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Over the Rainbow Press Release, ALA Midwinter 2020

CHICAGO-The Over the Rainbow committee of ALA’s Rainbow Roundtable gave careful consideration to 312 books this year.  We chose 29 fiction and poetry titles and 19 nonfiction titles to make up the complete 2021 Over the Rainbow book list.  The titles on this list all exhibit commendable literary quality and significant authentic LGBTQIA+ content.

In the books we reviewed, we were pleased to note the increased diversity of transgender, asexual, immigrant, indigenous, and asexual experiences.  Authors explored history and contemporary politics through new lenses, while we also saw innovations in formats — including a cookbook.

The top ten fiction and nonfiction titles are:

  • Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex. Angela Chen. Beacon Press, 2020.
  • Here for It: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America. R. Eric Thomas. Ballantine Books, 2020.
  • A History of My Brief Body. Billy-Ray Belcourt. Two Dollar Radio, 2020.
  • Homesick: Stories. Nino Cipri. Dzanc Books, 2019.
  • Homie: Poems. Danez Smith. Graywolf Press, 2020.
  • My Autobiography of Carson McCullers: A Memoir. Jenn Shapland. Tin House, 2020.
  • Plain Bad Heroines. Emily M. Danforth. William Morrow, 2020.
  • The Prettiest Star. Carter Sickels. Hub City Press, 2020.
  • Real Life. Brandon Taylor. Riverhead, 2020.
  • What’s Your Pronoun?: Beyond He and She. Dennis Baron. Liveright, 2020.
Image of the top ten books of the Over the Rainbow book list
The top ten books of the 2021 Over the Rainbow Booklist

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Over the Rainbow Press Release, ALAMW 2020

PHILADELPHIA–The Over the Rainbow committee of ALA’s Rainbow Roundtable gave careful consideration to 324 books this year, 152 fiction and 172 nonfiction. We chose 32 fiction titles and 38 nonfiction titles to make up the complete 2020 Over the Rainbow book list. We are excited by the continued expansion of queer publishing. The depth of substantial topics covered and the number of quality books from all over the genre spectrum is thrilling. No longer is the focus solely upon stories of tragedy. We read about lives filled with joy.
The top ten fiction and nonfiction titles are:
Black Leopard, Red Wolf. Marlon James. Riverhead Books, 2019.
Buying Gay: How Physique Entrepreneurs Sparked a Movement. David K. Johnson. Columbia University Press, 2019.
Claiming the B in LGBT: Illuminating the Bisexual Narrative. Edited by Kate Harrad. Thorntree Press, 2018.
Eyes Bottle Dark with a Mouthful of Flowers. Jake Skeets. Milkweed Editions, 2019.
Gideon the Ninth. Tamsyn Nuir. Tom Doherty Associates, 2019.
In the Dream House. Carmen Maria Machado. Graywolf Press, 2019.
Introduction to Transgender Studies. Ardel Haefele-Thomas. Harrington Park Press, 2019.
The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Machines. Olivia Waite. Avon Impulse, 2019.
The Priory of the Orange Tree. Samantha Shannon. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2019.
When Brooklyn Was Queer. Hugh Ryan. St. Martin’s Press, 2019.

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2014 Over the Rainbow List: 71 LGBT Books for Adult Readers

The 2014 Over the Rainbow Project book list, sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Round Table (GLBTRT) of the American Library Association (ALA), has been decided at ALA’s Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia.

This year’s list includes 71 titles published between July 1, 2012 and December 31, 2013.  The committee’s mission is to create a bibliography of books that exhibit commendable literary quality and significant authentic GLBT content and are recommended for adults over age 18. It is not meant to be all-inclusive but is intended as an annual core list for readers and librarians searching for recommendations for a cross-section of the year’s titles. Although the committee attempts to present titles for a variety of reading tastes and levels, no effort is made to balance this bibliography according to subject, area of interest, age, or genre.

The Over the Rainbow committee includes Robert Graziano, Chair, Chicago, IL; Kelly McElroy, Chair-Elect, Iowa City, IA; David Combe, Ventura, CA; Annaliese Fidgeon, Northridge, CA.; Jessica Louise Jones, Santa Fe, NM; Louis Munoz, Jr., Brooklyn, NY; Robert Ridinger, DeKalb, IL; Nel Ward, Newport, OR.

Our Top Ten Favorites

Anything That Loves: Comics Beyond “Gay” and “Straight”. Ed. by Charles “Zan” Christensen and Carol Queen. Northwest Press. 2013. 216p. $29.99. (978-1938720321). A collection of comics covers the range and nuances of bisexuality, showcasing the discrimination bisexuals face from both the gay and straight communities.

Art and Queer Culture. Ed. by Catherine Lord and Richard Meyer. Phaidon Press. 2013. 412p. $75.00. (978-0714849355). Chronological and comprehensive in scope, the editors document the wide expanse of queer cultural expressions that oppose normative heterosexuality from 1885 through the present.

Body Geographic. By Barrie Jean Borich. University of Nebraska Press. 2013. 272p. $17.95. (978-0803239852). In this creative, non-linear narrative, Borich traces the real, imagined, future, and past “maps” of families, cities, and lovers which intersect in Borich’s life.

Coconut Milk. By Dan Taulapapa McMullin. University of Arizona Press. 2013. 80p. $15.95. (978-0816530526). The culturally-rich poems from a queer, Samoan American bring the Samoan culture to life and point out the dichotomy of Fa’a Fafine, third-gendered life in two cultures.

Everything Begins & Ends at the Kentucky Club. By Benjamin Alire Saenz. Cinco Puentos. 2012 (Oct.). 222p. $16.95. (978-1935955320). Seven short stories set in the famous watering hole just south of El Paso on Avenida Juarez reflect the connecting place for Saenz’s characters from different sides of physical and emotional borders.

Gay Press, Gay Power: The Growth of LGBT Community Newspapers in America. By Tracy Baim. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. 2012. 468p. $25. (978-1480080522). Comprehensive in scope and content, this history of GLBT print media incorporates interviews and essays by leaders in the field to trace the mainstream’s handling of gay content, the role of advertising in this media, and its future.

The Golden Boy. By Abigail Tarttelin. Atria Books. 2013. 346p. $24.99. (978-1476705804). A family’s carefully constructed facade intended to protect their intersex child falls apart when he is the victim of a violent crime.

Mundo Cruel: Stories. By Luis Negron. Trans. by Suzanne Jill Levine. Seven Stories Press. 2013. 96p. $13.95. (978-1609804183). Luis Negron transcribes Telemundo into print through witty, humorous, satirical stories that capture the Puerto Rican’s view of the world.

Red-Inked Retablos. By Rigoberto Gonzalez. University of Arizona Press. 2012. $19.95. 140p. (978-0816521357). In the tradition of framing devotional images, these 13 essays honor those people who influenced the gay author’s lifework and give hope to a future generation of Latino “mariposa” writers.

This Assignment is so Gay: LGBTIQ Poets on the Art of Teaching. Ed. by Megan Volpert. Sibling Rivalry Press. 2013. 226p. $24.95. (978-1937420420). An anthology of poems on the struggles and connections made in the classroom comes from the intersection of personal identity, teaching, and learning.

ART

Art and Queer Culture. Ed. by Catherine Lord and Richard Meyer. Phaidon Press. 2013. 412p. $75.00. (978-0714849355). Chronological and comprehensive in scope, the editors document the wide expanse of queer cultural expressions that oppose normative heterosexuality from 1885 through the present.

Legendary: Inside the House Ballroom Scene. Photographs by Gerard H. Gaskin. Duke University Press. 2013. 120p. $45. (978-0822355823). Color and b/w photographs flaunt gay and transgender men and women, mostly Latino and black, as they express their electric, effervescent selves.

DRAMA

Tom at the Farm. By Michael Marc Bouchard. Trans. by Linda Gaboriau. Talonbooks. 2013. 80p. $16.95. (978-0889227590). Lust mixes with brutality when urban Tom attends the rural funeral of his lover and finds himself caught in the dysfunctional lives and expectations of the lover’s mother and brother.

FICTION

Cha-Ching! By Ali Liegegott. City Lights. 2013. 248p. $15.95. (978-0872865709). A young woman, Theo, tries to get a new start in New York City where a new relationship starts her on the right path, but old vices quickly reappear.

The Golden Boy. By Abigail Tarttelin. Atria Books. 2013. 346p. $24.99. (978-1476705804). A family’s carefully constructed facade intended to protect their intersex child falls apart when he is the victim of a violent crime.

An Honest Ghost. By Rick Whitaker. Jaded Ibis Press. 2013. 210p. $16.99. (978-1937543389). In a cut-and-paste novel, the author tells about his life, his boyfriend, his son, and his son’s mother through single sentences taken from over 500 other works.

Nevada. By Imogen Binnie. Topside Press. 2013. 242p. $17.95. (978-0983242239). Providing a powerful transgender voice throughout the novel, Maria Griffiths, a trans woman in New York who finds her life unraveling, steals a car and seeks escape via a cross-country road trip to Nevada.

These Things Happen. By Richard Kramer. Unbridled Books. 2012. 272p. $24.95. (978-1609530891). After 15-year-old Theo comes out at a school assembly, he asks his straight friend Wesley who is living with his gay father and lover to help him understand this “gay thing” during 24 hours of mayhem and soul-searching in Wesley’s extended family.

FICTION /MYSTERY

The Killer Wore Leather: A Mystery. By Laura Antoniou. Cleis Press. 2013. 402p. $16.95. (978-1-573449304). Chaos reigns amidst a myriad of characters as dyke Detective Rebecca Feldblum, with the help of her straight sidekick, navigates the kinky world of sex to find the murderer of reigning Mr. Global Leather during the current contest at a New York hotel.

FICTION/SHORT STORIES

Everything Begins & Ends at the Kentucky Club. By Benjamin Alire Saenz. Cinco Puentos. 2012.  222p. $16.95. (978-1935955320). Seven short stories set in the famous watering hole just south of El Paso on Avenida Juarez reflect the connecting place for Saenz’s characters from different sides of physical and emotional borders.

Canary: Stories. By Nancy Jo Cullen. Biblioasis. 2013. 189p. Biblioasis. $15.95.(978-1927428146). This often comic collection of short stories focuses on working class Canadian characters whose sexually is often fluid.

Mundo Cruel: Stories. By Luis Negron. Trans. by Suzanne Jill Levine. Seven Stories Press. 2013. 96p. $13.95. (978-1609804183). Luis Negron transcribes Telemundo into print through witty, humorous, satirical stories that capture the Puerto Rican’s view of the world.

GRAPHIC NARRATIVE

7 Miles A Second.  By David Wojnarowicz, Marguerite Van Cook and James Romberger. Fantagraphics. 2013. 68p. $19.99. (978-1606996140). This classic graphic read includes new material and the powerful, never-before-duplicated, realistic coloring of the artist.

