My Pennsylvania Book Tour

Allentown
Back in May, the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center in Allentown, PA asked me to give a book talk. This was the first time I had a gig where I didn’t initiate contact! The Center was unusually accommodating: they paid one night’s stay in a hotel, and a lovely dinner for me and one friend after my talk. They also tried to get me other gigs in the area and arranged for coverage by a local paper, and my event showed up in the Washington Blade calendar. Special thanks to Executive Director Adrian Shanker and Liz Bradbury, Director of their Training Institute, both of whom are also authors.

My reading on Oct. 24 went really well; all 16 seats in the room were filled. Fascinating questions and comments went on for quite a while.

Let’s Play Books from nearby Emmaus sold copies of my book, which was really nice. I didn’t have to worry about Square and credit cards, and could simply sign and inscribe books for folks. The bookstore also donated a copy for the library at the Center.

I was delighted that Dee Elliott, a friend from high school, told me she would be there. She won the free dinner sweepstakes! We dined with Liz Bradbury and Patricia Sullivan, the founders of the Center. Liz is a longtime fan of both the Oz books and the MGM film, and I managed to pass her obscure trivia question about the film (what two foods is Dorothy seen about to eat?).

Philadelphia
Since I was driving down to Allentown, I decided to make it a real book tour by giving a talk in Philadelphia, about two hours away. Contacting the William Way LGBT Community Center in Philly led to a talk on Oct. 27. The room they gave me was the same one I was in when I spoke at the 2016 convention of the International Wizard of Oz Club. Friends pitched in at the last minute to get equipment for my PowerPoint working. We had a small but enthusiastic audience with engaging questions and comments. One audience member gave me the price of a book, but didn’t want a copy! Another said he had been collecting Oz references in popular culture, and I look forward to seeing his list.

After the talk, a cousin who attended my talk and I wandered around Washington Square West, aka the Gayborhood, looking for a place to get a bite to eat. We stopped at Giovanni’s Room, the venerable LGBT bookstore; because someone had told me they had bought my book there. Sure enough, there was a copy in the “Theory & Criticism” section.

Grinnell, Iowa
Am leaving in a few days for Grinnell, Iowa, where I’ll give a talk on Sunday at Grinnell College sponsored by the American Studies Department: “Gay Boys, Gay Men and the MGM Wizard of Oz.”