Kuma2.net Blog

You should have been there! A great time was had by all. (That’s me in the powder blue shirt.)

See more pictures and read all about it at the blog of Jolie du Pre.

GAYFEST NYC (Bruce Robert Harris and Jack W. Batman, producers) is now accepting submissions for its Second Annual Festival of New Plays and Musicals to be presented in New York City, May 15 – June 15, 2008.

A minimum of three new works (plays or musicals) will be selected for fully-produced Main Stage productions with Actors’ Equity Association casts and professional directors and staff personnel. Additional new works will be chosen for presentation in the Festival’s Studio Reading series. Each Main Stage production will receive between 7-15 performances. Plays or musicals chosen for the Studio Reading series will be presented for at least three performances.

Young and emerging writers as well as experienced and professional playwrights and composers are encouraged to submit their work. You don’t have to be Gay or Lesbian to submit a play. We do, however, ask that the work you submit deal with LGBT characters or issues in some literal or metaphorical way.

The goal of GAYFEST NYC is threefold: to develop new works that will have a life outside the festival, on other stages and in other media, worldwide; to expose our large and diverse audience to fresh, exciting new theatre works; to develop new voices who will be valuable storytellers about LGBT issues, thereby adding to the already diverse texture of the theatrical landscape.

GAYFEST NYC is a not-for-profit arts organization benefiting the Harvey Milk High School Scholarship Fund. Log onto our web site at www.GAYFESTNYC.com for more information and to read about last year’s Festival.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

1. GENRE: All submissions must be original, unpublished, full length works dealing with LGBT characters or issues. Legal clearance of materials not in the public domain is the full responsibility of the playwright. Librettos and musical scores must be complete, not merely in developmental form. Plays or musicals do not need to have a contemporary setting.
Please remember that scripts must be original and be ready for production.

2. RESTRICTIONS: Plays and musicals must be full length and may have no more than three settings and a cast of no more than ten actors. There are no restrictions on subject matter but salacious or unsavory material will not be considered for presentation in the Festival. Playwrights may only submit one script.
Please Note: We are only accepting 100 submissions for the 2008 Festival.

3. ELIGIBILITY: If your play or musical had an Equity showcase in the past year or if you are planning an Equity showcase within one year after the Festival, the work is ineligible for acceptance. If this work has been produced in a New York City theatre with more than 99 seats, it is also ineligible.

4. REQUIREMENTS: On the title page, in addition to the title of work, please include author’s name, address, phone number and email address. Please make sure the CD or cassette of the score is properly marked as well. Also include a biography and/or author’s history of the play, character breakdown, and brief description or synopsis of the work.

5. PROCESSING: Please include a processing fee of $20.00 with your submission to cover duplication and distribution of materials to our reading board. Checks or money orders (only) should be made payable to SunnySpot Productions, Inc. Do not send cash.

6. RETURNS: If you would like your script returned, include a manuscript size self-addressed envelope with appropriate postage affixed. Please do not include loose cash, stamps, labels or metered postage. If no S.A.S.E. is included, your script will be recycled. You will not be contacted unless we are interested in your script.

7. SUBMISSION FORM: Scripts must be typed, with pages numbered, securely bound in a (preferably soft) cover, in standard professional manuscript format. No disks or electronic submissions, please. No changes or revisions accepted after submission. No double-sided pages.

8. HANDLING: All submissions will be handled with care. GAYFEST NYC assumes no responsibility for lost or damaged scripts. Please retain a copy of your manuscript.

9. AWARDS: In lieu of royalties, playwrights of a work chosen for a Main Stage production or Reading Series presentation will be awarded $100 plus a certificate of acceptance. In exchange, Main Stage series playwrights agree, in consideration for the above payment and in exchange for GAYFEST NYC producing and presenting the Play during the 2008 Festival, to grant GAYFEST NYC sole and exclusive right to develop the Play and produce and present it in any media now known or devised hereafter, for a two (2) year period beginning with the date of the first public performance of the Play in the 2008 Festival. (Reading Series playwrights agree to these provisions for a term of one [1] year.) A letter agreement outlining terms will be signed prior to production.

