a&e features
Amy Austin reflects on 30 years at City Paper
Lesbian publisher steps down, prepares for new challenges in D.C.


Amy Austin has no immediate plans but says she’s ready to put her skills to work in another arena — perhaps helping underserved Washingtonians. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Change is inevitable no matter your field but it’s even more acute in newspaper work. After 30 years of navigating all sorts of change, Washington City Paper veteran Amy Austin went from publisher, a title she’d had since 2003, to publisher emeritus.
Practically speaking that means she’s no longer there on a daily basis and is pursuing other options. Her last day was May 8, also her 57th birthday. She got a happy sendoff she says was “a treat” and “a day to celebrate what’s been built and what’s to come.” In addition to a mock edition of the paper called the “Amy issue,” there were cupcakes, Champagne and so many flowers it “looked like I had died.”
Washington City Paper started in 1981 and only a few years in, Austin, a Princeton, Ill., native, joined the staff in 1985 working first as an ad assistant and gradually, over many years and through several changes in ownership, moving to operations manager, general manager and then publisher. There are 30 on staff currently. Weekly circulation has held steady at about 72,000 for the last six years.
She remembers long-time colleague Sheila Alexander-Reid, like Austin a lesbian, giving her an early hard time because Austin declined to join her for a beer. “She sort of roughed me up,” Austin says with a laugh during a mid-day interview in her office on her penultimate day on the job.
Her early years were spent doing all sorts of work on the advertising side from making sure things were print ready to making corrections with typesetters.
“Mostly I’ve always worked with what I would call putting the thing together,” she says. “Making sure all the parts work together, which is essentially the way I think of the publisher job as well.”
With her partner of nine years, Dierdre Joy, and three kids (two 14- and one 12-year-old), with whom she lives in Mount Pleasant, Austin says she’s not retiring. She admits to feeling “a little restless” and figured 30 years was “a good time to depart.”
“I need a bit of time to figure out what’s next but I know what my skills are and what I’m good at, so I hope to apply those to other things,” she says. “I care very much about the city and, you know, the underserved, so I imagine it will something that combines one or two of those things but I don’t have a big plan.”
A recent interview covered many topics:
On changes in the industry: “The last 15 years have not been easy because the whole business model, as you know if you’re anywhere close to newspapers, was just completely disrupted. But it has made the work more interesting even though it was much more difficult. In the ‘90s, everything was just pouring in and we had very little competition. We competed with the Blade, the Washington Post, to some extent radio and magazines, but we had a pretty clear playing field. Now there are a lot more ankle biters out there.”
On managing millennials: “I think they just probably have better insight into the world than when we were younger, right? They know much more. There’s more communication. The world is more available to them so they aren’t as loyal as they once were. … The world is writ large where it wasn’t before. I don’t think of them as fickle, I think of them as individualists.”
On balancing advertising and editorial: “For me, it never meant that church couldn’t talk to state or state couldn’t talk to church. We do a lot of collaborative projects like our arts guides, our best of, but at the same time, I have been the recipient of many an angry call from people who work with us on the marketing side who would expect that would translate into the editorial side, but that’s not the arrangement. … They’re not buying the editorial, they’re buying the audience and … if the editorial could be bought, then it wouldn’t be very good editorial.”
On being professionally out: “I try to be as out as I can as often as I can. Philosophically, that’s how I roll.”
On the hyper-local focus: “It’s much more tangible. You feel like you have more impact. You can see the problems and address them in editorial. You can see a new store opening and think, ‘I can help you reach your greater audience.’ I love local.”
On D.C. changes over 30 years: “It was quite a different city then but the way it hasn’t changed is that it’s still a very small city. … I think we all know the way things have changed … the camera shops and record stores and none of those businesses exist anymore, so part of what City Paper has done on an everyday basis is cover those gentrifying issues. … It’s a very changed place but a lot of the problems for people who don’t have as much access as everyone else still remain. That’s why (Councilman Marion) Barry got so many accolades at his funeral was that he was tireless about pointing that out every chance he got.”
On memorable City Paper stories over the years: “Letters from an Arsonist” by Dave Jamieson (2007), “My So-Called Stalker,” which David Carr, an “infamous journalist who recently died, helped the victim write in a first-person account in 1999. Her stalker was arrested shortly after the story was published, so that was a positive outcome. I loved it whenever we got positive outcomes.”
On keeping the bean counters happy: “It’s certainly always top of mind to always keep the revenue up and we’ve been really successful. I’m very proud of the digital revenue we did under my watch. … I’ve been able to keep (them) fairly happy.”
On Washington Post: “A fantastic publication but I would argue we have always done local coverage better or as well as them … but obviously they have a lot more resources on the revenue side. … You can see them turning to more of a national outlook, so that just makes City Paper’s position even stronger.”
On City Paper’s reputation compared to other alt weeklies: “Ours is the best in the country!”
Her bleakest day on the job: A day in the fall of 2007 when “we had to let a number of staff go. I can still feel that. It was very bleak.”
Her proudest: “One of the most victorious moments was when (Washington Redskins owner) Dan Snyder dropped his lawsuit against us. … He ended up dropping it right before we went through with an anti-SLAPP motion, which is a law designed to stop frivolous lawsuits.”
On the Rolling Stone campus rape story: “I don’t understand how that happened. It just seems against all principles that you don’t have secondary sources.”
Her philosophy of HR: “I believe everyone wants to do their best.”
On homophobia vs. sexism in business: “Never a problem with any of our ownership groups but certainly you encounter sexism. It happens on a regular basis and probably more so if you’re gay.”
a&e features
Visit Cambridge, a ‘beautiful secret’ on Maryland’s Eastern Shore
New organization promotes town’s welcoming vibe, LGBTQ inclusion

