At Danceteria and Other Stories

(Run Time: 2:09)

Caught in their last moment of decadent obliviousness, the characters in At Danceteria are so blinded by the strobe lights they can’t see what’s waiting in the shadows. While fictional, each of the collection’s seven stories, set at the dawn of the AIDS crisis, takes as their inspiration a real event: Halston and Liza reliving the Studio 54 glory days; Freddie Mercury Roman Holiday-ing Princess Di to a drag show; the Reagan White House rolling out the red carpet for Rock Hudson; a man-on-the-street with main character energy; Jackie Kennedy at a leather bar; a serenading Sylvester; and Keith Haring’s 26^th birthday party… hosted by Madonna. Deftly balancing incisive wit and nostalgic melancholy, Walker paints a neon picture of the past, turning queer legends – both lore and people – into vivid reality.

Included in your purchase, exclusively on Audiobrary: Julia Whelan, Ron Butler, and Philip Dean Walker discuss the blurred line between fact and fiction. (Run Time: 1:03)

Philip Dean Walker (Author and Co-Narrator) Philip Dean Walker is the author of AT DANCETERIA AND OTHER STORIES (Squares & Rebels, 2016) which was named a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2017, received from them a starred review, and was chosen by Kirkus Reviews editors as a semi-finalist for the 2017 Kirkus Prize for Fiction. His second collection of stories, READ BY STRANGERS, was published by Lethe Press in April 2018 and was named a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2018 and also received a starred review. His latest collection of stories, BETTER DAVIS AND OTHER STORIES, was published by Squares & Rebels in September 2021 and was named a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2021 and also received a starred review. He holds a B.A. in American Literature from Middlebury College and an M.F.A. in fiction from American University. He lives in Washington, D.C. philipdeanwalker.com

Ron Butler (Co-Narrator) Actor, narrator, and media producer Ron (Ronnie) Butler has over a hundred stage, TV, and film credits, (most notably as a regular on "True Jackson VP” where he played queer icon "Oscar"). He has narrated over 400 audiobook titles, and is a multiple Earphones Award winner, and SOVA and Audie Award nominee. Social media fans may recognize him from his viral Obama music videos, most notable "Modern U.S. President" which resulted in an on-going creative relationship with television producers Norman Lear and Brent Miller. Originally from the Bahamas, he grew up singing Calypso music onstage with his father (“Ronnie Butler, The Godfather of Bahamian Music”), and learning dance from his mother — a ballroom dance teacher and competitor. He is a member of the Atlantic Theater Company, and has taught acting at the Atlantic Theater Company Acting School, AMDA, Pace University, and is on the coaching staff at Narrator.Life. He's just completed writing Season 3 of "Naughty & Nice" for Love Bytes Audio, and is writing (and recording) his own original romance and queer erotica. ronniebutler.com

Julia Whelan (Narrator) is an author, screenwriter, lifelong actor, and acclaimed audiobook narrator of over 700 titles.

She is, most recently, the recipient of Spotify's Narrator of the Year Award (the most listened-to narrator globally), the first-ever Gracie Award for Best Fiction Narrator (presented by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation), the SOVAS (Society of Voice Arts and Sciences) Lifetime Achievement Award, and winner of the Audie Award for Best Fiction Narrator of 2025. She also captured both the winner and runner-up slots in the inaugural audiobook category of the Goodreads Choice Awards.

Her latest books — the Audie nominated duet romance, Casanova LLC (coming in print, Spring 2027), and the annotated Victorian poetry anthology The Poetry Of My Oxford Year — debuted exclusively on Audiobrary. jmwhelan.com