10. OTHER BENEFITS: Playwrights will be invited to attend rehearsals and join in the collaborative process. Playwrights will receive four (4) tickets for the opening night performance of their production and two (2) tickets to all other GAYFESTNYC presentations during the 2008 season. Due to limited resources, GAYFEST NYC cannot cover the cost of travel or housing for selected playwrights.

11. SUBMISSION REVIEW: It usually takes three to five months for us to read and process submissions. We ask that you please do not call or email our offices in the interim to inquire on the status of your submission.

IF WE ARE INTERESTED IN YOUR PLAY OR MUSICAL, WE WILL CONTACT YOU BY PHONE OR EMAIL.

12. WHERE TO SUBMIT: Mail two copies of your script and one copy of your score (on CD only) to: GAYFEST NYC, One River Place, Suite 917, New York, NY 10036.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: SEPTEMBER 30, 2007.

Company Address:

Gayfest NYC
c/o Sunnyspot Productions, Inc.
One River Place, Suite 917
New York, NY 10036
US

Contact: Jack W. Batman

Respond Method(s): By Mail

Carry The Word
A Bibliography of Black LGBTQ Books

Carry the Word: A Bibliography of Black LGBTQ Books is a seminal reference work, featuring over 600 titles by and about black Same-Gender-Loving (SGL) and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer-identified (LGBTQ) writers and culture, as well as interviews and articles about black SGL authors.

A must-have for booksellers, librarians, academics, community-based organizations, book clubs and readers interested in black LGBTQ books and authors, all proceeds from sales of Carry the Word will benefit Fire & Ink, Inc., supporter and advocate for SGL writers of African descent. Carry the Word is co-published with RedBone Press.

IRIDESCENCE: Sensuous Shades of Lesbian Erotica

NY Reading
Bluestockings Bookstore
172 Allen Street between Stanton and Rivington
New York, NY
212.777.6028
Saturday, August 25, 2007
7:00 p.m.

Readings by: Jolie du Pre, Tawanna Sullivan, CB Potts, Shanel Odum, Sofia Quintero

In the Literature section: 6 poems, 1 story, and 1 sneak peak

In OtherWords: 3 new poems

Wetter: More True Lesbian Sex Stories
Edited by Nicole Foster

Take a long, wet trip into the sexual escapades of very busy (and very bad) girls in this collection of quick-and-dirty true lesbian erotica. Nicole Foster has heard from her many fans, asking “where is the sequel to WET.” Now, this noted anthologist has teamed up again with Alyson Books for inevitably-titled WETTER. With action ranging from naughty and nasty to tender and sweet, this new anthology is certain to make a splash.

Please submit all original stories to alysonanthology@planetoutinc.com  along with name and pseudonym, as well as contact info and a short bio. In the subject line, add the name of the anthology for which your story is intended.

Length: 2,000 – 3,000 words
Deadline: Sept 15, 2007
Tentative Publication: Spring 2008

In The Gray Zone, Kadawa gives us a peak into what it is like to be in same sex relationship in an African country where homosexuality is a crime. Even in South Africa, where lgbt people are protected under the constitution (and can get married), life for black lgbt people can be dangerous:
South African Lesbians Tortured, Murdered
Lesbian couple killed in execution-style murder

On August 14th in New York, there will be a Vigil honoring these and other LGBT & Hiv+ Activists who have been murdered.

Of course, hate crimes against lgbt in the US haven’t disappeared. It doesn’t matter whether you are just looking for a date online, a celebrated performer, a 15 year old at a bus stop, or a 3 year old who isn’t tough enough.

Where Will You Be When They Come?

A Midsummer Night’s Press announces two new annual anthologies:

BEST GAY POETRY edited by Lawrence Schimel
and
BEST LESBIAN POETRY edited by Linda Alvarez

For the 2008 editions of this exciting new series celebrating the best in gay/lesbian poetry, A Midsummer Night’s Press invites submissions of poems published during 2007.  

