Maria Konner to Discuss New Book GIRL SHOCK! at The Drama Book Shop

National Trans-Sensation, MARIA KONNER, talks about how a Halloween costume changed her life forever. She will be at at the legendary Drama Book Shop on Tuesday August 29 at 7:30 p.m. (266 W 39th St, NYC) regaling her audience about how once there was "a regular guy" and now there is singer/songwriter/composer; pianist/guitarist; producer/host/public speaker, MARIA KONNER. INFO HERE. 

Her new book, "Girl Shock!" about her journey going straight ... to trans, goes on sale at the Drama Book Shop in August and she will be there for the opening event on Tuesday, August 29, at 7:30 p.m. to share some deeply moving - and some totally hair-raising - stories and even sing a song or two with writing partner, Jackson Sturkey.

"MARIA KONNER was born to help me escape my straight dude suburban life," says the powerhouse performer who went on to explore and then rock San Francisco for over 15 years - gaining the acquaintance of some legendary downtown and underground icons before moving to New York City in the summer of 2022 where she immersed herself in all forms of NYC downtown nightlife.

Her streaming program, Under The Golden Gate, became a platform for her to perform, interview colorful underground guests (and celebrities), and film various events around town, chatting with all the interesting characters one would expect to find in San Francisco. She also had a monthly show at SF's premier piano bar, Martuni's.

"I have the trans and kink genes," she says with her clearly identifiable high decibel voice and abundant energy,'' at the piano bar, they expect Judy Garland, but I give them Rock ... Jazz ...Blues ... Sweet Transvestite ... and Black Sabbath!"

Don't be fooled by her wild and woolly ways. Maria has a biomedical and electrical engineering degree from Case Western Reserve University and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University where she was valedictorian. Maria considers herself to be a musician above all else. ''Good music can't lie," she exclaimed.

Originally from New Jersey, Maria's love of the unique, authentic, and colorful started with her spending a large part of her childhood in East Africa (her father ran ecotourism safaris), The Middle East, and London/UK, filling her alone time with books and science documentaries.

Maria started off as an engineer in the tech world, then migrated into corporate management consulting, financial planning, marketing/sales, and lobbying. She wrote several books about green energy and corporate politics, but got so fed up with that world, she then decided to try something completely different and live a trans life in San Francisco.

She is currently workshopping a musical version of her book, performing at clubs on both coasts. Maria was instrumental in helping the legendary Cockettes return to New York - which they will be doing, September 9 at The Public Theater's Joe's Pub.