ReadOUT 2024 is February 16-18

Educate. Celebrate. Inspire.

The seventh annual ReadOUT Festival of LGBTQ+ Literature will be live in Gulfport, FL as well as virtually on Zoom.

Presentations will be onsite, live streamed or prerecorded. ReadOUT is committed to involving a wide array of voices.

Follow ReadOUT 2024 on Facebook & Instagram, or join the LGBTQ Resource Center email list.

Event Registration

We’re so excited about our two locations for ReadOUT 2024—Artists of Elements: The Gathering Space and the Catherine A. Hickman Theater.

All are welcome. Tickets are available now for both onsite and online attendance. Scholarships are also available for those who wouldn’t otherwise be able to join us. Get your event tickets.

For those attending ReadOUT online via Zoom, we have created a ReadOUT Bookshop.org page for you to explore author books. Using this link may provide ReadOUT a small financial benefit. https://bookshop.org/shop/readoutfestival.

Keynote Speaker: Lynn Ames

Lynn Ames has penned sixteen genre bestsellers. Her biography of the greatest catcher ever to play women’s softball, Out at the Plate: The Dot Wilkinson Story, was released in October 2023. She is a six-time Goldie Award winner, winner of the Ann Bannon Popular Choice Award, a two-time Lammy Award finalist, a Foreword Indies Book of the Year finalist, and a Writers’ Digest Self-Publishing Award finalist. Her thriller, The Value of Valor, received the 2007 Arizona Book Award from the Arizona Book Publishing Association. In 2010,Lynn created her own publishing imprint: Phoenix Rising Press.

Friday, Feb. 16 Workshop at 1pm
Book Banning: What Can I Do?

Florida is ground zero in attempts to erase books with LGBTQ+ and BIPOC content. Public school educators walk a tightrope between risking their jobs and self-censorship. Former school library media specialist, Erin Decker, forged a different path, opening White Rose Books & More in Kissimmee, FL with business partner Tania Galinanes. Listen in as ReadOUT keynoter and journalist Lynn Ames interviews Erin about the lessons learned from taking a stand. Discover what you can do individually and as part of grassroots organizations that have emerged to protect the most basic of American values, freedom of speech.

Friday, Feb. 16 Workshop at 3pm
Indie Bookstores & LGBTQ-BIPOC Lit

FREE—Add your voice to a pre-conference workshop on the role of indie bookstores in building and maintaining the visibility of LGBTQ+ and BIPOC literature. At this session, a goodwill offering will be taken, with funds shared by the Center and the panelists. Featured bookstores are Book and Bottle, White Rose Books, and Black English Books. In-person only.

Saturday, Feb. 17 at 7:30pm
Lavender Moonshine and You

Join celebrated women’s music icon and folk artist Tret Fure at the Hickman Theater in her first appearance in Gulfport since 2017. Tret’s decades-long career reveals a Renaissance Woman who writes, performs and produces top shelf music with unflagging creativity. Sing along with well-loved standards and savor new music from her 2023 acoustic release, Lavender Moonshine.

CANCELED: Friday, Feb. 16 at 7:30pm
Birthdays Are a Drag!

Join Silver Foxx and his ComeOUT St. Pete 2023 court for a suave celebration of author and ReadOUT volunteer Mercedes Lewis’ birthday. Dollar-a-year tickets ($68 + fee) include champagne and carrot cake with the birthday girl and Silver Foxx. Early entry ($34 + fee) and General admission ($17 + fee) tickets also are available. This is an 18+ event.