RedBone Press

RedBone Press is proud to announce the birth of a new book: Erzulie's Skirt, by Ana-Maurine Lara. Set in the Dominican Republic, Erzulie's Skirt chronicles the lives of Miriam and Micaela (one Haitian, both born in the Dominican Republic), as they journey from the campos and poor neighborhoods of the Dominican Republic to the United States via Puerto Rico. Ana-Maurine Lara has written a compelling love story that unearths ancestral connections to land, ritual and memory. Stay tuned for Ana's upcoming signing schedule in New York City in November.

What a pretty new baby... with such an old soul. Please welcome her to the world!

Thank you to all those who came to the recent signings in Chicago and Philadelphia. It's wonderful to receive the gifts of your passion, good will and support for Spirited! We're bringing those vibes on to Oakland: Join us as we celebrate Spirited at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, 2006, at Barnes & Noble-Jack London Square, 98 Broadway, Oakland, CA. 510-272-0120. As always, come, bring a friend (or three), and buy a book!

on Spirited. Go here to read more, and go here to listen to the radio interview. Fabulous work! Thank you, Herndon Davis!

Next stop: Philadelphia, city of brotherly love and sisterly affection; home of the late Joseph Beam, editor of the seminal black gay anthology, In the Life. Come hear Spirited contributors Tracee Ford, Dorothy Harris, Tonya Parker and H.L. Sudler, along with co-editors G. Winston James and Lisa C. Moore, as they read and discuss Spirited: Affirming the Soul and Black Gay/Lesbian Identity. The event is 5:30-7 p.m. Saturday, October 21, 2006 at Giovanni's Room (where Joseph Beam used to work!), 345 South 12th St., Philadelphia, PA 19107. 215-923-2960. Come hear the word, bring a friend and buy a book!

Samiya Bashir, author of Where the Apple Falls, is one of several Cave Canem Fellows reading at 1 p.m. Sunday, October 15, 2006, at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The Cave Canem Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Faculty and Fellows reading is in support of the Black Gay & Lesbian Archive at the Schomburg, and in celebration of Cave Canem's 10th anniversary. Also reading are CC faculty Cyrus Cassells and Cheryl Clarke, and CC fellows Jericho Brown, R. Erica Doyle, Monica Hand, Duriel E. Harris, Reginald Harris, John Keene, Dante Micheaux, Mendi Obadike, Kamilah Aishah Moon and Venus Thrash. Free and open to the public! The Schomburg is at 515 Malcolm X Blvd. in New York City.

Sharon Bridgforth, author of love conjure/blues and the bull-jean stories, is reading at 8 p.m. Monday, October 16, 2006 at the Old Dominion University Literary Festival in Norfolk, VA, curated this year by Tim Seibles. Other guests include Frank X. Walker and Tyehimba Jess. You can hear a recent one-hour interview with Sharon Bridgforth by S. Hope Davis here.

Ernest Hardy's Blood Beats: Vol. 1/Demos, Remixes & Extended Versions is getting some online play. Here's a bit from the Philadelphia Weekly; another bit on Donnell Alexander's blog; and yet another mention here on Mike the Poet's October blog (scroll down a few paragraphs); and lastly a nice long interview in the Filmmakers Alliance Magazine. You can see a good portion of it on Ernest's blog here. One more thing: congratulations go to Ernest for earning the 2006 ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award for liner notes for the Chet Baker CD, Career 1952-1988.

Femmenoir.net has posted an interview of RedBone Press publisher Lisa C. Moore on YouTube. It's about 9 minutes long; go here to check it out.

One more on YouTube: Ana-Maurine Lara reads an excerpt from the next RedBone Press title, Erzulie's Skirt. Enjoy!

For those who've kept up with RedBone Press through the years, you know that Chicago was the first big stop on the RedBone Press map. With the help of the wonderful women at Affinity, and the venue provided by Tracy Baim of the Windy City Times, RedBone Press got a huge push for its debut title, does your mama know? back in 1997. I remember signing for more than two hours, missing the food, and meeting hundreds of beautiful Chicago women and men who came out to support a fledgling press. Since then, I've returned to Chicago again and again; it feels like a second home. So... shall we do it once more? Join Spirited co-editors G. Winston James and Lisa C. Moore, and Spirited contributors C.C. Carter and Anthony Hardaway at 6 p.m. Saturday, October 14, 2006, for a reading you won't forget. Our host is Affinity Community Services, now in its 11th year of serving black lesbian and bisexual women on the south side of Chicago. 5650 S. Woodlawn Ave., Garden Level. Downloadable pdf below. See you there!

AffinitySpirited.pdf