Author Max-Arthur Mantle Profiles Gay Jamaican Life with Novel "Batty Bwoy"

Stonewall National Museum & Archives presents author Max Arthur-Mantle and his novel "Batty Bwoy," with a presentation on gay Jamaican life on Tuesday, October 27 at 7 p.m. at Stonewall National Museum - Wilton Manors Gallery (2157 Wilton Dr., Wilton Manors). The event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided courtesy of Barefoot Wine & Bubbly. Signed copies of the book will be available for sale.

This highly-praised new novel presents the coming of age story of Mark Palmer, a black, gay Jamaican where "Boom bye bye inna batty bwoy head" (meaning a gunshot fired at gay men) has replaced the island's motto "Out of many one people." The son of an overbearing, absentee, neglectful mother, he is thrust into an environment that requires a thick skin from torments and socio-economic disparities. Suppressing his "gay tendencies" to detract being bashed or murdered, he migrates to America and breaks free from the closet to a world where he is disenfranchised and arrested. As his life spirals from bad choices, he clings to desperate measures and finds hope. For an excerpt and more information, visit maxarthurmantle.net

Mantle has been an internationally published fashion photographer for over 15 years, garnering magazine covers, fashion editorial spreads, and a photo book, Beach Boys, published by Bruno Gm�nder (Berlin, Germany). Mantle took a break from the lens and returned to writing. Batty Bwoy is his debut and the first in a trilogy, released in April 2015.

Information on programs at Stonewall National Museum - Wilton Manors Gallery, Stonewall National Library & Archives and programs organized through Stonewall National Education Project is available at stonewall-museum.org. Find SNMA on Facebook: stonewallmuseum and on Instagram: @stonewallarchive