This Queer Book Saved My Life

Today we meet Renée Yoxon and we’re talking about the queer book that saved their life: Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters. Renée (they/them) is a nonbinary gender-affirming voice teacher based in Montreal. They help trans, nonbinary, and gender-expansive people create speaking voices they love, through online courses, a pay-what-you-can practice community, and their book, The Trans Voice Practice...

A new episode of This Queer Book Saved My Life drops October 27! In our off weeks we air episodes from The Gaily Show. It's the only daily LGBTQ news and talk show in the US! John hosts it and it airs in ten markets across the U.S. ! In this episode, author Lizzie Erhenhault shares her new book Romantic Sensation: The Queer Lives of Leon A. Belmont, 1853–1927 . And Ken Ballen discusses his ne...

Today we meet Alvin Orloff and we’re talking about the queer book that saved his life: The Naked Civil Servant by Quentin Crisp. Alvin Orloff began writing in 1977, penning lyrics for the Blow Dryers, an early San Francisco punk band. He spent the 1980s working as a telemarketer and exotic dancer while concurrently attending UC Berkeley and performing with the Popstitutes. In 1990, he and his band...

A new episode of This Queer Book Saved My Life drops October 13th! In our off weeks we air episodes from The Gaily Show. It's the only daily LGBTQ news and talk show in the US! John hosts it and it airs in ten markets across the U.S. ! In this episode, authors Greg Howard and Daniel Gawthrop share their new books. Watch on YouTube We're in video too! You can watch this episode at youtube...

Today we meet Jeff Copeland and we’re talking about the queer book that saved his life: Miss Rona by Rona Barrett. Jeff is the author of Love You Madly, Holly Woodlawn and co-author with Holly Woodlawn of Low Life in High Heels: The Holly Woodlawn Story. An Emmy award nominee, he worked for nearly thirty years for a variety of TV Networks and film studios, including Discovery, Animal Planet, HGTV,...

A new episode of This Queer Book Saved My Life drops September 29th! In our off weeks we air episodes from The Gaily Show. It's the only daily LGBTQ news and talk show in the US! John hosts it and it airs on AM950-KTNF (Minneapolis), WCPT 820 AM (Chicago), 92.7 FM WMDX (Madison, WI), plus weekly on NewsTalk WHMP (Amherst, MA) and Alternative Talk 1150AM KKNW (Seattle). In this episode, Senior...

How do I be a lesbian, and a writer, at the same time? Today we meet Kim van Alkemade and we’re talking about the queer book that saved her life: Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. Kim is the author of the novels Orphan 8 , Bachelor Girl , and Counting Lost Stars . Her forthcoming novel Upstate comes out October 27 . Her books have been translated into eleven languages. After a career teaching writing a...

This book told me I was not alone and it set me on a journey of queer lit. Today we meet Greg Howard and we’re talking about the queer book that saved his life: A Boy's Own Story by Edmund White. Greg’s critically acclaimed, debut middle-grade novel The Whispers was nominated for an Edgar Award and was named a Best Book of 2019 by Advocate Magazine . His second middle-grade novel Middle Schoo...

This book opened a door and no one could ever close that door again. Today we meet Patrick Doyle and we’re talking about the queer book that saved his life: Our Lady of the Flowers by Jean Genet. PLEASE NOTE: This is an explicit book and so our episode is too. There is strong sexual content. Patrick Doyle writes queer fiction, ranging from romance to mystery to thrillers and science fiction to jus...

We have such an issue with: what should we educate children with? Today we meet Dr. Helen Webberley and we’re talking about the queer book that saved her life: My Daddies! by Gareth Peter. And Gareth joins us for the conversation! Dr. Webberley is a doctor, gender specialist, and medical educator with years of experience across medicine, science, sexual health, and gender identity. In 2015, Dr. We...

As a kid I always wondered where do I belong? Today we meet Mario Elías and we’re talking about the queer book that saved his life: The Color of Summer by  Reinaldo Arenas. Mario Elías is a multidisciplinary artist of Cuban and Syrian descent based in Chicago. His work spans fiction, nonfiction, photography, painting, and printmaking. His book Queering the Male Gaze reimagined masterpieces of the...

I had never discovered a queer character who didn't die at the end. This book changed that. Today we meet Gregory A. Kompes and we’re talking about the queer book that saved his life: Maurice by E.M. Forster Gregory is founder of The Writer Workshop and an award winning, bestselling author of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. He’s the author of Shards , as well as the Broadway series that incl...

