Queer & Trans Artists of Color is an ongoing project to collect people’s unique personal stories—before their stories disappear.
After two volumes in the series, a third is on its way. On Oct. 19 at East Bay Booksellers, co-editors Nia Levy King and Maliha Ahmed host a book release party for Queer & Trans Artists of Color Vol. 3, as featured artists from the book will be on hand to discuss the latest installment in the series.
Speakers include Oakland-based black queer writer Anthony J. Williams, San Jose’s trans Latina writer Luna Merbruja and Paradise Khanmalek, a queer Iranian-American visual artist from Los Angeles.
The book is comprised of interviews from Nia Levy King’s podcast, We Want the Airwaves, in which she interviews LGBTQ artists of color about their lives and their work. After the podcast reached its 100th episode this past summer, King has taken a short hiatus, but all episodes are currently available free online. A new episode is set to be released this month.
King, who has been featured on KQED’s Bay Brilliant series, says attendees of the event can expect a quality show. “I’ll be interviewing the artists live before the audience, talk-show style, and they may also read or perform some of their poetry and essays.”