The Cherry Pie Press: A New LGBTQ Poetry Imprint
Launch event at Beyond Baroque March 14th hosted by publisher Natasha Dennerstein and Jeffrey Bryant
Oakland based The Cherry Pie Press will host a launch event in Los Angeles celebrating their newest releases at Beyond Baroque on March 14, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. in person and streaming on YouTube. The Cherry Pie Press is a new LGBTQ poetry imprint launched in July 2025, and is one of only a handful of small, indie presses nationwide specializing in LGBTQ+ Poetry. Their first publication was the widely praised debut collection from queer Los Angeles poet Jeffrey Bryant, The Catacombs of Vanished Lovers.
The event will honor new titles from two highly talented queer voices: T Gardiner, with Books I Never Read, and Khalifa Mitchell and their debut Liquid Tachyen Temples. The afternoon includes readings from T Gardiner and Khalifa Mitchell joined by Kwyn Townsend Riley, Kwynology, Yana Orlando, Espi Love, Natasha Dennerstein, and Jeffrey Bryant.
The editor, publisher and founder is Natasha Dennerstein, a well-known and widely published, “out” trans poet. “Right now, is the perfect time to increase the LGBTQ presence in the publishing world,” Dennerstein says. The press intends to publish an inclusive list of LGBTQ poets and has a production schedule already booked through 2027.
Beyond Baroque is located at 681 Venice Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90291
Find information and tickets HERE.
About the authors
T (she/her) is a queer, black poet from Inglewood California whose art centers reclamation, liberation, and socio-economic equity. She is a slam champion (Da Poetry Lounge, OC Slam, Berkeley Slam, and others) and author. She is also the highest selling performer in the history of The Poetry Brothel where she is the resident character, Chaos Count! She has been published in several anthologies and mobile magazines. Her first collection is being published by Cherry Pie Press in Spring 2026. You can find her in LA organizing poetry events for community mobilization, information, and mutual aid.
Khalifa Mitchell (he/him/his) is a queer, disabled, formerly incarcerated poet laureate of the planet Mars. He is a self-described art freak, film buff, and literary geek who just so happens to write films, poetry, short stories, novels and non-fiction essays. Recently released a chapbook, “Psychedelic Existentialism” whose official release was pre-empted by Kafkaesque bureaucratic forces. Planning a re-release sometime soon. He prides himself as being a cross between Malcolm X and Ned Flanders.
Kwyn Townsend Riley, Kwynology, is a Black queer poet from Chicago. Her work traces grief, devotion, desire, and survival. She writes to remember, to soften, and to tell the truth about love, loss, and what it means to keep living toward freedom.
Yana Orlando is a poet from Mt. Clemens, Michigan, now based in Los Angeles. She’s performed from California to Detroit and beyond. Was a member of the OC Slam Team and has competed regionally. Her work explores self-love, growth, and unhinged life experiences. When she’s not on stage, she’s dancing in the rain or convincing stray animals to follow her home. Her favorite pastime? “Fucking around and finding out.”
Espi Love is a poet and creative residing on traditional Kumeyaay land (San Diego, CA). They are a west coast regional slam champion and hold the title of San Diego Pride Poet Laureate! They ultimately believe in poetry as a tool to transmute pain into expression and resistance.
Cherry Pie Press
Natasha Dennerstein, publisher and editor-in-chief, was born in Melbourne, Australia. She holds an MFA from San Francisco State University. Natasha has had poetry published in many
journals internationally, including The North American Review. Her collections Anatomize (2015), Triptych California (2016) and About a Girl (2017) were published by Norfolk Press in San Francisco. Her chapbook Seahorse (2017) is available through Black Lawrence Press. Broken: A Life of Aileen Wuornos in 33 poems was published in 2021 by Be About It Press, and Apps Poetica from The Los Angeles Press, 2024. Natasha was the 2023 Lambda Literary Retreat fiction writer-in-residence.
Jeffrey Bryant, author and poetry editor, is a multiple Pushcart-nominated queer poet from Los Angeles. His work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies including the LA Weekly, LA Times, Poetic Diversity, New Verse News, Synkroniciti, Quill and Echo, Tension Literary, Journal of the Plague Years, Coiled Serpent, Altadena Literary Review, Shadowplay, Sparring with Beatnik Ghosts, Cholla Needles Literary Journal 101, Catching Fire from Three Rooms Press and Tender Hearts Club from Feather Press. His collection, The Catacombs of Vanished Lovers, is out now from Cherry Pie Press. @thecherrypiepress
