Tony winners David Hyde Pierce are and Sara Ramirez are all smiles at this morning's announcement

In a continued effort to bring you all that is important in the world of gay entertainment and ensure that you are being spoon-fed images of gorgeous, commoditized manflesh, we present the newly-minted AfterElton Briefs. Following the usual assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• The other day we mentioned that Neil Patrick Harris and Rosie O'Donnell would be among the celebrity guests on the upcoming primetime Million Dollar Password. Here's a rather hilarious interview with NPH behind-the-scenes, compete with another excellent Regis impression.

• Hiding in Hip Hop author Terrance Dean will be reading from the tell-most book this week in NYC, and taking Q&A. Check out AfterElton.com contributor Clay Cane's site for details.

• Hey Freak Show fans: Check out this kinda hilarious video of author James St. James reading from his brilliant young adult novel along with several other Lambda Literary Award nominees at A Different Light bookstore, hosted by Christopher Rice.

• In case you missed it, Neil Patrick Harris wound up in bed with Britney last night ... so that we don't have to. Thanks for taking one for the team, NPH!

• Apparently actor Mike Epps is famous enough to be stalked and harassed into a verbal and physical altercation by the bottom-feeders at TMZ. Epps regrettably stoops the their level by calling one of the paps "a fag, homosexual". 

• RADAR takes Joel Derfner, the author of Swish, to the Hello Kitty store and out for ice cream. Given that the rest of the book's title is "My Quest to Become the Gayest Person Ever", I'm guessing "Swish" isn't a basketball reference?

And today's Briefs are brought to you by...

The Washington Post issued its list for the Best Books for Young People, and what do you know, James St. James's wonderful Freak Show (which tells the story of a budding drag legend adapting to life in a conservative new town) was mentioned as one of the three best books for teens. The piece also referred to the novel as the "funniest young-adult novel of the year -- and a profile in out-of-the-mainstream courage."

Agreed on both counts! Hats (or bonnets, or Pucci scarves) off to St. James for the mention, and if you haven't picked up Freak Show yet, definitely check it out, as well as our interview with the author. 

World of Wonder is reporting that James St. James' hilarious young adult novel, Freak Show, will be honored by the School Library Journal as the Best Young Adult Book of the Year. (SLJ hasn't added the announcement to their website yet so it's not official, but we're inclined to believe the word is good.) Freak Show tells the story of a teenage drag queen trying not only to survive high school in a conservative small town, but also to nab the crown as homecoming queen.

James St. James talked with AfterElton last May, where he described Freak Show as a very autobiographical story, reflecting the isolation he experienced in high school. St. James also observed that things have definitely improved for gay students since his youth. The idea of a book like Freak Show being honored by an influential publication like the School Library Journal certainly supports the idea, and sends a huge message to both teens and educators about understanding and acceptance.

Congratulations to James St. James for a well-earned award, and we can't wait for the official announcement!

• Great news: Freak Show, the unapologetically queer and inarguably fabulous teen novel by James St. James, has been nominated for an ALA Best Book for Young Adults award.
  

• Star Trek: Odyssey, a fan-created spinoff from the Hidden Frontier folks centering around gay Starfleet officer Ro Nevin, is sneak-peeking its pilot episode, "Iliad", today. Set phasers to "intrigued"...
  

• Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange to be terrorized by fame-hungry raccoons in the feature film adaptation of Grey Gardens, not to be mistaken for the musical adaptation or the original documentary. And who says they don't write good roles for women anymore?

• Is Queen Latifah the new Jodie Foster?

• Not Without My Gays: Katie Heigl (we're on a nickname basis now, right?) reportedly would not walk down the aisle unless T.R. could be there. Related: People like their friends to be at their weddings.

Gay-themed high school film Tru Loved is in production, after a permit refusal from a California high school that left some school board members, parents of students, and members of the production team wondering if there was something more to the refusal than scheduling conflicts.

Regardless of the hitch, the film itself is back on track. Loved tells the tale of a girl (named Tru, natch) who moves from San Francisco with her two moms to a conservative town where her only friend is a closeted football player. She attempts to start a Gay-Straight Alliance at the school, which of course doesn't go over too terribly well in Nazi-ville.

There's no cast announced yet, but seeing as how writer/director Stewart Wade was able to snag Sally Kirkland, Jonathan Silverman, Deborah Gibson, and of course out actor Wilson Cruz for his last feature, Coffee Date, we can hope to see some starpower behind the flick.

And the as-yet bare-bones website promises a "gay wedding at the climax of the film," lots of hot football players, "sexy lesbian moms who bust all the stereotypes, and a terrific, all-star cast of richly drawn characters." Given the dearth of gay film making it to screens these days, I'd settle for any one of those elements.

As the site also notes, gay teen stories are a pretty hot topic. Our own Brent Hartinger's teen novel Geography Club was a huge hit, and James St. James' Freak Show and other books aimed at gay teens and the teens who love them are popping up all over. Just think: had I had this kind of book available when I was a teen, I wouldn't have been stuck rereading Blubber 387 times in 7th grade.

For a glimpse of Wade's previous work, check out the preview for Coffee Date below.