Anything That Loves: Comics Beyond “Gay” and “Straight”. Ed. by Charles “Zan” Christensen and Carol Queen. Northwest Press. 2013. 216p. $29.99. (978-1938720321). A collection of comics covers the range and nuances of bisexuality, showcasing the discrimination bisexuals face from both the gay and straight communities.

Blue is the Warmest Color. By Julie Maroh. Trans. by Ivanka Hahnenberger. Arsenal Pulp Press. 2013. 160p. $19.95. (978-1551525143). Clementine, a high school junior, finds an expected love for a young woman, but the relationship is made difficult because of Clem’s homophobic family and new lover’s girlfriend.

Calling Dr. Laura: A Graphic Memoir. By Nicole J. Georges. Houghton Mifflin. 2013. 260p. $16.95. (978-0547615592). Episodic vignettes describe the author’s pain-filled life between the age of two, when her mother told her that her father was dead, to the pursuit of truth when a palm reader tells Georges, 23, that the father is actually alive and Georges’ misery in finding acceptance as a lesbian.

Julio’s Day. By Gilbert Hernandez. Fantagraphics. 2013. 112p. $19.99. (978-1606996065). With minimal text, this graphic novel follows main character Julio from cradle to grave, illustrating how the gay experience has changed drastically over 100 years.

Spit and Passion. By Cristy C. Road. The Feminist Press. 2012. 157p. $15.95. (978-1558618077). The Cuban-American, Catholic-reared author reveals the angst of her youth in her combined text and art memoir that describes failure to fit into her culture, her search for help in punk rock, and her coming to terms with her queer identity.

NON-FICTION

Bi: Notes for a Bisexual Revolution. By Shiri Eisner. Seal Press. 2013. 245p. $16.00. (978-1580054744). This examination of bisexual politics covers issues of biphobia/monosexism, feminism, and transgenderism including the problems of labeling this sexual orientation/gender identity.

Courthouse Democracy and Minority Rights: Same-Sex Marriage in the States. By Robert J. Hume. Oxford University Press. 2013. 217p. $85. (978-0199982172). Although much attention has been paid to marriage equality in the nation’s higher, state courts have been the catalyst that moved same-sex marriage forward, especially because many decisions went against the “tyranny of the majority.”

‘Don’t Be So Gay!’ Queers, Bullying, and Making School Safe. By Donn Short. UBC Press. 2013. 289p. $32.95. (978-0774823272). Conclusions from interviews with queer youth and their allies in the Toronto area show the faults of the Canadian safe-school legislation and recommend effective strategies to change the homophobic culture of schools.

From the Closet to the Altar: Courts, Backlash, and the Struggle for Same-Sex Marriage. By Michael J. Klarman. Oxford University Press. 2012. 276p. $27.95. (978-0199922109). Although LGBT rights suffered reversals during the last half of the 20th century and the first 11 years of this one, the progress has been amazing, particularly in the area of marriage equality.

Gay Press, Gay Power: The Growth of LGBT Community Newspapers in America. By Tracy Baim. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. 2012. 468p. $25. (978-1480080522). Comprehensive in scope and content, this history of GLBT print media incorporates interviews and essays by leaders in the field to trace the mainstream’s handling of gay content, the role of advertising in this media, and its future.

Girlfag: A Life Told in Sex and Musicals. By Janet W. Hardy. Beyond Binary Books. 2012. 175p. $13.95. (978-1938123009). A female-bodied person telling of her identification with gay men and exploring other girlfags in the past addresses the question, “Do you want to be that person, or do you want to have sex with them?”

Israel/Palestine and the Queer International. By Sarah Schulman. Duke University Press. 2012. 193p. $22.95. (978-0822353757). Invited to speak at Tel Aviv University, the activist/novelist discovered and joined the Palestinian academic and cultural boycott of Israel as she explored the reasons with queer Palestinians in both the United States and the West Bank in a perspective of Palestine that has both enraged and enlightened.

Land of 10,000 Loves: A History of Queer Minnesota. By Stewart Van Cleve. University of Minnesota Press. 2012. 323p. (978-0816676453). The rich vignettes about events and people of just one state, “queer … since the very beginning,” tie in people from around the world who visited Minnesota and represent the struggles of queer folk everywhere.

Lawfully Wedded Husband: How My Gay Marriage Will Save the American Family. By Joel Derfner. University of Wisconsin. 2013. 235p. (978-0299294908). With humor and poignant clarity, the author blends the rocky path of deciding marriage plans with his psychiatrist partner, Mike Combs, in 2010 with a pointed viewpoint on same-sex marriage partially based on the attitudes of his civil rights activist family.

Men in Eden: William Drummond Stewart and Same-Sex Desire in the Rocky Mountain Fur Trade. By William Benemann. University of Nebraska Press, 2012. 343p. $29.95.(978-0803237780). During the 19th century, Scottish nobleman Stewart traveled from Murthly Castle in Perthshire to a wild life with other hunters and explorers living in freedom on the edge of American society.

New Queer Cinema: The Director’s Cut. By B. Ruby Rich. Duke University Press Books. 2013. 360p. $25.95. (978-0822354284). This compilation of intelligent, thought-provoking essays by film essayist and critic place the new queer cinema movement in its cultural/historical context.

Oye Loca: From the Mariel Boatlift to Gay Cuban Miami. By Susana Pena. University of Minnesota Press. 2013. 280p. $25. (978-0816665549). Pena investigates the changes in the Cuban ethnic and sexual community of Miami since the arrival of the male homosexual “undesirables” of the 1980 Mariel boatlift.

Real Man Adventures. By T Cooper. McSweeney’s. 2012. 272p. $23.00. (978-1938073007). A transsexual man uses a variety of forms–letters, stories, interviews–to address different facets of his life.

Robert Duncan in San Francisco. By Michael Rumaker. City Lights Books. 2013. 143p. $12.95. (978-0872865907). Highly closeted during his friendship with the openly out gay poet, Rumaker reflects on the North Beach literary culture after the publication of Howl but before the more liberating post-Stonewall times.

Same-Sex Marriage in the United States: The Road to the Supreme Court. By Jason Pierceson. Rowman and Littlefield. 2013. 253p. (978-1442212046). The path of the legalization of federal marriage equality has been filled with political, legal, and culture issues.

Same-Sex Legal Kit for Dummies. By Carrie Stone and John G. Culhane. Wiley. 2013. 364p. $34.99. (978-1118395219). This highly accessible book with accompanying CD covers just about every legal facet for LGBT people—valuable for everyone in the community.

Same-Sex Marriage in Latin America: Promise and Resistance. Ed. by Jason Pierceson, Adriana Piatti-Crocker, and Shawn Schulenberg. Lexington Books/Rowman & Littlefield. 2013. 176p. $27.99. (978-0739167038). Nine authors explore the evolving supportive same-sex policies in Latin America through case studies set in Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, and Central America.

Shanghai Lalas: Female Tongzhi Communities and Politics in Urban China. By Lucetta Hip Lo Kam. Hong Kong University Press. 2013. 213p. $25. (978-9882208452). Lesbians in China struggle between their same-sex desire and the need to conform to traditional family life in a country that restricts women’s rights.

We Do! American Leaders Who Believe in Marriage Equality. Ed. by Jennifer Baumgardner & Madeleine M. Kunin. Akashic. 2013. 204p. $15.95. (978-1617751875). A historical look at the growth of marriage equality acceptance through key speeches from Harvey Milk in 1977 to Bill Clinton’s March 2013 speech includes brief bios of the politicians.

NON-FICTION/ BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR

Allen Ginsberg. By Steve Finbow. Reaktion Books. 2013. 235p. $16.95. (978-1780230177). For over a half century, the author of the epic poem Howl fought conformity and capitalization in the world through his contacts with hundreds of the famous and infamous.

Army of Lovers: A Community History of Will Munro. By Sarah Liss. Coach House Books. 2013. 157p. $13.95. (978-1552452776). Various people in Munro’s life describe their relationships with the man who brought together the queer world of Toronto through his career as DJ, activist, impresario, and artist before he died of brain cancer at the age of 35.

The Beauty of Men Never Dies: An Autobiographical Novel. By David Leddick. Terrace Books/University of Wisconsin Press. 2013. 135p. $24.95. (978-0299292706). As a voice from both the past and the present, a man in his 70s shares his gay experiences and insights.

Becoming a Londoner: A Diary. By David Plante. Bloomsbury. 2013. 532p. $30. (978-1620401880). The author’s love affair with his partner Nikos Stangos for over 40 years provides the foundation of Plante’s revelations during the first 20 years as he relishes the many relationships with members of the artistic world.

Body Geographic. By Barrie Jean Borich. University of Nebraska Press. 2013. 272p. $17.95. (978-0803239852). In this creative, non-linear narrative, Borich traces the real, imagined, future, and past “maps” of families, cities, and lovers which intersect in Borich’s life.

Born This Way: Real Stories of Growing Up Gay. By Paul Vitagliano. Quirk Books. 2012. 128p. $14.95 (978-1594745997). Photographs and text offer insight into the “gay” childhood of individuals across the globe.

Coal to Diamonds. By Beth Ditto with Michelle Tea. Spiegel & Grau.  2013. 153p. $22. (978-0385525916). From rural Arkansas to leader of the band Gossip, this feisty, fat, sexually-confused lesbian-to-be nerd fights her way through a mental breakdown with humor and grace.

Confessions of a Fairy’s Daughter: Growing Up with a Gay Dad. By Alison Wearing. Knopf. 2013. 292p. $24. (978-0345807571). Two perspectives—one from a teenage girl and the other from her coming-out father—make this a rich view into the lives of gays and their families in the early 1980s.

Dreadful: The Short Life and Gay Times of John Horne Burns. By David Margolick. Other Press. 2013. 343p. $24.95. (978-1590515716). This unflatteringly portrayal of gay American author John Horne Burns (1916–1953) from his early prep school experiences through teaching at a boarding school and military intelligence work in Italy during World War II reads like a novel about a deeply flawed character.

The End of San Francisco. By Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore. City Lights Publishing. 2013. 172p. $15.95. (978-0872865723). These memoirs illuminate the generation that came of age in the early 90’s, grew up with AIDS, sought change and created a radical queer community.

Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father. By Alysia Abbott. Norton. 2013. 326p. $25.95. (978-0393082524). After the death of her free-spirited mother, Alysia is brought up by her gay father, poet and activist Steven Abbott.

The Greek House: The Story of a Painter’s Love Affair with the Island of Sifnos. By Christian Brechneff with Tim Lovejoy. FSG. 2013. 284p. $27.00. (978-0374166717). Starting at the age of 21, the author celebrated three decades of summers on an isolated Greek island where he bloomed as an artist and discovered himself as a gay man.

