Categories:
Reviews
Categories:
Giveaway News
There are just two days left in this month (you know, 30 days has September, April, June and November...). Be sure to get your entries in for both GLBT month and Guyaholic.
Next month will be some really great contests as well -- just wait and see! (Any Lynn Ewing fans out there?)
Categories:
Interviews
GLBT Month Feature: Find out why Alex Sanchez wrote his latest book in his essay: Why I Wrote the God Box. Here's a sneak peek, but be sure to read the whole thing.
Since the publication of my first novel, Rainbow Boys, I’ve received thousands of emails from teens all across America, telling me their own stories of growing up gay. Many letters have been like these:
Being gay and Christian is the hardest thing in the world. One day at church the pastor said the worst things about gay people. It was so hard for me not to cry, and my mom (who I just came out to) stared at me with a sorry feeling. But I still love God, and no matter what anyone says, I am what I am.
Categories:
Interviews
GLBT Month Feature: Here's an interview with David Levithan, author of a number of GLBT books (many of which we're giving away this month!). Here's the sneak peek, but be sure to read the whole thing.
Name and describe 3 must-read books for GLBT teens (and yes, one of your books can be in there!).
I’m not going to put my own books, although I will put an anthology I edited, The Full Spectrum, because it has teens and college students talking about the current GLBT experience in their own voices. And often truth speaks louder than fiction. I also would heartily recommend Billy Merrell’s poetry memoir, Talking in the Dark, which is one of the best GLBT teen memoirs we have (and might not be on people’s radars). And third… well, there are so many. Luna, Totally Joe, Geography Club, Rainbow Boys, The Straight Road to Kylie, Parrotfish, The Bermudez Triangle, The Saints of Augustine – there are (happily) so many good ones, and I’m sure I’m missing a few. But I’m actually going to advocate another book I edited, a novel called Lucky by Eddie de Oliveira, because it’s one of the best books out there about being a bisexual teen, and they’re not represented in our literature as much as they should be.
Categories:
Interviews,
Reviews
Categories:
Reviews
Categories:
Interviews
GLBT Month Feature: Be sure to take a look at this interview with Sara Ryan, author of Empress of the World and The Rules for Hearts.
Here's the sneak peek:
Many straight teens devour and enjoy GLBT YA lit just as much as the GLBT teens it is ostensibly targeted towards. As an author, has this surprised you? What do you think it means for our future and the future of today's GLBT teens?
It doesn't really surprise me. Teens are exploring identity, and reading GLBT lit is one way to explore. And of course, a good story is a good story. Just like you don't have to be African-American to enjoy books by authors like Angela Johnson or Jacqueline Woodson, you don't have to be queer to enjoy GLBT lit. Re what it means for the future: I think it's always a good sign when people want to read outside of their immediate experience.
Categories:
Giveaway News
Here are the winners of the Inside Girl giveaway, who had to answer the following question:
Write a short poem or flash fiction piece telling about something you've done in your life to try and fit in -- OR -- something you've done to try and NOT fit in.
In no particular order, they are:
Marcia Sinclair, age ?:
“Lemon Tea”
Watching the dusk of the evening sky,
I reminisce of times gone by,
Feelings captured in my soul,
Of the friendship we have known.
Timid, shy and ridiculed,
I was ten when I first met you.
My only friends were the books I read,
Til’ you came along and removed my dread.
Ten years of self-imposed captivity,
You gave me the courage to be free.
You saw the beauty inside my heart,
Giving my life a brand new start.
Yellow tart as lemon, mellow brown like tea,
Only the beginning of our disparities.
If could repay you for all you’ve done,
I’d be in debt for years to come.
Paper dolls adorned our childhood dreams,
Beyond a time, only tomorrow would bring.
And when you went away, my world was torn apart,
Yet, I grew strong from the memories inside my heart.
As our lives crossed paths leaving much to discern,
Life’s bends and curves were the lessons I learned.
But, most important I have always felt,
Is how I learned from you...to love myself.
Madison Walker, age 10:
I didn't want to fit in with the mean girls in my class when they were picking on the new girl we had so instead I was really nice to her and she is my best friend now.
Lacie Crump, age 15:
I'm too overdramatic,
I laugh more than most,
And if I feel really happy,
I'll do more than just boast.
