Inheritance

Lost and Found by David Gerson reveals the vulnerability and inner strength that it takes to grow up gay and Jewish in the South. His discoveries about his supposed "lioness" mother who failed to protect him and his siblings, his bear of a father who remained always in the shadows, and other memorable characters that appear in his life story represent both marked loss and discovery. Gerson explores

the multitude of losses and discoveries one makes traversing the complicated landscapes of friendship, sexuality, marriage and divorce, heritage and religion. He culminates his journey in the discovery that no matter the losses, we keep going forward, pushing on, because above all, "this is a life" and "it is enough."

Philia by Stephen McMaster invites us into the tumultuous life of a gay Southern man, adopted as a baby from an orphanage in Ireland. Armed with "quivers of useless knowledge" he survives bullies, abuse, and the "messy and often desperate" experience of growing up within his own family by reading multiple sets of encyclopedias, and becoming the family "Distractor in Chief." McMaster's transformation from an alcoholic to a sober man in recovery who even finds himself practicing affirmations with a "paid listener." As he helps other men in the program, he learns about the power of love through fellowship, for others, and finally, for himself. 

With wry, understated humor, McMaster shares with us his family's Southern drama, ratings of bathrooms around the country, corsets from JCPenney in the 1970s, lurid affairs, and a generous serving of his grandmother's crabcakes. 

David Gerson is a writer and attorney who lives in Baltimore, Maryland. Prior to attending law school, David worked in the theatre industry in New York City where he developed and produced new work by Jenny Schwartz, Nathan Parker and Sarah Overman. As the General Manager of New York Stage and Film, he developed new plays by Richard Greenberg, Eve Ensler and Christopher Shinn, among others. Born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, he has spent most of his adult life trying to escape his Southern roots. Nevertheless, a man in a bow tie and seersucker suit makes him weak in the knees, he won't ever turn down a bowl of Mrs. Fearnow's Brunswick Stew, and "y'all" is a permanent part of his vocabulary.David loves to travel the world and is one continent away from reaching his goal of visiting all of them by his 50th birthday. David shares his home with an adorable and very demanding puggle named Jackie, who rescued him at a very low point in his life. He works long hours to maintain Jackie in the lifestyle to which she has grown accustomed. And he wouldn't have it any other way.David is a proud board member of Iron Crow Theatre, Baltimore's only queer theatre company, and writes for DC Metro Theater Arts.

Valley Haggard has written in short and long form all her life. She is a big fan of the postcard, the 6-word memoir and drawers full of unfinished manuscripts. She has slept in tents, hostels, motels, couches, tool sheds, log cabins, bunk beds and ship bowels for short periods of time and the house she grew up in for much longer than that. She has lived in Virginia, New York, Italy, Colorado, Arkansas, and Alaska, holding jobs as a Waffle House waitress, Dude Ranch Cabin Girl, cruise ship stewardess and hotel maid. She has written book reviews, author interviews and first person columns; judged fiction contests and fellowships and sat on non-profit writing boards. She is the recipient of a Richmond Magazine 2014 Theresa Pollak Prize, a 2015 Style Weekly Women in the Arts Award and the winner of the 2018 James River Writers's Emyl Jenkins award. The founder of Richmond Young Writers in 2009, Valley now leads creative nonfiction marathons, workshops and retreats for adults. She is the founder of Life in 10 Minutes, the author of The Halfway House for Writers and Surrender Your Weapons: Writing to Heal, and the co-editor of Nine Lives: a Life in 10 Minutes Anthology. She has a handsome husband, a brilliant son, an addictive personality and a voracious appetite for all things word.

Stephen McMaster was born to an unwed mother in Southern Ireland, adopted from an orphanage in Dublin, and raised in the New York Suburbs. He received a BA degree from the University of Richmond. He spent his entire working career in many aspects of insurance including sales, management, and training. He was Vice-Chair of the Virginia Fair Housing Board and has been involved in and supports numerous non-profit organizations in and around Richmond. Hobbies include collecting 19th century ceramics in the Japonesque style, music, reading, film, and cooking.