This book raised something that was running subterranean in my system back up to the surface again. Today we meet J. Brooke and we’re talking about the queer book that saved their life: Transition: Becoming Who I Was Always Meant to Be by Chaz Bono. J’s full-length poetry book, I Can Tell You The Version That Will Make You Take My Side won the Editor’s Choice Prize at Driftwood Press. It is now av...

Why would I ever want to have a body and why should I allow it to want what it wants? Today we meet Jill Rosenberg and we’re talking about the queer book that saved her life: Sea of Tranquility by Paul Elliott Russell. And Paul joins us for the conversation! Jill is a graduate of Vassar College and the MFA Program at the University of Montana. Her fiction has been published by the Kenyon Review, S...

I came out and needed to understand: what kind of gay am I? Today we meet Dr. Perry Zurn and we’re talking about the queer book that saved his life: Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg. Dr. Zurn is Provost Associate Professor of Philosophy at American University. He researches primarily in political philosophy, critical theory, and LGBTQ+ studies and has collaborated in psychology and network neu...

This book was a vivid portrayal of queer desire. It didn't have a happy ending, but it had a positive ending. Today we meet Lynette D'Amico and we’re talking about the queer book that saved her life: Carol by Patricia Highsmith. Lynette D'Amico is an essayist and fiction writer whose work has appeared in The Gettysburg Review , The Ocean State Review and at Brevity , Slag Glass City...

Between 50-75% of my friends died of AIDS. I was trying to figure out what had happened to our community. Today we meet Gabriel Rotello and we’re talking about the queer book that saved his life: Gay New York by George Chauncey. Gabriel Rotello is an Emmy-nominated and GLAAD Award-winning writer, director, producer, journalist and musician. He published his nonfiction book in 1997: Sexual Ecology:...

This book helped me understand my brain and in particular the queer brain. Today we meet Max Hovey and we’re talking about the queer book that saved his life: The Velvet Rage by Alan Downs. Max Hovey is a London-based writer, creator, and queer advocate. He dedicates his platform to sparking discussions about and promoting body acceptance, sex positivity, mental health awareness, and other topics...

This book has a very fabulous determined, genderfluid, and Bi character. Reading her released something in me. Today we meet Sarah Stone and we’re talking about the queer book that saved their life: The Passion by Jeanette Winterson. Sarah Stone (she/they) is the author of Marriage to the Sea; Hungry Ghost Theater , a finalist for the 38th annual Northern California Book Awards; and The True Sourc...

Will I as a queer person be able to live openly, boldly, and out of the shadows? Today we meet Jake Stepansky and we’re talking about the queer book that saved his life: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by David Levithan and John Green. And David joins us for the conversation! Jake Stepansky is a culture and care worker based in Brooklyn, NY. He is the co-founder and board president of the QT Library –...

What happens when the world tells you you're too much and you start shrinking yourself to survive? Today we meet William Ollayos and we’re talking about the queer book that saved his life: Reverie by Ryan La Sala. And Ryan joins us for the conversation! William Ollayos is an educator, advocate, and aspiring writer based in Connecticut. He serves as an Area Coordinator in Wesleyan University’s...

This question has followed me around my whole life: where do I come from? Today we meet Karsten Vagner and we’re talking about the queer book that saved his life: The Prince of Los Cocuyos by Richard Blanco. And Richard joins us for the conversation! Karsten Vagner was born in Bogotá, Colombia and grew up outside of New York City. He has worked in tech startups for the past 20 years, and has been...

In some ways, the characters in this book were my first lovers. Today we meet Michael Horvich and we're talking about the queer book that saved his life: Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin. Michael is a retired Elementary School Educator and University Instructor. In addition he’s many things, here’s just a partial list: Poet, Collector, Museum Curator Emeritis, Book Binder, Supernumerary,...

How can we hold together idealism and authenticity even when the world is homophobic? Today we meet Lucas F. Schleusener and we’re talking about the queer book that saved his life: Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin by John D'Emilio. Lucas is a writer, educator, and national security strategist shaping the future of equity across the national security enterprise. As Co-Founder...

One of the world's oldest surviving novels was a queer book?! Today we meet Neil Laird and we’re talking about the queer book that saved his life: The Satyricon by Petronius. Neil is a multiple Emmy-nominated Executive Producer who has worked extensively on both the network and production side of non-fiction TV since 1997. He's developed, overseen, and produced over 1,000 hours of non-fi...