I've been called conceited,
And sometimes I am,
And I know my friends don't mean it,
But I'm still just like..."Damn."
I've changed my style more than once,
To try to find out what I want,
But I always end up the same way,
So I no longer change,
I flaunt.
I don't want to loved for what I'm not,
It doesn't matter to me if I'm "hot",
I'll accept myself,
And that's all that matters,
Because without inter-happiness,
I am truly shattered.
Dominique Wanstead, age 14:
Everyone’s the same,
Listening to the same music,
Wearing the same clothes
Doing the same things,
But I wanted to be different.
I wanted to be separate from the “in” crowd.
To have something unique,
Is what I desired.
So I:
Wore different clothes,
(Black on black)
Listened to different music,
(Hardcore and Oldies)
Died my hair
(Black)
And didn’t listen to what the “in” crowd told me.
Didn’t isolate myself,
Just ignored the endless starts of new fashions,
Designer clothes, “Rap” music,
And decided to be myself,
To be different.
Jodi Turchin, age 37 :):
"You're Not Julie."
My friend said those words
And they bit through my soul
Dressed in short skirts, tight tops
High heels
Emulating attitude
Why couldn't I be Julie?
Julie was cool
The guys all liked HER.
I wanted them to like me.
Years later
Realization dawned
They couldn't like me
If I was "Julie."
Maribeth Ross, age 16:
She's the pretty girl
With the perfect hair.
He's the football star
With out a care
She's the perfect student
Always has straight A's
He's the boy who isn't so smart
And ignore's what everyone has to say.
I watch them everyday at school
Wondering what I could do
After all highschool is all about fitting in
There's so much I could do.
Dye my hair black
And have matching nails.
I could wear name brand clothes
Or be the girl who never fails
Ive tried all of that.
And still i dont fit in
Maybe I'm not supposed to
Maybe I should stay the way I have been.
Typhanny Tucker, age 36:
We were learning about the atomic world. Plump and earnest Ms. Killcullen stood at the head of the class with her short black hair, talking about covalent bonds. She lived and breathed chemistry. She didn't wear makeup like other teachers. Didn't, in fact, seem to care how the world saw her at all. But on this day, I found that not to be the case at all.
Ms. Killcullen talked about electrons and protons like she was on fire. She tried so very hard to interest just one of the 30 kids in her class. She didn't know that she was igniting a lifelong love of chemistry in me.Some atoms were heavier she said. Someone in the back of the class laughed and Ms. Kilcullen skipped a beat. Some atoms have more attraction, she said, some have less. Again more laughter.
I wanted to transport Ms. Killcullen into the atomic world along with myself and the few other kids in class who really cared. After a couple more comments about atomic weight the class had dissembled into laughter and talking. I raised my hand. She looked at me without expression, but relief was in her eyes. And..what looked like tears.
"Yes, do you have a question," she said loudly. And the class quieted.
Quietly, but clearly I asked: "Why do some molecules have stronger bonds than others?"
Shante Smith, age 15:
There once was a small white lab puppy that was ignored because it was differant than all the others in it's litter. Most people look for differences when they pick out a puppy. like the dog is to little, the runt, or to big, to cute, to ugly. The reason I chose my dog was because nobody would pick this small puppy because she was plain and in my eyes that made her different then the rest. She was an outcast, not to small, to fat, or to nosie. She was just her...she was just my Maddie!
marie carter, age 14:
I used to care about what I wore to fit in at school, but now I am starting to realize my own style .
Robyn Adams, age 13:
This is when i tried to FIT IN, by teasing someone who was a really good friend of mine. Only because everyone else teased her.
Teasing isn't pleasing
It's cruel and ain't cool
Why be like an other
When they're just plain drool.
-------------------
If you are one of the winners, please contact me via email at kim@yabookscentral.com You'll need to include your name and address. If you are under 13, I'll also need an email from a parent or guardian stating that it is okay for you to accept the prize (parents, please include your child's name and email address so I can more easily match up the entries). Thanks!
Categories:
Reviews
Categories:
Excerpts
GLBT Month Feature: Here's an excerpt from Robert Black's The Real Life Channel. Be sure to check out the whole thing:
Well, there go my plans for a great summer.”
