Kick off Pride Month at a brunch event featuring Epic Reads authors Erik J. Brown, Vichet Chum, Alex Crespo, Tony Keith Jr., Kasey LeBlanc and Jenna Miller.
Doors open at 10:45 a.m. for a brunch served by the Jammin' Community Café.
Participating authors interact with attendees and pose for selfies at this celebration of diverse books that center LGBTQIAP+ voices and stories. Event sponsor Epic Reads, will be on site with swag, a photo booth and games.
Following a panel discussion with the authors, a book signing session will be held on Hinds Plaza where the library and event partners HiTOPS and Labyrinth Books will have tents to visit.
About the Authors:
Erik J. Brown is the author of "All That's Left in the World." Erik was selected as a Lambda Literary Emerging Writers Fellow. When not writing genre-blending books for young adults, he enjoys traveling and embarking on the relentless quest of appeasing his Shiba Inu. He lives in Philadelphia with his husband.
Vichet Chum (he/him) is a Cambodian American writer originally from Carrollton, Texas. He graduated from the University of Evansville and received an MFA from Brown University. He currently lives in New York City. "Kween" is his debut novel, and you can visit Vichet at vichetchum.com.
Alex Crespo, born and raised by the Great Lakes, writes about queer love, magic and all the ways they intersect. When not writing, you can find him making art or daydreaming about the Mothman. He currently lives in Chicago with an endless anime watchlist and his black cat, Hex.
Tony Keith Jr. is a Black American gay poet, spoken word artist and hip-hop educational leader from Washington, DC. He is author of the YA memoir in verse "How the Boogeyman Became a Poet." Tony’s writings have appeared in the International Journal of Critical Media Literacy, the Journal of Black Masculinity, and many others. A multiyear Fellow of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities with a PhD in education from George Mason University, Tony is CEO of Ed Emcee Academy and lives with his husband, Harry Christian III, in his DC hometown. Visit him at tonykeithjr.com.
Kasey LeBlanc was an Alice Hoffman fellow with GrubStreet’s Novel Incubator program and a finalist for the Boston Public Library Writer-in-Residence program. He has since been published by WBUR’s Cognoscenti, Writer Unboxed, and Them. When not writing, he can be found learning to unicycle and mourning the loss of Boston’s only flying trapeze school. You can visit him online at kaseyleblanc.com.
Jenna Miller (she/her) writes young adult books about fat, queer, nerdy girls who deserve to be seen and have their voices heard. When she’s not obsessing over words, she can be found making charcuterie boards, befriending people online, cross-stitching or adventuring in the Minneapolis area. "Out of Character" is her debut novel and is followed by "We Got the Beat."
