Listen for my interview with the founder of StoneWall Society on the internet radio station Rainbow World Radio. StoneWall Society promotes music, books, artwork, and other media that feature positive images of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.

I previously received three two 2002 Pride in the Arts Awards and a 2003 Pride in the Arts Award.

Nominations will begin on November 8 for the StoneWall Society 2006 Pride in the Arts Awards, and voting will begin shortly after the nominations end; nominations and voting details will appear at StoneWall Society.

StoneWall Society is now celebrating its seventh year. Watch here for the time and date of my interview, and for details about the Pride in the Arts nominations.

Mark Kendrick, author of Stealing Some Time and Into This World We’re Thrown, wrote the following review of The Return of Innocence: A Fantasy Adventure, at Amazon.Com.

In 'The Return of Innocence', Duane Simolke once again proves his writing mastery. Populated by at least two dozen characters, the story focuses on Sasha, a young female swordswoman, and her quest to destroy the evil Tay-lii. With well-fleshed out characters at her side, Sasha (or Innocence) goes on a classic fantasy adventure through the world of Theln, which exists right along the dimensional edge of another one of Duane's stories called 'Degranon'. So, along with his other offerings in the genre of contemporary fiction and sci-fi, Duane has produced this fantasy story; again proving his ability to write in any genre he needs.

To me, the mark of an excellent writer is the ability to write in a voice not his own - and to stay consistent in that character. Duane achieves that in spades by writing from the point of view of a young female warrior and taking it to its inevitable conclusion in 'The Return of Innocence'. Another mark of an excellent writer is the ability to shift genres when necessary to achieve an aim. I have read stories from three genres that Duane has written in and I've found them superb. This is an author you don't want to miss!

Cancer Fund-Raiser Preface.

Review Site Embraces Swashbuckling Adventure

Gay Pride Event

Walton, West Virginia, June 16-18. The first StoneWall Society Pride in the Arts Festival will include spoken word artists reading passages from my books The Acorn Stories and Holding Me Together. This gay pride event will take place at Longfork Campgrounds and Resort. I won’t be able to attend, but I’m honored by the inclusion of my works, and I hope some of my readers can go. The event also includes movies, music, and visual arts. According to StoneWall Society’s founder, “The Pride In The Arts Festival is a direct offspring of the Annual Pride In The Arts Awards presented by StoneWall Society. The goal of the PITA Awards and Festival is to provide support and to help create an awareness of our community artists.”

Read about The Return of Innocence: A Fantasy Adventure at the gay Web site This Week In Texas.

Press release.


Lubbock, Texas: Saturday, June 3, 2-4 PM. Duane Simolke will sign copies of The Return of Innocence: A Fantasy Adventure, at Barnes & Noble (6707 Slide Road). He will also sign his West Texas fiction collection The Acorn Stories.

The Return of Innocence blends humor and romance with exciting fantasy action. Visit Theln, a planet of magic, dragons, nobility, and heroes. Sasha Varov was born into a noble home in the Thelni kingdom of Jaan, but Sasha’s father dared to oppose the king’s sorcerer, Wuhrlock. Sasha and her family became exiles on a desolate island.

At sixteen, Sasha left her island home to buy seeds in Jaan. She stumbled into a series of misadventures that ended with the death of Wuhrlock and made Sasha a legend, known as “Innocence.” Never mind that the legend barely resembled the truth, or that Sasha caught Wuhrlock in an unguarded moment. When Sasha returned for more seeds, the people of Jaan expected her to defeat a much more ruthless and powerful sorcerer.

Duane Simolke wrote the short story "The Return of Innocence" in 1983. With contributions by Toni Davis, he later developed it into a novel, now available for the first time.

Echo Magazine, a weekly publication for gays in Arizona, reviewed my book Holding Me Together on their Web site and in issue 428. The following page will change, but the review was posted online here: Echo: Between the Covers. Or see Page 55 of the following PDF file: Echo Magazine Issue 428.

“Duane Simolke's Holding Me Together: Essays and Poems 1983-2005 (iUniverse, $17.95, pap.) is an update and revision to his 1999 book, also titled Holding Me Together. It's a curious marriage of genres, and both the poetry and the essays favor political and cultural issues. For more information about this and other books by Simolke, readers can visit http://DuaneSimolke.com.”

HomoMojo Reviewer Praises Degranon

February 3 Press Release: for immediate distribution

Lubbock, Texas: Brokeback Mountain Event

The Lubbock Film Society and Lubbock Interfaith Fellowship for Equality invite the public to attend “The View from Brokeback Mountain,” an evening of discussion about this important new film.

The event will be held on Saturday, February 18, at 7:00 p.m. at
the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts located at 511 Avenue K. Admission is free.

Panelists for the program are William Kerns, A-J entertainment editor and film critic for KLLL Radio (96.3FM); James Eppler, film critic for KQBR 99.5 FM and on-line critic for the Lubbock Film Society; Chris Caddel, local film maker; Kathryn Boren, pastor of St. John’s United Methodist Church; Duane Simolke, author of The Acorn Stories and film critic for ThisWeekInTexas.com.

