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BOOKS Owen Keehnen takes readers to an 'oasis of pleasure' in 'Man's Country'
In the book Man's Country: More Than a Bathhouse, Chicago historian Owen Keehnen takes a literary microscope to the venue that the late local icon Chuck Renslow opened in 1973. Over decades, until it was demolished ...
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Photographer Irene Young launches book with stellar concerts
"Something About the Women" was appropriately the closing song for two sold-out, stellar concerts at Berkeley's Freight & Salvage November 19, in celebration of the new book of the same name by Irene Young, the legendary ...
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LGBT HISTORY PROJECT: Exploring 70 years of lesbian publications, from 1940s zines to modern glossy magazines
Since the '40s, lesbians have created a vibrant history of publications. From the exploration of daily lesbian life to literary and feminist pursuits, to the modern age of glossy magazines, for over 70 years, lesbians have ...
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Banning the Banning of Books: Illinois and California lead the way
In June, at the Harold Washington Library in Chicago, Governor JB Pritzker signed legislation banning book bans in Illinois public libraries. This legislation, initiated by Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, passed the Illinois House and ...
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BOOKS Writer/HIV survivor Mark S. King talks about 'My Fabulous Disease'
For decades, HIV survivor and GLAAD Award-winning writer Mark S. King has penned the blog "My Fabulous Disease"—a warts-and-all look at his life covering everything from an encounter with an armed crystal-meth addict to a major ...
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Gerber/Hart holds Fall benefit, This Archive is Queer
On the evening of October 13, Gerber/Hart Library and Archive held its fall benefit titled This Archive is Queer, with an aim to raise money for the continued expansion of the organization and the purchase of ...
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BOOKS Rachel Maddow talks 'Prequel,' fascism and gay vampire fiction
In Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism, New York Times best-selling author and MSNBC host Rachel Maddow traces the fight to preserve U.S. democracy to the early days of World War II, when a clandestine network ...
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BOOKS/SAVOR 'Made in Chicago' authors dish on stories behind local treats
When it comes to culinary scenes, Chicago is second to none, but do people really know the origins of local dishes—or even which ones have origins in this city? Revered food journalists Monica Eng and David ...
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BOOKS Intersex activist Pidgeon Pagonis candidly talks about life and new memoir
In the book Nobody Needs to Know: A Memoir, intersex activist Pidgeon Pagonis details their journey through a sea of trauma that consisted of lies, misdirections and surgeries. It wasn't until their college years that Pagonis ...
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Dykes to Watch Out For launches as audio series
From 1983 to 2008, Alison Bechdel's comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For offered playful, incisive commentary on lesbian culture. Forty years after the comic's inception, it's been adapted into an audio series produced by author-journalist ...
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PASSAGES Radical poet, theorist, educator, activist Minnie Bruce Pratt
Radical poet, essayist, educator, theorist and feminist, LGBTQ+, anti-racist and anti-imperialist activist Minnie Bruce Pratt died June 2 in Syracuse, New York surrounded by friends and family members, after a brief and sudden illness. She was ...
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American Library Association to distribute $1M for the fight against censorship
--From a press release
CHICAGO (June 22, 2023) — The American Library Association (ALA) will distribute $1 million to respond to censorship challenges ...
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Lambda Literary names winners of the Jim Duggins, PhD Outstanding Mid-Career Novelist Prize
--From a Lambda Literary press release
Lambda Literary is pleased to announce Ryka Aoki and Aaron Hamburger as the winners of the 2023 Jim Duggins, PhD Outstanding Mid-Career Novelist Prize. Dedicated to the memory of author and journalist Jim Duggins, this prize ...
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GLAAD and EveryLibrary announce Community Response Toolkit
--From a press release
(New York, NY - June 6, 2023) GLAAD, the world's largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, along with EveryLibrary, a national organization supporting campaigns against book bans, announce a new resource to help communities unite and engage ...
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Turner's book details a life-journey beginning 'When the World Didn't End'
Screenwriter-actor Guinevere Turner has published a new memoir, When the World Didn't End. The book describes both her childhood spent within the Lyman Family cult, and the emotionally-wrought adjustments her family made when Turner's mother left ...
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Writing Queer tour begins at American Writers Museum
--From a press release
(CHICAGO - June 1, 2023) - The American Writers Museum (AWM) launches its new Writing Queer tour that will take visitors through the entire museum, using queer authors as a sort of map through the exhibits. ...