My Almost Certainly Real Imaginary Jesus. By Kelly Barth. Artoi Books. 2012. 228p. $17.95. (978-0980040753). From her childhood in a strict Presbyterian home and her crush on another young girl to her rejection for being a lesbian, Barth searches for Christianity in this sometimes laugh-out-loud memoir.

The Other Man: 21 Writers Speak Candidly about Sex, Love, Infidelity, and Moving On. Ed. by Paul Alan Fahey. JMS Books. 2013. 230p. $14.50. (978-1483970967). As the editor wrote in his introduction, “the other man … comes, he sees, he conquers, and leaves behind something akin to a lingering, twenty-four hour flu or at worst, a really bad case of the Black Death.”

Prairie Silence. By Melanie Hoffert. Beacon Press. 2013. 238p. $24.95. (978-0807044735). Searching for her family roots, the author leaves her city life in Minneapolis during her thirties to return to the family farm in North Dakota where she discovers faith and loyalty among the people and to the land that they serve.

Raising My Rainbow: Adventures in Raising a Fabulous Gender Creative Son. By Lori Duron. Broadway/Crown/Random House. 2013. 261p. $15. (978-0770437725). Blog entries by the author about rearing two sons–the younger gender nonconforming–and maintaining their self-esteem begins with Duron’s discovery that C.J. wants only girl things before the age of three and culminates in her confrontation with school officials to stop the other children bullying the child.

NON-FICTION/ESSAYS

American Savage: Insights, Slights, and Fights on Faith, Sex, Love, and Politics. By Dan Savage. Dutton Adult. 2013. 320p. (987-0525954101). Sex columnist Savage addresses a range of issues including same-sex marriage, monogamy, guns, health care, religion and even death in an often humorous and personal no-hold-barred style.

Among the Bloodpeople: Politics and Flesh. By Thomas Glave. Akashic Books. 2013. 224 p. $15.95. (978-1617751707). Essays on gay love, sex, suicide, writers and writing, the diaspora of Caribbean peoples, and the love of Jamaica (with all of its faults) are pointed and passionate.

Blood, Marriage, Wine and Glitter: Essays. By S. Bear Bergman. Arsenal Pulp. 2013. 232p. $18.95. (978-1551525112). A polyamorous transman married to another transman who delivered their love child writes about the fluidity of gender and relationships.

The Martin Duberman Reader: The Essential Historical, Biographical, and Autobiographical Writings. By Martin Duberman. New Press. 2013. 374p. $21.95. (978-1595586797). A half-century of writings showing the historian’s perspectives on the intersection of gender, sexuality, race, and economics includes part of his 1993 book, Stonewall.

Red-Inked Retablos. By Rigoberto Gonzalez. University of Arizona Press. 2012. $19.95. 140p. (978-0816521357). In the tradition of framing devotional images, these 13 essays honor those people who influenced the gay author’s lifework and give hope to a future generation of Latino “mariposa” writers.

POETRY

After This We Go Dark. By Theresa Davis. Sibling Rivalry Press. 2013. 112p. $14.95. (978-1937420383). Narrative and observational poems use a strong lesbian/feminist voice to dissect love and loss, relationships, race, religion, motherhood, gender, history, and everyday occurrences.

Appetite. By Aaron Smith. University of Pittsburgh Press. 2012. 72p. $15.95. (978-0810129153). Angry, witty, humorous poems use a gay voice to speak of everyday actions.

Autogeography: Poems. By Reginald Harris. Northwestern University Press. 2013. 84p. $16.95. (978-1937402488). Poetry highlights personal and revealing experiences of a gay man of color.

Begging for It. By Alex Dimitrov. Four Way. 2013. 96p. (978-1935536260). Sensual without being erotic, these works are youthful, fresh, and filled with a sense of place.

Coconut Milk. By Dan Taulapapa McMullin. University of Arizona Press. 2013. 80p. $15.95. (978-0816530526). The culturally-rich poems from a queer, Samoan American bring the Samoan culture to life and point out the dichotomy of Fa’a Fafine, third-gendered life in two cultures.

Deleted Names. By Lawrence Schimel. A Midsummer Night’s Press. 2013. 40p. $10.95. (978-1938334030). Young, smart poetry that begs to be spoken rather than read, shines a spotlight on everyday gay insecurities, desires, situations, pets, and sickness.

Fortunate Light. By David Bergman. A Midsummer Night’s Press. 2013. 40p. $10.95. (978-1938334023). A mature voice speaks to memory of the past loves, present feelings, and hopeful desires.

How Poetry Saved My Life: A Hustler’s Memoir. By Amber Dawn. Arsenal Pulp. 2013. 156p. $15.95. (978-1551525006). Feminist, survivor, queer identity, sex-worker—these are the pieces of Dawn’s life that guide her experiences on the streets of Vancouver and provide a lifeline that she describes through autobiographical poetry and prose.

Obscenely Yours. By Angelo Nikolopoulos. Alice James Books. 2013. 75p. $15.95. (978-1882295999). Poems celebrate the heart of gay sex in all its forms.

Render. By Collin Kelley. Sibling Rivalry Press. 2013. 78p. $14.95. (978-1937420345). This collection of poems takes the reader through the author’s experience as a gay child,  adolescent, and adult in the southern United States.

Running for Trap Doors. By Joanna Hoffman. Sibling Rivalry. 2013. 80. $14.95. (978-1937420475). Youth, angst, lesbian bars, emoticons, and lost girlfriends—these are a few of the issues that the poet navigates in this slim volume.

This Assignment is so Gay: LGBTIQ Poets on the Art of Teaching. Ed. by Megan Volpert. Sibling Rivalry Press. 2013. 226p. $24.95. (978-1937420420). An anthology of poems on the struggles and connections made in the classroom comes from the intersection of personal identity, teaching, and learning.

Viral. By Suzanne Parker. Alice James Books. 2013. 80p. $15.95. (978-1938584015). Inspired by and dedicated to Tyler Clementi, this poetry tells of LGBT bullying and suicide.

 

 

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And the nominees are..

The Over the Rainbow Committee is proud to announce the list of nominees for the next Over the Rainbow List. We have a total of 175 books under consideration this year, each nominated by at least one member of the committee, and will be working hard between now and the ALA Midwinter Meeting in January to determine our final list. Check back here after ALA Midwinter 2014 to see our complete annotated bibliography. In the meantime, check out some of these great LGBT titles!

Abbott, Alysia. Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father. W.W. Norton and Company.

Antoniou, Laura. The Killer Wore Leather. Cleis Press.

Apelquist, Eva. LGBTQ Families: The Ultimate Teen Guide. Scarecrow Press.

Argo, Rhiannon. Girls I’ve Run Away With. Moonshine Press.

Baim, Tracy. Gay Press, Gay Power: The Growth of LGBT Community Newspapers in America. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

Barr, Damien. Maggie & Me. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC.

Barth, Kelly. My Almost Certainly Real Imaginary Jesus. Arktoi Press.

Barton, Bernadette. Pray the Gay Away: Extraordinary Lives of Bible Belt Gays. NYU
Press.

Baumgardner, Jennifer and Madeliene Kunin, Editors. We Do! American Leaders Who Believe in Marriage Equality. Akashic Books.

Beach-Ferrara, Jasmine. Damn Love. Ig Publishing.

Bell, Brad. Husbands. Dark Horse Books.

Benemann, William. Men In Eden: William Drummond and Same-Sex Desire in the Rocky Mountain Fur Trade. Bison Books.

Benjamin, Larry. Damaged Angels. Beaten Track Publishing.

Bergman, David. Fortunate Light. Midsummer’s Night Press.

Bergman, S. Bear. Blood, Marriage, Wine, Glitter. Arsenal Pulp Press.

Berman, Steve, Editor. Wilde Stories: The Year’s Best Gay Speculative Fiction 2012. Lethe Press

Berry, Selisse, Editor. Out & Equal at Work: From Closet to Corner Office. Out & Equal Workplace Advocates.

Berstein, Mary and Verta Taylor. Marrying Kind? Debating Same-Sex Marriage Within the Lesbian and Gay Movement. University of Minnesota Press.

Binnie, Imogen. Nevada. Topside Press.

Blackadder, Jesse. The Raven’s Heart. Bywater Books.

Borich, Barrie Jean. Body Geographic. University of Nebraska Press.

Bouchard, Michel Marc. Tom at the Farm. Talon Books.

Bowes, Richard. Dust Devil on a Quiet Street. Lethe Press.

Brandreth, Gyles. Oscar Wilde and the Murders at Reading Gaol. Touchstone Books.

Brechneff, Christian. The Greek House. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

Cardamone, Tom, Editor. The Lavender Menace: Tales of Queer Villiany. Northwest Press.

Chandler, Jessica. Pickle in the Middle Murder. Midnight Ink.

Chavez, Michael. Haze. Regal Crest Enterprises.

Chin, Alan. The Plain of Bitter Honey. Bold Strokes Books.

Choi, Susan. My Education. Viking

Christensen, Charles and Carol Queen, Editors. Anything That Love.  Northwest Press.

Claxton, Crin. A Supernatural Detective. Bold Strokes.

Cooper, T. Real Man Adventures. McSweeny’s.

Cullen, Nancy Jo. Canary. Biblioasis Books.

Currier, James. What Comes Around. Chelsea Station Editions.

Daring, C.B., et al. Queering Anarchism: Addressing and Undressing Power and Desire. AK Press.

Davis, Theresa. After This We Go Dark. Sibling Rivalry Press.

Davis, Will. The Trapese Artist. Bloombury USA.

Dawn, Amber. How Poetry Saved My Life. Arsenal Pulp Press.

Derfner, Joel. Lawfully Wedded Husband: How My Gay Marriage Will Save the American Family. University of Wisconsin Press.

Destino, Nicolas. Heartwrecks. Sibling Rivalry Press.

Dimitrov, Alex. Begging for It. Fourway Books.

Ditto, Beth and Michelle Tea. Coal to Diamonds: A Memoir. Spiegel & Grau.

Dohrenwend, Anne. Coming Around: Parenting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Kids. New Horizon Press.

Dubé, Peter, Editor. Best Gay Stories 2012. Lethe Press.

Duberman, Martin. Martin Duberman Reader. The New Press.

Dumesnil. Cheryl. Love Song for Baby X: How I Stayed (Almost) Sane on the Rocky Road to Parenthood. Ig Publishing.

Duron, Lori. Raising My Rainbow: Adventures in Raising a Fabulous Gender Creative Son. Broadway Books.

Edward-Stout, Kergan. Gifts Not Yet Given and Other Tales of the Holidays. Circumspect Press.

Elias, Rayya. Harley Loco: A Memoir of Hard Living, Hair, and Post-Punk from the Middle East to the Lower Eastside. Viking Adult.

Elledge, Jim and David Groff. Editors. Who’s Yer Daddy: Gay Writers Celebrate their Mentors and Forerunners. University of Wisconsin Press.

