BGSQDBureau of General Services—Queer Division
BGSQD
Join Jendi Reiter and Ella Dawson for a reading from their new novels and a discussion of using humor and romance to leaven stories of healing from trauma.
Jendi Reiter’s second novel, Origin Story (Saddle Road Press), features a gay comic-book writer in 1990s New York City who unearths traumatic childhood memories through his art and breaks toxic family patterns with the help of his loving partner.
A bisexual love story with a theme of healing from intimate partner abuse, Ella Dawson’s witty novel But How Are You, Really (Dutton) is set at a 5th-year college reunion where journalist Charlotte Thorne must contend with her bullying boss, the friend group who wonders why she
ghosted on them, and the lovable almost-boyfriend who got away.
Jendi Reiter is the author of five poetry books and chapbooks, most recently Made Man (Little Red Tree, 2022); the story collection An Incomplete List of My Wishes (Sunshot Press/New Millennium Writings, 2018); and the novels Origin Story (Saddle Road Press, 2024) and Two
Natures (Saddle Road Press, 2016). Origin Story was a finalist for the Big Moose Prize from Black Lawrence Press and Two Natures won the Rainbow Award for Best Gay Contemporary Fiction. They are the editor of the writing resource site WinningWriters.com.
Ella Dawson is an NYC-based sex and culture critic and the author of But How Are You, Really, a novel about college reunions and queer millennial angst. She was once internet famous for having herpes, but that’s a whole other story. Ella is proudly bisexual, anxious, and aspires to adopt a kitten. Follow her on social media as @brosandprose.
This event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St., NYC, 10011.
Also live-streaming on the Bureau’s YouTube channel:
Registration is not required. Seating is first come, first served.
Suggested donation to benefit the Bureau: $10.
All are welcome to attend, with or without a donation.
We will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event, but we can also take credit card donations at the register or on Venmo @BGSQD