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Screenwriter Guinevere Turner book launch June 4; book chronicles growing up with infamous Lyman Family cult
--From a press release
CHICAGO—The book launch of acclaimed screenwriter Guinevere Turner's When the World Didn't End, a memoir of her childhood growing up with the infamous Lyman Family cult, will be held Sunday, June 4, 2-5 p.m. at Whiskey ...
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CAKE Chicago taking place June 3-4 at Broadway Armory
After several setbacks, the Chicago Alternative Comics Expo (CAKE) Chicago will take place June 3-4 at the Broadway Armory, 5917 N. Broadway. The COVID pandemic caused the cancellations of the 2020 and 2021 in-person expos, and ...
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Illinois middle-school teacher loses job for promoting 'This Book Is Gay'
Making This Book Is Gay available to her eighth-grade students resulted in Illinois teacher Sarah Bonner being reported to police—and eventually losing her job, according to an item from The Advocate. According to Today.com, Bonner (who ...
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Gigi Gorgeous Spills The T Guide at Chicago Humanities Festival
Chicago Humanities Festival has created events that bring artists and audiences together for one-of-a-kind experiences in the Windy City for years—and 2023 will be no different. Programming slated for this year includes LGBTQ+ favorites such such ...
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Illinois to become first state to punish book-banning
Illinois is about to become the first state to punish public institutions that ban books. Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker has said he supports a House bill that would withhold state funding from any of the state's ...
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LAMMY Awards announce host, presenters, special guests for June 9 event
--From a press release
New York, NY, May 4, 2023 — Lambda Literary, the nation's premier LGBTQ literary arts organization, announced updates and additions, including host, special guests and more at the upcoming 35th Annual Lambda Literary Awards — aka ...
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American Library Association releases Top 10 List of Most Challenged Books of 2022
--From a press release
CHICAGO (April 24, 2023) — Today, the American Library Association (ALA) kicked off National Library Week with the release of its highly anticipated list of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2022 and the State ...
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Gerber/Hart Library and Archives holds Spring Soiree benefit event at Sidetrack
Gerber/Hart Library and Archives (Gerber/Hart) hosted "This Library is QUEER! The Gerber/ Hart Spring Soiree" benefit April 20 at Sidetrack. A large collection of the history and culture of Chicago and the Midwest's LGBTQIA communities is ...
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Brittney Griner memoir to be published in 2024
The book company Alfred A. Knopf will publish openly lesbian WNBA superstar Brittney Griner's as-yet-untitled memoir in the spring of 2024. According to Deadline, Griner will discuss the events of 2022 that both reshaped her life ...
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Andy Cohen, drag queens, Hillary Clinton, Stacey Abrams part of Chicago Humanities Festival
The spring schedule for the Chicago Humanities Festival (CHF) is out—and there are several LGBTQ+ guests who will be featured. —Bisexual actress/author Mara Wilson (who played the title character in ...
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C2E2 busts down brand new barriers at McCormick Place
The largest convention center in North America may need to expand the layout for C2E2 next year. McCormick Place South continues to be the home of the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) and in 2023 ...
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Sasha Velour pulls back the curtain for The Big Reveal
Gender-fluid drag queen Sasha Velour is hitting the road with The Big Reveal Live Show! This 90-minute extravaganza will be staged for two nights at Broadway Playhouse on April 29 and 30, and features an evening ...
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ALA: 2022 saw record demand of censorship of library books
On March 22, the American Library Association (ALA) released new data documenting 1,269 demands to censor library books and resources in 2022—the highest number of attempted book bans since the ALA began compiling data about censorship ...
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Lambda Literary announces award finalists
--From a press release
Lambda Literary has announced the finalists in 25 categories for the 35th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. The finalists were selected by a panel of over 65 literary professionals from more than 1,350 book submissions. These selections ...
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Author Rafael Frumkin displays Confidence with their latest work
Rafael Frumkin is a transgender author who is heading to Chicago for a March 8 appearance at Women & Children First in Andersonville with their latest offering Confidence. Confidence is the story of Ezra Green, ...
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Famed gay publicist Howard Bragman dies at 66
Howard Bragman—a gay publicist whose clients included Sharon Osbourne and Stevie Wonder, among many others—died at age 66 after privately battling acute monocytic leukemia, Deadline reported. After graduating from ...