Poems can have appeared in print or online magazines, journals, or anthologies; we are also willing to consider poems from books or chapbooks first published in 2007, even if the poem was originally published previously in periodicals, so long as the poet has the right to reprint the poem.

We are open to all styles of poetry, from formal to free verse; we are likewise open-minded in terms of content, so long as it somehow fits (even if pushing the boundaries of) what might be considered “gay poetry” or “lesbian poetry”.

We are willing to consider slam poetry, so long as it has been published in text form, not merely performed; the poem must also work on the page, for these anthologies.

We are open to English-language poetry from all over the world, and actively look to include non-North American voices.

Submissions from individual poets or queries should be sent by email in .doc format to one of the following addresses, as appropriate:

BestGayPoetry@gmail.com
or
BestLesbianPoetry@gmail.com

Please title documents with the poet’s surname.

Please include contact information (both street and email address), bio, and previous publication history WITHIN the document, as documents will be read separately from the emails.

Deadline is December 1, 2007.
(We will consider submissions of work that is scheduled to appear in the latter half of the year, but which has not yet been published.)

In each volume, A Midsummer Night’s Press also plans to include a round-up of all books/journals/anthologies of gay/lesbian poetry published the previous year. (We also welcome recommendations or suggestions of appropriate poems from editors of journals or anthologies.)

Books and journals for review can be sent to the attention of the appropriate editor at:
A Midsummer Night’s Press
16 West 36th Street
2nd Floor
New York NY 10018

About the Editors

Linda Alvarez is the editor of the anthologies BEST DATE EVER: TRUE STORIES THAT CELEBRATE LESBIAN RELATIONSHIPS (Alyson) and DYKE THE HALLS: EROTIC LESBIAN CHRISTMAS TALES (Circlet) and lives in New York City.

Lawrence Schimel is an award-winning author and anthologist who has published over 80 books, including FIRST PERSON QUEER (Arsenal Pulp), TWO BOYS IN LOVE (Seventh Window), THE FUTURE IS QUEER (Arsenal Pulp), PoMoSEXUALS (Cleis), and TWO HEARTS DESIRE (St. Martin’s Press).  He also edited the first (and so far only) anthology of gay love poetry to appear in Catalan, ELLS S’ESTIMEN (Llibres de l’Index).  His poems have appeared in a diverse array of periodicals, from THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR to PHYSICS TODAY to THE LYRIC, and have been widely anthologized in GAY LOVE POETRY, THE PRACTICE OF PEACE, CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE HORSE-LOVER’S SOUL 2, and THE RANDOM HOUSE TREASURY OF LIGHT VERSE, among others.  He lives in Madrid, Spain.

About the Publisher:

A Midsummer Night’s Press (www.amidsummernightspress.com) is an independent publisher devoted primarily to poetry, publishing under three imprints: Fabula Rasa for work inspired by fairy tales or mythology, Funny Bones for light verse and humor, and Body Language for works exploring sexuality and queer subjects.  The press’ first titles include THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED IN OUR OTHER LIFE by Achy Obejas, THE GOOD-NEIGHBOR POLICY: A DOUBLE-CROSS IN DOUBLE DACTYLS by Charles Ardai, and FAIRY TALES FOR WRITERS by Lawrence Schimel.  A Midsummer Night’s Press is distributed by SPD ( www.spdbooks.org).

Other Countries presents readers from Voices Rising as part of the Pride in the City Blackout Arts Festival this Friday, Aug. 3, 2007, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Brooklyn Marriott (333 Adams St., Brooklyn). Readers are Samiya Bashir, Cheryl Boyce Taylor, Robert Penn and Pamela Sneed. Visit www.prideinthecity.com for more information on the Blackout Arts Festival and other NYC pride events this weekend. Go, bring friends and buy books!