CAMBRIDGE, Md. — Driving through this scenic, historic town on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, you’ll be charmed by streets lined with unique shops, restaurants, and beautifully restored Victorian homes. You’ll also be struck by the number of LGBTQ Pride flags flying throughout the town.
The flags are a reassuring signal that everyone is welcome here, despite the town’s location in ruby red Dorchester County, which voted for Donald Trump over Kamala Harris by a lopsided margin. But don’t let that deter you from visiting. A new organization, Proudly Cambridge, is holding its debut Pride event this weekend, touting the town’s welcoming, inclusive culture.
“We stumbled on a beautiful secret and we wanted to help get the word out,” said James Lumalcuri of the effort to create Proudly Cambridge.
The organization celebrates diversity, enhances public spaces, and seeks to uplift all that Cambridge has to share, according to its mission statement, under the tagline “You Belong Here.”
The group has so far held informal movie nights and a picnic and garden party; the launch party is June 28 at the Cambridge Yacht Club, which will feature a Pride celebration and tea dance. The event’s 75 tickets sold out quickly and proceeds benefit DoCo Pride.
“Tickets went faster than we imagined and we’re bummed we can’t welcome everyone who wanted to come,” Lumalcuri said, adding that organizers plan to make “Cheers on the Choptank” an annual event with added capacity next year.
One of the group’s first projects was to distribute free Pride flags to anyone who requested one and the result is a visually striking display of a large number of flags flying all over town. Up next: Proudly Cambridge plans to roll out a program offering affirming businesses rainbow crab stickers to show their inclusiveness and LGBTQ support. The group also wants to engage with potential visitors and homebuyers.
“We want to spread the word outside of Cambridge — in D.C. and Baltimore — who don’t know about Cambridge,” Lumalcuri said. “We want them to come and know we are a safe haven. You can exist here and feel comfortable and supported by neighbors in a way that we didn’t anticipate when we moved here.”

