Being a Black person in America can be an isolating experience, but there's a different kind of loneliness that those of us who sit at the intersection of Blackness and bisexuality face on a daily basis. We don't see Black and brown identities represented amongst queer folks enough to feel like we can claim membership in queer communities and, at the same time, our queerness is often vilified in Black and brown communities. There's a lot at work that plays into this isolation. Biphobia is still a problem in Black and brown communities (among others). Racism and tokenization are still a problem in queer communities. The end result is folks like us having few spaces where we feel safe showing up as our whole selves. Left Unread has been that space for me. I have felt so at home here, as a queer, Black person, that the little anxiety that I felt about publishing Devil of the Deep, my queer, Haitian pirates and mermaids, fantasy adventure whose protagonist is unapologetically Black and unapologetically bisexual, has entirely evaporated.

If you loved Devil of the Deep, you're bisexual now. I don't make the rules. We bisexuals (both literal and honorary through allyship) are always on the lookout for community because those safe spaces are few and far between. I am working to change that. Devil of the Deep was my first foray into building community. Bi+ the Book Writers' Conference is my attempt to bring some of the communities that I identify with together. 

Bi+ the Book Writers' Conference is a virtual event that I am organizing that is happening the weekend of September 18-20, right smack in the middle of Bi+ Visibility Week. It's a conference for bookish bisexual people, an opportunity for us to gather and celebrate our bisexuality, and I want to make sure Black bisexuals and our allies are represented. I want our voices to be heard in every conversation. I want us to be able to share our unique experiences and be included in the conference's mission to improve bisexual+ representation in publishing and media. Simply put, I want you to be there. I am so serious about you attending that I am offering you and all Left Unread members a 25% discount on tickets. 

Here's what one ticket gets you:

• A Virtual Book Fair: The whole conference kicks off with an opportunity for readers to connect with authors who are bisexual, write bisexual characters, or both!

• Learning Experiences: There will be more than a dozen webinars and workshops covering a host of topics specific to being a bookish, bisexual creative facilitated by author experts! One of the workshops that I'm personally excited about is The Story Lab with E.A. Noble, where she teaches the ins and outs of writing high quality short speculative fiction.

• Community-building Events: What's a conference without time for us to hang out and get to know each other! There will be a formal (but not too formal) Bisexuali-Tea Party during which we will both sip and spill the tea on our experiences as bisexuals! We'll also gather (virtually) to share a meal, a cocktail or two, and more conversation!

• Bisexual Killjoy: The hosts of the number one bisexual podcast in the world will record a special conference episode live in front of our audience!

• Keynote Speakers: I may have buried the lead here, but the amazing Amanda B. Weaver, author of In the House of Transcendence and No One's Gonna Take Her Soul Away, and I will be bookending the conference as keynote speakers!

• Creative Accountability: An hour of productivity in the community of those who support your goals and have similar goals of their own! We start each hour of accountability by stating our intentions, work side-by-side, and end by checking with each other to see how close we each got to completing our tasks.

If you would like to learn more about the attending authors or the sessions themselves, feel free to check out the conference website.

Black and brown folks deserve to take up space everywhere important conversations are happening and I promise you there will be some important conversations at Bi+ the Book Writers' Conference. I truly hope to see you there. Click here to redeem your discount!