Alan sat with Jason Marlow on the steps in front of his school building. The spring weather had finally turned warm enough and the sun was finally staying out late enough that they could do some skateboarding after their day at the studio, but Alan didn’t feel much like skateboarding. Instead, he and Jason watched as Jason Chang and Daniel rode up and down the steps and sidewalks around the school.
“The show might not be over,” said Jason. “Owen said the network hasn’t decided anything yet. Just wait—we’ll be back in the studio right on schedule, and you’ll be wishing you were outside watching girls instead.”
Categories:
Interviews
GLBT Month Feature: Here's an interview with Eric Marcus, author of What If Someone I Know is Gay?, a non-fiction book with answers. It's also one of the books featured in this month's giveaway. Here's the sneak peek:
What book or author has influenced you the most?
I read an excerpt of Consenting Adult in Reader's Digest magazine in 1974 or 1975, when I was fifteen. It's a novel about a mother's struggle to accept her gay son. I'd never read anything about gay people before and this was really positive. It gave me a word to apply to what I was feeling--and made me realize that it was possible to be gay, have a life, and to be accepted by your family. That was a revelation.
The author, Laura Z. Hobson, also wrote Gentleman's Agreement, a groundbreaking novel about anti-semitism. Laura Hobson change my life. (By the way, the movie version of Consenting Adult was terrible.)
Categories:
Reviews
Categories:
Reviews
Hero is one of the books being given away in the GLBT Month giveaways. Be sure to enter by the end of the month!
Categories:
Reviews
Categories:
Reviews
Categories:
Interviews
GLBT Month Feature: Check out this interview with new author Nico Medina. His first book is The Straight Road to Kylie, one of the books featured in this month's giveaway. Here's the sneak peek:
Name and describe 3 must-read books for GLBT teens (and yes, one of your books can be in there!).
FREAK SHOW, by James St. James: This is truly the most unique YA book (gay or not!) that I've had the pleasure of reading. The pacing is blissfully frenetic, and the voice is just...WOW. You've never encountered a voice like Billy Bloom's (the teen-drag-queen protagonist), and it's certainly a must-read.
A REALLY NICE PROM MESS, by Brian Sloan: This book is my favorite book about "that one crazy night"--prom night, of course. But it's not your typical prom book whatsoever, and I just had so much fun reading it.Highly recommended.
THE FULL SPECTRUM, edited by David Levithan and Billy Merrell: This is a collection of personal essays, poems, and photographs by GLBTQS youth, ages 13 to 23. I think this is a total must-read for any teen, because even if you're not GLBT, you'll connect with these pieces.They're raw, real, heartbreaking, inspiring, and everything in between. I love how the whole thing is by kids, too, so it's that much more affecting and powerful. It also just won a Lambda Award, which is QUITE the big gay deal!
And, yeah, I'll be tacky and say that it'd be COOL if people read my gay YA novel, THE STRAIGHT ROAD TO KYLIE--but I didn't wanna not include any of the previous three books. So I'm bending the rules. I have all sorts of other book recommendations on my Web site, too, if anyone wants to check that out.
Categories:
Misc. News
In keeping with the GLBT month spirit, here are a couple of new blogs you ought to take a look at if you're interested in GLBT/LGBT lit:
Categories:
YABC Site News
I've added a lot of books to the Prize Bucket in the last week, including books donated by Barry Lyga (Boy Toy) and Mary Depner (Echo Booming Monoglogues and Sugared & Spiced: 100 Monologues for Girls). Even more books coming soon!
If you've been hanging on to a prize claim, now might be a good time to use it.
Categories:
Reviews
I found a gem in The Best Eid Ever by Asma Mobin-Uddin. Illustrated by Laura Jacobsen. Another great book from Boyds Mills Press, this is a culturally enlightening book about the Eid holiday and the spirit behind it. Ms. Jacobsen's illustrations are gorgeous! Read the review here.
Categories:
Reviews
Having met the amazing Larry Dane Brimner, I wasn't surprised to find that his newest book, We Are One: The Story of Bayard Rustin is a fabulous and informative nonfiction read for kids. This is the type of treasure that inquisitive readers are always looking for: the untold story. It tells of the man behind the famous March on Washington...behind the most prominent civil rights leaders. A true, if unsung, American Hero. Read the full review here.
