Perfectly Queer “It Aint Just Genre!”

Why is fiction a wrestling match, with literary fiction in one corner and genre fiction in another? Isn’t a mystery or a romance or science fiction as much literature as non-genre fiction? We’ll thrash those questions and more out at “It Aint Just Genre!”–Perfectly Queer’s August 14 event, 7pm at Dog Eared Books Castro (489 Castro St., San Francisco). Three writers will read from their new books: Ralph Josiah Bardsley (romance), Tim Floreen (horror), and Bonnie J. Miller (speculative fiction). The readings will be followed by a panel discussion and book signing. Door prizes awarded. Wine, edibles, and good cheer provided for free.

Ralph Josiah Bardsley is the author of three books – Brothers, The Photographer’s Truth, and A Careful Heart. Brothers was a Forward Reviews Book of the Year and a Lambda Literary Award Finalist. I was born in a small town outside of Boston. My dad was in the Coast Guard so I grew up in a lot of different places – New Orleans, Cape Cod, North Carolina, and Sitka, Alaska. When I wasn’t in school, I spent most of my time in Coast Guard hangers or reading. Today, he lives in San Francisco, where my hobbies include writing, running, and reading.

Tim Floreen writes young adult science fiction. The New York Public Library named his first novel, Willful Machines, one of the best teen books of 2015 and, in a starred review, Kirkus described it as “gothic, gadgety, and gay,” which is an accurate assessment. Booklist called his second novel, Tattoo Atlas, “incisive, startling, and intense.” Tim lives in San Francisco with his partner, their two cat-obsessed daughters, and two very patient cats.

Bonnie J. Morris is a professor of women’s history, a three-time Lambda Literary Award finalist and the author of fifteen books, as well as an archivist of the lesbian music movement. She recently hosted the first exhibit of radical lesbian albums at the Library of Congress and will now be working with the Bay Area Lesbian Archives. Her new book, SAPPHO’S BAR AND GRILL, is a sexy time-travel romp across women’s history rebellions.