Simply Fred Smith

Hey friends. Been a minute. I'm still here. Basically, been in a doctoral program studying Educational Leadership for Social Justice at Loyola Marymount University . Fun stuff. Busy stuff! Wi...

http://simplyfredsmith.blogspot.com/2015/11/its-holidays-add-books-to-list.html

I'll be one of the guest authors at L.A.'s Brotha Fest event -- Wine & Words, a celebration of Black LGBT Literature -- on Sunday, July 5, 3 - 6 pm, at the Carl Bean House, 2146 W. Adams Blv...

http://simplyfredsmith.blogspot.com/2015/06/las-brotha-fest-wine-words-on-sunday.html

So excited to be part of the annual BlaqOUT Conference at UC Riverside . It starts today, Friday, 4/10, and continues all day Saturday, 4/11. The conference focuses on issues important to thos...

http://simplyfredsmith.blogspot.com/2015/04/blaqout-conference-uc-riverside-410-and.html

I'm super excited for Toni Morrison's new novel, God Help the Child , coming out April 21, 2015. Here's a nice preview reading and interview with Toni Morrison from the NY Times: I Know How To ...

http://simplyfredsmith.blogspot.com/2015/04/toni-morrison-i-know-how-to-write.html

Hey friends... Did a fun radio interview last week with the wonderfully talented journalists/scholars at the Strange Fruit show, from the Louisville, KY NPR affiliate WFPL . We talked Play It For...

http://simplyfredsmith.blogspot.com/2015/02/strange-fruit-npr-show.html

Hey friends. Check out a really fun guest column I did for the Dear Teen Me site: A Letter to Teenage Frederick Smith . You'll enjoy it... and the columns from other authors speaking to their te...

http://simplyfredsmith.blogspot.com/2015/02/dear-teen-me-letter-to-my-teenage-self.html

Another upcoming reading/signing event. This time at the Pasadena Public Library Author Fair , taking place Saturday, 2/21/15, 10 am - 2 pm. I'll be tabling/selling/signing books most of the ti...

http://simplyfredsmith.blogspot.com/2015/02/pasadena-library-author-fair-sat-22115.html

Hola. Hope everyone's doing well.  I'll be heading down to San Diego to the UC San Diego campus on Friday, February 20, 2015. Doing a series of readings and conversations at the UCSD Cross Cu...

http://simplyfredsmith.blogspot.com/2015/02/uc-san-diego-readings-friday-22015.html

After I tell people that I write “cheesy gay romance novels,” and then clarify that they’re more like “vitamin-stuffed desserts,” those comments often open the door to a conversation a...

http://simplyfredsmith.blogspot.com/2015/02/creating-conscious-characters-social.html

Join us for a Black History Month kickoff event at Skylight Books in L.A. on Friday, February 6, 2015, 7:30 - 9 pm. Black Queer Lit: Then and Now. Featuring Bold Strokes Books authors: Fion...

http://simplyfredsmith.blogspot.com/2015/01/black-queer-lit-skylight-books-in-la.html

I have a new book coming out tomorrow, Tuesday, 1/20/15 Play It Forward is my third novel and will be published by Bold Strokes Books . My third novel. Sometimes it's weird to say it, write it...

http://simplyfredsmith.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-day-before-your-books-comes-out.html

Hey friends. Happy Tuesday! Check out a fun blog I wrote for the  Bold Strokes Books author blog: Caught In a Bad Romance: The Art of the Soap Opera, Shade/Tea, and LGBTQ Fiction. If you'...

http://simplyfredsmith.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-art-of-soap-opera-romance-and-lgbtq.html

If you're a writer and in the L.A. area, you should consider attending the L.A. Writers Conference at Mount Saint Mary's University on Saturday, 3/14/15. Keynote speaker will be Nikki Giovanni...

http://simplyfredsmith.blogspot.com/2015/01/la-writers-conference-at-mount-saint.html

2014 brought us lots of new words, with origins in QPOC (queer people of color) worlds. Strange Fruit podcast explores in a recent episode: Yasssss! 2014 Words of the Year On Fleek . Great liste...

http://simplyfredsmith.blogspot.com/2015/01/basic-on-fleek-columbusing-and-rekt.html

So I've found a couple of podcasts recently that I'm so totally in love with. And I think you should be, too. Both I call podcasts for, by, about Queer People of Color, Queer Millennials of Color...

http://simplyfredsmith.blogspot.com/2015/01/podcasts-for-qpocs-queer-people-of-color.html

I am sooooo looking forward to the new TV show Empire , which debuts on Wednesday, 1/7/15 on Fox Network. Big family drama, hip-hop, the music industry. And a cute, talented gay son... yes! Bot...

http://simplyfredsmith.blogspot.com/2015/01/empire-on-fox-looks-good.html

I finally saw the film Selma yesterday. Here in L.A., one of the few cities it's screening in limited run -- L.A., NYC, ATL, and DC. All I have to say is Selma is excellent. Brilliant. Breatht...

http://simplyfredsmith.blogspot.com/2015/01/selma-film-you-must-go-see-it.html

If you're like me, social media has killed your journal writing. Well, it has mine. I've kept a journal, almost daily, from 9th grade up. Then, blogs, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and all othe...

http://simplyfredsmith.blogspot.com/2015/01/january-2015-national-journal-writing.html

I had fun thinking about and creating the "points of wisdom" for LADS, the fictional QPOC, Black Gay community organization in Los Angeles that Malcolm Martin Campbell runs in my latest novel Pl...

http://simplyfredsmith.blogspot.com/2015/01/smart-cultured-and-sexually-empowered.html

If you're looking for a good LGBT, QPOC, Queer-focused book to start the year right, I suggest one of brand-new January 2015 releases, hot off the press, available exclusively at the Bold Strokes...

http://simplyfredsmith.blogspot.com/2015/01/new-lgbt-books-from-bold-strokes-books.html

Sending a quick holiday greeting your way... that's if you're up and reading blogs during this time of year. What books did you receive, buy, or download during the holidays? Always interested ...

http://simplyfredsmith.blogspot.com/2014/12/holidays-and-winter-break-reading.html

If you're an emerging writer who identifies as LGBT, and especially a Queer Person of Color, consider applying to the Summer 2015 Lambda Literary Writers Retreat . Applications due January 5, 2...

http://simplyfredsmith.blogspot.com/2014/12/lambda-literary-emerging-writers-retreat.html

I first heard about Jacqueline Woodson  a few weeks back, when she won a National Book Award for her memoir Brown Girl Dreaming . Last weekend, the #Nerdland community and I saw her do an inte...

http://simplyfredsmith.blogspot.com/2014/12/jacqueline-woodson-brown-girl-dreaming.html

Good morning. With winter holiday season upon us, we'll have a little downtime to do some reading for fun. My question... What are you reading? What do you plan to read over the winter holiday se...

http://simplyfredsmith.blogspot.com/2014/12/winter-break-reading-recommendations.html

Pearl Cleage , one of my favorite authors, spoke at Cal State LA in May 2014. In one speech, she advised all of us that we need to set the bar high for potential lovers & partners, by making an...

http://simplyfredsmith.blogspot.com/2014/12/pearl-cleage-potential-lovers-future.html