The Bi Writers Association (BWA) will announce the winners of the 2nd annual Bisexual Book Awards next weekend, the finalists for which were released last month.
From an unprecedented 60 submissions, finalists were narrowed down in categories of fiction, non-fiction, speculative fiction, teen/young adult fiction, biography/memoir, erotic fiction/erotica, book publisher of the year, and writer of the year. The books have been read and assessed by a team of judges, unique for each category.
On Saturday, May 31, winners will be revealed at the Bisexual Book Awards Ceremony after a multi-arts reading and celebration known as Bi Lines VII. This seventh annual Bi Lines program promises to be the most diverse yet, according to BWA, feature award finalists spanning spectrums of age, ethnicity, gender, and book genre.
The events will take place at the Westbeth Community Room in New York City's West Village neighborhood. While Bi Lines VII begins at 7 PM, book signings will take place for half an hour beforehand. The awards ceremony will end at 9:30 PM and will be followed by additional book signings, as well as an after party at the Jane Hotel's Café Gitane until 1 AM.
In addition to a comic art presentation by Charles "Zan" Christenson (Anything That Loves: Comics Beyond Gay and Straight) and live musical performances by Michal David Gordon and Howell Mooney, readings will be given by:
• Manil Suri, author of novel The City of Devi
• Cecilia Tan & J.R. Yussuf, contributors to Best Bi Short Stories
• Mary Anne Mohanraj, author of Sci-Fi novel The Stars Change
• Bushra Rehman, author of semi-autobiographical novel Corona
• Marina Peralta, author of memoir Barriers to Love: Embracing a Bisexual Identity
• Jean Roberta, author of erotic novel The Flight of the Black Swan
• Lena Chandhok, contributor to Anything That Loves
"We are all about encouraging writers to write more bi-themed books (with fresh characters, scenarios and ideas) and encouraging publishers to publish them," said Sheela Lambert, BWA Director, in a statement. She continued, “It’s our goal to keep expanding the canon of bisexual literature."
Tickets to Bi Lines, the Bisexual Book Awards, and the after party will be available at the door for just $12. Check out biwriters.livejournal.com for more.
