Busboys and Poets Books Presents Family, Pride, Love Panel
Date and Time
Jun 16, 2022 6:00 pm
Location
14th & V
2021 14th St NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20009
Jun 16, 2022 6:00 pm
14th & V
Writers Eric Nguyen (Things We Lost to The Water), Michael Dumlao (The Wisdom of Guncles), and Eric Peterson (Love, Loyalty & Vermouth) come together to discuss the importance of family in the LGBT community. Facilitated by Ryan Williams, the conversation will explore the theme of family as it relates to each of their books. We’ll hear about the experience of coming out to an immigrant family, learn how queer family members can mentor the younger generations, and how found families play an invaluable role in LGBTQ+ culture. Join us for this illuminating panel discussion, including quick reads from each title and a Q&A to invite the audience to be part of the conversation.
This event is free and open to all. Our program begins at 6:00 pm, with an introduction from a member of our Busboys and Poets team, and will be followed by an audience Q&A. Copies of all three books will be available for purchase before and after the event, and there will be a joint signing. Full dinner service is available throughout the show. Please note that this event will not be livestreamed.
We ask that guests RSVP in order to receive direct updates about the event from Busboys and Poets Books. Proof of RSVP may be requested on arrival if capacity is reached.
ABOUT THE BOOKS
Things We Lost To the Water by Eric Nguyen
When Huong arrives in New Orleans with her two young sons, she is jobless, homeless, and worried about her husband, Cong, who remains in Vietnam. As she and her boys begin to settle into life in America, she continues to send letters and tapes back to Cong, hopeful that they will be reunited and her children will grow up with a father. Over time, Huong realizes she will never see Cong again. While she copes with this loss, her sons, Tuan and Binh, grow up in their absent father's shadow, haunted by a man and a country trapped in their memory and imagination. As they push forward, the three adapt to life in America in different ways: Huong takes up with a Vietnamese car salesman who is also new in town; Tuan tries to connect with his heritage by joining a local Vietnamese gang; and Binh, now going by Ben, embraces his burgeoning sexuality. Their search for identity--as individuals and as a family--tears them apart, until disaster strikes and they must find a new way to come together and honor the ties that bind them"
Wisdom of Guncles by Micheal Dumalo
Are you the black sheep in your family who chafes at traditions and seeks examples of how to redefine them? The Wisdom of Guncles is about queer people and their relationship with family - however they choose to define it. Featuring a diverse pantheon of gay uncles ("guncles") and other queer mentors, their stories offer unique perspectives about life, love, and personal empowerment. With each chapter, Dumlao examines what various LGBTQ+ experiences teach about disrupting norms, exploring identity, and creating chosen families that affirm one's truth.
The Wisdom of Guncles shares ten powerful journeys, each bearing knowledge honed through struggle and triumph, on living with audacious authenticity and compassion. While these narrativesare unapologetically queer, they hold universal lessons about the human condition that, like all stories about family, are grounded in love.
Loyalty, Love, & Vermouth by Eric Peterson
After a bitter and humiliating breakup, Charlie Vernon lives not-quite-alone in his Capitol Hill townhouse. He kept Mamie, the cockapoo that he and Freddie adopted together, but he's just arrived home to find he's been visited by thieves...and they've taken Mamie.For the next thirty-six hours, he and his family of choice-a pair of rhyming lesbians, a Georgia-born man who might be married to a sex addict, and the hostess of DC's hottest Drag Bingo-will band together to search for Mamie. What's at stake isn't just a beloved dog, but whether Charlie will be brave enough to love anything or anyone, ever again.
ABOUT THE PANELISTS
Eric Nguyen earned an MFA in creative writing from McNeese State University in Louisiana. he has been awarded fellowships from Lambda Literary, Voices of Our Nation Arts (VONA), and the Tin House Writers Workshop. he is the editor in chief of diaCRITICS. He lives in Washington, DC. Things We Lost to the Water is his first novel.
Eric Peterson is a DC-based novelist and playwright. His plays include an adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables, Seven Strangers in a Circle (nominee, Best Play, Washington Theatre Festival), and Smoke & Mirrors. He has been a regular contributor to Letters from CAMP Rehoboth and NBC Out, and cohosts The Rewind Project, a podcast about old movies and modern times. He was named a finalist in the 2022 Saints + Sinners Short Fiction Contest for his story, “Little Boy Blue.” Loyalty, Love, & Vermouth is his first novel.
Michael Dumlao is an artist, author and activist equipped with twenty years advancing diversity, equity and social justice through award-winning brand management, digital marketing and creative storytelling in corporate, federal, academic and non-profit environments. He recently led the rebrand of Fortune 500 technology consulting company Booz Allen Hamilton as its first global Director of Brand. He currently serves as a Senior Advisor in defense and intelligence agencies directing creative, business, and diversity transformations. He offers a proven record in helping large organizations undergo transformations in their brand, creative direction, and marketing operations while continuously building the business of equality.A sought-after speaker on audacious authenticity, brand elevation, and social equity, he is the author of The Wisdom of Guncles, published by New Degree Press.
An award-winning media consultant and special events producer, Ryan Williams is Digital Producer with the DC Public Library, developing and streaming special programming for city residents. Previously, Ryan worked in the Diversity and Inclusion division of NBC News, MSNBC and NBC News Digital as Director of Multicultural Initiatives. He joined NBC News in 2011, supporting the network’s strategic initiative division through foundation outreach, production and support. At NBC News, he built and supported platforms at NBC News, including co-creating NBCBLK, the African-American vertical of NBCNews.com and created NBCOut, the network’s first LGBTQ news unit. He actively partnered with NBC News and Comcast initiatives targeting African American, Latino, Asian American, LGBTQ and Native American audiences, and served on Comcast-NBCU Task forces in the successful development of African American employee resource groups, health care initiatives, and the creation of MSNBC’s “Know Your Power” series. Ryan previously served as Managing Director of the National Association of Black Journalists, working to diversify the nation's newsrooms. Ryan is a two-time recipient of the NABJ President’s Award, and served as convention chair in 2016 and 2017.
