ttg’s Comments (group member since Apr 29, 2013)

ttg’s comments from the Read with Pride Northwest group.

Susinok wrote: "Is there any chance of next year moving back to September? November is too full at work for me to ever make this again if it stays there permanently, and I really missed it this year."

Ah, it's hard to say right now. We'll let you know once we know. :-)

The schedule is now up for RWP 2017! https://readwithpridenorthwest.org/20...

Registration is now open for multi-part Read with Pride Northwest 2017!

See below for registration information for this year's events, or visit our RWP 2017 Registration Page.

There are two different ticketed events for RWP '17--Write with Pride on November 3 and Read with Pride on November 4, and a ticket for one does not equal automatic access to the other. If you are interested in both events, you need to register for both.

Write with Pride Writers Workshop

Join us for a half-day of writer-focused sessions and workshops that focus on the craft of writing as well as publishing and marketing.

- Date: Friday, November 3, 2017
- Time: 12pm – 5:30pm
- Where: Seattle Public Library Central Branch

Registration:

- General Registration: $20
- Supporter Registration*: $25
- Radical Hospitality: $0

*By paying a little extra, supporter registrations help us offer more scholarships and cover venue costs. THANK YOU to everyone who helps us provide more access to these events!

To Register: Register for Write with Pride

*Spots are limited to less than 75 attendees. Register soon to reserve your space.

Read with Pride Northwest 2017

It’s our fifth annual conference where fans come from all over to celebrate together the awesomeness of LGBTQIA romance with a half-day of panels, discussions, and a book festival, plus lots of giveaways and a chance to meet many new and favorite authors!

- Date: Saturday, November 4, 2017
- Time: 12pm – 5:30pm
- Place: Seattle Central Public Library
- Registration: Free

To Register: Register for Read with Pride 2017

*We sold out ahead of the conference last year. Make sure to register to save your spot!

Full schedule for RWP '17 coming soon! We look forward to seeing you in November!

Sarah wrote: "Does anyone know when registration will open up and where? Web site says June 2017. I've already made plane and hotel reservations for myself and my writing partner so would hate to find out that t..."

Hi, Sarah! Registration for Read with Pride Northwest 2017 is now open. You can find out all the info here: https://readwithpridenorthwest.org/20...

We’re excited to announce the Call for Sessions for Read with Pride Northwest 2017 (formally Gay Romance Northwest) that will be held at the Seattle Public Library on November 3-4, 2017!

The big news this year is that Read with Pride will expand to two events.

November 3, 2017: Write with Pride – A half-day workshop geared towards writers that will contain multiple sessions. Attendance will be limited to less than 100. Registration will be a sliding-scale of $0-$30.

November 4, 2017: Read with Pride Northwest 2017 conference – Similar to previous years, RWP will be a half-day convening featuring multiple programs and a book festival.

Saturday’s conference will once again be FREE to attend, and is hosted in partnership with Old Growth Northwest (RWP’s hosting organization), the Seattle Public Library, and Gay City: Seattle’s LGBTQ Center. Registration is required to attend.

Along with these two events, we’ll be hosting NaNoWriMo writing time at the library each morning, and free public multi-author reading events on both Friday and Saturday evening at Gay City: Seattle’s LGBTQ Center. (Gay City also hosts the Gay City LGBT Library, where in past years, publishers, authors, and attendees have donated over a thousand books to their collection!)

The Call for Sessions is open for both Write with Pride on November 3, and Read with Pride on November 4.

The due date for proposals is Sunday, July 23, 2017.

Write with Pride: These sessions are geared towards authors and are more of a “How To” rather than a community discussion.

Read with Pride Northwest: These sessions will be more dialogue/panel based, and less like a workshop. These will be like the discussion panels GRNW hosted at past conferences.

If you are interested in submitting a session for review, please check out our session guidelines for both Read with Pride and Write with Pride at: https://readwithpridenorthwest.org/pa...

For the past two years, the majority of programming has been based on panel submissions. We would be delighted to include your ideas as we move into our fifth year!

Submission Process:

The due date for submissions is Sunday, July 23, 2017, and sessions will be decided by early August, with notifications sent out at that time. After that, remaining Attending Author spots will open up. (First author spots go to panel discussants and session leads.) If you are very interested in joining Read with Pride as an attending author, we recommend joining a session submission.