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"A Secret I Can't Tell" book updated and reissued
-- From a press release
NEW YORK, NY — NOVEMBER 14, 2022 — In 2020 the United States Supreme Court ruled that 1964 Civil Rights Act protects gay, lesbian, and transgender employees from discrimination based on sex. But now Florida's "Don't say gay" ...
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Book censorship focus of public comments at Lincolnwood Public Library Board of Trustees meeting
During the closed door portion of the regularly scheduled Lincolnwood Public Library Board of Trustees meeting Nov. 28 at Lincolnwood Village Hall, Library Defense members hosted a Freadom Book Swap outside of the building. Library Defense ...
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VIEWPOINT What are the most banned books: take a guess
The Latin word for book is liber. It is also the Latin word for "free," as in not a slave but a person who enjoys freedom (liberty). The word library means a home for books, a place of liberation, a sacred ...
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Opinion: What are the most banned books? Take a guess.
The Latin word for book is liber. It is also the Latin word for "free," as in not a slave but a person who enjoys freedom (liberty). The word library means a home for books, a place of liberation, a sacred ...
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LGBTQ+ HISTORY MONTH bell hooks: A voice of love, activism and intersectionality
When bell hooks died on Dec. 15, 2021, it was a gut punch. There was no time when bell hooks' extraordinary writing and feminist and lesbian theorizing was not part of the queer community. There was ...
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Former Chicago Ald. Helen Shiller hosts book launch and reception
Publishing house Haymarket Books presented a book-signing and interview session with longtime LGBTQ+ ally and former Chicago Ald. Helen Shiller on Oct. 17. Shiller was interviewed by noted Chicago Tribune ...
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BOOKS Lesbian co-author discusses 'No More Police: A Case for Abolition'
"We don't need all the answers to start down the road toward where we want to go: a world where everyone has safety, food, clean water, shelter, education, health, art, beauty, and rest."—No More Police: A ...
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Gerber/Hart Library and Archives holds 'Unboxing Queer History LIVE' fall benefit
Gerber/Hart Library and Archives (Gerber/Hart) held its fall benefit, "Unboxing Queer History LIVE!," on Oct. 15 at Gerber/Hart to raise funds in support of the library's mission to preserve LGBTQ+ history in Chicago and the Midwest. ...
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BOOKS 'Last Call Chicago' release party held at Sidetrack
On Oct. 12, co-authors Rick Karlin and St. Sukie de la Croix held a book-release party for their book, Last Call Chicago: A History of 1,001 LGBTQ-Friendly Taverns, Haunts & Hangouts. Last Call Chicago is a ...
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OutHistory reveals discovery in LGBTQ+ history: identity of pioneering LGBTQ+ author Jennie June
-- From a press release
New York, NY—Oct. 10, 2022—In celebration of LGBTQ+ History Month, the website OutHistory announced a groundbreaking discovery: the probable identity of Jennie June, the pioneering LGBTQ+ author who bravely defended ...
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LGBTQ+ HISTORY MONTH San Francisco Public Library digitizes LGBTQ+ archives, including Harvey Milk holdings
LGBTQ+ HISTORY MONTH
Shot with black-and-white film, two small children stand outside in a San Francisco public plaza draped in protest signs. One reads, "We're Proud, Not Stigmatized." The other declares, "We Love Our Gay Parents." In the right ...
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BOOKS David Sedaris returns to the Raue Center on Nov. 4
Best-selling author David Sedaris will return to the Crystal Lake venue the Raue Center on Friday, Nov. 4, at 8 p.m. The openly gay humor writer is known for books such as Calypso, Theft By Finding, ...
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BOOKS Events related to 'Last Call Chicago' on Oct. 10 and 12
Last Call Chicago: A History of 1,001 LGBTQ-Friendly Taverns, Haunts & Hangouts is a historical account of LGBTQ+ venues in the Windy City. The book's authors, Rick Karlin and St. Sukie de la Croix, are journalists ...
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LGBT HISTORY MONTH 'Memory Book' details history of 1970s-era LGBTQ+ attorneys in U.S.
Stephen Lachs remembers the 1970s as being a particularly wonderful era in the history of the LGBTQ+-liberation movement. Lachs, 83, was the first out LGBTQ+ person appointed to a judgeship in the United States. Tapped by ...
