Pearls: Memoir

The following authors will be reading excerpts from their work: Esther Newton, Lois McGuinness, Mary Ciner, Pat Hulsebosch, Elizabeth McCain, and Ginny Z. Berson.

• Esther Newton from “Old Movie Star,”
• Lois McGuinness from The Queen of Denial,
• Mary Ciner from Bar Time: A Lesbian Rite of Passage,
• Pat Hulsebosch from “Not Napping,”
• Elizabeth McCain from A Lesbian Belle Tells,
• Ginny Z. Berson “Prologue” from Olivia on the Record: A Radical Experiment in Women’s Music

Esther Newton is a retired professor of anthropology and women’s studies, currently splitting my year between Michigan and Florida. I loved teaching and mentoring all students, but most especially queer students. My writing and research include numerous articles and essays all dealing with the culture and history of LGBTQ people, and five books, Mother Camp: Female Impersonators in America, Womenfriends (with Shirley Walton), Cherry Grove, Fire Island: Sixty Years in America’s First Gay and Lesbian Town, Margaret Mead Made Me Gay: Personal Essays, Public Ideas, and My Butch Career: A Memoir. All these books, exceptWomenfriends, are still in print.  Currently I am the subject of a documentary film in final stages of post-production titled Esther Newton Made Me Gay. For more information about this author and to view book purchase information, visit the Authors page.

Lois McGuinness, a longtime member of the Carefree Writers’ Circle, focuses on creative nonfiction. She made her literary debut in the 2020 ReadOut. For more information about this author and to view book purchase information, visit the Authors page.

Mary Ciner, At 80 years old, I could not believe, that my first ever attempt at writing — my bar story, was chosen to be published along with 24 other lesbians’ work in Bar Times. I am now a social activist for lesbians in my community. For more information about this author and to view book purchase information, visit the Authors page.

Pat Hulsebosch is a queer Pippi Longstocking wanna-be who writes stories and poems about being a wife, daughter, mother, sister, grandmother, and, now, in her sixth decade, a great-grandmother. Since retiring from Gallaudet University she’s found a passion in story-telling about a never-boring life of teaching and learning, wonder, awe and day to day discoveries. Her work has appeared in literary journals including Columbia Journal, Lunch Ticket, Halfway Down the Stairs, Furious Gravity, Grace & Gravity, Vol. I, and The Washington Post. For more information about this author and to view book purchase information, visit the Authors page.

Elizabeth McCain is a performance artist, storyteller/story coach, spiritual counselor, and an Interfaith minister and author of a compelling memoir, A Lesbian Belle Tells OUTrageous Southern Stories of Family, Loss, and Love. Her memoir is an expansion of her award-winning one woman show about her stories of her Mississippi roots, coming out in Washington, DC in the 90s, family rejection, and finding love and belonging. For more information about this author and to view book purchase information, visit the Authors page.

Ginny Z Berson is the author of Olivia on the Record: A Radical Experiment in Women’s Music(Aunt Lute Books).  She was a principal founder of Olivia Records and a member of The Furies collective, for which she wrote many articles.  She has been a social justice activist since the 1960’s and currently serves as Director of Outreach for World Trust Educational Services which produces documentary films, workshops and trainings on racial equity.  She is a co-founder of Neighbors for Racial Justice which works to make her Oakland, CA neighborhood safe and welcoming for all neighbors and supports alternatives to policing and incarceration. For more information about this author and to view book purchase information, visit the Authors page.