After ten cities, dozens of organizational sponsors and thousands of attendees, my book tour for My Fabulous Disease: Chronicles of a Gay Survivor will end the evening of August 8th in Atlanta. It feels wonderful to be ending the tour in my hometown, where much of the book was experienced and written.
Sponsored by Atlanta Pride, the free event will feature a stellar line-up of Atlanta talent performing essays from the collection at Out Front Theater on Thursday, August 8, 2024. The event is co-sponsored by Out on Film, the Counter-Narrative project, and GLAAD.
Admission is free but seat reservations are requested and can be make through this link.
The book events haven’t been typical in the least, and thank goodness for that. We threw out the notion of a book reading & signing, because I’m a community person and my writing often reflects that. So, in each city, we have partnered with local organizations and invited community notables there to become the readers of essays from the book.
Across the country for the tour, we have paired essays with long-term survivors, elected officials, newscasters, drag queens, sex workers, trans activists and actors and have asked them to read and offer their perspectives. The results have been moving, brutally honest, and often hilarious, and that’s the best possible reflection of the book.
Atlanta will be no different, except I will be surrounded by more friends and long-time partners in this movement than anywhere else. I can’t wait. I am overwhelmed by the love and support I received in each and every city and will post some event photos below.
First, though, here is the official press release from Atlanta Pride, co-sponsor of the event on August 8th. Be sure to reserve your seat here.
Community Event to Salute Those Living with HIV/AIDS Through the Writing of a 40-Year Survivor
ATLANTA — Atlanta Pride and three other community groups will host a
special free event on August 8 at Out Front Theatre to honor HIV/AIDS survivors
through the writing of local author Mark S. King, who has chronicled his life with HIV for
the remarkable span of forty years.
“My Fabulous Disease: Honoring HIV/AIDS Survivors and the Writing of Mark S. King”
will take place on Thursday, August 8, 2024, at Out Front Theater. There will be a
reception at 6:30 p.m., followed by a program at 7 p.m. Atlanta Pride, Out on Film, The
Counter Narrative Project, and GLAAD are co-sponsors of the free event.
Seven community notables will read essays from King’s new collection, My Fabulous
Disease: Chronicles of a Gay Survivor, and offer their perspectives.
“Too much of the public reaction to HIV/AIDS has been stigma and shame, and Mark’s
writings offer an alternative response,” said Steven Igarashi-Ball, director of
communications and community engagement for Atlanta Pride. “His brutal honesty is
tempered by his ferocious wit. His themes of love, sex, family, and negotiating life as a
queer person have universal appeal. The evening will include some of our community’s
best speakers and performers, tying into this year’s Atlanta Pride festival theme, “United
With Pride.”
The program includes Darian Aaron of GLAAD, Out on Film festival director Jim Farmer, trans activist Tracee McDaniel of the Juxtaposed Center, comedian and content creator Devin Bernard, theater critic and performer Benji Carr, and Thrive SS founder Larry L. Scott-Walker. King will open the evening with one of his favorite essays about winning a car on The Price is Right in 1980 when he was 19 years old, while his boyfriend whistled and cheered from the audience.
The event is free to the public, but seats reservations are strongly suggested and available here.
The line-up of performers is stellar. If you are in the Atlanta area, please do come. Remember to reserve your seat for the free event by using this link.
Here are some fun photos and memories from the book tour:
Kicking off at United States Conference on HIV/AIDS, where the panel surprised me wearing t-shirts emblazoned with the book jacket.
With a group of readers and attendees at STRUT. where the San Francisco AIDS Foundation hosted an event for 100 people.
A capacity crowd at the Palm Springs event, where Let’s Kick ASS and Promo Homo were fabulous hosts.
At West Hollywood, CA auditorium at an event sponsored by Being Alive.
An extended segment on ABC7 in San Francisco was a highlight of the event week there.
See you soon, Atlanta peeps!
Mark
