April 2011

We love good books, just like you do

Welcome to Bywater Books

Dear Readers,

This month, we have just published the second novel by Bett Norris, What's Best for Jane. (It will also be available as an eBook in a few weeks' time.) For more details, see Spotlight below.

Jill Malone wonders what makes a "lesbian" novel. See An Author Argues below.

Congratulations are due to Val McDermid, Sally Bellerose, Stella Duffy, and Lisa Gitlin. For more details, see News from Bywater below.

Seven of our authors will be touring across each other's blogs. To find out what exactly that means, see Blog Tour below.

Bywater Books is a small press publishing books by women for women. In a marketplace dominated by Amazon and other superstores, it is the independent bookstores that provide the best selection of LGBT writing, so from now on we're going to be highlighting an indie bookstore each month. To find out more about Giovanni's Room, see below.

We're also preparing to attend the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival and the Golden Crown Literary Society Conference. For more details, see Saints and Sinners and Golden Crown below.

As always, we at Bywater strive to bring you the finest in lesbian romance, mystery, and literary fiction.

Till next time!

You know already that many of our authors have their own blogs. You may even have your favorite(s), and check them out regularly. (I know I do.) But there's likely an author you haven't read yet. You keep meaning to, but things are kind of busy right now…

Not any more they're not! Seven of our authors will be going on tour. And soon they'll be coming to you — or, at least, to the site you already visit. So get ready for Bywater's Virtual Book Tour— we'll be making connections one blog at a time. They will be guest blogging on each other's blogs for the next four months, and posts will come in from the Pacific Northwest, the Great Lakes region, New England, the South, England, and Australia.

The tour begins in April with Jill Malone and Marianne K. Martin.

Here's how it will work:

Marianne will visit Jill on April 4; Lindy Cameron on April 6; Bett Norris on April 8; Cynn Chadwick on April 11; Sally Bellerose on April 16.

Jill will visit Bett Norris on April 18; Marianne on April 20; Lindy Cameron on April 22; Cynn Chadwick on April 25; and Sally Bellerose on April 29.

In May, it will be the turn of Cynn Chadwick and Bett Norris.

In June, Lindy Cameron and Stella Duffy will be on the move.

And in July, Sally Bellerose will finish up the tour.

We'll give you precise dates nearer the time. Or check out our website.

This probably goes without saying, but click on the authors' names above to link straight through to their blogs.

Giovanni's Room was founded in 1973, and named after a novel by James Baldwin. As LGBT culture has grown in Philadelphia, so too has the bookstore. In fact, it's now the biggest LGBT bookstore in the States.

The store's website, www.queerbooks.com , is a gateway to virtually any English-language book in print. It also accesses a phenomenal listing of LGBT books. Customers can buy any of some 2.3 million books and any of more than 3 million eBooks, and the website also lists the approximately fifty author readings they host each year.

There is no substitute, though, for the physical store. Their staff, with over 100 years' experience, can give you the best advice about authors and books. Whether you are in Philadelphia or not, any serious reader of lesbian fiction should check out Giovanni's Room.

The author of only two novels, Jill Malone has already been a finalist for the Ferro-Grumley Award and last year she won the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction. But as she prepares for publication of her third book, Giraffe People (in Spring 2012), she's wondering, "What makes a story lesbian?"

You're probably thinking there's an easy enough answer to that: "a lesbian book is one written about lesbians, addressing real lesbian concerns." Jill, though, is less sure. She worries that this point of view is too limiting. "Why," she asks, "are we trying to make our stories so small? So insular? So terribly specific? The more stories we tell, the more inclusive we become, the more power we wield. Our stories are power. To say our stories can only encompass this tiny sliver is reductive and sad and dangerous."

"Lesbian," Jill argues, is a perspective: "So straight people can write it using lesbian characters, and lesbians can do it writing straight characters. That argument gets me almost nowhere with many lesbians." Which may be because it's difficult to understand quite what Jill means! I didn't at first, and had to ask her to explain more. She came back with this: It's an approach that's "less polished, and commercial, more passionate and rough. I tend to think of queer this way. We're everywhere. We're offbeat. We're unusual. We center our stories on women. We experience the concerns and sexuality of women with earnestness. With deliberateness. We are talking about women and sex and power. We are telling lesbian stories."