The panel will critique all aspects of the film, and there will be time for audience participation.

It is suggested that attendees see the movie ahead of time and, if desired, wear Brokeback Mountain western attire to the event.

Based on a short story by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Proulx, Brokeback Mountain was recently selected as Best Picture at the Golden Globes, and has received 8 Academy Awards nominations. Film lovers, don’t miss this exciting evening.

Gay Book Receives Rave Review

In a review appearing both at QMediaReviews.com and in the November 25, 2005 issue of EXP Magazine, SouthWest Edition, critic Shawn Revelle calls the revised, second edition of my book Holding Me Together “an inspiring and timely collection of works.” Revelle goes on to share details about the book, which he also refers to as “a worthwhile and life-affirming read.”

Holding Me Together


Revised version of award-winning gay book!

Lubbock, Texas: Saturday, July 9, 2 PM, at Barnes & Noble (6707 Slide Road).

Local author Stephen Chamberlain will sign his debut science fiction book Broken Angel. Jeff “Corky” Copp, a former Lubbockite, will sign his teen mystery The Haunting of Briston Manor. I’ll sign copies of my West Texas fiction collection The Acorn Stories.

Press release: Scifi novel joins gay marriage debate.

Degranon: A Science Fiction Adventure

GayLinkNews.Com: Degranon Rewritten for Gay Audience That Embraced It

Lubbock, Texas, Book Signing

Lubbock, Texas: Saturday, March 20, 2-3 PM. Local author Duane Simolke will sign copies of The Acorn Stories, The Acorn Gathering: Writers Uniting Against Cancer, and Degranon at Hastings, 5005 50th Street. The Acorn Stories is already in stock there, in the Local Authors section. Most other local or online bookstores can order Simolke’s books.

Simolke remained in Lubbock after receiving his Ph.D. in English at Texas Tech University. Aside from its educational institutions, people across America know Lubbock for cotton, the American Wind Power Center, the National Ranching Heritage Center, singer Buddy Holly, singer Mac Davis, Dixie Chick Natalie Maines, TTU Women’s Basketball Coach Marsha Sharp, TTU Men’s Basketball Bobby Knight, and much more.

West Texas made the ideal setting for most of the stories that Simolke wrote for The Acorn Stories and for The Acorn Gathering, a collaborative spin-off that raises money for the American Cancer Society. Lubbock resident Shawna Chandler contributed her story “The Flamenco Painter” to The Acorn Gathering and will appear with Simolke, so both authors can sign copies of that book.

Jan Chandler (Austin, Texas), Huda Orfali (Damascus, Syria), Timothy Morris Taylor (Houston, Texas), and Bill Wetzel (Cut Bank, Montana) also wrote stories for that important collection, which features a variety of characters in unusual or challenging situations.

Simolke’s most ambitious work, though, is the science fiction novel Degranon, which chronicles a racially diverse group of people, caught in a battle between two oppressive worlds. Besides creating a history for two worlds and following three generations of characters, this epic adventure sends one of the characters though a doorway in time, where he learns the secrets of Degranon that connect both worlds.

iUniverse Authors Win Literary Awards

Secrets and Scandals in West Texas

Part 1

Lawsuit seeks to let gay student club meet

Bruce Garrett Cartoon

Superintendent Who Blocked Gay Group Was Having Affair on School Property

E-mails doomed Lubbock superintendent

Secrets and Scandals in West Texas

Part 2

House OKs release of Tulia drug-bust prisoners

Constables face probe into possible illegal use of funds

Former Market Lubbock Inc. Employee Under Fire

Secrets and Scandals in West Texas

Part 3

Just released in a second edition, Duane Simolke’s collection The Acorn Stories involves secrets and scandals in the fictional West Texas town of Acorn. With a tone that ranges from light-hearted humor to barbed satire to sweet romance to devastating tragedy, The Acorn Stories offers a frank and sometimes troubling view of West Texas life. From a brilliant artist who can’t stay focused on everyday tasks to a closeted gay mayor who strikes out against his one-night stand, these characters get under the skin of readers everywhere.

Some people take exception to the sometimes scurrilous events Simolke chronicles in this collection of interrelated tales. However, Simolke points out that public scandals happen fairly often in West Texas (many of them involving elected officials), though they quickly find their way under the proverbial rug.

In the book’s concluding story, “Acorn Pie,” the eccentric businesswoman Aragon Carson sums up that sentiment while discussing her family background: “Those are all very ordinary events: life, death, reproduction. You probably expect to hear about those, but not much else. Now there’s lots of things that you’d think only go on in big cities, but think again. Those things just happen more quietly here.”

For the book’s second edition, Simolke found ways to polish up the language even more, adding more description and dialogue where needed. The other major differences are that the book is now available in hardcover—instead of just paperback—and that bookstores will receive a deeper discount that they can pass along to their readers. Starting in late October, Bookstores and libraries can order The Acorn Stories through Ingram Books or Baker & Taylor, while readers can order it at most local or online bookstore.