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Gerber/Hart fall benefit on Oct. 15
Gerber/Hart Library and Archives, 6500 N. Clark St., will hold its fall benefit on Saturday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m. "Unboxing Queer History LIVE!" will be an in-person event to celebrate and support its mission to ...
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BOOKS 2022 #BannedTogether virtual auction taking place Sept. 22-25
On Sept. 22-25, non-profit organization Pride and Less Prejudice (PLP) will hold its second annual #BannedTogether virtual auction to raise $10,000 to send 800 LGBTQ+-inclusive books to elementary schools across the United States and Canada. The ...
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BOOKS Kemi Adeyemi on 'Feels Right: Black Queer Women and the Politics of Partying in Chicago'
Author and University of Washington Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies Assistant Professor Kemi Adeyemi is out with a new book, Feels Right: Black Queer Women and the Politics of Partying in Chicago. The book, set to ...
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John D'Emilio talks new book, 'Memories of a Gay Catholic Boyhood'
In acclaimed author, LGBTQ+ historian and University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) Gender and Women's Studies Professor Emeritus John D'Emilio's new memoir, Memories of a Gay Catholic Boyhood, he writes about coming of age in the 1950s and ...
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Newberry Library hosts 'Bughouse Square: A History in Song and Story'
Newberry Library (the Newberry) hosted an interactive, family-friendly event, "Bughouse Square: A History in Song and Story," on Aug. 27 in Washington Square Park, located directly in front of the library. The event featured actor Alma ...
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GLAAD publishes back-to-school guide
LGBTQ+ media-advocacy organization GLAAD is publishing a new back-to-school guide on how to respond to book bans and school censorship, titled "Back To School [Redacted]." The organization also announced that it has joined two national efforts ...
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StoryStudio Chicago's LGBTQ+ nonfiction writing class starting Aug. 17
StoryStudio Chicago is offering a unique writing class titled "June Is Not Enough: An LGBTQ+ Nonfiction Writing Class." The idea behind the class is to promote and foster the work of LGBTQ+ people. Writers who register ...
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Journalist Chuck Colbert passes away at 67
Journalist Charles "Chuck" R. Colbert—who had written for several LGBTQ+ publications, including Windy City Times—passed away June 30. He was 67. He was a freelance journalist based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, according to his biography on ...
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BOOKS Inside Sinkhole, a darkly comic coming-of-age fiction
Davida G. Breier's debut book, Sinkhole, takes readers on a trip to rural Florida in the 1980s. Amidst golf courses, mobile homes and alligators, some things on the agenda: friendship, identity, sexuality, grief and murder. Breier ...
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Utah school district removes LGBTQ+ books from libraries
A Utah school district removed 52 books from its library shelves due to parent complaints mainly concerning LGBTQ+-focused material, LGBTQ Nation noted. A spokesperson for Alpine School District tells The Salt Lake Tribune that the district ...
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Local non-binary poet wins Stories Matter Scholarship
The Stories Matter Foundation and StoryStudio Chicago have awarded the annual $1,500 Dana Wood Chaney Writers Fund tuition grant to local non-binary poet A. Ng Pavel. The scholarship is awarded each year to a writer working ...
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John Pennycuff's memorial library at Unity Park is graffitied
The John Pennycuff Little Library, at Chicago's Unity Park, was recently sprayed with graffiti. Robert Castillo, Pennycuff's surviving husband, stated on Facebook that some tried to cover the original tagging with their own rainbow-hued graffiti. ...
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How Coming Out in the 1970s Helped Me Make Brave, Life-changing Decisions
By Edith Forbes, author of Tracking A Shadow: My Lived Experiment With MS
As a child growing up in Wyoming in the 1960's, I did not know any actual person who was gay. I knew exactly one fact about gay people, a fact universally accepted but never talked about: Gay people were strange. Even ...
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Northwestern University Libraries and Center for Applied Transgender Studies launch trans studies journal
Northwestern University Libraries (NUL) and the Center for Applied Transgender Studies (CATS) are now publishing the Bulletin of Applied Transgender Studies. The Bulletin of Applied Transgender Studies (BATS)—the first journal ...
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Catholic publisher cancels Chicago theologian's 'Queer God de Amor' book
On June 9, New Ways Ministry received the following statement by Miguel Diaz, a former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See and the John Courtney Murray, S.J., University Chair in Public Service at Loyola University Chicago. ...
