6 minute read
TAMPA BAY NEWS
Ryan Williams-Jent
TAMPA BAY | Miguel Fuller and Holly O’Connor, hosts of “The Miguel & Holly Show,” announced the imminent end of their celebrated radio program Feb. 4 after seven years on Hot 101.5.
Billed as “Funny. Authentic. Real,” the popular show began in 2015 and soon welcomed Scott Tavlin, who remains on the air. Fuller and O’Connor read prepared statements after being given the “unprecedented privilege … to say goodbye” before the two announced their departure from the station.
Fuller, an openly gay Watermark contributor, broke the news to listeners during a “Miguel & Holly Family Meeting.” He and O’Connor began by thanking Cox Media Group and the show’s team for allowing them the opportunity to directly address viewers on the matter.
“It’s with a heavy heart that we say it’s time to pull back a little bit,” O’Connor shared with tears. “It’s time for us to pull back and focus on us a little bit. Our dreams and our goals are constantly evolving and much like we always encourage you to do, it’s time for us to leap. We are jumping into our future, Miguel and I, into the unknown – hoping against all odds that you know how much we love you. “Thank you for finding us. Thank you for becoming our family,” she continued. “Thank you for your support, your encouragement. Never stop learning about yourself, never stop asking why about you and your own precious life, never stop believing in yourself and never stop daring to do great things.”
Fuller spoke next.
“Almost seven years ago on March 31, 2015, Holly and I opened up the microphones on one of the biggest radio stations in the country and introduced ourselves to you,” he said. “We said ‘we are perfectly imperfect and we hope you come along for the ride.’ Never in my wildest dreams could I imagine the last seven years going the way they have.”
The host subsequently detailed various events and initiatives listeners supported, including book drives and celebrations of diversity including Tampa Pride, St Pete Pride and more. He, O’Connor and Tavlin regularly supported LGBTQ-focused events, including hosting Watermark’s WAVE Awards.
“We’ve shared so many adventures together,” Fuller said. “If you’ve listened to this show for more than a day, you know that I’m a radio geek at heart. I love this medium and what it can do, but you listening have brought it to life. You let this poor, gay, Black kid from Atlanta, Georgia come here and fulfill his dreams.” Fuller also reflected on the ongoing pandemic’s impact on the world, as well as how he’s evolved personally.
“When we interviewed for this job … I said, ‘I want Holly and I to be on the Hot 101.5 signal until they shove us into Shady Acres,” he noted. “But my life is different, my passions are different. My heart is different. And I’m ready for the next adventure.
“Thank you for allowing us to live our lives on the radio with you,” Fuller closed. “We love you.”
FEATURED VOICES: (L-R) Authors Len Barot, Anne Shade and Georgia Beers will kick off ReadOut
2022. PHOTOS COURTESY READOUT.
Stronger Together
Ryan Williams-Jent
GULFPORT, FLA. | The LGBTQ Resource Center of the Gulfport Public Library will virtually present the fifth annual ReadOut: A Festival of Lesbian Literature Feb. 18-20, showcasing works written by, for and about lesbians.
The resource center has operated as an independent nonprofit since 2019. It held its first in-person festival at the library the year prior and transitioned to a virtual event in 2021 due to COVID-19, allowing organizers to reach a wider audience than ever before.
More than 900 registrants joined last year’s festival via Zoom, leading organizers to prepare a robust follow-up. ReadOut 2022 will welcome at least 60 authors for live, interactive panels known as pods and prerecorded readings known as pearls, emphasizing its theme of “Lesbian Voices, Stronger Together.”
“In keeping with that theme, we have made ongoing efforts to engage women of color in both the livestreamed and prerecorded sessions of ReadOut,” LGBTQ Resource Center President Susan Gore says. “Reaching out to younger women also has been a goal for us. We know it’s a marathon, not a sprint, yet we are pleased to say we have made progress with expanding both groups this year.” ReadOut 2022 will officially begin Feb. 18 at 4:30 p.m. After a warm welcome, the event will hold its first pod from 5-6 p.m., “Keeping the Romance (Novel) Alive.”
It will feature a candid conversation between authors Georgia Beers and Anne Shade. Beers is a Lambda Literary Award-winning author of more than 30 lesbian romance novels and Shade is the author of other works. She writes “about women who love women [with] strong, beautiful BIPOC characters.”
The session will feature an introduction from Len Barot, author of more than 60 novels. She’s also the president of Bold Strokes Books, an independent publisher of LGBTQ works.
“Georgia Beers is an award-winning, well-established writer of lesbian romance novels,” Gore explains. “Anne Shade is an up-and-coming author in that genre. They will be in conversation to share experiences on how they write and tips about building an audience.”
The suspense-focused “Just One More Page…” will follow from 6:05-7:05 p.m. Authors will “discuss the art of building suspense in every genre.” The festival’s first day will close with a look at fiction and nonfiction from 7:10-7:40 p.m.
ReadOut’s second day will begin at 9 a.m. and end at 8 p.m. Featured pearls will focus on nonfiction and various types of fiction like science, speculative and more. Pods include deep dives into humor, historical novelists and “How Editors and Authors Can Stay Friends.”
A virtual Bingo fundraiser will close festivities from 7-8 p.m., led by the Raymond James LGBTQ+ Inclusion Group with a suggested donation of $5 per card. Gore says they hosted a similar session for the LGBTQ Resource Center, “so they know how to keep those virtual bingo daubers hopping!” The festival’s final day will run Feb. 20 from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Authors will begin with a pearl on memoirs and fiction, followed by an hour-long romance pod. “The BookstaGays: An LGBTQ+ Books Podcast” will be held after that.
Additional pods include examinations of intersectionality and explorations of undoing stereotypes. “Going Deep, Soaring High, Bringing Out the Best” with authors Becky Bohan, Carol Anne Douglas, Dana Finnegan, Sara Fleming, Ellen Levy, Lois McGuinness and Sara Yager will be the festival’s final panel before closing remarks from 5:30-6 p.m.
Registration for ReadOut 2022 is now open. The LGBTQ Resource Center encourages and expects LGBTQ and other literature enthusiasts to attend from all over the world.
Registration for ReadOut 2022 is now open. There is no cost to attend but donations are appreciated. To learn more about this year’s participating authors and to register, visit ReadOut.LGBTQGulfport.org.