Lumalcuri, 53, a federal government employee, and his husband, Lou Cardenas, 62, a Realtor, purchased a Victorian house in Cambridge in 2021 and embarked on an extensive renovation. The couple also owns a home in Adams Morgan in D.C.
“We saw the opportunity here and wanted to share it with others,” Cardenas said. “There’s lots of housing inventory in the $300-400,000 range … we’re not here to gentrify people out of town because a lot of these homes are just empty and need to be fixed up and we’re happy to be a part of that.”
Lumalcuri was talking with friends one Sunday last year at the gazebo (affectionately known as the “gayzebo” by locals) at the Yacht Club and the idea for Proudly Cambridge was born. The founding board members are Lumalcuri, Corey van Vlymen, Brian Orjuela, Lauren Mross, and Caleb Holland. The group is currently working toward forming a 501(c)3.
“We need visibility and support for those who need it,” Mross said. “We started making lists of what we wanted to do and the five of us ran with it. We started meeting weekly and solidified what we wanted to do.”
Mross, 50, a brand strategist and web designer, moved to Cambridge from Atlanta with her wife three years ago. They knew they wanted to be near the water and farther north and began researching their options when they discovered Cambridge.
“I had not heard of Cambridge but the location seemed perfect,” she said. “I pointed on a map and said this is where we’re going to move.”
The couple packed up, bought a camper trailer and parked it in different campsites but kept coming back to Cambridge.
“I didn’t know how right it was until we moved here,” she said. “It’s the most welcoming place … there’s an energy vortex here – how did so many cool, progressive people end up in one place?”
Corey van Vlymen and his husband live in D.C. and were looking for a second home. They considered Lost River, W.Va., but decided they preferred to be on the water.
“We looked at a map on both sides of the bay and came to Cambridge on a Saturday and bought a house that day,” said van Vlymen, 39, a senior scientist at Booz Allen Hamilton. They’ve owned in Cambridge for two years.
They were drawn to Cambridge due to its location on the water, the affordable housing inventory, and its proximity to D.C.; it’s about an hour and 20 minutes away.
Now, through the work of Proudly Cambridge, they hope to highlight the town’s many attributes to residents and visitors alike.
“Something we all agree on is there’s a perception problem for Cambridge and a lack of awareness,” van Vlymen said. “If you tell someone you’re going to Cambridge, chances are they think, ‘England or Massachusetts?’”
He cited the affordability and the opportunity to save older, historic homes as a big draw for buyers.
“It’s all about celebrating all the things that make Cambridge great,” Mross added. “Our monthly social events are joyful and celebratory.” A recent game night drew about 70 people.
She noted that the goal is not to gentrify the town and push longtime residents out, but to uplift all the people who are already there while welcoming new visitors and future residents.
They also noted that Proudly Cambridge does not seek to supplant existing Pride-focused organizations. Dorchester County Pride organizes countywide Pride events and Delmarva Pride was held in nearby Easton two weeks ago.
“We celebrate all diversity but are gay powered and gay led,” Mross noted.
To learn more about Proudly Cambridge, visit the group on Facebook and Instagram.
What to see and do
Cambridge, located 13 miles up the Choptank River from the Chesapeake Bay, has a population of roughly 15,000. It was settled in 1684 and named for the English university town in 1686. It is home to the Harriet Tubman Museum, mural, and monument. Its proximity to the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge makes it a popular stop for birders, drawn to more than 27,000 acres of marshland dubbed “the Everglades of the north.”
The refuge is walkable, bikeable, and driveable, making it an accessible attraction for all. There are kayaking and biking tours through Blackwater Adventures (blackwateradventuresmd.com).
Back in town, take a stroll along the water and through historic downtown and admire the architecture. Take in the striking Harriet Tubman mural (424 Race St.). Shop in the many local boutiques, and don’t miss the gay-owned Shorelife Home and Gifts (421 Race St.), filled with stylish coastal décor items.
Stop for breakfast or lunch at Black Water Bakery (429 Race St.), which offers a full compliment of coffee drinks along with a build-your-own mimosa bar and a full menu of creative cocktails.
The Cambridge Yacht Club (1 Mill St.) is always bustling but you need to be a member to get in. Snapper’s on the water is temporarily closed for renovations. RaR Brewing (rarbrewing.com) is popular for craft beers served in an 80-year-old former pool hall and bowling alley. The menu offers burgers, wings, and other bar fare.
For dinner or wine, don’t miss the fantastic Vintage 414 (414 Race St.), which offers lunch, dinner, wine tasting events, specialty foods, and a large selection of wines. The homemade cheddar crackers, inventive flatbreads, and creative desserts (citrus olive oil cake, carrot cake trifle) were a hit on a recent visit.
Also nearby is Ava’s (305 High St.), a regional chain offering outstanding Italian dishes, pizzas, and more.
For something off the beaten path, visit Emily’s Produce (22143 Church Creek Rd.) for its nursery, produce, and prepared meals.
“Ten minutes into the sticks there’s a place called Emily’s Produce, where you can pay $5 and walk through a field and pick sunflowers, blueberries, you can feed the goats … and they have great food,” van Vlymen said.
As for accommodations, there’s the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay (100 Heron Blvd. at Route 50), a resort complex with golf course, spa, and marina. Otherwise, check out Airbnb and VRBO for short-term rentals closer to downtown.
Its proximity to D.C. and Baltimore makes Cambridge an ideal weekend getaway. The large LGBTQ population is welcoming and they are happy to talk up their town and show you around.
“There’s a closeness among the neighbors that I wasn’t feeling in D.C.,” Lumalcuri said. “We look after each other.”
a&e features
James Baldwin bio shows how much of his life is revealed in his work
‘A Love Story’ is first major book on acclaimed author’s life in 30 years

