When my first novel Letters to Montgomery Clift came out, I tried promoting. One of the ways an author does that is by doing readings at bookstores. I was a new untested author with no readership. Bookstores were wary in booking me. Afterall a book dubbed as a gay Filipino novel doesn't scream mainstream acceptance.
I got a string of rejections from all over. One bookstore that welcomed me with open arms and had no qualms about booking me was A Different Light. Both the Los Angeles and San Francisco stores let me read there.
They also let me do my Promising reading series, which featured gay and lesbian authors. It was recently announced that the West Hollywood store would be closing down. Shit! When it came to supporting LGBT writers ADL was always a pillar of support.
Also, ADL was so part of the West Hollywood community as far back as I can remember. It was a regular stop whenever I made it into Weho. It really was a cultural mainstay and many of us are sad to see it go.
Read here.
9 comments:
I was so sad to hear this. Such a great store and I so was hoping to do a reading for Kelland there. Sorry to see it go.
I agree. ADL allows many of us to establish connections with people who wouldn't normally just "discover" us and our work. I will miss ADL and am hoping there is a last-minute miracle save for the store.
I got worried when I saw how much porn and empty space there was on the shelves. I have nothing against porn, but the empty space wasn't a good sign. I will definitely miss them!
This is ridiculous. I loved that place. And thank you for having me read there!
Oh Noel--- what on earth!!@
This is so sad. I saw where the Oscar Wilde Bookshop is closing in NYC... thank God for Outwrite in my town of Atlanta... let's keep supporting this great stores!
That is REALLY sad news. Several years ago I know they talked about going under also, but today, this looks 'too' real. Damn. Now I won't have anywhere to read excerpts from my upcoming book that will be published in 2015 !!!
That is so sad -- it's the same problem here in NYC. I'm old enough to remember how refreshing it was to be greeted at gay bookstore's (A Brother's Touch in Minneapolis, Lambda Rising in DC, Oscar Wilde here in NYC -- which is closing at the end of March -- or the old ADL in NYC whic was a wonderful place on 19th street but closed years ago). Thank god for community centers, but only a few cities have those for the LGBT community. Somehow, from afar, I thought the LA ADL was different. I've only been to LA once (I don't drive, not so much as a matter of principle as a matter of phobia), but once I got there, it was friendly and busy and bouyant. This, in these incredibly difficult economic times, makes me sad but also strengthens my sometimes weak resolve to help us find alternative means -- and blogs like yours are an indispensible part of that renewal.
-Ted Cornwell
That is so sad -- it's the same problem here in NYC. I'm old enough to remember how refreshing it was to be greeted at gay bookstore's (A Brother's Touch in Minneapolis, Lambda Rising in DC, Oscar Wilde here in NYC -- which is closing at the end of March -- or the old ADL in NYC whic was a wonderful place on 19th street but closed years ago). Thank god for community centers, but only a few cities have those for the LGBT community. Somehow, from afar, I thought the LA ADL was different. I've only been to LA once (I don't drive, not so much as a matter of principle as a matter of phobia), but once I got there, it was friendly and busy and bouyant. This, in these incredibly difficult economic times, makes me sad but also strengthens my sometimes weak resolve to help us find alternative means -- and blogs like yours are an indispensible part of that renewal.
-Ted Cornwell
MOG, as they say these days, I only recently found out that the Oscar Wilde Bookstore in NYC was closing. It seems so sad to me that we (gay folk) can support about 40 bars in NYC but not one gay bookstore anymore. The only solace, so far as I can see, is all the online resources that we never had when I was young. Thanks for doing such a cool blog.
Ted C in NYC.
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