Come to the Barbershop and see how December’s readers and musician take on the theme of incredible and improbable impossibilities. Enjoy an eclectic creative mix in an irreverent, unpretentious setting. As the Examiner described a recent Barbershop event: “For only $5 at the door, this event, which included endless amounts of wine, cupcakes, and beer, was a bargain so outrageous that when it ended we milled about and congratulated ourselves for having been witness to it.”

Our full line-up:

JIM PROVENZANO’S résumé reads like the history of gay media since the 1980s, mixed with that of a typical dancer- actor-waiter -stage carpenter-wrestler- dot-com survivor. His 1999 debut novel PINS also became a successful play. He’s penned two more novels – MONKEY SUITS and CYCLIZEN – and short fiction for a few dozen anthologies. The former nationally syndicated sports columnist also curated and designed the world’s first exhibit about LGBT athletes. He recently returned to writing and editing at the Bay Area Reporter, where he often considers starting a “How to Write a Press Release” Boot Camp.

HELENE WECKER will be reading from her novel in progress, THE GOLEM AND THE DJINNI. Helene received her MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University in New York. After a dozen years of moving around between both coasts and the Midwest, she is finally settling down in the East Bay, where she lives with her husband and works an increasingly odd series of freelance gigs. You can find her online at www.helenewecker.com.

MEGAN KEELY is a local singer-songwriter, homegrown here in the Bay Area. She plays with an everchanging roster, often including her father and brother, but can be found playing solo shows here and there with her banjolele and various other small musical instruments. Megan loves any opportunity to play in atypical venues, including woodshops, plant nurseries, and of course barbershops. Every day she is awed and inspired by the incredible, the improbable, and the impossible.

HOLLY PAYNE is a novelist, screenwriter and writing coach who serves on the faculty of the MFA writing program at California College of the Arts. She is the author of THE VIRGIN’S KNOT (a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers book) and THE SOUND OF BLUE. Her latest novel, KINGDOM OF SIMPLICITY, set in her native Amish Country, was written as a response to a drunk driver who left her unable to walk for nearly a year. She has lived and worked in Hungary, Turkey, England and Croatia and continues to travel the world to research her stories. She is the founder of Skywriter Series writing workshops and Skywriter Ranch, a summer writing retreat held annually in the Rocky Mountains and is currently at work on a new book of historical fiction set in medieval Europe.

Details:

Joe’s Barbershop
2150 Market St (between Church and Sanchez)
Saturday, December 5th, at 8 pm.

We suggest arriving early if you want to kick back in one of the barber chairs. Other seating, without footrests or armrest ashtrays, will be available.

Our awesome bookselling parter in crime, BOOKS, INC will be on hand with copies of our featured author’s books. Buy one or three and get them autographed.

SUGGESTED donation: $5 (everyone welcome)

That donation helps to cover our expenses and buys you highly addictive Kettle Salt and Pepper potato chips, baked goods, cold beer, and a Diet Coke or two.

We can always use volunteers to help set up and clean up afterward. Volunteers pay no cover and earn good karma. If interested, email Michael McAllister

November’s readers will tackle the theme of literal and metaphorical journeys, so make a special trip of your own to the Barbershop, where you can enjoy an eclectic mix of genres and styles in a casual, irreverent, unpretentious setting. As the Examiner described a recent Barbershop event: “For only $5 at the door, this event, which included endless amounts of wine, cupcakes, and beer, was a bargain so outrageous that when it ended we milled about and congratulated ourselves for having been witness to it.”

Our lineup:

ROB ROSEN will be reading from his brand-new novel DIVAS LAS VEGAS, which one reviewer called a “cheerfully cheeky romp through the boys and beds of Las Vegas…Fierce sexy slapstick.” Rosen is the author of Sparkle: The Queerest Book You’ll Ever Love and has contributed to over sixty anthologies including Cleis Press’s Truckers, Best Gay Romance, Best Gay Romance 2008, Best Gay Romance 2009, Best Gay Erotica 2009, Hard Hats, Backdraft, Surfer Boys, and Bears. His erotica is often found in MEN and Freshmen magazines. He lives in San Francisco with his husband, Kenny, and you can find him online at www.therobrosen.com.

In addition to its usual roster of excellent and experienced authors, The Barbershop is committed to presenting the fresh voices of emerging writers. JOSHUA KLIPP is a transgender artist primarily known as a singer/songwriter who’s been featured on the Tyra Banks Show and MTV’s LOGO, and in 2008 he hit the Billboard Dance Charts. As one of the L WORD producers put it, “He makes every gender swoon!” He debuted his literary skills at the 2009 National Queer Arts Festival’s “Transforming Community”, and is currently working on a book of essays titled, THIRD PERSON. Check him out online at www.joshuaklipp.com.

SHANTHI SEKARAN will be reading from her first novel, THE PRAYER ROOM. She was born and raised in California, and now splits her time between Berkeley and London. A graduate of UC Berkeley and the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars, she was first published in Best New American Voices 2004 (Harcourt). Of THE PRAYER ROOM, the New York Times said, “Sekaran is a master of cadence, and as she displays her intimate knowledge of India, England and America, there’s jazz on nearly every page.” You can find her online at www.shanthisekaran.com.

Details:

Joe’s Barbershop
2150 Market St (between Church and Sanchez)
Saturday, November 7th, at 8 pm.

We suggest arriving early if you want to kick back in one of the barber chairs. Other seating, without footrests or armrest ashtrays, is available.

Our awesome bookselling parter in crime, BOOKS, INC will be on hand with copies of our featured author’s books. Buy one or three and get them autographed.

SUGGESTED donation: $5 (everyone welcome)

That donation helps to cover our expenses and buys you highly addictive Kettle Salt and Pepper potato chips, baked goods, cold beer, and a Diet Coke or two.

We can always use volunteers to help set up and clean up afterward. Volunteers pay no cover and earn good karma. If interested, email Michael McAllister