In response of the tragic trend of recent gay youth suicides, Perronne will donate 10% of the profits in 2011 of his newest novel to PFLAG New Orleans, one of the oldest organizations in New Orleans serving the LGBT Community.
(Los Angeles, CA – April 19, 2011) While finishing his newest novel last fall, “A Time Before Us” author Michael Holloway Perronne was saddened by the news of five gay youth suicides in the span of three weeks.
“After so many years of political and social progress it saddens me that our gay youth still feel alone and helpless,” Perronne says. “Coming out is never an easy process, and I believe the GLBT community should continue to fight the negative messages from the public at large, the media, and sadly, often our own political system that impact our young people.”
In response, Perronne will donate 10% of the profits in 2011 of his newest novel to PFLAG New Orleans, one of the oldest organizations in New Orleans serving the LGBT Community. “I was lucky to have the support of friends and family when I came out. But I was also fortunate to have been part of an organization like PFLAG New Orleans that not only gave me a college scholarship but has been supportive of my writing these past years. My donation is my small way of giving back and helping today’s youth and the New Orleans PFLAG chapter,” says Perronne.
In addition to its anti-bullying efforts, by testifying before the state legislature in Baton Rouge, and working towards the Safe-Schools Initiative, PFLAG New Orleans’s Scholarship Program is a special source of pride. “Our organization has been giving scholarships to GLBT students for 21 years now and has awarded over $500,000 to 450 applicants. We try to keep in touch with our past recipients and are especially very proud of a 1997 recipient, Michael Holloway Perronne. We hope all of our recipients are allowed the opportunity to fulfill their dreams; just as Michael has successfully been able to follow his,” says PFLAG New Orleans Board member Randy Trahan.
PFLAG New Orleans will be hosting a special booksigning of Perronne’s new novel, “ A Time Before Us,” at FAB in New Orleans on Wednesday; June 29, 2011 at 7:00 PM. For more information on the bookstore, visit www.fabonfrenchmen.com.
Michael Holloway Perronne is a writer living in Los Angeles. He has a BA from the University of Southern Mississippi and a MFA from the Creative Writing Workshop at the University of New Orleans. “A Time Before Us” is his fifth book. For more information on Perronne, please visit his web site at www.michaelhperronne.com.
PFLAG New Orleans is one of the oldest organizations in New Orleans serving the LGBT Community, promoting the health and well-being of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons, their families and friends through: support, to cope with an adverse society; education, to enlighten an ill- informed public; and advocacy, to end discrimination and to secure equal civil rights. For more information, visit pflagno.org.