Enszer, Julie R. Sisterhood. Sibling Rivalry Press.

Erhardt, Jean. Small Town Trouble. Lethe Press.

Evaristo, Bernardine. Mr. Loverman. Penguin Books, UK—Hamish Hamilton Imprint

Fahey, Paul, Editor. The Other Man: 21 Writers Speak Candidly About Sex, Love, Infidelity, and Moving On. JMS Books LLC.

Fields, L.A. My Dear Watson. Lethe Press.

Finbow, Steve. Allen Ginsberg. Reaktion Books.

Fishner, Shiri. Bi-Notes for a Bisexual Revolution. Seal Press.

Foster, Guy Mark. The Rest of Us. Tincture Press.

Frangione, Lucia. Leave of Absence. Talon Books.

Friedman, Jason K. Fire Year. Sarabande Books.

Gaskin, Gerard. Legendary: Inside the House Ball Scene. Duke University Press.

Georges, Nicole J. Calling Dr. Laura. Mariner Books.

Glave, Thomas. Among the Blood People. Akashic Books.

Gonzalez, Roberto. Autobiography of My Hungers. University of Wisconsin Press.

Gonzalez, Roberto. Red-Inked Retablos. University of Arizona Press.

Griffith, Nicola. Hild. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Gundy, Bud. Elf Gift. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

Hall, Alexis. Glitterland. Riptide Publishing.

Hall, Caroline J. Addington. Thorn in the Flesh: How Gay Sexuality is Changing the Episcopal Church. Rowan & Littlefield.

Hardy, Janet. Girlfag: A Life Told in Sex and Musicals. Beyond Binary Books.

Harris, Reginald. Autogeography. Northwestern University Press.

Henderson, Lisa. Love and Money: Queers, Class and Cultural Production. NYU Press.

Hennessy, Christopher. Our Deep Gossip: Conversations with Gay Writers on Poetry and Desire. University of Wisconsin Press.

Hernandez, Gilbert. Julio’s Day. Fantagraphics Books.

Herrada, Gilles. Missing Myth: A New Vision of Same-Sex Love. Select Books.

Hoffert, Melanie. Prairie Silence. Beacon Press.

Hoffman, Amy. Lies About My Family. University of Massachusetts Press.

Hoffman, Joanna. Running for Trap Doors. Sibling Rivalry Press.

Howe, Cymene. Intimate Activism: The Struggle for Sexual Rights in Postrevolutionary Nicaragua. Duke University Press.

Hume, Robert J. Courthouse Democracy and Minority Rights: Same-Sex Marriage in the States. Oxford University Press.

Jarnot, Lisa. Robert Duncan, the Ambassador from Venus: A Biography. University of California Press.

Johnson, Tenea and Steve Berman, Editors. Heiresses of Russ 2013. Lethe Press.

Kelly, Collin. Render. Sibling Rivalry Press.

Killeen, Andrew. The Khalifah’s Mirror. Dedalus Limited

Klaber, William. The Rebellion of Miss Lucy Ann Lobdell. Greenleaf Book Press.

Klarman, Michael. From the Closet to the Altar: Courts, Backlash, and the Struggle for Same-Sex Marriage. Oxford University Press.

Kramer, Richard. These Things Happen. Unbridled Books.

Krughoff, Laura. My Brother’s Name: A Novel. Scarletta Press.

Law, Janice. Fires of London. Mysterious Press.

Leach, Marlene. The Inscrutable Mr. Elizabeth. Spinsters Ink.

Leddick, David. The Beauty of Men Never Dies. University of Wisconsin Press.

Levy, E.J. Love, in Theory. University of Georgia Press.

Liegegott, Ali. Cha Ching! City Lights Publishers.

Liss, Sarah. Army of Lovers: A Community History of Will Munro. Coach House Books.

LoGiudice, Joseph and Michael Carosone, Editors. Our Naked Lives: Essays from Gay Italian-American Men. Bordighera Press.

Lord, Catherine and Richard Meyer. Art and Queer Culture. Phaidon Press.

Mann, Jeff.  A Romantic Man.  Lethe Press.

Marans, Jon. A Strange and Separate People. Chelsea Station Editions.

Margolick, David. Dreadful: The Short Life and Gay Times of John Home Burns. Other Press.

Maroh, Julie. Blue is the Warmest Color. Arsenal Pulp Press.

McCourt, James. Lasting City. Liveright Editions.

McKenna, Neil. Fanny & Stella: The Young Men Who Shocked Victorian England. Faber and Faber.

McMullin, Dan Taulapapa. Coconut Milk. University of Arizona Press.

Meis, Vincent. Down in Cuba. Fallen Bros. Press.

Milk, Harvey. An Archive of Hope: Harvey Milk’s Speeches and Writings. University of California Press.

Mordden, Ethan. The Passionate Attention of Interesting Men. Magnus Books.

Negrón, Luis. Mundo Cruel. Seven Stories Press.

Nikolopoulos, Angelo. Obscenely Yours. Alice James Books.

Nolan, Monica. Maxie Mainwaring, Lesbian Dilettante. Kensington Publishing.

Noterdaeme, Filip. Autobiography of Daniel J. Isengart. Outpost 19 Books.

Packard, Georgeann. Paint the Bird. The Permanent Press.

Parker, Suzanne. Viral. Alice James Books.

Pena, Susana. Oye Loca: From the Mariel Boatlift to Gay Cuban Miami. University of Minnesota Press.

Picano, Felice. 20th Century Un-limited. Bold Strokes Books.

Pierceson, Jason. Editor. Same-Sex Marriage in Latin America: Promise and Resistance.
Lexington Books.

Plante, David. Becoming a Londoner: A Diary. Bloomsbury USA.

Powell, Kanithea. Butch: Never Judge a Butch by Her Cover. Qwest Press.

Purdy, James. The Complete Short Stories of James Purdy. W.W. Norton.

Rich, B. Ruby. New Queer Cinema: The Director’s Cut. Duke University Press.

Road, Cristy C. Spit and Passion. The Feminist Press.

Roberts, Ann. Point of Betrayal. Bella Books.

Rumaker, Michael. Robert Duncan in San Francisco. City Lights Publishers.

Sadowski, Michael. In a Queer Voice: Journeys of Resilience from Adolescence to Adulthood. Temple University Press.

Saenz, Benjamin Alire. Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club. Cinco Puntos Press.

San Filippo, Maria. The B Word: Bisexuality in Contemporary Film and Television. Indiana University Press.

Sarguy, Sereno. Firefly. Archipelago books.

Savage, Dan. American Savage: Insights, Slights, and Fights on Faith, Sex, Love, and Politics. Dutton.

Schimel, Lawrence. Deleted Names. Midsummer’s Night Press.

Schulman, Sarah. Israel/Palestine and the Queer International. Duke University Press.

Scott, Melissa and Amy Griswold. Death by Silver. Lethe Press.

Sellner, Edward C. The Double: Male Eros, Friendships and Mentoring—From Gilgamesh to Kerouac. Lethe Press.

Shelton, Michael. Family Pride: What LGBT Families Should Know About Navigating Home, School, and Safety in their Neighborhoods. Beacon Press.

Short, Donn. Don’t be So Gay: Queers, Bullying, and Making Schools Safe. University of British Columbia Press.

Silva, Linda Kay. Magical Echo. Sapphire Books Publishing.

Shore, John. Unfair: Christians and the LGBT Question. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

Skinner, M.L. Blue Light Special. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

Sloin, Hillary. Art on Fire. Bywater Books.

Smith, Aaron. Appetite. University of Pittsburgh Press.

Somer, Mehmet Murat. The Serenity Murders. Penguin Group.

Stone, Carrie and John G. Culhane. Same Sex Legal Kit for Dummies. John Wiley & Sons.

Strong, Sarah Pemberton. The Fainting Room. Ig Publishing.

Suri, Manil. City of Devi. W.W. Norton & Company.

Sycamore, Mattilda Bernstein. End of San Francisco. City Lights Publishers.

Tarttelin, Abigail. Golden Boy. Atria Books.

Terry, Daniel Nathan. Waxwings. Lethe Press.

Tiemeyer, Phil. Plane Queer: Labor, Sexuality, and AIDS in the History of Male Flight Attendants. University of California Press.

Thompson, Joyce. How to Greet Strangers. Lethe Press.

Tolbert, T.C. and Tim Trace Peterson. Troubling the Line: Trans and Genderqueer Poetics. Nightboat Press.

Tomaso, Carla. Frozen. Carma Publishing.

Trasandes, Monica. Broken Like This. Thomas Dunne.

Van Cleve, Stewart. Land of 10,000 Loves: A History of Queer Minnesota. University of Minnesota Press.

van Praag, Menna. The House at the End of Hope Street. Pamela Dorman Books/Viking.

Vine, Barbara. The Child’s Child. Scribner.

Vitagliano, Paul. Born this Way: Real Stories of Growing Up Gay. Quick Books.

Volpert, Megan. This Assignment is so Gay: LGBTIQ Poets on the Art of Teaching. Sibling Rivalry Press.

Walby, Kevin. Touching Encounters: Sex, Work, and Male-to-Male Internet Escorting. University of Chicago Press.

Waldron, John. A Father’s Angels. Hurst Brandon Press.

Walker, William S. Desire: Tales of New Orleans. Chelsea Station Editions.

Warner, Sara. Acts of Gaiety: LGBT Performance and the Politics of Pleasure. University of Michigan Press.

Wearing, Alison. Confessions of a Fairy’s Daughter: Growing Up with a Gay Dad. Knopf Canada.

Weyer, Hannah. On the Come Up. Nan A. Talese-Knopf/Doubleday.

Wharton, James. Out in the Army: My Life as a Gay Soldier. Biteback Publishing.

Wheeler, Deborah. Collaborators. Dragon Moon Press.

Whitaker, Rick. An Honest Ghost. Jaded Ibis Press.

Winterson, Jeanette. The Daylight Gate. Hammer Books.

Witkowski, Michal. Lovetown. Portobello Books.

Wojnarowicz, David, Marguerite Van Cook and James Romberger. 7 Miles a Second. Fantagraphics Books.

Woods, Chavisa. The Albino Album. Seven Stories Press.

Worsley, Kate. She Rises. Bloomsbury USA.

Wrenn, Greg. Centaur. University of Wisconsin Press.

Xavier, Rizi. An UnSpoken Compromise. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

Yip Lo Kam, Lucetta. Shanghai Lelas: Female Tongzhi Communities and Politics in Urban China. Hong Kong University Press.

Yue, Audrey. Queer Singapore: Illiberal Citizenship and Mediated Cultures. Hong Kong University Press.

