Join us for a conversation on writing queer fiction with Bay Area authors on Bold Strokes Books, a publisher focused on LGBTQ books and authors.

Ashley Bartlett, Clifford Mae Henderson, and Frederick Smith will share from their latest novels, offer insight into their writing processes, and give tips to aspiring authors looking to publish their works. 

About the authors

Originally from Detroit, Frederick Smith is a graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism, Loyola University Chicago, and Loyola Marymount University. He lives in San Francisco. He is author of In Case You Forgot (co-authored with Chaz Lamar Cruz), Play it Forward, Right Side of the Wrong Bed, and Down For Whatever. For this event, he'll be discussing his latest novel, One and Done, a Black, Queer, Higher Ed, Bay Area romance novel.

Award-winning author Ashley Bartlett was born and raised in California. Her life consists of reading, writing, and editing. Most of the time Ashley engages in these pursuits while sitting in front of a coffee shop with her wife. It's a glamorous life. She describes herself as an obnoxious, sarcastic punk-ass, but her friends don’t hold that against her. For this event, she'll be discussing her latest, Revisiting Summer Nights, a second chance, sapphic romance novel, set in the world of film.

Clifford Mae Henderson, also writing under the name Clifford Henderson, was named after her grandmother Clifford who once wore a nightgown to a formal event because she liked it better than any of the dresses she could find. Clifford Mae has attempted to follow in her renegade grandmother’s footsteps, spending as much time as possible trying to shake things up. Her novels have each garnered awards, including a Foreword Review Book of the Year Award, an Independent Publisher Book Award, and a Golden Crown Literary Award. When not writing, Clifford Mae and her life partner of over a quarter century run the Fun Institute, an improv school in Northern California where they teach the art of collective pretending.