Arts & Culture :: Books

De'Shawn Charles Winslow: author discusses 'Decent People'

De'Shawn Charles Winslow: author discusses 'Decent People'

  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • Mar 7, 2023

Readers know a writer has created an effective murder mystery when they are kept guessing, and then are utterly surprised by the revelation of the guilty party. Gay author De'Shawn Charles Winslow does precisely that in his second novel, "Decent People."

Author Will Schwalbe discusses 'We Should Not Be Friends'

Author Will Schwalbe discusses 'We Should Not Be Friends'

  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • Feb 28, 2023

Will Schwalbe's "We Should Not Be Friends" is a memoir about two people who couldn't possibly be more different yet became unexpectedly good friends.

'Kids On the Street' - Joseph Plaster's queer Tenderloin history

'Kids On the Street' - Joseph Plaster's queer Tenderloin history

  • by Laura Moreno
  • Feb 28, 2023

An important new scholarly book, "Kids On the Street: Queer Kinship & Religion In San Francisco's Tenderloin" by Joseph Plaster, has unearthed the queer history of 'outsider youth' that has long remained hidden.

Rebecca Makkai: author discusses 'I Have Some Questions For You'

Rebecca Makkai: author discusses 'I Have Some Questions For You'

  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • Feb 21, 2023

Novelist and straight ally Rebecca Makkai has created some of the most unforgettable queer characters in contemporary fiction. She shared insights on new novel, 'I Have Some Questions For You.'

Sargent and Spain: John Singer Sargent exhibit graces the Legion of Honor

Sargent and Spain: John Singer Sargent exhibit graces the Legion of Honor

  • by Robert Brokl
  • Feb 14, 2023

Like a swank ocean liner of a bygone era, the John Singer Sargent exhibition, "Sargent and Spain," at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco from the National Gallery in Washington, is a welcome arrival, full of his trademark bravura paintings and drawings.

Sargent's 'Grand Affair' - biography of the painter brings new light on his life

Sargent's 'Grand Affair' - biography of the painter brings new light on his life

  • by Brian Bromberger
  • Feb 14, 2023

Paul Fisher, professor of American studies at Wellesley College, begins his full-scale biography, "The Grand Affair: John Singer Sargent in His World," with a confession that Sargent, a great American artist (1856-1925), is also an abiding enigma.

Tom Crewe's 'The New Life' - Wilde times in Britain

Tom Crewe's 'The New Life' - Wilde times in Britain

  • by Tim Pfaff
  • Feb 7, 2023

Tom Crewe's debut novel, "The New Life" (Scribner), has been rightly praised as historical fiction at its finest. The irony, richly deserved, is that its two main protagonists, John Addington and Henry Ellis, never met in real life.

Winter's tales; new books part 2

Winter's tales; new books part 2

  • by Jim Piechota
  • Jan 31, 2023

Continuing on our Winter Books picks, here comes part two, which contains even more provocative reading material than the first group. Enjoy tales of thrillingly engrossing wartime queer love, conversion camp survival, and speculative foreign lands.

Brittney Griner's drama in a comic: basketball star's life told visually

Brittney Griner's drama in a comic: basketball star's life told visually

  • by Laura Moreno
  • Jan 24, 2023

Brittney Griner's inspirational life story has now been immortalized in a new comic book published by TidalWave Comics, "Female Force: Brittney Griner."

Winter's tales: new and upcoming LGBTQ books, part 1

Winter's tales: new and upcoming LGBTQ books, part 1

  • by Jim Piechota
  • Jan 17, 2023

Book lovers have so many reasons to be excited as it is already promising to be another stellar year for queer literature. Presented here are just a few examples of the amazing literary delights at —or coming soon to— a bookstore near you.

Author Silas House's 'Lark Ascending'

Author Silas House's 'Lark Ascending'

  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • Jan 10, 2023

Silas House's newest novel "Lark Ascending" (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2022), is a dystopian (and queer) tale of survival against all odds. He discussed his latest and recent award-winning novels.

Sabrina Imbler's 'How Far the Light Reaches'

Sabrina Imbler's 'How Far the Light Reaches'

  • by Tim Pfaff
  • Jan 3, 2023

Sabrina Imbler's new book, "How Far the Light Reaches," has a conventional publisher, Little, Brown. But word has it that a major source of the book's distribution is friends giving it to friends, as something singular and precious.

Dustin Brookshire's Dolly Parton poetry anthology

Dustin Brookshire's Dolly Parton poetry anthology

  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • Jan 3, 2023

If 54 emerging and established poets found it fit to write about Saint Dolly, the unofficial Patron Saint of Tennessee, there may be no greater seal of approval, other than, say, being a 2022 inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Michael J. Lato's 'Refugee Handbook' - a real-life international love story

Michael J. Lato's 'Refugee Handbook' - a real-life international love story

  • by Laura Moreno
  • Dec 27, 2022

Michael J. Lato's first book shares the remarkable love story of a male couple and offers us a window into a world few of us will ever get to see for ourselves.