The last author reading for Outwrite Bookstore & Coffeehouse at its 10th Street and Piedmont Avenue location is set for 7:30 p.m. tonight.
“Last Tango at Piedmont & 10th” is the name of the author reading on Jan. 24 hosted by Atlanta poet Franklin Abbott and will be just that — that last night of readings at the store’s landmark location.
In November, Outwrite owner Philip Rafshoon announced the bookstore was going to close at the site where it has been located for 15 years in part due to high rent as well as a lackluster economy affecting sales.
Rafshoon said Jan. 18 he is still looking for a new location for the LGBT bookstore and it looks like the story may relocate in mid-February.
“There is no date, but I believe it will be some time in February … mid February,” he said.
There are scheduled for the final reading at 10th and Piedmont as well as other surprise guests, Rafshoon said. Definites for the Last Tango are:
• Hollis Gillespie, columnist for Atlanta Magazine and author of “Trailer Trashed,” “Confessions of a Recovering Slut” and “Bleachy-Haired Honky Bitch.” She was a longtime columnist for Creative Loafing and a much-loved local author who has an “irreverent” take on life.
• Don Perryman, who attended Georgia State University and now lives in Roswell, loves frolicking with the Radical Faeries. His interests include poetry, yoga, dream study and performing weddings.
• Karen Head, Atlanta native, poet and Georgia Tech professor, who is an award-winning author of “Sassing, My Paris Year” and “Shadow Boxes.”
• Mose Hardin, who was born in Ohio and has lived in Atlanta for the last 22 years. He lost his partner suddenly and unexpectedly and decided to write about his journey to recovery in his debut poetry book, “Namaste Mose.”
• Townsend Fiction Award nominee Collin Kelley is also a playwright and poet. His book “Remain in Light,” nominated for the prestigious Georgia fiction award, is the second of of a trilogy that includes “Conquering Venus.” His poetry collections include “Slow to Burn,” “After the Poison” and “Better to Travel.”
• Daniel Helminiak is the author of Outwrite’s all-time bestselling book, “What the Bible Really Says about Homosexuality.” He teaches sexuality and spirituality in the department of psychology at the University of West Georgia.
• Host Franklin Abbott is also a psychotherapist whose poetry collections include “Mortal Love” and “Pink Zinnia: Poems and Stories.”
Outwrite is located at 991 Piedmont Ave., Atlanta, GA, 30309.
Top photo: Outwrite Bookstore and Coffeehouse (by Dyana Bagby)