of settings not seen before in bi lit. Some readings are romantic, some rip their soul open on the page and some are angry. BBA7 performers are pushing boundaries with their work. BWA describes this year’s awards as the “Year of the Poet” as a result of the quantity and diversity of poetry submissions they received. Therefore, they decided to invite all their finalist poets to read on the program in order to showcase their creativity, skill and incorporation of their culture in their work.
This year's festivities will begin with a 6:30pm book signing, followed by the Multi-Arts Reading Program at 7pm where the authors will perform readings of their unique literature, interspersed with live music and a Bi History Photo Show. The drama of the Awards Ceremony is palpable when everyone finds out which authors won and hear their heartfelt but short speeches. After the main event, there will be an after party held at 10:30pm. Below is a full list of the authors and artists who will be celebrated at the event:
Host: Sheela Lambert, Director Bisexual Book Awards Author Readings (in alphabetical order by last name):
● Duy Doan / We Play a Game: Poetry
● Diana Hamilton / God Was Right: Poetry
● Britteney Black Rose Kapri / Black Queer Hoe: Poetry
● Rosalie Knecht / Who Is Vera Kelly?: Mystery
● J.R. Mabry / The Worship of Mystery: Speculative Fiction
● Lexi Mohney / Carnal Knowledge: Erotic Fiction
● Julian Randall / Refuse: Poetry
● Jan Steckel / Like Flesh Covers Bone: Poetry
● Rachel Wiley / Nothing is Okay: Poetry
Art: Bi History Photo Show by Efrain John Gonzalez (bi photographer whose photos are collected by museums and has 2 photo books published.)
Live Music: Maris / Singer-Songwriter (a fresh, new voice who writes her own songs with bisexual lyrics!)
If you have any questions visit http://biwriters.org
Westbeth Community Room, 55 Bethune St. W. of Washington St., NYC 10014 (due to construction: walk down Bank St (instead of Bethune) and walk through plaza.