Categories:
Excerpts
GLBT Month Feature: Here's an excerpt of Sara Ryan's new book, The Rules for Hearts. It's a follow-up to Empress of the World, so readers get to continue on with the story of Battle Hall Davies as she sees her brother Nick for the first time in years. Be sure to read the whole thing, covering the Prologue and much of Act I.
PROLOGUE: CHURCH BASEMENT, CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA, ALMOST FIVE YEARS AGO
It's bingo night. My brother Nick and I are in the youth room next to the social hall, playing Hearts. We always play Hearts on bingo night.
Dad used to be an actor, so he never needs a microphone, whether he's preaching or calling the numbers. We hear him boom: “O-69!”
We crack up.
Nick is sixteen, I'm thirteen, and he's my favorite person. He's smarter and funnier and more charming than anyone. He teaches me card tricks and dirty jokes. He says that everyone except me is a hypocrite, especially Mom and Dad. He knows the best music, the best places to go, and he hardly ever complains about his tagalong little sister.
Three weeks later, on his seventeenth birthday, he runs away.
Categories:
Articles
GLBT Month Feature: I'd been thinking about this a bit, since it was one of the 'questions' raised in the nastiness mentioned in my post On GLBT Month and Discrimination. So I thought I'd write up a little essay of my own for GLBT month. I'd appreciate any comments from anyone with any thoughts to add. I've really only just touched on some of the reasons I think everyone ought to read GLBT (and non-GLBT, for that matter) books.
Oh, and before someone raises another issue that was recently brought up (see the comments on my post about Luna), yes, I do believe that parents have the right to police what their own kids read (but not anyone else's). In fact, they *should* be involved in what their kids are reading. My take on this is that it depends upon the age of the child and the content in question, though my personal choice would more likely be the "read and discuss" option than outright banning. In my experience, banning usually has the opposite effect on kids. Whereas I think discussion opens doors (and minds) and can be a more effective way to get your point across.
Why should a ‘straight’ teen read a ‘gay’ book?
If you turn that question around, you see just how silly it sounds: why should a gay teen read a straight book? That’s a lot like asking ‘why should a white person read a book about black people’ or ‘why should a girl read a book about a boy.’
In many ways, I hate to put a label like ‘GLBT’ on a book. Labels are convenient, but also very limiting. We all know that from our own lives – in any given high school, we all know who the ‘stoners’ are, or the ‘jocks’ or the ‘goths’ or…well, you get the idea. Labels are easy; as soon as you call someone a ‘jock,’ you know that person is athletic and sports-oriented. But that’s not the sum total of that person. That jock might also dream of being a doctor. Maybe they collect sea shells. Maybe they’ve got a crush on that ‘brainiac’ in the chess club.
Categories:
YABC Site News
Please give a warm welcome to Julie M. Prince, a new volunteer on the site. She'll be reviewing kid's books (picture books, middle grade readers, etc.).
Categories:
Giveaway News
The winners of the Time Spies giveaway from last month (yeah, I know, I'm a little late announcing it) had to answer the following question:
Categories:
Interviews
GLBT Month Feature: Here's an interview with new author Perry Moore, who's written the world's first gay superhero novel: Hero. Be sure to read the whole thing...but here's the sneak peek:
If you weren't an author, what would you be doing?And be sure to enter the 5 different GLBT Month contests! I've got over 150 books to give away!
Writing, directing and producing movies. That's what I do when I'm not writing books. I would love to write a comic book serialization of HERO, too. I've never written a comic book before, but I've been a fan since I was a child. That would be a dream come true. A TV series or movie version OF HERO would be nice as well.
And teaching. Whether its surfing and tennis or reading and writing, I love to teach and to do. I have such an enormous respect for teachers. So many were vital in shaping me into who I am. Watching the learning process is a joy. I tutored and mentored at a public high school in downtown Manhattan for about eight years, and it was incredibly rewarding. Some experiences I had there as a tutor inspired Thom's tutoring scenes in HERO.