If you have questions or want to bounce off your session idea, please do reach out. We’re happy to chat about ideas!

Hi, all!

As announced at GRNW 2016 last weekend, we will be changing GRNW's name. The name "Gay Romance Northwest" doesn't do a good job of really representing the bright vibrancy and diversity that is LGBTQIA romance fiction, so we're looking for a new name!

What should it be? We are taking suggestions!

Please share your suggestions below. We will be pulling suggestions together and doing a vote.

We can't wait to see what GRNW will be next, and thank you for your help in growing this program!

S. wrote: "Are there any plans to meet up Friday night before the conference for meet and greet?"

There is plans for a Friday free public reading event at Hugo House from 7pm - 9:30pm that will feature some attending authors. :-) I'll chat with HH to see if they have space for a meet-up before then.

Seats are moving for the upcoming 2016 Gay Romance Northwest Meet-Up (come reserve your free pass!), but in between all this registration madness, we’re delighted to announce that GRNW’s first charity anthology MAGIC & MAYHEM is now up for pre-order!

Set to release on September 6, 2016, MAGIC & MAYHEM is an anthology that is a mix of both fiction and nonfiction. The anthology will feature 8 new stories by a group of amazing LGBTQ romance authors (with stories based on prompts from GRNW 2014 and 2015's Character Type Love Match!) Along with these stories, the anthology will feature the past keynotes from GRNW 2013-2015, as well as some new essays.

Want to Pre-Order?

Come find M&M on Amazon and Smashwords!

Who is part of MAGIC & MAYHEM? Check out the list below!

MAGIC & MAYHEM

STORIES:

“Broken Art,” by Dev Bentham
“Caroline’s Heart,” by Austin Chant
“Demonica,” by Megan Derr
“The Hollow History of Professor Perfectus,” by Ginn Hale
“Fade to Black,” by Josh Lanyon
“Charmed By Chance,” by Alex Powell
“Sun, Moon, and Stars,” by E.J. Russell
“Slack Tide,” by Karelia Stetz-Waters

ESSAYS:

“Romance for the Rest of Us,” by Jessica Blat
“Sad Queer Characters and the Revolution of Joy,” by Austin Chant
“Dear Rose,” by Rose Christo
“How to Get LGBT Romance Books Into Libraries” by Marlene Harris
“So What is “Character-Type Love Match” Anyway?” by Nicole Kimberling
“My Road to Romance,” by Susan Lee
“To My Future Self,” by E.E. Ottoman
“What I’ve Learned,” by Jordan Castillo Price
“Dear Len,” by Radclyffe
“A Letter to My Former Self,” by Rick R. Reed
“Five Things We Learned Running A Queer Romance Event (and the One Thing We Still Need to Do)” by Tracy Timmons-Gray

Proceeds from the anthology will go to support future GRNW programming, like the GRNW Meet-Up conference and more free public reading events and resources for LGBTQ romance readers, authors, and publishers.

Thanks to everyone who has pre-ordered! We can't wait to share this release with you in September!! :D

Susinok wrote: "Registered!

I was not sure if I could go, but hubby said go for it. We're still in the process of moving house and me being gone is a logistic problem with the pets.

So glad I can go after all."

Yay! Thank you for joining us! It will be so great to see you! :-D

Hello, GRNWers! We're excited to announce that registration for GRNW 2016 at the Seattle Public Library on 9/24/16 is NOW OPEN!

Register at: http://grnw2016.brownpapertickets.com/

The Big News? This year, registration is FREE!

Wow! Free? Yep!!

Wait, if it's free...do I need to still register? Yep! Registering is saving your seat, and the Seattle Public Library doesn't have unlimited seating. Definitely register to reserve your spot!

What's the schedule for 2016?

Great question! The schedule is still being finalized, but the main conference is looking like this:

GRNW 2016

Where: Seattle Central Library, 1000 4th Ave, Seattle, WA 98104

When: 12pm - 6pm

12pm - 1pm: Registration, meet & greets, and swag* (Microsoft Auditorium)

*This includes free books on the giveaway table. First come, first serve, so get there early!

