RedBone Press

At long last, Spirited: Affirming the Soul and Black Gay/Lesbian Identity is in print and in stock. Bookstores can order through my distributor SPD. Individual orders are welcomed at SPD, your local bookstore (if it doesn't already have it), and here at RedBone Press. If ordering using VISA/MC, we can now process your order! Just e-mail me with your phone number and a good time to call you, and I'll take your order over the phone. And mail orders are always welcomed.

O Happy Day — Spirited has arrived! spiritedPRemail.pdf

RedBone Press seeks well-written personal stories by black lesbians on the subject of coming out while married to a man. Looking for journal entries, personal essays, creative autobiographical fiction, poetry or whatever way the words come together to describe your coming out. This book is intended to be a resource for black women coming out of marriage, and for the women who love them.

Some questions to address are: How did you tell him? (The "honey, can we talk" speech?) What language did you use to communicate your secret? Did you know your orientation before you got married or after? Why didn't you keep it to yourself? Were there any fears of violence? Did it delay your coming out? What is the present state of your relationship with him? Do you have any regrets? Do your kids know? How do you manage co-parenting with your ex-husband? If you left your husband and are not out, how do you co-parent? Was there any collateral damage? How did you find new support systems while finding yourself?

We are also looking for stories from women who are partnered with formerly married women, addressing their point of view surrounding these issues.

Please send submission, double-spaced and typed (no more than 35 pages) along with a SASE to the address below. E-mail submissions welcome; send files attached as a Word or an rtf document, along with complete contact information (snail and e-mail addresses). Go the "Contact" page (see lefthand bar) for the RedBone Press e-mail address.

RedBone Press
P.O. Box 15571
Washington, DC 20003

Submissions will not be returned, so do not send your only copy. Deadline for submission is Nov. 3, 2006. UPDATE: The deadline has been extended until December 31, 2009.

Yes, we've been busy at RedBone Press. Soon you'll see extra pages added to this site, but for now, know this: This spring RedBone Press will publish Blood Beats: Vol. 1 Demos, Remixes & Extended Versions by Ernest Hardy. And this fall we'll publish Erzulie's Skirt by Ana-Maurine Lara. Plus there are other books in the pipeline we can't tell you about just yet. More later...

I've been remiss in updating the news. On March 24 and March 25, 2006 I was in New Britain, Conn., for the 13th annual True Colors conference, on a panel titled "Expressions: LGBT Leaders of Color Speak Out." Here we are after the panel, from left: singer/songwriter Doria Roberts, who has a new CD out; National Black Justice Coalition founder Keith Boykin; yours truly; and DC Black Pride board president Clarence J. Fluker. Many thanks to panel moderator Kamora Herrington, who is the mentor program coordinator for True Colors in Connecticut. She matches gay and trans at-risk youth with gay/lesbi/trans adult mentors. Kamora deserves much props for keeping up with all those energetic, hormonal, bright, wonderful kids. I only wish I had that kind of stamina!