Zelman, David (Mohamed, Mohammed al Mohammad and Youssef Fakin). Al-Qaeda’s Super Secret Weapon. Northwest Press.
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OTR October 2013 Nominations

Fall is in the air.  Leaves are changing their colors.  It gets dark earlier.  Settle into your favorite chair and read the following 14 works which have been nominated by at least one of our jurors for inclusion in this year’s Over the Rainbow List.

Chavez, Michael. Haze. Regal Crest Enterprises.

Enszer, Julie R. Sisterhood. Sibling Rivalry Press.

Erhardt, Jean. Small Town Trouble. Lethe Press.

Evaristo, Bernardine. Mr. Loverman. Penguin Books, UK—Hamish Hamilton Imprint

Gaskin, Gerard. Legendary: Inside the House Ball Scene. Duke University Press.

Griffith, Nicola. Hild. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Hennessy, Christopher. Our Deep Gossip: Conversations with Gay Writers on Poetry and Desire. University of Wisconsin Press.

Howe, Cymene. Intimate Activism: The Struggle for Sexual Rights in Postrevolutionary Nicaragua. Duke University Press.

Pena, Susana. Oye Loca: From the Mariel Boatlift to Gay Cuban Miami. University of Minnesota Press.

Picano, Felice. 20th Century Un-limited. Bold Strokes Books.

Plante, David. Becoming a Londoner: A Diary. Bloomsbury USA.

Scott, Melissa and Amy Griswold. Death by Silver. Lethe Press.

Silva, Linda Kay. Magical Echo. Sapphire Books Publishing.

Whitaker, Rick. An Honest Ghost. Jaded Ibis Press.

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OTR September 2013 Nominations

The vacations are over. Outdoor pools are shutting down.  The season starts changing.  It’s time to get back to school and work.  And how about getting back to some reading?  Having been nominated by at least one juror of our committee, the following 16 works will be considered for this year’s Over the Rainbow List.

Apelquist, Eva. LGBTQ Families: The Ultimate Teen Guide. Scarecrow Press.

Baumgardner, Jennifer and Madeliene Kunin, Editors. We Do! American Leaders Who Believe in Marriage Equality. Akashic Books.

Bell, Brad. Husbands. Dark Horse Books.

Bergman, S. Bear. Blood, Marriage, Wine, Glitter. Arsenal Pulp Press.

Cardamone, Tom, Editor. The Lavander Menace: Tales of Queer Villiany. Northwest Press.

Choi, Susan. My Education. Viking.

Claxton, Crin. A Supernatural Detective. Bold Strokes.

Dohrenwend, Anne. Coming Around: Parenting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Kids. New Horizon Press.

Edward-Stout, Kergan. Gifts Not Yet Given and Other Tales of the Holidays. Circumspect Press.

Harris, Reginald. Autogeography. Northwestern University Press.

McCourt, James. Lasting City. Liveright Editions.

Packard, Georgeann. Paint the Bird. The Permanent Press.

Parker, Suzanne. Viral. Alice James Books.

Sellner, Edward C. The Double: Male Eros, Friendships and Mentoring—From Gilgamesh to Kerouac. Lethe Press.

Skinner, M.L.. Blue Light Special. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

Zelman, David (Mohamed, Mohammed al Mohammad and Youssef Fakin). Al-Qaeda’s Super Secret Weapon. Northwest Press.

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OTR Summer 2013 Nominations

Summer is great time to vacation on the beach and curl up with a wonderful read.  Our jurors did a lot of that.  Thirty-three outstanding GLBTRT works were nominated by at least one member of our committee for consideration in this year’s Over the Rainbow list.

Antoniou, Laura. The Killer Wore Leather. Cleis Press.

Argo, Rhiannon. Girls I’ve Run Away With. Moonshine Press.

Benjamin, Larry. Damaged Angels. Beaten Track Publishing.

Blackadder, Jesse. The Raven’s Heart: A Story of a Quest, a Castle and Mary Queen of Scots. Bywater Books.

Bowes, Richard. Dust Devil on a Quiet Street. Lethe Press.

Brandreth, Gyles. Oscar Wilde and the Murders at Reading Gaol. Touchstone Books.

Brechneff, Christian. The Greek House. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

Chandler, Jessica. Pickle in the Middle Murder. Midnight Ink.

Christensen, Charles “Zan” and Carol Queen, Editors. Anything That Loves: Comics Beyond “Gay” and “Straight. Northwest Press.

Derfner, Joel. Lawfully Wedded Husband: How My Gay Marriage Will Save the American Family. University of Wisconsin Press.

Elias, Rayya. Harley Loco: A Memoir of Hard Living, Hair, and Post-Punk,  from the Middle East to the Lower Eastside. Viking Adult.

Fishner, Shiri. Bi: Notes for a Bisexual Revolution. Seal Press.

Glave, Thomas. Among the Bloodpeople: Politics and Flesh. Akashic Books.

Hall, Alexis. Glitterland. Riptide Publishing.

Hardy, Janet. Girlfag: A Life Told in Sex and Musicals. Beyond Binary Books.

Hoffman, Joanna. Running for Trap Doors. Sibling Rivalry Press.

Killeen, Andrew. The Khalifah’s Mirror. Dedalus Limited.

Law, Janice. Fires of London. Mysterious Press.

Liss, Sarah. Army of Lovers: A Community History of Will Munro. Coach House Books.

Maroh, Julie. Blue is the Warmest Color (Blue Angel). Arsenal Pulp Press.

McMullin, Dan Taulapapa. Coconut Milk. University of Arizona Press.

Meis, Vincent. Down in Cuba. Fallen Bros. Press.

Noterdaeme, Filip. Autobiography of Daniel J. Isengart. Outpost 19 Books.

Purdy, James. The Complete Short Stories of James Purdy. W.W. Norton.

Shore, John. Unfair: Christians and the LGBT Question. Createspace Independent Publishing Platform.

Stone, Carrie and John G. Culhane. Same Sex Legal Kit for Dummies. John Wiley & Sons.

Tolbert, TC and Tim Trace Peterson. Troubling the Line: Trans and Genderqueer Poetics. Nightboat Press.

van Praag, Menna. The House at the End of Hope Street. Pamela Dorman Books.

Wearing, Alison. Confessions of a Fairy’s Daughter: Growing Up with a Gay Dad. Knopf Canada.

Weyer, Hannah. On the Come Up. Nan A. Talese.

Wharton, James. Out in the Army: My Life as a Gay Soldier. Biteback Publishing.

Wheeler, Deborah. Collaborators. Dragon Moon Press.

Worsley, Kate. She Rises: A Novel. Bloomsbury USA.

 

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OTR June 2013 Nominations

What a month of June: the Supreme Court rulings, the Pride celebrations, and the American Library Annual Conference in Chicago!  As history was being made, was there any time for reading? Sixteen new works have been nominated by at least one of our committee for consideration in this year’s Over the Rainbow list.

Abbott, Alysia. Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father. W.W. Norton and Company.

Beach-Ferrara, Jasmine. Damn Love. Ig Publishing.

Chin, Alan. The Plain of Bitter Honey. Bold Strokes Books.

Duron, Lori. Raising My Rainbow: Adventures in Raising a Fabulous Gender Creative Son. Broadway Books.

Friedman, Jason K. Fire Year. Sarabande Books.

LoGiudice, Joseph and Michael Carosone, Editors. Our Naked Lives: Essays from Gay Italian-American Men. Bordighera Press.

Mordden, Ethan. The Passionate Attention of Interesting Men. Magus Books.

Nolan, Monica. Maxine Mainwaring, Lesbian Dilettante.  Kensington Publishing.

Pemberton, Sarah. The Fainting Room. Ig Publishing.

Road, Cristy C. Spit and Passion. The Feminist Press.

Roberts, Ann. Point of Betrayal. Bella Books.

Sloin, Hillary. Art on Fire. Bywater Books.

Somer, Mehmet Murat. The Serenity Murders. Penguin Group.

Tiemeyer, Phil. Plane Queer: Labor, Sexuality, and AIDS in the History of Male Flight Attendants. University of California Press.

Waldron, John. A Father’s Angels. Hurst Brandon Press.

Wrenn, Greg. Centaur. University of Wisconsin Press.

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2012 Over the Rainbow List–74 LGBT Books for Adult Readers!

This year’s jury  identified 263 titles to be considered for the  list.  Eligible, books were published between July 1, 2010 and December 31, 2011.  Jurors compiled a list of 140 books with at least one juror nomination.  Of those books, 103  were from small, independent publishers, self-published or from University Presses.  Seven of the nominated titles were published in Canada, and two were British publications.

 The committee’s mission is to create a bibliography of books that exhibit commendable literary quality and significant authentic lgbt content and are recommended for adults over age 18. It is not meant to be all inclusive,  but is intended as an annual core list for readers and librarians searching for recommendations of a cross-section of the year’s titles. Although the committee attempts to present titles for a variety of reading tastes and levels, no effort will be made to balance this bibliography according to subject, area of interest, age, or genre.

Our Top Ten Favorite  Titles

Alenyikow, Michael.   Ivan and Misha: Stories.  2010 (Oct).  212p. Triquarterly.  $18.96.  (978-0810127180).  Short Stories.
With each story told from a different character’s point of view, in this collection revolving around two brothers and their Russian father living in New York City, Alenyikow poignantly explores the brothers’ attitudes toward their father, each other, and being gay in America.

Bronski, Michael.  A Queer History of the United States.  Beacon. 2011.  312p.  $27.95. (978-0807044391).  Nonfiction.
To “[examine] history though the lens of those groups whose stories have been excluded from the canon” this first book in a series uses primary documents, literature, and culture histories to cover the dynamics of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender history from pre-1492 to the present.

Cruse, Howard.  The Complete Wendel.   Universe Publishing.  2011.  288p.  (978-0789322166 ).  $24.95.  Graphic Narrative.
Includes every episode of Cruse’s groundbreaking comic strip Wendel, which ran in the pages of The Advocate during the 1980s, together for the first time, along with introductions by Cruse and Alison Bechdel and a new “Where Are They Now?” section.

Festing, Issy.  The Bird Keeper. Book Guild Limited.  2010 (Sept).  264p. (978-1846244940). Fiction.
After Satchin Rai refuses to take over his father’s tea successful tea business and chooses instead to become an ornithologist at a bird sanctuary in northwest India, a mysterious British visitor to the sanctuary upsets Satchin’s world by being so free (and western) about his life responsibilities and sexuality. Satchin struggles to decide whether to meet his family’s expectations or enjoy a guilt-free life doing what he loves.

Hollinghurst, Alan.  The Stranger’s Child.  Knopf.  2011.  448p.  $27.95.  (978-0307272768).  Fiction.
In 1913, George Sawle brings his schoolmate and secret lover, the poet Cecil Valence, home to meet his family. The poem Cecil writes in George’s sister Daphne’s autograph book as a result of that visit will have an impact on the family that lasts several generations.

