From Weekly Dig: It’s Story Time
Meet Provincetown’s very own James Frey?
By Thomas Kilduff
Provincetown tourism is an industry where a little bit of magic and rumor (romance! sand dunes! art!) translates into big bucks for loads of shopkeepers along the village’s main strip. Which may be why Bill Schneider, director of the Provincetown Tourism Office, still has his job.
Schneider, a gay middling writer, came to Provincetown five years ago to escape Los Angeles. He became the head of the town’s tourist office in 2004, when Provincetown was being swarmed with marriage license requests from same-sex couples.
“At the time, the town clerk was begging for help as people came into town,” said Schneider. “I said that I can help with PR, so they kept calling me back, to help with volunteer efforts. One thing led to another, and I started working in the tourism office. I am also a liaison to the Visitor Services Board — that’s a seven-member volunteer board, charged with overseeing tourism funds, to help invest, promote and beautify the town.”
In March of this year, Schneider released his third book through self-publishers iUniverse. The book, a novelette called Crossed Paths, is described as a gay love story that takes place during “America’s Identity Crisis” of 1976. Schneider’s book has not necessarily been panned or praised by literary critics. They’ve barely touched it — which is odd, considering the book’s supposed fame. Continue reading “His Own Best Critic”
