Collection: Shop Queer

Join the celebration at the Rainbow Parade and witness a heartwarming story of acceptance and friendship. In this joyful picture book, LGBTQ+ advocates Shane Jordan and Rick Hendrix take young readers on a colorful journey of self-expression and acceptance.

Set at a stormy pride parade, the story follows a child who is free to express their gender identity, celebrating with their father. But when they come across a non-binary child who doesn't feel comfortable in their own skin, they lend a helping hand and show them that they are seen, accepted, and loved.

Gentle storytelling and stunning illustrations play on the magical experience of finding one's community. Featuring expert back matter, The Rainbow Parade encourages children and gatekeepers to break down stereotypes and embrace diversity. This book offers a timely and important lesson on the power of love, friendship, and acceptance.

Perfect for children of all identities, The Rainbow Parade is a must-have addition to any bookshelf. Let your own rainbow shine with this wonderful story of celebrating who you are and accepting others for who they are.

Is it possible to be gay and Christian?

Stacey loves being a Christian. Her best friends are also her church friends. Her favorite place on earth is Bible camp every summer. And she talks to God like they are old friends.

But one summer, she meets a girl who turns everything upside down. Is this feeling she has for her more than just friendship? Could it be a crush? Filled with dread, Stacey embarks on a journey to discover what it means to be gay, whether it is possible to change, and how to reconcile her identity with her faith. Will it even be possible?

In this young-adult illustrated memoir, Stacey Chomiak tells the true story of her teenage and young-adult years: of heartbreak, family conflict, trying to become ex-gay, wrestling with her faith, and finding love. Uncovering happiness and joy while surrounded by the loneliness of a world that actively excludes her seems insurmountable. Until she learns to love her full self. Then the possibility of being both gay and Christian seems not just possible, but the best answer of all.

Oddbird has always been on his own. And he's managed pretty well. But that's changing - now, he wishes for a family.

When Oddbird's friends plan a big surprise for him, he realizes he's surrounded by those who accept and care for him. All families don't look the same, and sometimes the families we choose are where we belong.

PICTURE BOOK BIOGRAPHY OF THE "FERMENTATION REVIVALIST," FROM THE AWARD-WINNING AUTHORS OF CHEF ROY CHOI AND THE STREET FOOD REMIX.
- "Best Picture Book Biographies, 2022" --Kirkus Reviews- "Best Children's Books of the Year 2023"-- Bank Street College of Education, Children's Book Committee
Sandor Katz's love of fermented food started with kosher dill pickles he ate as a New York City kid. As an adult, he left the busy city and moved to a queer community in the mountains of Tennessee. There, his friends grew their own food, cooked and ate together, and sometimes danced in drag when the work was done. One day, the cabbages were all, ALL ready to be harvested. What to do? Sandor tried to make sauerkraut. Delicious! He kept experimenting, finding old recipes, combining old ideas to make something new. Then, he shared what he learned in bestselling books, in classes, and with a growing group of friends around the world.
Written by award-winning authors Jacqueline Briggs Martin and June Jo Lee, Sandor Katz and the Tiny Wild folds timely themes of ecology, community-building, and resilience into a lively biography that closes with a hands-on recipe: just chop, salt, pack, and wait for tiny, wild, invisible microbes to turn raw ingredients into zingy, zangy foods that we love. Sandor believes that making fermented foods connects all, ALL of us on planet Earth--people, plants, and The Tiny Wild. Won't you join Sandor's crew and share your own dash of dazzle with the world?

A joyful picture book debut that encourages kids to take pride in themselves and know that they are loved no matter what.

Just as the stars light the entire world--
You shine.

Join a queer family as they celebrate Black Pride in Washington, D.C. From painting posters to walking in a Pride Parade with neighbors to watching fireworks, this special day is packed with fun.

Allen R. Wells's poetic text perfectly captures the expansiveness of a parent's love, while Dia Valle's joyful art bursts off the page. Here are words that children in every family--no matter its color, size, or shape--need to hear.

We are so proud of you!

"In this vibrant memoir, Obama-inaugural poet Richard Blanco tenderly, exhilaratingly chronicles his Miami childhood amid a colorful, if suffocating, family of Cuban exiles, as well as his quest to find his artistic voice and the courage to accept himself as a gay man." -- O, The Oprah Magazine

A poignant, hilarious, and inspiring memoir from the first Latino and openly gay inaugural poet, which explores his coming-of-age as the child of Cuban immigrants and his attempts to understand his place in America while grappling with his burgeoning artistic and sexual identities.

Richard Blanco's childhood and adolescence were experienced between two imaginary worlds: his parents' nostalgic world of 1950s Cuba and his imagined America, the country he saw on reruns of The Brady Bunch and Leave it to Beaver--an "exotic" life he yearned for as much as he yearned to see "la patria."

A prismatic and lyrical narrative rich with the colors, sounds, smells, and textures of Miami, Richard Blanco's personal narrative is a resonant account of how he discovered his authentic self and ultimately, a deeper understanding of what it means to be American. His is a singular yet universal story that beautifully illuminates the experience of "becoming;" how we are shaped by experiences, memories, and our complex stories: the humor, love, yearning, and tenderness that define a life.