It's an argument that meets with frequent complaints — from writers, booksellers, publishers, and feminists: "One said [that] as our stories become more mainstream, they become less about our experience."

Jill can't see the problem. She doesn't want to be placed in a niche, doesn't want to be an outlier: "I'd rather bring the center to me. Yeah, I'm currently writing on an edge, but it doesn't need to be a precipice."

She does, however, acknowledge that hers may be a perspective which reflects her own circumstances: "I live in a town, and at a time, when nobody has ever punched me because I'm gay. Nobody has ever harassed me because I'm gay. My friends have been overwhelmingly supportive. My family is what you would expect evangelicals to be. But they try, in their way. I think our generation has more grace than the generation before us. Less judgment. More love. But, we can afford to, can't we?"

This, I suspect, is an argument that can run and run. What do you think? Jill would love to hear your thoughts. E-mail her at jillamymalone@gmail.com

Jill lives in Spokane with her partner Mary DuChene, who "totally agrees. And she is much more logical and articulate than I am, which is … always helpful." (They're getting married on August 20.)

Every month, Bywater holds a Prize Draw! To enter, just answer a simple question. (It is simple: you'll find the answer on the website!)

All the correct answers will be thrown into a hat. The first one to be picked out will win.

This month's question is:

What is the name of Jill Malone's partner?

This month, the winner can have the Bywater title of their choice.

Send answers to us by e-mail at trivia@bywaterbooks.com or by post to the address in the righthand column above — see To Order Books.

Congratulations to Val McDermid: This year, the Lambda Literary Foundation will be honoring Val with a Pioneer Award! This is given to "individuals who have broken new ground in the field of LGBT literature and publishing. Established in 1995, the Award honors those who, through their achievements and passionate commitment, have contributed to the LGBT literary community in significant and tangible ways."

Congratulations to Stella Duffy, who is a finalist for this year's Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery. She is also a finalist for the Foreword Reviews Gay/Lesbian Fiction Category of this year's Book of the Year Awards.

Congratulations too to Lisa Gitlin, who is also a finalist for the Foreword Review Book Awards.

And more congratulations to Sally Bellerose: Her short story Fishwives has won the Saints and Sinners Fiction Contest! Alongside the other finalists, she will be reading at the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival on Thursday, May 12. Fishwives will soon be published shortly in an anthology featuring work by all the finalists.

Greetings from Jamaica, Wish You were Queer by Mari SanGiovanni has just been recommended by Out and About Travel. To see the reviews, click here.

Founded in 2001, the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival has been quick to establish an international reputation. It attracts the very best names in Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender publishing. Industry professionals — writers, editors, publishers, and reviewers — flock from around the world. Readers and fans are welcome too!

It's no wonder this event attracts so many: The organizers put together great panels and fun events, and New Orleans is a city that makes the perfect host.

From Bywater, Sally Bellerose, Bett Norris, Marianne K. Martin, and Kelly Smith will all be attending. As will our publicist Michele Karlsberg, who will be delivering a masterclass about using social networking to connect writers and readers.

This year's event takes place May 12-15, 2011.

For more details, visit sasfest.com

The Golden Crown Literary Society Conference is a must for anyone interested in lesbian literature — readers and writers alike!

Across a fun-packed weekend, you'll be able to attend presentations and listen to panel discussions. Authors will be reading, as well as signing their books. Publishers will be exhibiting, and there'll be time for chats over coffee.

This year Georgia Beers, Mari SanGiovanni, Marianne K. Martin, Bett Norris, and Marcia Finical will be attending.

The conference takes place June 9-12, 2011 at the Buena Vista Palace in Orlando, FLA.

For more information, click here.

Sally Bellerose
will be reading at The Green Street Café in Northampton MA on Wednesday, April 15 at 7 p.m.
For more information: (413) 586-5650

Lisa Gitlin
will be reading at Busboys and Poets, 14th & V, on Sunday, May 8, 4 to 6 p.m.
Langston Room
2021 14th Street
NW DC 20009
For more information: (202) 387-7638