Callen Harty

press release: The Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center in Madison will be the site of a book release party on November 29, 2015, for Callen Harty’s newly released book Empty Playground: A Survivor’s Story. Harty is well-known in Madison as a community activist and playwright, especially at the alternative Broom Street Theater, where he has written more than twenty plays and served as the Artistic Director for five years after the death of its iconic leader, Joel Gersmann. He has also written many articles, essays, and poems that have been published in periodicals around the country. He previously published the book, My Queer Life, a collection of writings on living an authentic life as a gay man.

Empty Playground: A Survivor’s Story is a memoir about surviving childhood sex abuse while growing up in a small town in rural southwestern Wisconsin. It is available on Amazon.com and can be ordered at local bookstores if they are not carrying it. The book will be available at a reduced rate at the event where the author will read from the book and be available for signing afterwards. A portion of the proceeds of the book sales that day will be donated to Paths to Healing, a conference on surviving child sex abuse that Harty started with the help of several local non-profit organizations. The conference is now in its fourth year and will be held this year on June 30th in Madison.

The Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center is located at 953 Jenifer Street in Madison. The event is scheduled on Sunday afternoon, November 29. Doors will open at 2:00 p.m.  Harty is scheduled to read from the book at 2:30 p.m., followed by author signings and social time.  Refreshments will be provided. The public is invited to attend and there is no charge for the event. For more information call 608-469-6686.