Mehta, Rahul.  Quarantine:  Stories.  Harper Perennial.  2011.  224p.  $14.99.  (978-0062020451).  Short Stories.
Nine stories told from the perspective of second- and third-generation South Asian-American gay men at odds with their families’ culture and expectations, describing their lives filled with humor, disappointment and frustration.

Merey, Ilike.  a + e 4ever. Lethe Press. 2011.  214p. $18.00.  (978-1590213902).  Graphic Narrative.
Asher is the beautifully androgynous new boy in school. Eu is the lonely dyke girl who befriends, and soon finds herself falling for, Ash, in this graphic novel that explores the complexities of love, friendship, sex, gender and sexual identity.

Persistence: All Ways Butch and Femme. Ed. by Ivan Coyote and Zena Sharman. Arsenal Pulp Press. 2011. 256p. $19.95. (978-1551523972). Essays.
Twenty years after the publication of Joan Nestle’s The Persistent Desire: A Femme-Butch Reader, Coyote and Sharman continue the conversation of lesbian butches and femmes through fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from their favorite lesbian/transwomen authors.

Puenzo, Lucia.  The Fish Child (The Americas).   Texas Tech Press.  2010 (Oct).  $26.95.  (978-0896727144).  Fiction.
Told from the point of view of the family dog, this novella about the romance between Argentinian Lala and her maid Guayi takes a strange turn when Guayi disappears without a trace. Lala tries to trace her to her native Paraguay, where she learns some shocking secrets about Guayi’s past and the legend of the fish child that lives in the lake.

Yeros, Dimitris.   Shades of Love: Photographs Inspired by the Poems of C.P. Cavafy.  Poetry by C.P. Cavafy; translated by David Conolly. Insight Editions. 2011. 168p. $75.00 (978-1608870134).   Poetry/Art
In 1999, Yeros began a collection of photographs inspired by the works of Greek poet C.P. Cavafy. This gorgeous coffee table book presents Yeros’ photographs together with the poems that inspired them.

The jurors for this list were:

Arla Jones (Chair), Lawrence, KS;  Danielle Pollock (Chair-Elect), Albuquerque, NM;   Martin Garnar, Denver, CO;  Robert Graziano, Chicago, IL;   Sarah Kanning, Lawrence, KS;   Paige Mano, Racine, WI;  Jesse Nachem, Oakland, CA;    Larry Romans, Nashville, TN;   Michael Santangelo, Brooklyn, NY;   Katy Vance, Greensboro, NC; and   Nel Ward, Newport, OR.

Downloadable 2012 Over the Rainbow Booklist

 

Art

Assume Nothing. Ed. by Rebecca Swan and Judith Halberstam. Soft Skull Press.  2010.  112p.  (978-1593762872).
Photographer Rebecca Swan presents intimate portraits of twenty-five individuals from a variety of cultures who exist outside of traditional gender identities. This collection features Swan’s photographs, as well as excerpts from personal interviews with her subjects.

Gupta, Sunil.  Queer.  Prestel USA.  2011.  140p.  $49.95.  (978-3791350998).
This comprehensive book about this important Indian photographer’s major works to date, including contemporary sexuality, gender, and gay life in India and other locales, documents the experiences of the artist and others living with HIV and homophobia.

Katz, Jonathan D. and Ward, David C.  Hide/Seek:  Difference and Desire in American Portraiture. Smithsonian Books.  2010.  296p. $45.00.  (978-1588342997).
This companion volume to an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, follows the impact of gay and lesbian artists on American art from the late 19th century to the present through more than 140 full-color illustrations, drawings, and portraits.

Pasfield, Scott.  Gay in America:  Portraits by Scott Pasfield. Welcome Books.  2011.  224p.  $45.00. (978-1599621043).
Magnificent images and riveting narratives document the lives of 140 gay men from diverse environments across the United States in a celebration of men-loving-men lives.

Shiner, Eric C., Simone Fukayuki; photo. Tomoaki Hata.  The Night Is Still Young.   Power House Books.  2010.  104p.  $24.95 (978-1576875520).
Photographer Tomoaki Hata pulls the drag scene of 1990’s Osaka, Japan out of its secretive underground world for the world to see in all of its campy, glittered, seedy glory.  These color photos feature both the wild nature of the performances as well as intimate behind-the-scenes moments.

Yeros, Dimitris.  Shades of Love: Photographs Inspired by the Poems of C.P. Cavafy. Poetry by C.P. Cavafy; translated by David Conolly. Insight Editions.  2011.  168p.  $75.00 (978-1608870134).
In 1999, Yeros began a collection of photographs inspired by the works of Greek poet C.P. Cavafy. This gorgeous coffee table book presents Yeros’ photographs together with the poems that inspired them.

 

Essays

The Fire in Moonlight: Stories from the Radical Faeries 1975-2010.  Ed. by Mark Thomson and Richard Neely. The White Crane Books.  2011.  312p. $25.00 (978-1590213384).
Collecting over fifty first-person accounts, poems, and stories from members of the Radical Faeries, the spiritual movement founded by gay activist Harry Hay in the 1970s, this collection offers a unique view of the past thirty-five years of Faerie history and culture.

It Gets Better:  Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living.  Ed. by Dan Savage and Terry Miller. Dutton Adult.  352p.  $21.95.  (978-0525952336).
A companion to the popular “It Gets Better” Internet campaign, and featuring a list of resources for teens and adults, this collection of essays and testimonials brings hope to LGBTQ youth facing prejudice, bullying, and other forms of harassment, and serves as a great reminder to all adults of the role we have to plays in creating a world where “It Gets Better” for our youth.

Persistence:  All Ways Butch and Femme.  Ed. by Ivan Coyote and Zena Sharman. Arsenal Pulp Press.  2011.  256p.  $19.95.  (978-1551523972).
Twenty years after the publication of Joan Nestle’s The Persistent Desire: A Femme-Butch Reader, Coyote and Sharman continue the conversation of lesbian butches and femmes through fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from their favorite lesbian/transwomen authors.

 

Fiction

Cox, Daniel Allen.  Krakow Melt. Arsenal Pulp.  2010.  176p.  $15.95.  (978-1551523729).
When Radek, a bisexual artist who creates miniature replicas of infamous urban fires, meets Dorota, a fellow pyromaniac, the two join together to protest homophobia in 2005 Krakow, Poland, with predictably explosive results.

Currier, Jameson.  The Third Buddha.  Chelsea Station.  2011.  288p.  $20.00.  (978-0984470723).
Lives diverge and intersect as the novel follows young Ted Bridges, a law school dropout struggling with his sexual identity and sense of self as he searches for his older brother in the aftermath of 9/11, and journalists Ari and Jim, discontented lovers traveling in Afghanistan to find the Third Buddha, who are violently separated when a roadside bomb erases Ari’s memory and Jim’s hearing.

Festing, Issy.  The Bird Keeper. Book Guild Limited.  2010 (Sept).  264p. (978-1846244940).
After Satchin Rai refuses to take over his father’s tea successful tea business and chooses instead to become an ornithologist at a bird sanctuary in northwest India, a mysterious British visitor to the sanctuary upsets Satchin’s world by being so free (and western) about his life responsibilities and sexuality. Satchin struggles to decide whether to meet his family’s expectations or enjoy a guilt-free life doing what he loves.

Gallaway, Matthew.  The Metropolis Case.  Crown.  2010 (Dec).  384p.  $25.00.  (978-0307463425).
Interwoven with the story of Richard Wagner’s opera, Tristan and Isolde, this sweeping novel connects four seemingly unrelated characters over centuries and continents through a shared desire for human connection in this magical twist on a tale of love, music, death, drama, destiny, loyalty and betrayal.

Hoffman, Wayne.  Sweet like Sugar.  Kensington. 2011.  352p. $15.00.  (978-0758265623).
When Benji Steiner, a twenty-seven-year-old Jewish gay man, forms an unlikely friendship with elderly Orthodox Rabbi Jacob Zuckerman, the connection results in surprising new revelations and explorations of faith for both.

Hollinghurst, Alan.  The Stranger’s Child.  Knopf.  2011.  448p.  $27.95.  (978-0307272768).
In 1913, George Sawle brings his schoolmate and secret lover, the poet Cecil Valence, home to meet his family. The poem Cecil writes in George’s sister Daphne’s autograph book as a result of that visit will have an impact on the family that lasts several generations.

Jansson, Tove. Fair Play (New York Review Books Classics).  Translated by Thomas Teal.  2011.  120p.  $14.00. (978-1590173787).
A series of vignettes featuring Mari, a writer, and Jonna, an artist, two women who live at opposite ends of a big apartment building, likely inspired by Jansson’s real-life relationship with the graphic artist Tuulikki Pietilä.

Maupin, Armistead.  Mary Ann in Autumn:  A Tale of the City  Novel.  Doubleday Books.  2010.  304p.  (978-0385619318).
Twenty years after Mary Ann Singleton left her husband and child in San Francisco to pursue her dream of a television career in New York, she is forced by a pair of personal calamities to return to the safety of her oldest friend, Michael “Mouse” Tolliver, a gardener happily ensconced with his much-younger husband.

Mournian, Tomas.  hidden.  Kensington.  2011.  304p.  $15.00.  (978-0758251312).
When Ahmed escapes his parents and an abusive anti-gay treatment center for teens, he finds temporary sanctuary in a so-called safe house in San Francisco, where, even if he and his new roommates can hide from the bounty hunters, fanatics, parents, and pimps looking for them, they cannot escape their pasts and each other.

Newton, Heather.   Under the Mercy Trees.  Harper. 2011.  352p.  $13.99.  (0062001345).
Leaving an unsuccessful writing career and his friends sickened by AIDS in New York, middle-aged Martin Owenby returns home to a small town in the mountains of North Carolina and back into the closet when his brother Leon mysteriously disappears.

O’Neill, Tony.  Sick City.  Harper Perennial.  2010 (July).  384p.  $13.99.  (978-0061789748).
Jeffrey is an aging rent boy with a serious drug habit; Randal is the meth-using son of the founder of a major movie studio. When the two meet in rehab, it starts a wild caper centering on an extremely valuable secret sex film starring the late actress Sharon Tate.

Packard, Georgeann.  Fall Asleep Forgetting.   Permanent Press.  2010 (July).  264p. $28.00. (978-1579622022).
An amazing myriad of characters trying to help each other are linked through proximity: Suffering from terminal pancreatic cancer, restaurant-owner Paul prepares for his suicide because of his terminal pancreatic cancer; his wife, Sloan, who starts an affair with a female park ranger; a transgender trailer-park owner, Cherry, whose partner starts an affair with another woman; and a nine-year-old girl who hates going to school.