‘Baldwin: A Love Story’
By Nicholas Boggs
c.2025, FSG
$35/704 pages
“Baldwin: A Love Story” is a sympathetic biography, the first major one in 30 years, of acclaimed Black gay writer James Baldwin. Drawing on Baldwin’s fiction, essays, and letters, Nicolas Boggs, a white writer who rediscovered and co-edited a new edition of a long-lost Baldwin book, explores Baldwin’s life and work through focusing on his lovers, mentors, and inspirations.
The book begins with a quick look at Baldwin’s childhood in Harlem, and his difficult relationship with his religious, angry stepfather. Baldwin’s experience with Orilla Miller, a white teacher who encouraged the boy’s writing and took him to plays and movies, even against his father’s wishes, helped shape his life and tempered his feelings toward white people. When Baldwin later joined a church and became a child preacher, though, he felt conflicted between academic success and religious demands, even denouncing Miller at one point. In a fascinating late essay, Baldwin also described his teenage sexual relationship with a mobster, who showed him off in public.
Baldwin’s romantic life was complicated, as he preferred men who were not outwardly gay. Indeed, many would marry women and have children while also involved with Baldwin. Still, they would often remain friends and enabled Baldwin’s work. Lucien Happersberger, who met Baldwin while both were living in Paris, sent him to a Swiss village, where he wrote his first novel, “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” as well as an essay, “Stranger in the Village,” about the oddness of being the first Black person many villagers had ever seen. Baldwin met Turkish actor Engin Cezzar in New York at the Actors’ Studio; Baldwin later spent time in Istanbul with Cezzar and his wife, finishing “Another Country” and directing a controversial play about Turkish prisoners that depicted sexuality and gender.
Baldwin collaborated with French artist Yoran Cazac on a children’s book, which later vanished. Boggs writes of his excitement about coming across this book while a student at Yale and how he later interviewed Cazac and his wife while also republishing the book. Baldwin also had many tumultuous sexual relationships with young men whom he tried to mentor and shape, most of which led to drama and despair.
The book carefully examines Baldwin’s development as a writer. “Go Tell It on the Mountain” draws heavily on his early life, giving subtle signs of the main character John’s sexuality, while “Giovanni’s Room” bravely and openly shows a homosexual relationship, highly controversial at the time. “If Beale Street Could Talk” features a woman as its main character and narrator, the first time Baldwin wrote fully through a woman’s perspective. His essays feel deeply personal, even if they do not reveal everything; Lucian is the unnamed visiting friend in one who the police briefly detained along with Baldwin. He found New York too distracting to write, spending his time there with friends and family or on business. He was close friends with modernist painter Beauford Delaney, also gay, who helped Baldwin see that a Black man could thrive as an artist. Delaney would later move to France, staying near Baldwin’s home.
An epilogue has Boggs writing about encountering Baldwin’s work as one of the few white students in a majority-Black school. It helpfully reminds us that Baldwin connects to all who feel different, no matter their race, sexuality, gender, or class. A well-written, easy-flowing biography, with many excerpts from Baldwin’s writing, it shows how much of his life is revealed in his work. Let’s hope it encourages reading the work, either again or for the first time.
a&e features
Looking back at 50 years of Pride in D.C
Washington Blade’s unique archives chronicle highs, lows of our movement

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of LGBTQ Pride in Washington, D.C., the Washington Blade team combed our archives and put together a glossy magazine showcasing five decades of celebrations in the city. Below is a sampling of images from the magazine but be sure to find a print copy starting this week.

The magazine is being distributed now and is complimentary. You can find copies at LGBTQ bars and restaurants across the city. Or visit the Blade booth at the Pride festival on June 7 and 8 where we will distribute copies.
Thank you to our advertisers and sponsors, whose support has enabled us to distribute the magazine free of charge. And thanks to our dedicated team at the Blade, especially Photo Editor Michael Key, who spent many hours searching the archives for the best images, many of which are unique to the Blade and cannot be found elsewhere. And thanks to our dynamic production team of Meaghan Juba, who designed the magazine, and Phil Rockstroh who managed the process. Stephen Rutgers and Brian Pitts handled sales and marketing and staff writers Lou Chibbaro Jr., Christopher Kane, Michael K. Lavers, Joe Reberkenny along with freelancer and former Blade staffer Joey DiGuglielmo wrote the essays.

The magazine represents more than 50 years of hard work by countless reporters, editors, advertising sales reps, photographers, and other media professionals who have brought you the Washington Blade since 1969.
We hope you enjoy the magazine and keep it as a reminder of all the many ups and downs our local LGBTQ community has experienced over the past 50 years.
I hope you will consider supporting our vital mission by becoming a Blade member today. At a time when reliable, accurate LGBTQ news is more essential than ever, your contribution helps make it possible. With a monthly gift starting at just $7, you’ll ensure that the Blade remains a trusted, free resource for the community — now and for years to come. Click here to help fund LGBTQ journalism.





-
U.S. Supreme Court5 days ago
Supreme Court upholds ACA rule that makes PrEP, other preventative care free
-
U.S. Supreme Court5 days ago
Supreme Court rules parents must have option to opt children out of LGBTQ-specific lessons
-
Television5 days ago
‘White Lotus,’ ‘Severance,’ ‘Andor’ lead Dorian TV Awards noms
-
Music & Concerts5 days ago
Berkshire Choral to commemorate Matthew Shepard’s life