Devoted to publishing, publishers and to those who craft the written word

Just in time for Pride Week, I attended the way gay WYSIWYG Talent Show last night.

Using her webby mojo, founder Chris Hampton landed a sold-out crowd in the Bowery Poetry Club. An army of publicists couldn't have picked a better-suited, warm-hearted audience for the reading.

Here is my simple lesson for you. With the Internet, no writer ever needs to feel alone again. Ever.

Find your community and start writing...

Wearing the best straight face, Greg Walloch speiled dirty jokes about handicaps, race, and sexuality that had people rolling in the aisles.

The blogging Spinster took a funny look at her job supporting lesbian and gay teenagers in high school.

Joe Jervis from JoeMyGod took a gonzo journalism ride through a 20/20 feature about Gay-dar. Jervis' ten-minute piece packed more personality and craft than that whole television show.

Curly McDimple read with her eyes averted the whole time, but not out of shyness. Like a writing superhero with laserbeam eyes, she would cut you in half with insults if she looked at you.

Rod Townsend from Manhattan Offender threatened a striptease and took us on a guided tour through his color-coded bathroom--a neat segue into the Seven Deadly Sins.

Joel Derfner delivered his entire hilarious story in his underwear, giving an unxepectedly sensitive glimpse into an evangelical prayer meeting for "ex-gays."

Swithing from her usual musical duties, dj:ayden psychoanalyzed gender roles and Jay-Z lyrics with a deceptively shy delivery.