Pride on the Page returns to Palm Springs with ‘Tales of the City’ author Armistead Maupin

The second annual Pride on the Page, a celebration of LGBTQ+ writers and books, returns to Palm Springs on Oct. 13 and 14 with a number of guest authors and speakers, including headliner Armistead Maupin, author of the "Tales of the City" series.

Aside from the ticketed opening night event with Maupin, Pride on the Page is a free book festival presented by the Palm Springs Public Library Foundation. All panels and events, including book signings, will be held at the Palm Springs Cultural Center, located at 2300 E. Baristo Road.

Here's what you need to know about this year's event.

Maupin to kick off book festival

Maupin is one of the world's best known gay literary voices due to his "Tales of the City" novels and TV series. He will join local writer David Eugene Perry for an on-stage discussion at 7 p.m. Oct. 13.

General admission tickets cost $65 and can be purchased at tinyurl.com/MaupinTalk. VIP tickets are sold out. Proceeds will benefit the Palm Springs Library Foundation.

Launched in 1976 as a serial in the San Francisco Chronicle, "Tales of the City" depicts the life of a group of friends in San Francisco, many of whom are in the LGBTQ community. The series include nine novels. The final book, "The Days of Anna Madrigal," was released in January 2014 and landed a spot on the New York Times Bestseller list. Over the years, the tales shared in Maupin's novels have had a life beyond the page, including a Peabody Award-winning television miniseries starring Olympia Dukakis and Laura Linney and a musical that had its world premiere at San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater in 2011. In 2019, Netflix released a new series based on the novels.

Maupin is also the author of "Maybe the Moon"; "The Night Listener," which was adapted into a 2006 film starring Robin Williams; and a memoir titled "Logical Family."

"(My husband) Chris and I are thrilled to be returning to Palm Springs," Maupin said in a statement, "and I look forward to reading aloud a sneak preview of my new novel, 'Mona of the Manor,' to be published in March 2024."

Following his conversation on stage, Maupin will be available to autograph books. The Best Bookstore in Palm Springs will have a selection of titles available for purchase at the event.

Other speakers, panels

Pride on the Page will offer the following panel discussions on Saturday, Oct. 14:

• The Stories We Tell: Exploring Exciting New Works of Fiction at 11:15 a.m.: This panel will discuss new fiction in its many forms and subgenres. Panelists include Ryka Aoki ("Light From Uncommon Stars"), Byron Lane ("Big Gay Wedding," "A Star Is Bored"), Rasheed Newson ("My Government Means to Kill Me"), Lisa Teasley ("Glow in the Dark," "Dive") and moderator Eduardo Santiago ("Tomorrow They Will Kiss")

• Young at Heart from the Start: On Writing the LGBTQ+ Young Adult Novel at 12:30 p.m.: Young adult authors will discuss their books and the challenges and joys of writing YA novels. Panelists include Robbie Couch ("If I See You Again Tomorrow"), Sina Grace ("Iceman" series), Abdi Nazemian ("Like a Love Story," "Only This Beautiful Moment"), Sonora Reyes ("The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School," "The Luis Ortega Survival Club"), Shannon Watters ("Lumberjanes" series), Branden Boyer-White ("Hollow") and moderator Sarah Lacy

• In/Visible: Queer Histories Real and Imagined at 12:30 p.m.: A serious and humorous exploration into LGBTQ+ history. Panelists include Elena Gross (co-executive director of the Berkeley Art Center), Lydia Otero ("L.A. Interchanges: A Brown & Queer Memoir"), Justin Elizabeth Sayre ("Husky," "Pretty," "Mean," "From Gay to Z: A Compendium of Queer Culture"), Nic Scheppard and Jenson Titus (creators of Very Gay Paint) and Steven Reign ("Your Dead Body is My Welcome Mat")

• Remember Me: Writing About Our Queer Lives at 2 p.m.: A close look at fascinating lives under the microscope in magnificent new memoirs. Panelists include Chris Belcher ("Pretty Baby"), Omar Sharif Jr. ("A Tale of Two Omars: A Memoir of Family, Revolution, and Coming Out During the Arab Spring"), Josh Trujillo ("Washington's Gay General: The Legends and Loves of Baron von Steuben"), Guinevere Turner ("When the World Didn’t End," cowrote the film "American Psycho") and moderator Meredith Maran ("The New Old Me")

• Queer Love, Lust, Eros and Everything in Between at 2 p.m.: A lively conversation about sex, romance and erotica from LGBTQ+ writers. Panelists include Daniel M. Jaffe ("The Grand Sex Tour Murders"), Kamala Puligandla ("Zigzags," "You Can Vibe Me On My FemmePhone"), Cristy C. Road ("Green’zine"), Brittny Roberts ("Lesbians In Bed" series), Rob Rosen ("Sparkle: The Queerest Book You'll Ever Love") and moderator Michelle Tea ("Valencia," "Against Memoir")

• It’s A Drag. Or Is it? - Across the Gender Spectrum in Art and Life at 3:15 p.m.: An exploration of gender identity, binary busting and drag on and off the page. Panelists include Charlie Jane Anders ("Unstoppable" trilogy), Frank DeCaro ("Drag: Combing Through the Big Wigs of Show Business"), Jacob Tobia ("Sissy: A Coming-of-Gender Story"), Justine Pucella Winans ("Bianca Torres Is Afraid of Everything") and moderator Darya Teesewell

• Rising: On Thriving and Surviving Through the Art of Writing at 3:15 p.m.: Writers discuss their current works and how writing serves them as a healing/nurturing art. Panelists include Noel Alumit ("Talking to the Moon," "Letters to Montgomery Clift"), Ruth Madievsky ("All-Night Pharmacy," "Emergency Brake"), Elías Miguel Muñoz ("En Estas Tierras" (In This Land), "The Greatest Performance"), Steven Rowley ("Lily and the Octopus"), Wendy L. Silva ("My Story in the Style of Peaches") and moderator David Church ("Edison" trilogy)

• Christian Cooper in conversation with Lorenzo Taylor at 10 a.m.: Central Park birdwatcher, comic writer, television host, science editor and proud Blerd (Black nerd) Christian Cooper discusses his book, "Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World." Lorenzo Taylor has written (under his pen name of Lorenz Qatava) two gay romance/adventure novels, "Rain After the Fire" and "Mist Under the Waterfall"

• A.M. Homes in conversation with M.G. Lord at 4:30 p.m.: Winner of the prestigious Orange/Women’s Prize for Fiction, A.M. Homes discusses her new novel, "The Unfolding." M.G. Lord is the co-host of the podcast "L.A. Made: The Barbie Tapes," and the author of "Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll."

How to sign up

Admission is free, but attendees are encouraged to register for Pride on the Page at tinyurl.com/PridePage2023. For more information, visit tinyurl.com/PridePageInfo2023.

Ema Sasic covers entertainment and health in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at ema.sasic@desertsun.com or on Twitter @ema_sasic.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Pride on the Page LGBTQ book festival coming back to Palm Springs