At Danceteria and Other Stories
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Caught in their last moment of decadent obliviousness, the characters in At Danceteria are so blinded by the strobe lights they can’t see what’s waiting in the shadows. While fictional, each of the collection’s seven stories, set at the dawn of the AIDS crisis, takes as their inspiration a real event: Halston and Liza reliving the Studio 54 glory days; Freddie Mercury Roman Holiday-ing Princess Di to a drag show; the Reagan White House rolling out the red carpet for Rock Hudson; a man-on-the-street with main character energy; Jackie Kennedy at a leather bar; a serenading Sylvester; and Keith Haring’s 26th birthday party… hosted by Madonna. Deftly balancing incisive wit and nostalgic melancholy, Walker paints a neon picture of the past, turning queer legends – both lore and people – into vivid reality.
Included in your purchase, exclusively on Audiobrary: Julia Whelan, Ron Butler, and Philip Dean Walker discuss the blurred line between fact and fiction.
Philip Dean Walker (Author and Co-Narrator) Philip Dean Walker is the author of AT DANCETERIA AND OTHER STORIES (Squares & Rebels, 2016) which was named a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2017, received from them a starred review, and was chosen by Kirkus Reviews editors as a semi-finalist for the 2017 Kirkus Prize for Fiction. His second collection of stories, READ BY STRANGERS, was published by Lethe Press in April 2018 and was named a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2018 and also received a starred review. His latest collection of stories, BETTER DAVIS AND OTHER STORIES, was published by Squares & Rebels in September 2021 and was named a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2021 and also received a starred review. He holds a B.A. in American Literature from Middlebury College and an M.F.A. in fiction from American University. He lives in Washington, D.C. philipdeanwalker.com
Ron Butler (Co-Narrator) Actor, narrator, and media producer Ron (Ronnie) Butler has over a hundred stage, TV, and film credits, (most notably as a regular on "True Jackson VP” where he played queer icon "Oscar"). He has narrated over 400 audiobook titles, and is a multiple Earphones Award winner, and SOVA and Audie Award nominee. Social media fans may recognize him from his viral Obama music videos, most notable "Modern U.S. President" which resulted in an on-going creative relationship with television producers Norman Lear and Brent Miller. Originally from the Bahamas, he grew up singing Calypso music onstage with his father (“Ronnie Butler, The Godfather of Bahamian Music”), and learning dance from his mother — a ballroom dance teacher and competitor. He is a member of the Atlantic Theater Company, and has taught acting at the Atlantic Theater Company Acting School, AMDA, Pace University, and is on the coaching staff at Narrator.Life. He's just completed writing Season 3 of "Naughty & Nice" for Love Bytes Audio, and is writing (and recording) his own original romance and queer erotica. ronniebutler.com
Julia Whelan (Co-narrator) Dubbed "The Adele of Audiobooks" by The New Yorker, Julia Whelan is an author, screenwriter, lifelong actor, and acclaimed audiobook narrator of over 600 titles. Her performance of her own debut novel, the international bestseller My Oxford Year (coming soon to Netflix), garnered a Society of Voice Arts award. Her 2022 novel, Thank You For Listening, was a Best-of-the-Year pick at Amazon, Audible, and NPR as well as a Goodreads Choice Award nominee and winner of the Golden Poppy. She is the founder of Audiobrary, a new audio publishing company and app, and her latest books – the 8-part romance audio series Casanova LLC and the annotated Victorian poetry anthology The Poetry Of My Oxford Year – debuted exclusively on Audiobrary. She is also a Grammy-nominated audiobook director, a former writing tutor, a half-decent amateur baker, and a certified tea sommelier. jmwhelan.com