As well as feature our future readers, we also wanted to check in with folks who have read for us over the last 5 years. dave ring read for us in 2017 – read what he has been up to below!
What have you been up to since reading with us at Writers & Words? How has the writing been going?
I’ve been reasonably productive! I have both a novella and novel in revisions, and a handful of short stories either in the world or forthcoming. I’ve also launched a small press, Neon Hemlock, putting out zines, queer chapbooks and speculative fiction.
What are you working on right now (writing or otherwise (nothing is a valid answer as well))?
I’m in the middle of edits for Glitter + Ashes: Queer Tales of a World that Wouldn’t Die, an anthology of resiliency and post-apocalyptic stories. It’s coming out in August.
I’m also working on a short story with post-apocalyptic vampires set in Silver Spring. Think Jewelle Gomez meets Only Lovers Left Alive.
What has been your favorite Quarantine Read thus far?
I tore through Docile by K.M. Szpara right when everything started. Now I’m reading Rosewater by Tade Thompson.
How would you describe the writing community where you live in just a few words?
Cocooning, vulnerable, resilient.
What would be a few words of advice you would give someone wanting to get into any writing community?
Reach out and volunteer some of your time! It can be hard at first, but I volunteered with OutWrite one year and then the next I was accidentally the Chair.
Bonus question: What level of quarantine are you at? 1) relaxing with a book, 2) the dog clears her throat too loudly, 3) hot dog fries, 4) THE PRINTER IS BROKEN I DON’T NEED A PRINTER, 5) I am one with the Force and the Force is with me.
I’m vegetarian, but I think I’m hovering right at hot dog fries right now.
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dave ring is the chair of the OutWrite LGBTQ Book Festival in Washington, DC. He has stories featured or forthcoming in a number of publications, including Fireside Fiction, GlitterShip, and A Punk Rock Future. He is the publisher and managing editor of Neon Hemlock Press, as well as the editor of Broken Metropolis: Queer Tales of a City That Never Was from Mason Jar Press. More info at www.dave-ring.com. Follow him at @slickhop.