Puenzo, Lucia.  The Fish Child (The Americas).  Translated by David William Foster. Texas Tech Press.  2010.  $26.95.  (978-0896727144).
Told from the point of view of the family dog, this novella about the romance between Argentinian Lala and her maid Guayi takes a strange turn when Guayi disappears without a trace. Lala tries to trace her to her native Paraguay, where she learns some shocking secrets about Guayi’s past and the legend of the fish child that lives in the lake.

Sassone, Ralph.  The Intimates.  Picador.  2011.  256p.   $15.00.  (978-0765324702).
In this debut novel, Maize and Robbie form a deep and powerful bond in high school and are inseparable friends as adults. Their complicated relationship must be examined if either of them are to move past the hurts of the past.

Smith, Bob.  Remembrance of Things I Forgot: A Novel.  University of Wisconsin. 2011.  272p.  $26.95. (978-0299283407).
Bob Smith’s comic imagination takes on the 1980s, in this clever science fiction novel that explores what happens when your physicist boyfriend invents a time machine that could stop Dick Cheney, prevent a suicide and deal with dysfunctional family issues before they become tragic.

Stoddard, Christopher.   White, Christian  Triton Books. 2010.  208p.  $18.00. (978-0982807415).
Twenty-year-old Christian White moves to San Francisco, then New York, where he indulges in drugs and sex to try to escape a dysfunctional family and tragic past. But his tragic past finally catches up with him in a stunning and brutal way.

Toibin, Colm.  The Empty Family.  Scribner. 2011.  288p.  $24.00.  (143913832X).
A woman confesses her darkest secret to novelist Henry James, a gay man attends to his dying aunt, two Pakistani workers find love and violence in Barcelona, and more in these stories of love, loss, and family.

Tremain, Rose.  Trespass:  A Novel.  W. W. Norton & Company. 2010.  253p.  $24.95.  (978-0393079562).
Two siblings trespass against each other emotionally and physically in a disagreement over their family’s property in the south of France.  Anthony Verey, an unsuspecting London art dealer, is caught in the middle when he approaches them about buying the Cévennes property to escape his disappointing life in London and to move closer to his sister Veronica and her lover Kitty.

Van der Merwe, Andre Carl.  Moffie.  Europa Books.  2011.  336p.  $15.00 (978-1609450502).
Growing up within a very conservative Dutch Reform Church family in South Africa, Nicholas learns to survive in a world where he faces scorn for being a moffie (sissy in Afrikaans), before he is conscripted into the South African Defense Force and deals with gay oppression within the force and the horrors of the South West African Bush War.

Weaver, Vicki.  Billie Girl.  Leapfrog.  2010.  240p.  $14.95.  (978-1935248125).
In this gender-blending Southern-gothic tale, an infant adopted by two “sisters” (actually brothers) grows up and leads a fascinating life, encountering such fascinating people as a lesbian preacher’s wife and a platonic second husband who loved her adoptive father.

Winter, Kathleen.  Annabel.  Grove Press, Black Cat.  2011.  480p.  $14.95. (978-0802170828).
In 1968, when a baby both male and female is born to a rural Canadian couple, the child’s father makes a decision to raise the baby as a boy named Wayne, and keep the child’s dual gender secret. Wayne enters adolescence to confront an identity known as Annabel, and a difficult decision.

 

Graphic Narrative

Cruse, Howard. The Complete Wendel. Universe Publishing. 2011. 288p. $24.95. (978-0789322166).
Includes every episode of Cruse’s groundbreaking comic strip Wendel, which ran in the pages of The Advocate during the 1980s, together for the first time, along with introductions by Cruse and Alison Bechdel and a new “Where Are They Now?” section.

Hernandez, Jaime. Esperanza: A Love and Rockets Book. Fantagraphics. 2011. 248p. $18.99. (978-1606994498).
This volume of the popular Love and Rockets series contains the continuing adventures of Maggie and Hopey as they revisit the past and explore the future together.

Merey, Ilike. a + e 4ever. Lethe Press. 2011. 214p. $18.00. (978-1590213902).
Asher is the beautifully androgynous new boy in school. Eu is the lonely dyke girl who befriends, and soon finds herself falling for, Ash, in this graphic novel that explores the complexities of love, friendship, sex, gender and sexual identity.

 

Memoir/Biography

Baim, Tracy and Owen Keehnen. Leatherman: The Legend of Chuck Renslow. Prairie Avenue Productions. 2011. 414 p. $24.95. (978-1461096023).
This biography of Chicago bar owner, leatherman, entrepreneur, and gay rights activist Renslow features over 300 full-color photographs and interviews with family, colleagues, and friends.

Bond, Justin. Tango: My Childhood, Backwards and in High Heels. Feminist Press. 2011. 144p. $16.95 (978-1558617476).
The celebrated cabaret artist and performer recounts a childhood filled with blurring gender boundaries, sexual exploration, and the harsh reality of bullying.

Bright, Susie. Big Sex Little Death. Seal Press. 2011. 328p. $24.95. (1580052649).
Sex-positive educator, activist, and icon Susie Bright takes the reader on a journey through her childhood, teen years shaped by a difficult early involvement with the socialist movement, and an adulthood that included the co-founding of On Our Backs, the first lesbian erotica magazine run by women.

Creech, Jimmy. Adam’s Gift: A Memoir of a Pastor’s Calling to Defy the Church’s Persecution of Lesbians and Gays. Duke University Press. 2011. 376p. $29.95. (978-0822348856).
A former United Methodist minister and human rights activist, Jimmy Creech’s memoir begins when a longtime and respected parishioner comes out to the pastor in 1984, and Creech is forced to re-evaluate his belief that homosexuality is a sin. This life-changing conversation was the catalyst for Creech’s tireless work to end religious bigotry and violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.

GLBT Oral History Project. Queer Twin Cities. University of Minnesota Press. 2010. 376p. $25.00. (978-0816653218).
This comprehensive collection of essays, drawn from oral histories dating back to the turn of the century, covers a wide variety of aspects of this large LGBT community.

Harvey, Ken. The Passionate Engagement. Aequitas Books. 2010. 208p. $18.00. (978-1929355686).
Harvey tells the story of the battle for same-sex marriage in Massachusetts through the lens of his own relationship, chronicling his transformation from quiet bystander to proud activist.

It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living. Ed. by Dan Savage and Terry Miller. Dutton Adult. 352p. $21.95. (978-0525952336).
A companion to the popular “It Gets Better” Internet campaign, and featuring a list of resources for teens and adults, this collection of essays and testimonials brings hope to LGBTQ youth facing prejudice, bullying, and other forms of harassment, and serves as a great reminder to all adults of the role we have to plays in creating a world where “It Gets Better” for our youth.

Jacobs, Fay. For Frying Out Loud – Rehoboth Beach Diaries. A and M Books. 2010. 248p. $17.00. (978-0615342917).
In her third Rehoboth Beach collection, humorist Fay Jacobs joins Twitter, survives the Snowpocalypse, and sort of witnesses the Obama inauguration, among other hilarious adventures.

McHugh, Erin and Jennifer May. The L Life: Extraordinary Lesbians Making a Difference. Stewart, Tabori, & Chang. 2011. 160p. $32.50. (978-1584798330).
This inspiring coffee-table-style collection of photos and essays covers both beloved lesbian icons and the not-so-famous.

Michaud, Michael Grett. Sal Mineo. Crown Archetype. 2010. 432p. $25.99. (978-0307718686).
Michaud combines extensive research, interviews, and rarely-seen photographs to provide a detailed account of Mineo’s life, from his rise to teen-idol stardom, through his tumultuous relationship with his family, his coming out and struggle to maintain his acting career as an adult, and the aftermath of his untimely death at age 37.

Myers, Andrea. The Choosing: A Rabbi’s Journey from Silent Nights to High Holy Days. Rutgers University Press. 2011. 208p. $19.95. (978-0813549576).
Now a lesbian rabbi, Myers, who grew up Lutheran on Long Island with a Sicilian grandmother, tells about her journey to Judaism and her definition of home, family, and religion.

Rouse, Wade. It’s All Relative Two Families, Three Dogs, 34 Holidays, and 50 Boxes of Wine (A Memoir). Random House. 2011. 304p. $23.99 (978-0307718716).
Whether it’s celebrating Easter with an engineer father with some very unconventional ideas about hiding eggs, or throwing a birthday party for Barbie, Rouse’s memoir takes us through a calendar year of holiday memories, both traditional and otherwise, celebrated with a wildly funny collection of friends and relatives.

Schiavi, Michael. Celluloid Activist: The Life and Times of Vito Russo. University of Wisconsin. 2011. 320p. $29.95 (978-0299282301).
This well-researched biography of Vito Russo solidly establishes him as a pioneering journalist and gay activist during the era of gay activism of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.

Van Meter, Ryan. If You Knew Then What I Know Now. Sarabande Books. 2011. 176p. $15.95 (978-1932511949).
In this bittersweet, often darkly humorous collection of essays, Van Meter recalls growing up gay in suburban Missouri, the formation and break-up of his first long-term relationship, and the life of the world’s longest-lived goldfish.

Mystery

Currimbhoy, Nayana. Miss Timmins’ School for Girls. Harper. 2011. 496p. $20.00. (9780061997747).
When twenty-year-old Charulata Apte accepts a teaching position at the British-run Miss Timmins’ School for Girls in Panchgani, she doesn’t anticipate falling in love with fellow teacher Moira Prince. Or that by the end of the term, she will find herself implicated in murder.

Hart, Ellen. Lost Women of Lost Lake. Minotaur Books. 2011. 336. $25.95. (978-0312614775 ).
Still undecided about going full-time as a private investigator, Jane Lawless takes some time off at her family’s lakeside lodge where she and her friend Cordelia get caught up in a mystery that reveals the truth about Cordelia’s activism during the 1960s.

Ryan, Garry. Malabarista (Detective Lane Mysteries). NeWest Press. 2011. 203p. $18.95. (978-1897126899).
In the fifth installment of this series, Detective Lane returns to solve the murder of an Eastern European war criminal while also fighting for his career. Piecing together the case becomes even tougher when he is faced with a persistent–and accurate–bomber, and is forced to confront his own personal demons, including the fear of losing his partner.

Sherman, Scott. Second You Sin (Kevin Connor Mysteries). Kensington. 2011. 288p. $15.00 (978-0758266514).
In this sequel to First You Fall, Kevin Connors turns his sleuthing skills to a string of murders among his fellow male prostitutes. The secrets uncovered involve a beloved TV talk show host, an evangelical presidential candidate, and Kevin’s own “semi-boyfriend” Tony.

Thomas, Lee. The German. Lethe Press. 2011. 290p. $18.00 (978-1590213094).
Three people—Sheriff Tom Rabbit, boy Tim Randall, and ex-Nazi Ernst Lang—tell about the events that took place in Barnard, Texas, during World War II when snuff boxes containing messages written in German were stuffed in the mouths of mysteriously murdered boys.

