Read with Pride: Author Panel

Welcome to Read with Pride: Author Panel! Join us on Saturday June 14th at 1:00 PM here at Books-A-Million for an exciting event celebrating LGBTQIA+ literature. Local authors Marpheen Chann, Chris Davis, Robert Monroe, Miriam Rimkunas, and M.A. Wardell will all be here in store. Meet and chat with talented authors as they discuss their work, inspiration, and the importance of representation in literature. Get ready for a fun and insightful afternoon filled with great conversations and book recommendations. Don't miss out on this opportunity to connect with fellow book lovers and support local LGBTQIA+ voices in the literary world.

Discussion begins at 1:00 PM

Signing begins at 2:00 PM

As a first-generation Asian American born in California to a Cambodian refugee family and later adopted by an evangelical, white working-class family in Maine, Marpheen uses a mix of humor and storytelling to help people view topics such as racism, xenophobia, and homophobia through an intersectional lens. His memoir, Moon in Full, won the bronze IPPY Award for LGBTQ Nonfiction and was a finalist for the Maine Literary Awards and The Eric Hoffer Book Award. Marpheen Chann lives in Portland, Maine. He works in the nonprofit and advocacy sector as Executive Director and Founder of Khmer Maine and a consultant.

Chris Davis was a lifelong devout Mormon who checked all the expected boxes of wife, mother, teacher, leader, follower, and believer until 2020 when she left her family and her church to fulfill her own personal destiny as a gay woman and independent thinker. She remains close with her two adult children, one of whom is a believing member of the church and the other who is a transgender man who has also left the church. She lives quite happily in her home state of Maine.

Robert Monroe graduated with a B.A. in Theater Arts from the State University of New York/Oswego. For twelve years, he worked as a New York casting director and talent executive. His credits include projects with the Walt Disney Company, the John Houseman Theater, the Annual MDA Telethon, and the now-defunct United Paramount Network. At the beginning of the millennium, he moved to Portland, Maine, to pursue a career as a photographer.

Miriam I. Rimkunas is a lifelong Mainer and writer based in Portland. Prior to this work, they wrote and produced the serialized podcast Extraordinary Terrestrials. When not splicing genres, Miriam enjoys knitting, playing bass, gardening, and worshiping their two cats with their family.

Writing as M.A. Wardell, Lambda Literary Award nominee Matt writes spicy queer rom-coms.​ His goal is to tell adult gay love stories with a diverse representation of flawed and damaged characters who find healing through love. Matt loves rom-coms and has always wished for better representation, so he's writing the stories he wishes existed. The queer men in his stories are flawed and messy. Helping them find their HEA is Matt's passion.