Join us online or in-person in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Award-Winning Author Brian Broome, 2023 Featured Speaker

Sponsored by UUA Ministries & Faith Development’s LGBTQ and Multicultural Programs

We are delighted to announce that GA will feature a multiplatform presentation by Award-Winning Author Brian Broome, followed by and conversation with Rev. Michael J. Crumpler, LGBTQ and Multicultural Programs Director.

Brian Broome, poet and screenwriter, is the author of Punch Me Up to the Gods (Mariner Books, 2021), which won the 2021 Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction, Publisher Triangle’s Randy Shilts Award for Nonfiction, and the 2022 Lambda Literary Award in Gay Memoir/Biography. The memoir introduces Broome whose early years growing up in Ohio as a dark-skinned Black boy harboring crushes on other boys and propels forward this gorgeous, aching, and unforgettable debut. Broome’s recounting of his experiences—in all their cringe-worthy, hilarious, and heartbreaking glory—reveal a perpetual outsider awkwardly squirming to find his way in. But it is Broome’s voice in the retelling that shows the true depth of vulnerability for young Black boys that is often quietly near to bursting at the seams. Cleverly framed around Gwendolyn Brooks’ poem “We Real Cool,” the iconic and loving ode to Black boyhood, Punch Me Up to the Gods is at once playful, poignant, and wholly original. Broome’s writing brims with swagger and sensitivity, bringing an exquisite and fresh voice to ongoing cultural conversations about Blackness in America.

About Broome’s debut, Kiese Laymon writes, “Punch Me Up to the Gods obliterates what we thought were the limitations of not just the American memoir, but the possibilities of the American paragraph. I’m not sure a book has ever had me sobbing, punching the air, dying of laughter, and needing to write as much as Brian Broome’s staggering debut.” Augusten Burroughs notes, “This is some of the finest writing I have ever encountered and one of the most electrifying, powerful, simply spectacular memoirs I—or you—have ever read. And you will read it; you must read it. It contains everything we all crave so deeply: truth, soul, brilliance, grace. It is a masterpiece of a memoir and Brian Broome should win the Pulitzer Prize for writing it. I am in absolute awe and you will be, too.”

Broome has been a finalist in The Moth storytelling competition and won the grand prize in Carnegie Mellon University’s Martin Luther King Writing Awards. He also won a VANN Award from the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation for journalism in 2019 for his article, “In the hypocrisy of the opioid epidemic, white means victim, black means addict.”

Copies of Punch Me Up to the Gods will be available at the inSpirit bookstore booth at GA and can be ordered online right here. There will be a book signing after the presentation and conversation.

View the GA Schedule

You may now view the GA schedule to see the lineup of informative workshops, inspirational worship services, and more! You will discover which programs will be on-demand, which programs will be live webinars, which programs will be multi-platform (happening in-person and streamed for virtual attendees). You will also be able to view preview videos from a selection of the dozens of workshops at the 2023 UUA General Assembly.

The schedule is subject to change.

Seeking Virtual Volunteers!

Becoming a virtual volunteer is a great way to get involved in General Assembly and receive a complimentary virtual registration. These teams have open positions:

App Moderators

Welcome attendees to the spaces for networking and connection in the Whova Event App. Provide discussion prompts and assist attendees in interacting with one another as a function of community building. Remove inappropriate content and remove participants who do not honor the community agreement.

Delegate Chat Hosts

Monitor and participate in the delegate chat rooms. Work on the Delegate Participation Platform to monitor chat and answer questions. Should have knowledge of the governance process.

Post Production (Caption and Video Editing)

Review and cleans up the transcripts of recorded content used to generate caption files. Help clean up video submissions. Work includes trimming, stabilizing, adjusting audio levels and noise, and adding pre and post rolls. This team will work closely with the caption editors, tech hosts, and streaming team. Video editing experience is recommended, but not required.

Tech Support

Respond to support tickets from registrants requesting help or technical advice. In some cases volunteers may need to call the registrant. Knowledge of video conferencing, streaming, and general computer support required.

Join us online and have your registration paid for!

Join us June 21 – 25 online or in-person in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. General Assembly 2023 will be a multiplatform event, with registration options for in-person and/or virtual participation. In-person registration includes access to events scheduled to take place in Pittsburgh, as well as everything available to virtual registrants. Full virtual registration includes access to the GA app, as well as all on-demand programming, live webinars, and live-streamed events.

In-person registration is $500 for adults, and $350 for high school youth, emerging adults (18-24), and retired and candidate ministers. Full Virtual Registration is $300. Register now before in-person rates increase on May 15. Financial support is also available.