On October 16-18, 1992, CLAGS served as cosponsor and host for the first-ever East Coast Writers Weekend. Following registration and a reception on Friday, the conferees were treated to an evening of witty, literate comedy and music, entitled “Don’t Take Us Literally,” featuring Sara Cytron, Marty Pottenger, Julie DeLaurier, and Brian Keith Jackson.
Saturday, October 17, began with a general meeting in the CUNY Graduate School Auditorium on the subject, “Hollywood –They Love Us. They Hate Us. What Do They Really Want From Queer Books and Writers.” Moderated by Felice Picano, the panelists were Todd Haynes, Tom Kalin, Larry Kramer, Jennie Livingston, and Craig Lucas. On Saturday afternoon, there were fiction and poetry readings by both new and established writers, plus a set of four panels on lesbian fiction, publishing issues, queer theater, and queer criticism. The panelists included Donna Allegra, Victor Bumbalo, Charles Busch, Jewelle Gomez, William Hoffman, Joe Keenan, Leslea Newman, Lev Raphael, Diane Salvatore, Sandra Scoppetone, and Alisa Solomon.
On Sunday, it was the tum of “Her-Story and HisStory,” “AIDS Time: A Forum for Writers,” “Queers Inside The Straight Media: Sell-Out or Subversion?”, “What)Makes A Gay Book Gay?”, “Science Fiction: The Queer Lit of the Future” — along with additional readings and more discussions on the practical issues involved in getting manuscripts published and promoted. Some SO individuals — including Jane De Lynn, Frances Goldin, Jaime Manrique, Paula Martinac, Ann Northrop, Sarah Schulman, and Victor Zonana — took part in the panels and exchange with the audience were lively and informative.
The general feeling at the close of the conference was that the enormous amount of work invested in bringing it off had been well worth it and that this inaugural event would pave the way for future gatherings.