Categories:
Shipping Notice
Whew! Ok, this is a HUGE shipment of books (I've no idea, honestly, how I'm going to cart them all into the Post Office in one trip). But, it's my own fault. Between working on my novel revisions and the whole being pregnant thing, I haven't done a mailing in ages. So, here's what's going out today:
Jocelyn Pearce > > >Strays
Linda Liu > > >Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Leann Dase > > >Social Climber Set
Cassandra Edwards > > >Strays
Dora Meredith > > >Strays
alexa marie > > >Off Season Set
Natalie Rangel > > >The Girlfriend Project
Anna Li > > >Strays
Meaghan Fleming > > >Strays
Velma Greene > > >Strays
Francisco Yosores > > >Campfire Crush
Randy Palihakkara > > >Strays
Jan Stritzel > > >Off Season Set
Ellen Apfel > > >Beige
Kristen Anderson > > >Social Climber Set
Johnna Magness > > >Off Season Set
Raven Nightwing > > >Earrings of Ixtumea (Signed)
Lenae Schwartz > > >Social Climber Set
Tiffany Losco > > >Strays
Audrey Larson > > >Strays
Catherine Lindley > > >Strays
Jordan Connor > > >Beige
Courtney Bales > > >Pop!
Tamanna Shahid > > >Turning 17: This Boy is Mine
Sinera Sakayushi > > >House of Night: Marked
Link Isda > > >Everlost
Victoria > > >Strays
Rose Roberts > > >Campfire Crush
Sheryl Dykes > > >Off Season Set
Lisa Xia > > >Strays
Lindsey Bumpass > > >Beige
Katharine Adams > > >Tantalize
Dominique Cheung > > >Penelope
Amber Litke > > >Earrings of Ixtumea (Signed)
Claire Shields > > >Everything Changes
Sheina Alinsug > > >Social Climber Set
Cassandra Daugette > > >Strays
Lesha Anderson > > >Off Season Set
Dominique Cheung > > >Missing Abby
Dominique Cheung > > >Tales of Terre: The Separated
Sharon Jones > > >Strays
Stephanie Su > > >Tales of Terre: The Separated
Rachelle Credo > > >Social Climber Set
Jermaine Eunice Sobreo > > >Off Season Set
Nadine-Stella Achenjang > > >Strays
Nadine-Stella Achenjang > > >Anatomy of a Boyfriend
Nadine-Stella Achenjang > > >Things You Either Hate or Love
Donna Holmberg > > >Earrings of Ixtumea (Signed)
Yvette Maurer > > >Beige
Andria Amaral > > >Beige
Andishe Zohoori > > >Social Climber Set
Katherine Burgess > > >Remember Me to Harold Square
Katherine Burgess > > >The Cat ate my Gymsuit
Geraldine Durant > > >Off Season Set
Categories:
Interviews
GLBT Month Feature: An essay by Robert A. Black titled Outside Looking In. Here's the sneak peek:
"Hi, I'm Sydney, and these are my dads."
That was how the character Sydney Myerson-Walsh introduced herself to me, back when I was first putting ideas together for The Real Life Channel. It was a surprise. Much of my inspiration for the book came from my time working on the set of Nickelodeon's You Can't Do That On Television in the mid-1980s – but there was no one like Sydney back there. To this day, I'm not entirely sure how I thought of her. But as most authors will tell you, when a character is that insistent about something, it's best to listen – and so the Myerson-Walsh family became part of the story.
Categories:
Reviews
Categories:
Giveaway News,
Misc. News
I was going to continue on with the normal GLBT month postings today and post an interview or excerpt or something of that sort. I'll get back to that tomorrow. I just had my eyes opened a little yesterday on how bad things can be out there for GLBT teens and tweens. (For anyone not in the mood for a long semi-rant, you can skip this post).
First off, let me explain one thing about myself. I am never for censorship (even if I disagree with a book or author), discrimination, intimidation, or hate language. I have no patience for those things. If you want to restrict your own child from reading or watching something, it is your right (though I don't necessarily recommend or understand it, depending on the situation and age of the child), but it is NOT your right to force your beliefs on others.