1pm - 2pm: Opening Session/Keynote (Microsoft Auditorium)

2pm - 3pm: 2016 Panel Discussions (Various Locations on 1st Floor and 4th Floor

3pm - 4pm: Character Type Love Match* (Microsoft Auditorium>

*The popular and much-loved game is back! Which character type will win this year?? You decide!

4pm - 6pm: GRNW 2016 Book Fair (4th Floor, Room 1)

Meet the attending authors of GRNW 2016, grab cool swag, and buy books!

More info coming soon! But until then, don't forget to register!

For GRNW 2016 that will be held on Sept. 24, 2016 at the Seattle Public Library, we are once again asking writers and readers to help create the conference program!

What does this mean? Similar to 2015, we're accepting panel submissions!

What kind of panels can people submit? Please see our Panel Submission Guidelines. We'll be looking for submissions that include the entire panel, including topic and panelists, and not just an idea for a panel.

When are submissions due?: June 22, 2016.

Have an idea? Please feel free to discuss!

You can contact us directly to bounce off ideas for a panel, but you can also use this space and this folder on GR to discuss ideas, ask for recommendations on who to reach out to, and any other topic related to creating a panel. :)

We'd love your help in making GRNW 2016 a great program!

GRNW is excited to share a new announcement–a call for submissions for a new project, a charity story anthology based on the prompts from the Character Type Love Match game held at the 2014 and 2015 GRNW Meet-Up conferences.

If you’re loving the prompts, “Soldier x Tattoo Artist” and/or “Mage x Cyborg,” we hope you will consider submitting a LGBTQIA romance story for GRNW's first-ever anthology. We’d love to build a magical experience that shares the awesomeness of queer romance to GRNW readers and beyond in 2016!

Check out the full Call for Submissions below or visit the blog for more info:

MAGIC AND MAYHEM: A GRNW Charity Anthology

Now Accepting Submissions!

For the past three years, Old Growth Northwest’s Gay Romance Northwest initiative has brought LGBTQ romance authors and readers to the Pacific Northwest to celebrate the genre. Panels, discussions, and books abound—as well as Character Type Love Match. Character Type Love Match is an interactive crowd favorite where attendees vote to advance their favorite character type, and the two left standing form a happily-ever-after pairing. In 2014, the winners were Tattoo Artist and Soldier. At 2015’s conference, the winners were Mage and Cyborg. Magic and Mayhem: A GRNW Anthology is taking those pairings out of GRNW attendees’ fertile imaginations and letting them run wild on the page.

GRNW enthusiasts and authors of queer romance in general are invited to submit their stories about mage/cyborg or tattoo artist/soldier in love for publication in Magic and Mayhem. Proceeds from the anthology will benefit the nonprofit and volunteer-run Gay Romance Northwest initiative so that they can continue to put on excellent programming, facilitate hundreds of book donations to the Seattle area, and keep being awesome without a profit margin.

As this is a charity anthology, contributors will not retain any money from the sale of Magic and Mayhem. Potential authors should keep this in mind when submitting.

Free Entry into GRNW 2016 AND 2017 as an Attending Author: All authors whose works are part of the published anthology will receive a free registration to the 2016 Gay Romance Northwest Meet-Up conference on 9/24/16 in Seattle, WA, and will be included in the conference program as an official GRNW 2016 Attending Author. Anthology authors will ALSO be included in GRNW 2017 as an attending author. That’s right! The next TWO years of conferences.

Story guidelines:

- Stories should be 2,500 to 20,000 words in length.

- Stories must be LGBTQIA. We encourage authors to submit stories from all over the QUILTBAG spectrum: trans (including genderqueer), asexual, bi romance, and beyond.

- Any sub-genre is accepted, but it must suit the pairing of either mage/cyborg OR tattoo artist/soldier.

- As this is a romance genre anthology, a happy ending for the couple, whether it’s HEA or HFN, is strongly preferred.

- Any heat level is accepted, but as this is a charity anthology for a nonprofit organization, please avoid instances of rape and non-consent for these stories.

Submission guidelines:

- Deadline is March 31, 2016.

- T he anthology publisher will retain the rights to the stories for two [2] years.