"If my life were a TV show, Chaz Humbert would be the bad guy."

Roxie Nazari's had it. She's been subjected to Chaz Humbert's creepy come-ons and inappropriate antics for three years-and she's not his only victim. With teachers, guidance counselors, and school administration unwilling to end the harassment, Roxie exacts revenge on an anger-fueled impulse. What she doesn't realize is how her actions will completely change her life--and her worldview.

Turns out, revenge is not so sweet, not just because of the guilt she feels, but because her sentence is an in-school suspension...with the perp himself! Trapped in close quarters with Chaz, Roxie is determined not to be fooled by the sudden drastic change in his behavior. But when Chaz reveals an unexpected truth, both he and Roxie hurtle down an entirely new path of self-discovery.

Meanwhile, they aren't the only ones in their school-or town-with problems. Old friends, new friends, and family are all struggling with their own first steps into adulthood. Roxie's eyes are opened to the narrow-mindedness and limitations of her hometown. Will things ever improve? And can a girl who just started high school make a difference?

An American coming-of-age story set against the social backdrop of the 2000s, Finding Chaz illustrates the pitfalls of adolescence with raw humor, honesty, and heart.

An ever-expanding and panicked Wonder Woman lurches through a city skyline begging Steve to stop her. A twisted queen of sorority row crashes her convertible trying to escape her queer shame. A suave butch emcee introduces the sequined and feathered stars of the era's most celebrated drag revue. For an unsettled and retrenching postwar America, these startling figures betrayed the failure of promised consensus and appeasing conformity. They could also be cruel, painful, and disciplinary jokes. It turns out that an obsession with managing gender and female sexuality after the war would hardly contain them. On the contrary, it spread their campy manifestations throughout mainstream culture.

Offering the first major consideration of lesbian camp in American popular culture, Suffering Sappho! traces a larger-than-life lesbian menace across midcentury media forms to propose five prototypical queer icons--the sicko, the monster, the spinster, the Amazon, and the rebel. On the pages of comics and sensational pulp fiction and the dramas of television and drive-in movies, Barbara Jane Brickman discovers evidence not just of campy sexual deviants but of troubling female performers, whose failures could be epic but whose subversive potential could inspire.

Supplemental images of interest related to this title: George and Lomas; Connie Minerva; Cat On Hot Tin; and Beulah and Oriole.

About Andrea Cohen's poems, Christian Wiman has said: "One is caught off guard by their cumulative force. This is work of great and sustained attention, true intelligence, and soul." In The Sorrow Apartments, Cohen's eighth collection, those signature gifts are front and center, along with sly humor, relentless economy, and the hairpin curves of gut-punch wisdom. How quickly Cohen takes us so far:
Bunker

What would I
think, coming

up after
my world

had evaporated?
I'd wish

I were water.
The Sorrow Apartments is home to spare and uncanny lyricism--as well as leaping narratives of mystery and loss and wonder. These poems race at once into the past and the possible. And yet, instead of holding things up to the light for a better view, Cohen lifts them to the dark and light, as in "Acapulco," where an unlikely companion points out, "as men tend to, / the stars comprising Orion's belt -- / as if it were the lustrous sparks and not / the leveling dark that connects us." For a poet who has been called unfashionable from the get-go, unfashionable never looked so good.

This fictional graphic novel narrates a mystery story set in Istanbul before the 1995-96 elections. The story takes place against a background of political propaganda; a conservative party is rising to power using religion to appeal to voters cynically.

The main protagonists, Ece and Meltem, are engineering students at Bosphorus University and in financial distress. Ece and Meltem fantasize about having the powerful gaze of Medusa and amuse themselves with efforts to move objects with their eyes. They also share a passion for scuba diving as members of the Student Diving Club.

While on a diving expedition in the Bosphorus Strait, they witness a freak accident underwater. Did Ece and Meltem's evil eye cause the accident? Their investigation leads them to a search for truth and a treasure hidden under the Bosphorus. But their hopes of solving their financial troubles become entangled with political corruption, and they must make grim decisions while navigating a climate of chauvinism, patriarchy, religious pressure, and economic instability. The evolving events threaten their friendship, ethical values, and even their lives--as well as the future of their country.

Karen Solt, an eighteen-year-old nonconformist with an alcohol problem, is working at a gas station when a slick Navy recruiter railroads her into enlisting in the military. Before she knows it, she is on a ship in the Deep South, struggling to navigate not only a world much different from her small Northern Arizona hometown but also her new discovery: she's gay.

Figuring out her sexuality clarifies many things, but also creates a daunting new set of problems, for Karen. It's 1984: being gay in the Navy is considered a crime, and gay Sailors are regularly hunted by the Navy Criminal Investigative Service. Discovery means being kicked out, and by this point she is committed to the uniform (and to remaining with her first girlfriend, who is also enlisted). So she learns to hide her secret and find a way to serve--and even thrive professionally--without getting caught. But concealing her truth ultimately leads to devastating consequences.

A story of desire, addiction, the damage of secrets, the power of community, and the soul-crushing cost of turning people into "others," Hiding for my Life is a celebration of the resilience of the human spirit--and a poignant call for each of us to come out from hiding and live our truth.

