Date: Thu, 11 May 1995 10:55:19 -0700 (PDT) From: Rex Wockner Subject: PRESS RELEASE: DEB PRICE BOOK ALL: I am forwarding this for my buddy Deb Price. I didn't write it and I should not be contacted for further information. Thanks, Rex Wockner ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 11 May 95 13:34:25 -0400 Eastern From:deb.price@glib.org To: rwockner@netcom.com Deb Price Joins Forces With Her Partner Joyce To Tell the Tale of the Birth and Impact of Her Column Not waiting for an invitation, Deb Price slips into millions of American homes where an openly gay voice has never before been heard. She jolts readers from Detroit to Palm Springs by arriving with their daily paper. Since May 8, 1992, when the conservative Detroit News made history by launching the first nationally syndicated gay column in mainstream newspapers, readers have been appalled, delighted or simply astounded to discover an openly lesbian columnist trying to strike up a conversation with them. Blending the best of Erma Bombeck, Armistead Maupin and Anna Quindlen, Deb wonderfully humanizes gay issues for straight readers and lets gay readers see an honest reflection of their own lives. In And Say Hi to Joyce: America's First Gay Column Comes Out, Deb joins forces with her partner of 10 years, Joyce Murdoch, to tell the touching tale of how the column is changing lives by knocking down barriers that set people apart. The book-- whose title comes from the heart-warming number of letters Deb receives that end, "And say hi to Joyce"-- also includes the first year and half of Deb's award-winning columns. Doubleday will release the book in June. Whether writing about gay radio or gay rodeo, the Republican Party or the Cathedral of Hope, Deb's upbeat column shares the stories of everyday heroes. And in telling the story behind the column, Joyce spotlights people who are making this world an easier place to be gay--the California housewife who sent Deb and Joyce their first-ever anniversary card, the librarian in Sen. Sam Nunn's hometown who welcomed the avalanche of gay books sent by Deb's readers. In advance praise, Abraham Verghese, author of My Own Country: A Doctor's Story of a Town and Its People in the Age of AIDS, declares: "And Say Hi to Joyce is a window into the wonderful world and the minds of two brilliant, astute, funny and courageous women. I was challenged, entertained, educated and ultimately changed by this story. There's not much more you can ask of a book." And Robb Forman Dew, author of The Family Heart: A Memoir of When Our Son Came Out, notes: "This candid book is replete with serious insights and acts of courage. And yet it is also a refreshing celebration of the simple dailiness, the ordinary dreams and hopes of lesbians and gays. And Say Hi to Joyce pushes the idea of gay life not only out of the closet, but also out of the ghetto of stereotype. I loved it!" And Say Hi to Joyce is more than the story of how one disarmingly all-American couple chips away at stereotypes and myths. Ultimately, it is the tale of how individuals have seized Deb's ground-breaking column to improve their lives and communities. Deb and Joyce, who've been Washington correspondents and Washington Post editors, live in Takoma Park, Md., with their two dogs, Jazz and Eddie. Deb's Internet address: deb.price@glib.org Joyce's Internet address: joyce@glib.org Book Tour Schedule: * Thursday, June 1: Washington, D.C. 7 pm Borders/Talk & Signing 1801 K Street, NW, Washington, D.C. * Sunday, June 4: Detroit Southwest Pride Fest 3 pm Deb speaks 3:30-5:30 Joyce and Deb sign books * Monday, June 12: Boston 7 pm Crone's Harvest/Talk & Signing 761 Center Street, Jamaica Plain * Tuesday, June 13: New York City 8-9 pm Barnes & Noble/Talk & Signing 2289 Broadway * Wednesday, June 14: Philadelphia 7:30 pm Borders: Rittenhouse Square/Talk & Signing 1727 Walnut Street * Thursday, June 15: Atlanta 7:30 pm Outwrite Books/Talk & Signing 931 Monroe Dr., Suite 108 * Friday, June 16: Miami/Coral Gables 8 pm Books & Books/Talk & Signing 933 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach * Saturday, June 17: Key West Caroline Street Books/ Talk & Signing 800 Caroline Street #7 * Wednesday, June 21: New York City A Different Light/ Talk & Signing * Thursday, June 22: Capitola 7:30-9 pm Capitola Book Cafe/ Talk & Signing 1475 41st Ave. * Friday, June 23: San Jose 7:30 pm Sister Spirit Bookstore/Talk & Signing 175 Stockton Ave. * Sunday, June 25: San Francisco/Berkeley 3:30 pm A Different Light/Talk & Signing 489 Castro Street, San Francisco 7:30 pm Black Oak/Talk & Signing 1491 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley * Monday, June 26: Houston 7:30 pm Crossroads Market/Talk & Signing 610 West Alabama Tuesday, June 27: Dallas 7:30 pm Crossroads Market/Talk & Signing 3930 Cedar Springs Rd.