In my personal life I am happily married. I've had gay friends over the years and never considered anything about them to be "abnormal" or even "different." Maybe that's a product of being a reader -- when you open yourself up to new experiences, new lives, etc., you broaden your own life. And while I've never experienced what it feels like to be a gay person (or, for that matter, a black person or a disabled person or a foreigner living on American soil), I have experienced prejudice in my life (being half-Asian and living in the South, you soon learn that the remnants of the KKK don't like you either and that people will actually drive from all over the county to check out the "weird new Chinese people" that just moved to town).
But enough about me -- here's the situation that prompted this post. Yesterday, I posted to a message board on Teachers.net inviting teachers to come check out GLBT month at YABC and explaining that I had a bunch of books and teacher guides to give away. I wasn't at all prepared for the torrent of hate and name calling that my post started up.
I was particularly surprised because these people are teachers. These are the people that are out there in our schools teaching our students -- many of whom happen to be gay, bi-sexual, lesbian and transgendered. These are the people to which someday I'll be trusting my own child.
You can read the string of posts here. I'm not sure how long it will stay up, but I find that I seem to not be welcome, even though I did not engage in any name-calling of any sort. I tried to post a response to some of these people and explain a few things (that I believe these books most emphatically do belong in schools and that they aren't pornographic smut), but my post seems to have been rejected. Meanwhile, one teacher did post a more moderate view and other (often anonymous) posters continued to heap on abuse. Yes, that's right -- they don't even have the courage to sign their name to their posts. Not all of them, of course, some did.
So, what am I trying to say? Well, to any teens or tweens out there struggling (or not) with your sexuality, I feel for you. I'm sorry and I hope against hope that the people around you are NOT like the teachers who posted on Teachers.net. I hope that you will find your own path and your own way and will find support among your peers. I hope that you will find books like the ones being featured this month and that the authors who write them will keep on writing them until there is no such classification as "GLBT" lit -- when books featuring GLBT characters will be mainstream enough that no one even thinks twice about it.
And to any teachers out there reading this -- no matter what your personal views are on GLBT people, I hope that you will realize that YOU are teaching them out there every day and that you will stop to consider your words and your actions. I know there are many excellent, non-prejudiced, non-hateful teachers out there and to them, I say "Thank You." I hope that YOU will enter the contests. I'd really love to have these books and teacher guides out there getting some use in capable hands.
And another huge THANK YOU to the authors out there who are writing the books and breaking down the walls.
--------------------------------
Update as of 9/17: I was getting copied via email on all of the responses to the thread and woke up this morning to find a number of well-reasoned, non name-calling posts contributed by a new teacher. So I went to the board to post a thank you but found that the admin (presumably) had chosen to delete ALL posts related to the thread. I find it most disheartening that they did this not when people were posting really ugly comments, but when someone posted reasonable ones. They made no attempt to stop some really nasty name calling, but as soon as someone posted messages that were the least bit supportive of discussion, the whole thread was gone. If they were concerned about the hate language, they could have just deleted those posts. I'm not sure exactly what their reasoning is, but it certainly makes it appear as if they condone something that, frankly, leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Categories:
Reviews
Categories:
Interviews
I had some technical difficulty yesterday (if you were keeping track and noticed there was no GLBT post). But I'm back today with a great interview!
GLBT Month Feature: An interview with Ellen Wittlinger, author of Hard Love and Parrotfish. Here's the sneak peek, but make sure you read the whole thing!
Be sure to enter the GLBT Month giveaways (especially you teachers out there! Build up your library in one fell swoop!)Is there anything you wish I'd asked? If so, what is it...and what would your answer be?
Do you have to be gay to write gay characters?No, I'm your example. But you do need to know how to write a full, complete character and not a stereotype.
Categories:
Interviews
GLBT Month Feature: Take a look at this interview with Julie Anne Peters, author of Luna (wow, what an intense tearjerker) and Keeping You a Secret. Here's the sneak peek:
Has a fan's story ever touched you as much as your stories have touched them?Read More...
Every single one of them. That’s why I cherish every letter I receive and every person I hear from. The canon of our stories is the representation of human experience. (Bet David Levithan wishes he’d said that.)
Not only am I moved by my readers’ stories, I’m actually inspired. My new book, grl2grl, is dedicated to all the young people who’ve shared their stories with me.