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34th annual Lambda Literary award winners announced
-- From a press release
New York, NY, June 11, 2022 — Lambda Literary, the nation's premier LGBTQ literary organization, announced the winners of the 34th Annual Lambda Literary Awards (a.k.a. the "Lammys") at a live virtual award ceremony hosted by ...
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Actor/model David Pevsner challenges age and body stereotypes in recent book
When writing his recent book—Damn Shame: Desire, Defiance and Show Tunes—actor/model/filmmaker David Pevsner noticed three themes coming to the fore: body shame, sexuality and ageism. "All three of those are ...
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Gayla Turner talks new book uncovering her grandmother's secret queer identity
In Gayla Turner's debut book, Don't You Dare: Uncovering Lost Love (BookBaby, May 24), she reveals her Grandmother Ruby's (1896-1977) century-old secret queer identity that she hid from the wider world. This revelation became c ...
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HIV/AIDS activist Rae Lewis-Thornton on her new memoir, 'Unprotected'
Emmy-winning HIV/AIDS activist, author, minister, political organizer, motivational speaker, life coach, jewelry designer and social media figure Rae Clara Lewis-Thornton's recently released book, Unprotected: A Memoir, is already a pre-release ...
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BOOKS 'Tinderbox' author to appear in Palatine on June 14
Author Robert Fieseler will discuss his debut book—Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation—on Tuesday, June 14, at 7 p.m. at Palatine's Cutting Hall Performing Arts Center, ...
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Book-signing for HIV/AIDS activist's 'Unprotected: A Memoir' on May 21
-- From a press release
"I had been torn apart by the doings of others and blamed myself for surviving to the best of my ability. It would literally take decades for me to understand that I was the product of what happened to me." Emmy ...
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Gerber/Hart announces change in leadership
Wil Brant is no longer executive director of Gerber/Hart Library and Archives. According to an open letter from board co-chairs James Conley and Kevin Nunley as well as Board Treasurer Becky Chmielewski, Brant "served in this ...
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'It Was Vulgar and It Was Beautiful' explores art collective's part in HIV/AIDS activism
In Jack Lowery's book, It Was Vulgar and It Was Beautiful: How AIDS Activists Used Art to Fight a Pandemic, the historian shares how the art collective Gran Fury utilized community-made propaganda to address the HIV/AIDS ...
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Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project showcases 'History of Milwaukee Drag' starting June 27
-- From a press release
Milwaukee, WI. - A History of Milwaukee Drag: Seven Generations of Glamour, by local historians Michail Takach and BJ Daniels, will be released Monday, June 27 by The History Press. For nearly 150 years, Milwaukee has ...
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Gay Latino techie Michael Sayman talks about his inspiring book, 'App Kid'
Michael Sayman is a key figure in Silicon Valley, having worked at Instagram, Google and, now, Twitter. However, he stands out in many ways. The twentysomething Sayman—an openly gay Latino—was only in his teens when he ...
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Indie Bookstore Crawl on Independent Bookstore Day April 30
-- From a press release
Chicago, April 12, 2022 — It's back! Yet again, Chicagoland proves itself to be the dream destination for book lovers and readers of all ages! Nearly 40 independent bookstores in the greater Chicago area—from Lake Forest ...
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'Trans Bodies, Trans Selves' second edition out April 15
-- From a press release
NEW YORK CITY, New York, MApril 11, 2022—The Trans Bodies, Trans Selves board is proud to announce the release of Trans Bodies, Trans Selves' second edition, published April 15, 2022. The Trans Bodies Trans Selvessecond edition ...
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Mary Lynn Rajskub: Actress/comedian discusses acting, sexuality in new book
Emmy-winning actresses and stand-up comedians who just finished publishing their new memoirs, while simultaneously embarking on their stand-up tours, rarely have moments to themselves. Thankfully, Mary Lynn Rajskub, best known for her work on the TV ...
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Gerber/Hart Library and Archives holds 40th-anniversary event at Sidetrack
Gerber/Hart Library and Archives (Gerber/Hart) celebrated its 40th anniversary with a "40 & Fabulous! The Gerber/Hart Spring Soiree" benefit April 7—the birthday of one of the library's namesakes, Pearl Hart—at ...
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