- Send your submissions to grnwanthoteam@gmail.com with MAGIC AND MAYHEM – SUBMISSION in the subject line.

- The file must be attached in .doc, .docx, or .rtf format.

- Include a short (no longer than 200 words) summary of the story in the body of the email, as well as the pairing.

- Stories should be formatted as follows: Times New Roman size 12, double-spaced, paragraphs indented (.25″). Include a cover page with the title, author name, and word count.

Anthology Organizers – Who we are:

Nicole Kimberling, Amanda Jean, and Samantha M. Derr are editors brought together in support of GRNW. We’re the organizers and editors of this anthology.

Please contact us at grnwanthoteam@gmail.com if you have questions (or contact Amanda on twitter: @amandahjean and Samantha: @rykaine).

To read more about Old Growth Northwest, please visit http://oldgrowthnw.org.

Thank you for your support!

GRNW offers our deepest heartfelt thanks and gratitude to Nicole, Amanda, and Samantha for leading this amazing project, and thank you to all the authors who are interested in submitting a story to this anthology and who wish to help support Gay Romance Northwest activities.

Thank you so much! We can’t wait to unveil all the magic (and mayhem) in 2016!

GRNW Secret Story Event!

As we gear up for the Sept. 26 Gay Romance Northwest Meet-Up 2015, we thought it would be fun to do another Secret Story Event here on our GR group! (Similar to our 2014 and 2013 story events.)

What is a Secret Story Event?

Popular especially in fanfiction communities, Secret Story Events are about posting a story first but not listing the author. This is a fun way to go in “cold’ into a story without any preconceived notions of style or previous works. Then later we unveil the authors, and you can see how close your guess was! (And maybe even discover a new author who you hadn’t read before.)

What are the rules?

The rules are easy! Because it’s summer time and this shouldn’t be stressful, but fun.

First! If you are interested in submitting a secret story, private message me via GR or email me. Don’t leave a note below saying that you want to do it. (It’s a secret who’s participating.)

Second! The rules will be simple.

1- Write a story! And this year, we have a special prompt!

Soldier x Tattoo Artist

Why this prompt? Well, the Soldier&Tattoo Artist couple were the most voted couple at the 2014 GRNW Reader Meet-Up where we played the game Character Type Love Match. Attendees voted, and the couple they ultimately created were those two character types.

What's great about the game is that these types are not based on gender, so you can create any kind of love story with these characters.

2: Length: Stories can be any length, short or long. 500 words. 5,000 words. There is no maximum or minimum word count.

3: HEA? This is a romance event though, so maybe include something romantic-leaning and an upbeat ending. Doesn’t need to be HFN or HEA, but upbeat.

4: Structure: It can be a short story or it can be a scene or snippet. (If you want to remain secret, I recommend not using characters already published.)

5: Heat Level: It can be saucy and sexy or sweet or filled with UST. (We can tag for anything explicit for those who prefer only sweet, no-sex stories.)

6: Who can participate? Anyone! Any writer can participate. (Just remember--keep it a secret until the reveals are done!)

When is it due?

Stories can come in any time between now and August 31.

September 1 will be the first day that stories start to go up here on GR.

September 14 is when all the authors participating will be revealed!

Editing

The onus for editing will be on the authors.

Submitting

Please pass me your story and I will post it on September 1 or after. You can email me at timmonsgray@yahoo.com.

To make things easier for GR formatting, please highlight in your text any words that need italics, bold, or hyperlinks.

That’s it! If you have questions, please feel free to leave them in this thread!

And thank you to the authors who have already expressed interest in participating! It should a fun event, and a neat way to get ready for the September Meet-Up!

Mtsnow13 wrote: "ttg wrote: "Hey, gang! Just to let you know--we'll be opening up registration on July 15. :-) Thanks for your patience!"

Hey there ttg! I'm having trouble finding the registration link?"

No worries. It's here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/even...

We've just been updating some pages before announcing, but you can register now. :-)

Watch this space as we update information on local hotels and attractions in Seattle for GRNW 2015

Hotels Downtown - GRNW Block - MORE ROOMS AVAILABLE

The Hotel Monaco (across the street from the Library)
http://www.monaco-seattle.com/

GRNW had a small "courtesy" block with rooms for Friday, September 25 and Saturday, September 26.