Categories:
Interviews
GLBT Month Feature: Check out this interview with Brian Sloan, author of A Really Nice Prom Mess and A Tale of Two Summers. Here's the sneak peek:
What book or author has influenced you the most?
When I was 21, there were two books I read that year that really changed my perspective and my writing; Michael Chabon's MYSTERIES OF PITTSBURGH and Alice Walker's THE COLOR PURPLE. The singular voice of Walker's novel opened my eyes to the possibilities of first person narration where, up to that point, most of my writing had been in the third person. I think that book sort of freed me up to just write what I feel in a way I really hadn't before. Chabon's book was amazing in the matter-of-fact way he deals with a gay love story. There's not a lot of typical coming-out strum and drang, as it were. Instead, he just focuses on the details of falling for another guy in a way that is just beautiful and heartbreaking. It's a book I find myself re-reading every couple years.
Categories:
Guides
GLBT Month Feature: Here's a guide to Ellen Wittlinger's Hard Love that can be used by teachers or readers. It includes interview questions, discussion points, and suggested projects. Check it out!
Teachers (and teens), remember to get your entries in for GLBT Month! I'm giving away over 150 books in prize packs of between 5 - 12 books. You can build your library in one fell swoop! The prize books are also great reads - for gay and straight people.
Categories:
Reviews
Categories:
Reviews
Categories:
Interviews
GLBT Month Feature: Here's an interview with Alex Sanchez, author of Rainbow Boys, So Hard to Say, and many more GLBT novels for teens. And here's the sneak peek:
Early GLBT YA books were often categorized as "problem" novels and primarily featured characters that were white. Today's books feature many minorities and, in many ways, can be looked at as more "mainstream". What do you think will happen in GLBT lit in the next five to ten years?
I look into my crystal ball and predict that GLBT lit will no longer focus so much on coming out and self-acceptance. Rather, stories will tell about characters that happen to be gay as they deal with a complexity of other issues.
Categories:
Interviews
GLBT Month Feature: Check out this essay by Brent Hartinger on how teens are changing the world. Here's the sneak peek:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Read moreThey’re not kidding when they say the revolution won’t be televised. If you’re not currently a teenager, there’s one revolution that you may not be aware is happening at all.
It’s the gay teen revolution--a fundamental, sweeping shift in the way gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered teenagers see themselves, and in the way they’re viewed by their peers.
Categories:
Reviews
Categories:
Interviews
GLBT Month Feature: Please read this interesting interview with David LaRochelle, author of Absolutely, Postively Not. Here's the sneak peek:
Is there anything you wish I'd asked? If so, what is it...and what would your answer be?
Have you ever experienced any censorship regarding your books?
I was asked to speak at a young authors’ conference, and then at the last minute was told that my novel would not be available for sale at the bookstore because it might upset some of the parents. My good friend and YA author John Coy, who was also speaking at the conference, was outraged, and during his keynote address asked the students how they felt about having my book pulled from the bookstore because one of the characters was gay. John is an example of powerful straight ally and a person who is willing to go out on a limb for his convictions.
Also…
If you could go back in time and tell yourself as a teenager anything at all, what would it be?
I’d tell myself, “David, your life is going to be fabulous!” When I was sixteen, I never dreamed that I could be both happy and gay. I would have loved the assurance that one day I would be absolutely, positively comfortable with my sexuality.
Categories:
Interviews
GLBT Month Feature: Check out this interview with Catherine Murdock, author of Dairy Queen and The Off Season. This is just the sneak peek, so be sure to read the rest!
Is there anything you wish I'd asked? If so, what is it...and what would your answer be?
I can’t think of how to phrase the question, but I would like to address the dearth of GLBT characters in fantasy novels. I’ve just read a slew of these, and recently finished one of my own (Princess Ben, coming out in the spring of 2008), and I’ve been scratching my head over this omission, with no clear ideas how to address it, because I do feel that these folks are part of life, even in fictitious worlds peopled by sword-wielding princesses.