 

Nonfiction

Baim, Tracy. Obama and the Gays: A Political Marriage. 2010. CreateSpace. 576p. $24.99. (978-1453801710).
Following Barack Obama from his early career as a young Chicago politician through his first two years as President of the United States, this book provides a comprehensive look at Obama’s policies, opinions, and track record on issues of importance to the GLBT community.

Bronski, Michael. A Queer History of the United States. Beacon. 2011. 312p. $27.95. (978-0807044391).
To “[examine] history though the lens of those groups whose stories have been excluded from the canon” this first book in a series uses primary documents, literature, and culture histories to cover the dynamics of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender history from pre-1492 to the present.

Corber, Robert J. Cold War Femme: Lesbianism, National Identity, and Hollywood Cinema. Duke University Press. 2011. 240p. $23.95. (978-0822349471).
During the Cold War, Americans’ ideas about lesbianism changed, and rather than the masculine butch, the “invisible” femme, who could more easily pass as heterosexual, was seen as a greater threat to the nation and traditional family. Corber backs up this argument by analyzing images of lesbianism and butch and femme characters in the Cold War era films of Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Doris Day, and others.

Ehrensaft, Diane. Gender Born, Gender Made: Raising Healthy Gender-Nonconforming Children. The Experiment. 2011. 304p. $16.95. (978-1615190607).
A developmental and clinical psychologist, Ehrensaft draws upon her years of working with gender-nonconforming children to offer an alternate approach to the current pathologicalization of gender identity dysphoria in this guide for parents and others interested in how to nurture and support children who don’t fit into “normal” categories of gender.

Krieger, Irwin. Helping Your Transgender Teen: A Guide for Parents. Genderwise Press. 2011. 86p. $12.95. (978-0692012291).
Written by a clinical social worker, this accessible and compassionate guide provides concrete and detailed information for parents on how they can understand and support their gender non-conforming children, paying special attention to the tensions that often arise between teens and parents. Includes a glossary of terms and an extensive resource list.

Mogul, Joey L., Andrea J. Ritchie and Kay Whitlock. Queer (In)justice: The Criminalization of LGBT People in the United States. Beacon Press. 2011. 216p. $27.95. (978-0807051160).
This historical overview makes the case that, despite some legal gains in recent years, LGBTQ people continue to face alarming discrimination and violence when interacting with the criminal justice system.

Queers in American Popular Culture [3 volumes] (Praeger Perspectives). Ed. by Jim Elledge. Praeger. 2010. 945p. $184.95. (978-0313354571).
This three-volume collection of essays analyzes the unique impact that LGBT people have had on popular culture, dating from 1800s up to the present day. Volumes include Film and TV; Literature, Pop Art and Performance; and Sports, Leisure and Lifestyle.

Poetry

Botto, António, Songs of António Botto. Ed. by Josiah Blackmore; translated by Fernando Pessoa. University of Minnesota Press. 2010. 168p. $17.95 (978-0816671014).
The Portuguese poet António Botto, one of that country’s first openly gay writers, first published his collection Canções in 1920. This edition features Botto’s poems as they appeared in the 1948 English edition, along with a never-before-published introduction by translator Fernando Pessoa, and new introductory material.

Simmonds, Kevin, ed. Collective Brightness: LGBTIQ Poets on Faith, Religion and Spirituality. Sibling Rivalry Press. 2011. 250p. $24.95 (978-0983293194).
A broad range of voices, experiences and spiritual paths and traditions are represented in this collection of poems from both established and new poets.

Vuong, Ocean. Burnings. Sibling Rivalry Press. 2010. 42p. $12.00. (978-0578070599).
In this slim but powerful volume of poetry, Ocean Vuong lays bare the wounds of the refugee experience and its effect on today’s generation alongside the modern experience of a gay man living and loving in a world which is not always accepting. Never shying away from the grim realities of both of these identities, Vuong extracts beauty and light from the most painful of moments.

Yeros, Dimitris. Shades of Love: Photographs Inspired by the Poems of C.P. Cavafy. Poetry by C.P. Cavafy; translated by David Conolly. Insight Editions. 2011. 168p. $75.00 (978-1608870134).
In 1999, Yeros began a collection of photographs inspired by the works of Greek poet C.P. Cavafy. This gorgeous coffee table book presents Yeros’ photographs together with the poems that inspired them.

Short Stories

Alenyikow, Michael. Ivan and Misha: Stories. 2010. 212p. Triquarterly. $18.96. (978-0810127180).
With each story told from a different character’s point of view, in this collection revolving around two brothers and their Russian father living in New York City, Alenyikow poignantly explores the brothers’ attitudes toward their father, each other, and being gay in America.

Ambientes: New Queer Latino Writing. Ed. by Lázaro Lima and Felice Picano. University of Wisconsin Press. 2011. 220p. $22.95. (978-0299282240).
Highlights both established and emerging Latino authors of short fiction with gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender characters from all parts of the United States.

Hellebore & Rue: Tales of Queer Women and Magic. Ed. by JoSelle Vanderhooft and Catherine Lundoff. Lethe Press. 2011. 238p. $15.00 (978-1590213773).
Meet a greenmage reuniting with her former partner for one last mission, a school nurse with a dark secret heritage, a witch with an unconventional familiar, and other intriguing women in this collection of fantasy short stories.

Jeffers, Alex. The Abode of Bliss: Ten Stories for Adam. Lethe Press. 2011. 282p. $18.00. (978-1590212462).
In these ten stories, Ziya, a Turkish gay man, explains his life history, including a childhood growing up in Istanbul and college years in America, to Adam, the man he now loves.

Mehta, Rahul. Quarantine: Stories. Harper Perennial. 2011. 224p. $14.99. (978-0062020451).
Nine stories told from the perspective of second- and third-generation South Asian-American gay men at odds with their families’ culture and expectations, describing their lives filled with humor, disappointment and frustration.

Ryman, Geoff. Paradise Tales. Small Beer Press. 2011. 320p. $16.00. (978-1931520645).
A gay man in the near future has a series of life-changing birthdays, a cell phone salesman meets Pol Pot’s daughter, a film writer discovers that the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs may not be entirely fiction, and more, in these sixteen stories that explore and blur the boundaries of sexuality and speculative fiction.

Steam-Powered: Lesbian Steampunk Stories. Ed. by JoSelle Vanderhooft. Torquere Press. 2011. 378p. $13.95. (978-1610401500).
Fifteen Victorian retro-science fiction featuring lesbian heroines as scientists, thieves, privateer airship captains, and more.

Wilde Stories 2011 – The Year’s Best Gay Speculative Fiction. Ed. by Steve Berman. 2011. Lethe Press. 300p. $18.00. (978-1590213032).
In this collection, Berman highlights the very best of the year in science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories focusing on gay men.

Speculative Fiction

Fletcher, Jane. Wolfsbane Winter. Bold Strokes Books. 2010. 164p. $16.95. (978-1602821583).
In a post-apocalyptic world ruled by demon magic, Deryn, a member of the Iron Wolf mercenary group, and Alana, a healer and empath forced into exile by the power of her gift, fall in love following their unlikely meeting in a small, rural town. But soon, powerful ancient magic from the Time of Chaos threatens not only their growing relationship, but everyone’s survival.

Frey, J.M. Triptych. Dragon Moon Press. 2011. 286p. $19.95. (978-1897492130).
In the near future, when the last of a dying alien race seeks refuge on Earth, Specialists Gwen Pierson and Basil Grey make Kalp, their alien partner, a member of their household. But in Kalp’s culture, romantic relationships take place in threes. What happens next is a story of love, culture shock, betrayal, loss, and time travel.

Hellebore & Rue: Tales of Queer Women and Magic. Ed. by JoSelle Vanderhooft and Catherine Lundoff. Lethe Press. 2011. 238p. $15.00 (978-1590213773).
Meet a greenmage reuniting with her former partner for one last mission, a school nurse with a dark secret heritage, a witch with an unconventional familiar, and other intriguing women in this collection of fantasy short stories.

Lee, Tanith. Disturbed by Her Song. Lethe Press. 2010. 204p. $18.00. (978-1590213117).
Writing with and as Esther Garber, a fictional French Jewish writer, and her brother Judas Garbah, a French-Egyptian writer, both siblings gay and born in the early 20th century, Lee creates a collection of short stories focusing on youth and age, mystery and obsession.

Monette, Sarah and Elizabeth Bear. The Tempering of Men. Tor Books. 2011. 304p. $25.99. (978-0765324702).
This high fantasy novel, sequel to Companion of Wolves, further explores an iron-age world in which northern warriors link minds with their companion wolves to battle trolls. In this follow-up, the northerners must forge alliances with neighbors who distrust their love of their wolves and one another, in order to fend off invaders from the south.

Pitts, J.A. Honeyed Words. Tor Books. 2011. 416p. $14.99. (978-0765329073).
In this sequel to contemporary fantasy novel Black Blade Blues, Sarah Beauxhall, blacksmith, wielder of the reforged magical sword Gram, and dragon-slayer returns with her girlfriend to discover fairies, demons, and other supernatural beings–some of whom mean them deadly harm.

Ryman, Geoff. Paradise Tales. Small Beer Press. 2011. 320p. $16.00. (978-1931520645).
A gay man in the near future has a series of life-changing birthdays, a cell phone salesman meets Pol Pot’s daughter, a film writer discovers that the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs may not be entirely fiction, and more, in these sixteen stories that explore and blur the boundaries of sexuality and speculative fiction.

Steam-Powered: Lesbian Steampunk Stories. Ed. by JoSelle Vanderhooft. Torquere Press. 2011. 378p. $13.95. (978-1610401500).
Fifteen Victorian retro-science fiction featuring lesbian heroines as scientists, thieves, privateer airship captains, and more.

Wilde Stories 2011 – The Year’s Best Gay Speculative Fiction. Ed. by Steve Berman. Lethe Press. 2011. 300p. $18.00. (978-1590213032).
In this collection, Berman highlights the very best of the year in science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories focusing on gay men.

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Kudos for Over the Rainbow Books

Booklist

Booklist notes 2011 Over the Rainbow Book List

The Arkansas Times

The Arkansas Times article, Arkansas poet Bryan Borland lands on ‘Over the Rainbow’ list praises their local poet and his inclusion on the Over the Rainbow Book List.

By David Koon

While Arkansas will probably never catch up to storied Mississippi in terms of our literary reputation, several young authors in the state are making a heck of a dent. The latest is Alexander poet Bryan Borland, whose book of poems, …

Ivan Coyote

Author Ivan Coyote notes “Missed Her” is on the OTR List.

kickedoutanthology.com

Note also the great banner on the top, left corner of the website.

Over the Rainbow Book List banner on the kickedoutanthology.com blog.

Lambda Literary Foundation

Lambda Literary Foundation’s “BookBuzz #26 Feb 2011” notes 2011 Over the Rainbow Book List.

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