The LGBTQ Resource Center at the Gulfport Public Library is hosting the fourth in its six-part SpeakOut series with a focus on the "Intersections of LGBTQ Identity and Literature." This year, multiple school districts in Florida (and elsewhere) have removed a number of books claimed to contain obscene LGBTQ content (e.g., Lawn Boy, Gender Queer, Losing the Girl). Why is LGBTQ literature important? What has - and hasn't - changed

The LGBTQ Resource Center at the Gulfport Public Library is pleased to present the final dialogue in its 2022-23 SpeakOut series. Beginning in April 2022, individual presentations and audience dialogues have explored intersections of LGBTQ identity and Humanities topics of Aging, Art, Faith, Law and Literature. Events of the past year have highlighted how critically important it is to be able to have informed, mutually respectful discussions of how Humanities

ReadOut 2023 kicks off with literary icons Radclyffe and Ann McMan with a retrospective of lesbian and feminist publishing past, present, and future. The conversation is facilitated by award-winning humorist Fay Jacobs. Radclyffe is a retired surgeon whose 50+ novels have earned more than 25 awards from Lambda Literary, Golden Crown Literary Society, and other writers' associations. She is the president of Bold Strokes Books, one of the world's largest

ReadOut 2023 and the LGBTQ Resource Center of the Gulfport Library presents authors Rob Sanders and Sarah Prager in conversation about LGBTQ literature for middle grade and young adult readers. Rob Sanders has written 17 funny and fierce books and is recognized as a pioneer in LGBTQIA+ nonfiction picture books. Blook Brothers, released in July 2022, is his first middle-grade novel, written in powerful, raw verse. Sarah Prager is dedicated

ReadOut 2023 and the LGBTQ Resource Center of Gulfport Library hosts authors and poets Gloria Munoz, Sheree L Greer, and Sander Santiago with moderator Jenny Boyer for a conversation about the intersection of LGBTQ identity and poetry. Gloria Munoz is a Colombian American writer, an advocate for multilingual literacy and writing, and St. Petersburg's new Poet Laureate. Her poetry collection Danzirly/Dawn's Early was awarded the Academy of American Poets 2019

ReadOut 2023 and the LGBTQ Resource Center of the Gulfport Public Library presents this panel, featuring six award-winning authors discussing the secrets to writing mystery and suspense stories that keep readers turning the page. Becky Bohan is the author of the 2020 award-winning novel, A Light on Altered Land. Her 2022 novel, The Santorini Setup, won a Royal Palm Literary Award and a Global Book Award. Penny Mickelbury's many books

ReadOut 2023 and the LGBTQ Resource Center of the Gulfport Library presents a panel discussion of how the broad genre of queer romance explorres the transformation of LGBTQ romantic relationships in literature. Melissa Brayden is the multiple award-winning author of twenty-three contemporary romance novels. She is a dedicated storyteller on the page and stage with a Master's Degree in theatrical directing. Sander Santiago is a Queer-Trans BIPOC writer bringing LGBTQ+

ReadOut 2023 and the LGBTQ Resource Center of the Gulfport Library presents an author panel to discuss queer young adult literature. Maria Ingrande Mora is an author whose young adult debut novel, Fragile Remedy, was selected as a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. Her second novel, The Immeasurable Depth of You, will be released in March 2023. Aaron H Aceves is a bisexual, Mexican-American writer born and raised in

ReadOut 2023 and the LGBTQ Resource Center of the Gulfport Public Library present Fiction: Lesbian Imagination at Work. This panel features authors who bring their training as a librarian, journalist, and publisher, as well as their life experiences, to craft divergent stories that engage readers in the lives of lesbian characters, their families, friends, and antagonists. Kristen Arnett is the queer author of With Teeth: A Novel, which was a

ReadOut 2023 and the LGBTQ Resource Center of Gulfport Public Library presents authors Jamison Green and Zader Keig in conversation about Queer Trans men's literature. Jamison and Zader's decades-long involvement in educating and supporting individuals across the transgender community offers unique insight into the challenges and benefits of aligning one's gender identity with their physical presentation. Jamison Green, PhD, is a writer of fiction and nonfiction, best known for his

ReadOut 2023 presents Sunday keynote speaker author Briam Broome, winner of the 2021 Kirkus Prize for nonfiction. Broome's memoir Punch Me Up to the Gods recounts growing up poor, dark-skinned, and gay in rural Ohio. His essays explore the pressures and vulnerabilities confronting black boys and how he used his personal experiences to create the person he has become. Funding for this event is provided in part through a Florida

ReadOut 2023 and the LGBTQ Resource Center of Gulfport Public Library present Memoir: Growing Into My Self. Three award-winning authors describe their personal accounts of growing into their identities as LGBTQ people and how it integrates into their work and life. Robee Berry (she/her) is a writer, adventurer and activist. For decades the story of The Pink Divide protagonist, Lake Myers, lived in her head until the auspicious day when

ReadOut 2023 and the LGBTQ Resource Center at the Gulfport Public Library presents a lecture and discussion with author Sheree L Greer about her experience being an author. . Sheree is a writer, artist, teacher, and publisher living in Tampa, Florida. In 2014, she founded The Kitchen Table Literary Arts Center to showcase and support the work of Black women and women of color writers. She is the author of