Simolke also edited and co-wrote the spin-off The Acorn Gathering: Writers Uniting Against Cancer, donating royalties to the American Cancer Society, a charity he trusts and admires. That second Acorn collection starts with characters and settings from The Acorn Stories, then introduces new characters and settings, concluding by bringing one of Acorn’s characters across America, the country that Acorn encapsulates.

With a major in English, Simolke graduated from Belmont University (B.A., 1989), Hardin-Simmons University (M.A., 1991), and Texas Tech University (Ph.D., 1996). Stein, Gender, Isolation, and Industrialism: New Readings of Winesburg, Ohio was his doctoral dissertation at Tech.

He also wrote Holding Me Together: Essays and Poems and the science fiction epic Degranon. Readers can visit DuaneSimolke.Com to learn more about the author and his books, and to find related resources.

Out in Writing

(Lubbock, Texas) Using resources from
StoneWall Society and The Human Rights Campaign Foundation's National Coming Out Project, Duane Simolke will lead a discussion on lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) books and writers.

This event will occur in Lubbock, Texas, on Tuesday, November 18, 7 PM, as part of a PFLAG-Lubbock meeting. PFLAG-Lubbock meets at St. John's United Methodist Church, 15th Street & University Avenue, across the street from Texas Tech University. Contact: 806-799-5466. It is part of the international PFLAG Federation. PFLAG (Parents, Friends, and Families of Lesbians and Gays) provides advocacy, support, and education.

Simolke, author of The Acorn Stories and Degranon, will start by discussing his own experiences as an openly gay author. Then he will branch into other books and authors that he finds helpful in dealing with coming out and other LGBT issues.

Next, attendees will break into four smaller groups, each lead by at least one person who frequently reads LGBT-friendly books. They will discuss other books that interest them, in relation to the theme “Out in Writing.” The event will conclude with the results of these small group discussions, and with a brief/question answer session.

Simolke plans not to promote any official list of LGBT books, but rather to promote an overall awareness of LGBT books and the themes they explore, especially in relation to coming out and being out. He encourages attendees to bring pens and paper, so they can write down the names of authors and works discussed at the meeting.

Majoring in English, Simolke received degrees from Belmont University (B.A., 1989), Hardin-Simmons University (M.A., 1991), and Texas Tech University (Ph.D., 1996). Stein, Gender, Isolation, and Industrialism: New Readings of Winesburg, Ohio was his doctoral dissertation at Tech. StoneWall Society gave him Pride in the Arts literary awards for his books The Acorn Stories, Degranon, and Holding Me Together.

Duane Simolke also edited and co-wrote the spin-off The Acorn Gathering: Writers Uniting Against Cancer, with all author and editor royalties going to cancer research. Simolke’s publisher, iUniverse, is releasing a revised second edition of The Acorn Stories as part of its Editor’s Choice series, in the fall of 2003.

Simolke Wins Another Pride in the Arts Award

Texas-based author Duane Simolke has received his third Pride in the Arts literary award from StoneWall Society (http://www.stonewallsociety.com/), a resource for gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered artists. Simolke received the 2003 Imagination Award as author of the science fiction thriller Degranon.

Simolke was also honored recently by the LGBT resource website Antny’s Place (http://antnysplace.org). He was the Poet of the Month there for both June and July of 2003.

Born in New Orleans on May 28, 1965, Simolke now lives in Lubbock, Texas. Majoring in English, he studied at Belmont University (B.A., 1989), Hardin-Simmons University (M.A., 1991), and Texas Tech University (Ph.D., 1996). He has always loved books and movies, especially science fiction and fantasy.

Simolke wrote the earliest drafts of Degranon during the 1980s, then revised it for its eventual release in 2002. Before Degranon’s publication, Simolke wrote and released three non-genre books: The Acorn Stories; New Readings of Winesburg, Ohio; and Holding Me Together: Essays and Poems.

Degranon was his first novel, and first work of science fiction. The Acorn Stories and Holding Me Together: Essays and Poems both received StoneWall Society Pride in the Arts awards in 2002.

While revising Degranon, Simolke edited and co-wrote The Acorn Gathering. That mainstream fiction anthology is a spin-off from The Acorn Stories, with all author and editor royalties going to fund cancer research.

The alternate universe Simolke created for Degranon features characters that his readers might think of as Native American, African American, Latino, Asian, or gay. In fact, white characters receive only passing references, while gays seem idealized.

Simolke uses his characters to explore gay themes, as well as wider themes of diversity, freedom, and violence.

Though primarily a high-concept adventure, Degranon challenges every reader’s views, perceptions, and prejudices. Everyone who reads it will find it disturbing at times, exciting at times, and ultimately optimistic. In fact, many people will interpret certain scenes, characters, and events in differing ways.

The prolific author already has the next decade or so planned out in terms of his books. He is co-writing a fantasy novel, polishing a second edition of The Acorn Stories, and developing ideas for two Degranon sequels.

Readers can visit http://DuaneSimolke.Com to learn more about Simolke and his award-winning books, or to find a variety of writing resources and LGBT resources. His site also includes Rainbow: Lubbock, a frequently updated online guide that he created in August 1997 for other gays in the West Texas city that he calls home.