LGBTQ Books
W
hen Alex Ruiz selected Rainbow Rowell’s gay young adult romance
Carry On for the LGBTQ book club at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe
in Asheville, N.C., he expected a lighthearted discussion. Instead,
he says, “there was a tremendous sadness” from attendees in their
70s who told him, “I could never have imagined this kind of book
when I was a kid.” A book like Carry On would have been banned, they said, or
decried in their church. There was wistfulness for them in reading a novel where “no
one experiences anything resembling discrimination for being queer.”
Ruiz, 30, a community member
who ran the club for three years,
says he “didn’t even realize how
affecting that would be.” He made
sure that participants could fully
express themselves, so “if someone
didn’t like a book, they were free to
say so.”
PW spoke with staffers and orga-
nizers at half a dozen LGBTQ book
clubs at indie bookstores across the
U.S., who say that fostering a safe
space is part of what makes such
clubs so necessary. That holds true
even during the Covid-19 out-APOLLOPUBLISHERS.COM
For orders in the United States or Canada, email
[email protected]
or call 1-888-790-0442.
Review copies available on Edelweiss or by email to
[email protected].Trans New York
by Peter Bussian, Foreword by Abby Chava Stein
A visually stunning, landmark photography book of
transgender New Yorkers, complete with thought-
provoking and revealing interviews that honor the
transgender community and the courage it takes to
fi nd oneself and defy societal norms.
June 2020 • 144 pages • 50 color photos • $22.00
978-1-94806-256-5 Hardcover • 978-1-948062-57-2 E-book
People of the Pride Parade
with Photos by Alyssa Blumstein
A stunning visual celebration of the exuberant, diverse
attendees of New York City’s Pride March releasing on
its 50th anniversary features vivid portraits of more
than 200 LGBTQ+ community members and allies. This
resplendent volume is a portal to the spirit, sequins,
and sexual liberty of the weekend, immortalizing the
positive energy of those who attend and the enduring
power of love.
June 2020 • 160 pages • 155 color photos • $19.99
978-194806-258-9 Hardcover • 978-1-948062-59-6 E-book
LGBTQ book clubs bring people together for discussion
and a sense of communityBY RACHEL KRAMER BUSSEL
from or are allies of those communities. But publishers also have to decide how explicit
to be about their focuses when marketing their books. Should they try to appeal to a
wide readership by playing down a book’s queer content, or should they try instead
to find an interested readership by playing it up?
In general, small publishers don’t shy away from announcing a book’s subject
matter, whether it be LGBTQ issues, feminism, or race. “We embrace the queer
label,” Arsenal Pulp’s Lam says. “It’s not something we hide.” Media and booksellers,
he adds, are “realizing that it’s everyone, not just queer readers, who are reading
these books.”
Interlude’s Miller agrees with Lam that the readership for LGBTQ books is not
actually niche. “It’s a much broader audience than people might have anticipated—
certainly than the Big Five publishers might have anticipated—five years ago.”
For Topple’s Soloway, the challenge of promoting queer books is wrapped up in the
challenge of changing what media institutions prioritize. “Publicity is its own story,”
Soloway says. “The people who are writing the PR plans, the people who are thinking
about publicity, really have to be invested in the queer narrative, and invested in
queering culture, for them to want the books to land in a particular way. That comesLGBTQ book club selections at Malaprop’s in Asheville,
N.C.continued from p. 23