How to market black gay and lesbian books: Southern California's Matais Books relies on the power of community and the appeal of a literary salon.

As the owner of Matais Books Cards & Art, in Long Beach, California, the only black gay and lesbian bookstore in the country, I interact with many gay and lesbian writers. And I've noticed that there seems to be three salient themes among them in terms of why these authors and poets are motivated: authorship, archiving and educating. Knowing this informs me to the best ways to market their works to a larger African American community.

Authorship, the telling of stories, is very important to many black gay and lesbian writers. Their lives, culture and experiences are relevant and serious and ought to be shared. The stories they write about mirror that of the macro African American community, in that they are about love lost and love gained; political and social accomplishments and struggles; academic and everyday challenges. But almost more importantly, they provide honest accounts of their lives and their dealings. So their desire to tell their stories is paramount.

It is important to realize, too, that black gay and lesbian writings have been in print for decades. It didn't start with Alice Dunbar, Langston Hughes or Wallace Thurman; it didn't end with James Baldwin. And it is certainly larger in scope than James Earl Hardy and Lisa C. Moore. MI of these writers, I believe, would agree that writing or talking about what if means to be black gay or lesbian was of critical importance. Many wanted to archive their experiences as men and women, but more specifically, as gay men and women. It is life-giving text.

Being black and gay is so much more than going on parade or to a bar, or starting a campaign. It has to do with liberation and freedom and humanity. Reading books by black gay and lesbian writers is a teaching opportunity. We can't expect a complete extraction from the lives of these writers in a 30-minute sit-com or even a movie (most often those characters are debasing, lackluster and stereotypical), but we can learn more about the intricacies and nuances of their lives from books; books can tell how a person loves, and knowing that is important in understanding who that person is, and who he or she strives to become. Imagine if we didn't know who fortified and nurtured some of our pioneers and leaders?

Matais Books is much more than a bookstore; it's becoming a literary salon reminiscent of the salons during the Harlem Renaissance. It is quite common for a customer to come in and see a favorite writer in the store browsing, of to discover hard-to-find of out of print titles, or learn about upcoming events. There are several ways that we market gay and lesbian literature to the larger African American community.

Book signings are an effective marketing tool. We host hook signings and offer signed copies of books from authors. Oftentimes, a writer's visit is dependent upon the volume of books sales, and so, it benefits everyone (the store, the customer, the author and the publisher) to host an author event in the store. It's also an opportunity for customers to ask questions about the content of a book, get clarity about a character, the writing process, etc.

Another distinction of Matais Books is that we are able to contact authors directly--unlike many of the chain bookstores that carry very little if any black, gay or lesbian titles--and we have them autograph books for sale, even when they're unable to make an in-store appearance. That way, customers know that they can both meet their favorite author here or, if not, purchase an autographed copy of a book.

Few customers come in, buy a book and leave. Most will sit or stand a while and talk, discuss, critique, laugh, debate, etc. That's be cause we've created a unique kind of book buying experience.

In addition to being known for readings and signings, we are also considered a venue for providing community information. We use e-mail, Web boards, magazine ads and profiles, special events and hook dubs to promote the space to the larger black community.

Currently, the bookstore provides books to 10 book dubs--both gay and straight. We deliver books to club organizers and presidents and we match all advertised discount prices. We are excited that more and more readers of the titles we offer are not "all black, gay or lesbian. This is evidence of the education that is occurring and the understanding that is being fostered.

To publicize upcoming events, we've used the Internet and magazines for advertising, and we've developed a pretty extensive database of customers and organizations from the exposure. In addition, we've participated in special events for the City of Long Beach Chapter of the NAACP and Long Beach City College. We've also used our space to host receptions for local Greek-letter organizations. All of this is in our effort to promote and market gay and lesbian authors and books to a wider audience.

To this end, black gay and lesbian literature is not just for black gay and lesbian people. It is for everyone who recognizes the humanity in all people, who wants to understand the whole of the black experience, who refuses bias, prejudice mad hypocrisy in their lives and in their reading.

How then, do we market to black gay and lesbian books to the African American reading public? That question, to me, begs, how do we not?

Matais Pouncil, a doctoral student at the University of California, Irvine, opened Matais Books Cards & Art in Long Beach, California, in July 2001.