“Without literature, life is hell.”
― Charles Bukowski
March 24-26, authors will gather in New Orleans for the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival. Jeff will be in attendance.
The Saints and Sinners Literary Festival was founded in 2003 as a new initiative designed as an innovative way to reach the community with information about HIV/AIDS, particularly disseminating prevention messages via the writers, thinkers and spokes-people of the LGBT community. It was also formed to bring the LGBT literary community together to celebrate the literary arts.
The Festival has grown into an internationally-recognized event that brings together a who’s who of LGBT publishers, writers and readers from throughout the United States and beyond. The Festival, held over 3 days each Spring, features panel discussions and master classes around literary topics that provide a forum for authors, editors and publishers to talk about their work for the benefit of emerging writers and the enjoyment of fans of LGBT literature.
On Saturday, March 25 at 10 AM, Jeff will do a reading from some of his work as part of the annual reading series. At 1 PM the same day, Jeff will moderate at panel: Home Is Where The Art Is: Or is it?
So many complex emotions are tied up with the idea of home, and so much great writing is 
inspired by it. Is home the place you come from or the people you love? Can you ever go home again? This is often complicated for LGBT writers whose level of acceptance is tied up with the place they came from. Home is often the place you must escape to become fully yourself. Martin Pousson and Martin Hyatt are both writing about growing up in small town Louisiana, yet they have found homes in Los Angeles and New York. Must you really leave a place to see it clearly? Sheila Morris has collected oral histories for her forthcoming book, Southern Perspectives on the Queer Movement: Committed to Home, about making a stand for the place you love. Rich Barnett has made Rehoboth Beach his own, and Jeff Mann is inspired by his home in West Virginia.
For a full schedule of events and more information about the festival, visit the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival Website.