In memoriam: Poet and children’s author Francisco Alarcón

By John Mack Freeman Poet and children’s author Francisco Alarcón has passed away at the age of 61. Via Los Angeles Times: The L.A.-born Chicano poet and factory laborer who worked his way from adult school, East L.A. College and Cal State Long Beach to Stanford University died Friday of stomach cancer in his Davis home, […]

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In Memoriam: Author Bryn Kelly

By John Mack Freeman Trans writer Bryn Kelly passed away in her Brooklyn apartment on January 23rd. Via Advocate.com: A writer of fiction, essays, columns, and book reviews, Kelly, an Ohio native, moved to New York City after a stint in Michigan. Kelly was, at one time, active within the Femme Collective, and she participated in Baltimore’s 2012 […]

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Minnesota appoints first openly gay state Supreme Court justice

By John Mack Freeman Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton has appointed the first openly gay member of that state’s Supreme Court. Margaret Chutich is a former member of the Appeals Court in Minnesota. With this appointment, Minnesota becomes one of just seven states with an openly-GLBT member of its Supreme Court. Via AP: “So I think if […]

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‘I Have a Trans Parent’ Episode of MTV’s True Life

By Ashley R. Lierman MTV series True Life, which explores the lives of ordinary people in unusual situations, recently profiled the relationships between two young people and their transitioning parents, Out reports. Kiara works to accept her mother’s coming out as a trans man, while Jeremy embraces his father’s identity as a woman and works […]

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2016 Stonewall Book Awards Announced

Via press release The 2016 Stonewall Book Awards were announced Monday, January 11 by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Round Table (GLBTRT) of the American Library Association (ALA), during the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Boston. The Stonewall Book Awards are given annually to English-language works of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender […]

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2016 Rainbow List Announced

open book with rainbow pages

By John Mack Freeman The 2016 Rainbow Book List has been announced. From the blog: The Rainbow Book List Committee proudly announces the 2016 Rainbow List. The Rainbow List is a bibliography of books with significant gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer/questioning content, and which are aimed at youth, birth through age 18. The list […]

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Queer Quest 17 – Jessica Jones, Trauma, and Being Invited

By Ashley R. Lierman Netflix’s Jessica Jones carves out an odd little corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, adapted loosely from Brian Michael Bendis’s comic series Alias. Both revolve around the eponymous character as an ex-superhero and current private investigator, dealing with the past as best she can and, eventually, tracking a villain who once […]

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School is In: No Name-Calling in the Library

By Elizabeth Gartley This week (January 18 to 22) is GLSEN’s No Name-Calling Week, a nationwide effort to celebrate kindness in schools and combat bullying. In GLSEN’s 2013 National School Climate Survey, the organization found that just over 70 percent of LGBT students surveyed had heard “gay” used in a negative way and two-thirds of […]

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Run for GLBTRT office! Deadline is January 28th!

By John Mack Freeman ALA Presidential candidates have been announced, petitions for additional candidates have been filed.  It’s time to look ahead to the 2016 ALA Elections! GLBTRT does not have a nominating committee and anyone who wants to run for office can do so by using ALA’s online election form.   The ALA Elections bio-app system is now […]

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