An unabashed exploration of queerness, excess, identity, and tenderness from award-winning poet Dorothy Chan.

The speaker in Dorothy Chan's fifth collection, Return of the Chinese Femme, walks through life fearlessly, "forehead forever exposed," the East Asian symbol of female aggression. She's the troublemaker protagonist--the "So Chinese Girl"--the queer in a family of straights-- the rambunctious ringleader of the girl band, always ready with the perfect comeback, wearing a blue fur coat, drinking a whiskey neat. They indulge on the themes of food, sex, fantasy, fetish, popular culture, and intimacy.

Chan organizes the collection in the form of a tasting menu, offering the reader a taste of each running theme. Triple sonnets, recipe poems, and other inventive plays on diction and form pepper the collection. Amidst the bravado, Return of the Chinese Femme represents all aspects of her identity--Asian heritage, queerness, kid of immigrants' story--in the most real ways possible, conquering the world through joy and resilience.

Celebrate the LGBT Community

"For all LGBTQ teens and young adults, this book will help inspire and empower you to become your best selves."―Dustin Lance Black, Academy Award-winning Screenwriter, "Milk

#1 Bestseller in LGBT Studies, Lesbian Studies

LGBT history is as old as history itself. In that time, LGBT people have positively impacted their communities, made advancements for society, and changed the world! We Make It Better profiles all the people, places, and events that show just how awesome and inspiring the LGBT community is.

A stirring look at LGBT history. LGBT people have always played important roles in society. They have served their country, served in office, pushed for the protection of human rights, and have impacted all fields of study, sport, art, and industry. Meet some of the most famous thinkers and changers in history from Bayard Rustin, Alan Turing, Dr. Sally Ride, and Oscar Wilde to present day innovators and world changers such as Billie Jean King, Jason Collins, Ellen DeGeneres, Tim Cook, the Wachowski sisters, Sir Ian McKellen and more.

Positivity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth and adults. More than a "who's who" of LGBT history, We Make It Better is a vibrant chronicle of the events in history where the LGBT community came together to fight for equality and save lives. Learn how the community came together during the HIV/AIDs crisis, fought for marriage equality, protested discrimination, and pushed for progressive change throughout the years. Learn about the events, places, people, and beliefs that are all causes for pride and celebration.

Read this book and:

• Discover important LGBT people who have changed the world
• Be moved by the accomplishments of the LGBT community
• Be inspired by a mix of biographies, history, and quotes

Readers of The ABCs of LGBT by Ashley Mardell or Queer: A Graphic History by Dr. Meg-John Barker will love We Make It Better, a quintessential LGBT book.

A pioneering psychologist, Hooker was a poet and a towering figure in LGBTQ+ rights.

This evocative biography tells the story of Evelyn Hooker, the extraordinary woman behind the research, advocacy, and allyship that led to the removal of the "Homosexuality" diagnosis from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Written by Stonewall award-winning author Gayle Pitman, Hooker's groundbreaking work is captured like never before.

At the end of the book, a "Note to Readers" provides information about how to be an effective ally to LGBTQ+ people; other endmatter included are a timeline, discussion questions, reading list, and additional resources, written by Sarah Prager.

From the former editor-in-chief of Nylon comes a provocative and intimate collection of personal and cultural essays featuring eye-opening explorations of hot button topics for modern women, including internet feminism, impossible beauty standards in social media, shifting ideals about sexuality, and much more.

Gabrielle Korn starts her professional life with all the right credentials. Prestigious college degree? Check. A loving, accepting family? Check. Instagram-worthy offices and a tight-knit group of friends? Check, check. Gabrielle's life seems to reach the crescendo of perfect when she gets named the youngest editor-in-chief in the history of one of fashion's most influential publication. Suddenly she's invited to the world's most epic parties, comped beautiful clothes and shoes from trendy designers, and asked to weigh in on everything from gay rights to lip gloss on one of the most influential digital platforms.

But behind the scenes, things are far from perfect. In fact, just a few months before landing her dream job, Gabrielle's health and wellbeing are on the line, and her promotion to editor-in-chief becomes the ultimate test of strength. In this collection of inspirational and searing essays, Gabrielle reveals exactly what it's truly like in the fashion world, trying to find love as a young lesbian in New York City, battling with anorexia, and trying not to lose herself in a mirage of women's empowerment and Instagram perfection.

Through deeply personal essays, Gabrielle recounts her struggles to reconcile her long-held insecurities about her body while coming out in the era of The L Word, where swoon-worthy lesbians are portrayed as skinny, fashion-perfect, and power-hungry. She takes us with her everywhere from New York Fashion Week to the doctor's office, revealing that the forces that try to keep women small are more pervasive than anyone wants to admit, especially in a world that's been newly branded as woke.

From #MeToo to commercialized body positivity, Korn's biting, darkly funny analysis turns feminist commentary on its head. Both an in-your-face take on impossible beauty standards and entrenched media ideals and an inspiring call for personal authenticity, this powerful collection is ideal for fans of Roxane Gay and Rebecca Solnit.