Fire & Ink: A Writer's Festival for GLBT People of African Descent, is still set for Sept. 19-22 at the University of Illinois-Chicago Chicago Circle Center, 750 S. Halsted ( wheelchair accessible ) .
Fire & Ink is sponsored by the Department of African-American Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Northwestern University's Department of African American Studies and Program in Gender Studies, University of Chicago's Lesbian and Gay Studies Project, and Affinity Community Services of Chicago.
Join conference organizers Sharon Bridgforth, Dorothy Randall Gray, Reginald Harris, G. Winston James and Lisa C. Moore in this historic celebration of the legacy bequeathed by ancestors such as Audre Lorde, Essex Hemphill, Lorraine Hansberry, James Baldwin, Pat Parker and Melvin Dixon.
Fire & Ink will bring together GLBT writers, thinkers, teachers, publishing and other media professionals of African descent to discuss the position and importance of African diasporic GLBT literature, culture and artistic expression in an effort to contribute to the development, longevity and professional growth of our artistic community.
Fire & Ink will offer panel discussions, workshops, readings by established and emerging GLBT artists of African descent, as well as other opportunities to network with artists and professionals from across the nation.
Thomas Glave, Fulbright Scholar and 1997 recipient of the prestigious O. Henry Award for Fiction, will deliver the keynote address. Presenters will include Samuel Delany, Keith Boykin, C.C. Carter, Cheryl Clarke, Jewelle Gomez, James Earl Hardy, Dwight A. McBride, Reginald Shepherd, Pamela Sneed, and Marvin K. White, among many others.
Registration: $100 onsite. A $50 daily pass will also be offered. To register, make your check payable to Affinity Community Services and mail it along with your contact info to: Lisa C. Moore, P.O. Box 15571, Washington, D.C. 20003.
The following hotels have arranged special rates for Fire & ink conference attendees: Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites, 506 W. Harrison St. Chicago, IL 60607. Call ( 312 ) 957-9100 for reservations; mention the Fire & Ink Conference in order to get the $129 conference rate ( single or double rooms ) . Holiday Inn is three blocks to the conference site. You can view information about the Holiday Inn at www.hidowntown.com .
Quality Inn, 1 Midcity Plaza ( Madison at Halsted ) , Chicago, IL; 312-829-5000. Quality Inn is located about a mile from UIC; ask for their UIC confab rate of $89.
For info call Affinity ( 773 ) 324-0377; or FAX: 301-559-5239/PHONE: 202-452-7440; FireandInk@aol.com