1 King Bed: $199 per night + taxes
2 Queen Beds: $219 per night + taxes (very limited number)

Please visit here to book online at the Monaco: http://tinyurl.com/GayRomance-NWMeetu...

*Please note: The default on that page is listing a check-out of Monday, September 28. Remember to move that date to Sunday, Sept. 27 to better see the special rate.

Has the block sold out? If you still wish to stay there, call the Hotel Monaco at 206-621-1770 and ask for the next best available rate for those staying for the Gay Romance Northwest conference. The cost will be higher though, so you may prefer to check one of other hotels below. They are all very close to the venue.

Other Nearby Hotels

There are many many hotels and places to stay downtown:

The Moore Hotel (About 9 city blocks from the library)
http://www.moorehotel.com/

*The Moore is a very affordable choice downtown. If you wish to save, we recommend booking early. Many GRNW attendees have stayed there the last two years. They also have some big suites that can be shared and aren't too expensive.

AirBNB (Rentals all around the city): https://www.airbnb.com/

AirBNB is another affordable option to explore, and there are rentals downtown as well as in nearby neighborhoods.

The Hotel Seattle (Across the street from the library)
http://thehotelseattle.com/index.asp

*The Hotel Seattle is also a more affordable hotel BUT I would recommend calling them to try to make reservations. They're not showing availability in September yet on their website.

Inn at Virginia Mason (About 8-9 blocks from Library)
http://www.innatvirginiamason.com/

The Ace Hotel (About 15-16 city blocks from the library)
http://www.acehotel.com/seattle

The Executive Hotel Pacific (Across the street from the library)
http://www.executivehotels.net/downto...

The W Hotel Seattle (Across the street from the library)
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/whotels...

Hotel Vintage Park (Across the street from the library)
http://www.hotelvintagepark.com/

Hotel Max (About 9 city blocks from the library)
https://mobile.ihotelier.com/mbe/mobi...

Green Tortoise Hostel (About 7 blocks from the library)
http://www.greentortoise.net/

*This is a youth hostel, so very affordable, but recommended for those who are good with the youth hostel experience.

More Hotels

This Yelp page also has more hotels in the downtown area. For those wanting to gauge proximity to the library, the library is at 4th Ave and Spring Street.

Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/search?cflt=hotel...

Trivago

Doing a search on Trivago can also be useful. If you choose Seattle, the hotels less than a mile from the city center will be less than a mile from the library.

http://www.trivago.com/

And for anyone local who has recommendations about places to stay or fun things to do in Seattle, please feel free to share them in the comments. :D

Greetings! For those around Portland this weekend, we hope you can come join us at the bookstore Another Read Through this Sunday for GAYLAXY QUEST! Featuring authors Kim Fielding, Amelia Gormley, Ginn Hale, and Nicole Kimberling!

The reading starts at 1:30pm at Another Read Through, the event will feature short readings and also a Q&A. And books will be for sale! :-D

For those that want to come early, we'll be meeting at Mac!, which is next door to the bookstore, starting at around 12pm. Come on by for lunch if you want to meet up! I'll have a GRNW sign on the table. :)

We hope you can join us!

Link for Another Read Through: http://www.anotherreadthrough.com/eve...

Hey, gang! Just to let you know--we'll be opening up registration on July 15. :-) Thanks for your patience!

Sorry for the delay, all, but we are psyched that you're excited. (We are too1) We'll be opening up registration by the end of this month.

Price-wise, it will be the same as last year, so $17.50 for the early bird rate (and later $25 after that rate ends. Our plans is to hold the early-bird rate through late August.)

I wouldn't worry too much if you need to save and plan ahead. If we sell out or get close to selling out, we expect that to happen end of the summer or in September. There's definitely time to buy a ticket at the cheaper rate, and if it's looking like we're selling out sooner, we'll send a message out ahead of time so people know. :-)

Kathleen wrote: "It's spring! When will readers be able to buy passes, and when will we know the location? :)"

Hello! We will be opening up registration in June and the location will be back at the Seattle Public Library in downtown Seattle. Thank you for asking! :D

Hey, all! Just a reminder, we'll be meeting at 2pm at Gay City to chat about books. Look for the GRNW table!