About this Event
✦ Host Publications is thrilled to celebrate the winner of the Joe W. Bratcher Prize 2025 they/she/he: ritual to forget your (un)becoming by dezireé a. brown! Join us for a celebratory evening at Alienated Majesty Books, which will feature a poetry reading by dezireé a. brown, a musical performance by Star Fighter Dreams, and a moderated panel discussion on themes of writing, gaming, ritual, and ecopoetics. Giveaways, book signings, a choose-your-own-adventure cheesecake bar, and poetic ecstasy ensue! Hosted by Host Publications editors Annar Veröld-Miranda & Claire Bowman!
they/she/he: ritual to forget your (un)becoming by dezireé a. brown is a momentous debut, tracking a self-proclaimed antihero’s quest for liberation via the transformative ritual of writing through the past, present, and future. Influenced by video game worlds, choose-your-own adventures, and a multifaceted collective of Mesopotamian goddesses, this collection is a conjuring of selves encountered through gender who arise to meet one another in all their Black queer joy and rage.
✦ Free & open to all lovers of literature, music, & outerspace
✦ There will be light refreshments, small bites, and a choose-your-own-adventure cheesecake spread.
✦ Health and safety note: masks are encouraged and will be provided.
✦✦✦ ABOUT THE BOOK ✦✦✦
they/she/he: ritual to forget your (un)becoming by dezireé a. brown is a momentous debut, tracking a self-proclaimed antihero’s quest for liberation via the transformative ritual of writing through the past, present, and future. Influenced by video game worlds, choose-your-own adventures, and a multifaceted collective of Mesopotamian goddesses, this collection is a conjuring of selves encountered through gender who arise to meet one another in all their Black queer joy and rage.
✦✦✦ ABOUT THE GUESTS ✦✦✦
dezireé a. brown (they/he) is a Black queer nonbinary Pushcart Prize–nominated poet, interdisciplinary scholar, and sjw, born and raised in Flint, MI. They are the winner of the Betty Stuart Smith Award from the University of Illinois Chicago, where they recently received their PhD in English with concentrations in Black Studies and Gender & Women’s Studies. They recently served as the 2024 Editor-in-Chief at The Seventh Wave Magazine to curate a folio of creative writing and art focused on the video game genre, and their work has appeared or is forthcoming in Foglifter, wildness, Scalawag, Four Way Review, Obsidian, and the anthology A Garden of Black Joy: Global Poetry from the Edges of Liberation and Living, among others.
Star Fighter Dreams is an electronic musician from San Antonio, TX. Utilizing various handhelds, such as the Nintendo Gameboy, Gameboy Advance & Dirtywave M8, running various software, including LSDJ, Nanoloop 2 and Piggy Tracker, he crafts track after track of varying styles and genres.
✦✦✦ ABOUT THE HOSTS ✦✦✦
Host Publications is an award-winning, women-led independent publisher located in Austin, Texas. Devoted to our mission to elevate historically marginalized writers, Host Publications publishes radical poetry and fiction by emerging LGBTQ+, BIPOC, intersectional feminist, and immigrant voices.
✦✦✦ ACCESSIBILITY & PARKING INFO ✦✦✦
PARKING: Alienated Majesty is located at 613 W 29th St. We share a limited amount of parking spots in our commercial lot with three other businesses (so carpooling is recommended if you can!). You can also find free and paid street parking options in the surrounding neighborhood. There is one designated accessible parking spot on the side of the lot facing Rio Grande.
ENTRANCE: Our main entrance is accessible via ramp and opens manually. If you need assistance with opening the door, feel free to contact us ahead of time to let us know.
RESTROOM: Our public restroom is single-occupancy and wheelchair-accessible.
If you have any additional questions about accessing the space, feel free to call us at 512-243-6679 or email [email protected].
✦✦✦ ABOUT ALIENATED MAJESTY BOOKS ✦✦✦
Alienated Majesty Books is a bookstore and community space in central Austin known for a curated collection of small presses, poetry, comics, and translated work. In 2024, we were named a critics pick for Best Obscure Literature Collection by the Austin Chronicle.
More than just a place to buy literary leastsellers, Alienated Majesty hosts events every week, from poetry readings to punk shows. Find our full events schedule here.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Alienated Majesty Books, 613 West 29th Street, Austin, United States
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