Categories:
YABC Site News
I'm pleased to announce the addition of two more authors to the GLBT month line up: Sara Ryan and Susan Juby! (And possibly some additional prize books, too! - be sure to get your essays and poems in!) That brings the total list to:
Participating Authors
Jennifer Anna
Robert Black
Peggy Durbin
Nancy Garden
Brent Hartinger
James Howe
Lisa Jahn-Clough
Carrie Jones
Susan Juby
M.E. Kerr
Ron Koertge
David LaRochelle
David Levithan
Eric Marcus
Nico Medina
Perry Moore
Catherine Murdock
Julie Ann Peters
Sara Ryan
Alex Sanchez
Shyam Selvadurai
Brian Sloan
Andreas Steinhofel
Ellen Wittlinger
Sharon Dennis Wyeth
And the prizes....Yen Shei and the American Bonsai, The Real Life Channel, And Featuring Bailey Wellcom as the Biscuit, Split Screen, Totally Joe, Country Girl, City Girl, Tips on Having a Gay Ex-Boyfriend, Arizona Kid, Absolutely, Positively Not, Boy Meets Boy, Full Spectrum, Wide Awake, What If Somone I Know is Gay?, The Straight Road to Kylie, Hero, Dairy Queen, Luna, The God Box, Rainbow Road, Getting It, Rainbow High, Rainbow Boys, So Hard to Say, Swimming in the Monsoon Sea, A Tale of Two Summers, The Center of the World, Orphea Proud, Another Kind of Cowboy.
Categories:
Reviews
Categories:
Interviews
GLBT Month Feature: Nancy Garden, author of Annie on My Mind, shares an essay with us on how discrimination and censorship has impacted her life. Be sure to read the whole thing; this is just a sneak peek:
This is a story about discrimination against a book, and through that, against all of us.
The book is my 1982 YA novel ANNIE ON MY MIND, which is about two high school girls who fall in love and realize that they’re gay.
It all started back in 1993 when--11 years after it was published--ANNIE was challenged. (A challenge to a book occurs when someone requests that it be removed from library shelves or from a school curriculum; a banning occures when a challenge is successful.) Actually, ANNIE had been challenged a couple of times before, but I didn’t know that until much later--the author is often the last to know.
Anyway, in late summer-early fall of 1993, I got a phone call from a man named Stephen Friedman at PEN American Center. (PEN is an international writers’ organization.)
“Did you know,” Friedman asked me, “that your book has just been burned in Kansas City?”
Categories:
Reviews
Categories:
Interviews
GLBT Month Feature: I've posted an interview with Lisa Jahn-Clough, author of Country Girl, City Girl (this is one of the books I'll be giving away as part of the Prize Packs for GLBT Month!!). Here's the sneak peek:
Many straight teens devour and enjoy GLBT YA lit just as much as the GLBT teens it is ostensibly targeted towards. As an author, has this surprised you? What do you think it means for our future and the future of today's GLBT teens?
I think most teens are interested and curious about sex and sexuality however they may identify themselves; gay, bisexual, straight or questioning. Even if outwardly to their friends they have one opinion, inwardly, which literature can speak to, they are very open.
Categories:
Excerpts
I really wish I wasn't gay right now.
Seriously.
If I wasn't gay right now, I wouldn't be having sex with Alex.
No, not Alexander.
Alexandra.
That's right, ladies and gentlemen. Jonathan Parish has done the unthinkable. Out-and-proud Christina Aguilera-worshipping, Diesel shoe-wearing, lover-of-large-sassy-black-women-and-skinny-white-heiresses Jonathan Parish is having sex with a girl!
These were the thoughts running through my head that insane night. I did not know what I was getting myself into.
Maybe I should recap.
Categories:
Interviews
Here's the first interview of GLBT Month at YABC, with renowned author M. E. Kerr. Here's the sneak peek, but be sure to check out the whole interview.
Even today, there seem to be fewer books published about lesbian or bisexual teens than about male homosexual teens. Why do you think that is? Do you think this will change?
I hope there will be more books about lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people. I don't know why there isn't now. But I feel that the early Naiad Press lesbian novels were so bad that they single-handedly ruined the idea of a serious, good story about lesbians...Then,too, there was such a dearth of lesbian literature for so long that when lesbian novels did start to appear they were grabbed by a hungry audience that gave the wrong signal to publishers (they'll read anything) and for awhile there was an abundance of awful stuff. Publishers couldn't sell it and decided there was "no market" so it's hard now.
Categories:
Giveaway News,
YABC Site News
