Jennifer Beals to share stories from The L Word: A Photographic Journal with in-person talks

Jennifer Beals was already a capital “M” movie star in Flashdance, Devil in a Blue Dress, and Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle when she slid into Bette Porter’s power suits for 2004’s The L Word. An avocational photographer, she chronicled the behind-the-scenes of the groundbreaking series about a lesbian friend group centered in West Hollywood from the outset. Now, 15 years after the first release of those analog photos in a scrapbook-style book with interviews she conducted with cast and crew, the book has been rereleased with a new foreword as The L Word: A Photographic Journal. To connect with fans in support of the book, Beals will be in conversation about her work and time with The L Word in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City this month.

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“[Photography] is just a way to sort of touch base with this moment that I know is fleeting. And I just had a sense, even at the beginning of the show, that I really wanted to document this moment. I didn't know how long this would last, but I wanted to document all of us being there together,” Beals told The Advocatelate last year.

The reissue is essentially a love letter to fans, many of the reboot, The L Word: Generation Q, who missed the original 2010 release, which followed the series’s season 6 finale in 2009.

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“I’ve done a couple of fan conventions now, and the stories that people lay at my feet and share with me and the things that they say about how The L Word helped them is so moving to me — that story can do that, then that affect can become effect,” Beals said.

An official description of the book reads:

“The L Word: A Photographic Journal showcases more than 400 rarely seen, extraordinarily candid photographs taken by Jennifer Beals on the set and behind the scenes of The L Word. These exquisite photographs offer an intimate look into every aspect of the show, highlighting the real friendships, emotions, and creativity that contributed to its massive success. Also featuring a foreword and reminiscences from Jennifer, cast commentary, and intriguing ephemera such as scripts, call sheets, notes between actors, and production memos, this extraordinary book is the definitive portrait of the life, the laughter, and the love that was The L Word.”

Each photograph is a time capsule of an era that changed lesbian visibility on- screen and of friendship and community behind the scenes with cast members, including Leisha Hailey, Kate Moennig, Mia Kirschner, Laurel Holloman, Pam Grier, Erin Daniels, Rachel Shelley, Rose Rollins, and more.

Beals appears at Dynasty Typewriter in Los Angeles (with Tracy E. Gilchrist) in conjunction with Skylight Books on April 10, in San Francisco (with Lydi Conklin) at Book Passage (Corte Madera) on April 12, and in New York City (with Ilene Chaiken) at Barnes & Noble Union Square on April 17.

Order your copy of The L Word: A Photographic Journal here.