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Queer Cinema in America: An Encyclopedia of LGBTQ Films, Characters, and Stories
Explore queer cinema over time with this comprehensive encyclopedia, helping readers understand films, directors, actors, themes, and other topics related to LGBTQ cinema history.
Just as American society has changed dramatically from decade to decade, so has queer cinema. Taking us from a time when LGBTQ characters were often represented as either caricatures or figures of farce, this lively yet authoritative reference explores the sea change ushered in by such stars as Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich in the 1930s and '40s, androgynous figures such as Montgomery Clift, James Dean, and Marlon Brando in the '50s, and closeted gay men such as Rock Hudson and Liberace, whose double lives were exposed by the scourge of AIDS. Included are alphabetically arranged entries on stars, directors, films, themes, and other topics related to queer cinema in America, including films and persons from outside the U.S. who nonetheless figured prominently in America popular culture. Entries cite works for further reading, sidebars provide snippets of interesting trivia, a timeline highlights key events, and a selected, general, end-of-work bibliography cites the most important major works on the topic. -
Wolf and His King: Deluxe Limited Edition
Madeline Miller meets Angela Carter in this spellbinding queer retelling of the 12th - century tale of Bisclavret the werewolf -- unmissable for fans of Uprooted by Naomi Novik, Swordcrossed by Freya Marske, and The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden. ***DELUXE LIMITED EDITION HARDCOVER with stenciled edges, a beautiful foil-stamped hardcover, and exclusive interior design with full-color illustrated endpapers!*** Only while supplies last. A noble knight hiding the beast inside. A lonely king isolated by his courtiers. Between them an impossible gulf surmountable only by the twists and turns of relentless destiny in this spellbinding retelling of Marie de France's classic 12th-century tale of romance and adventure. The wolf-sickness strikes always without warning, stealing Bisclavret's body and confusing his mind. Since boyhood he hasn't dared leave his isolated holdings--not to beg the return of his father's lost estate, not to seek brotherhood among the court, not even to win the knighthood he yearns for. But when a new king ascends, Bisclavret must deliver his kiss of fealty or answer for the failure. Half an exile himself, the young king is intrigued by this uneasy, rough-hewn nobleman. Bisclavret seems a perfect knight: bold, strong, and merciful. But he keeps his secrets close, and the king's longings are not for counsel alone. As his fascination grows, the barriers between them multiply, until the king battles desperation and grief. Then Bisclavret vanishes beyond reach, just as the greatest threats to the kingdom converge. Only duty to his people stands between the king and ruin--duty, and the steady loyalty of the strangest wolf . . . -
Hollow
Don't Let the Forest In meets The Whispering Dark in a queer YA cult horror following a recently diagnosed autistic teen who becomes enmeshed in a community of outcasts harboring sinister secrets. "One of the best horror novels of the year, full stop. Haunting, heartfelt, and downright creepy." --Kamilah Cole, bestselling author of So Let Them Burn After a meltdown in her school cafeteria prompts an unwanted autism diagnosis, Cassie Davis moves back to her hometown in upstate New York, where her mom hopes the familiarity will allow Cassie to feel normal again. Cassie's never truly felt normal anywhere, but she does crave the ease she used to have with her old friends. Problem is that her friends aren't so eager to welcome her back into the fold. They extend an olive branch by inviting her on their backpacking trip to Hollow Ridge, in the upper reaches of the Adirondacks. But when a fight breaks out their first night, Cassie wakes to a barren campsite--her friends all gone. With severe weather approaching and nearing sensory overload, Cassie is saved by a boy named Kaleb, who whisks her away to a compound of artists and outcasts he calls the Roost. As Kaleb tends to her injuries, Cassie begins to feel--for the first time in her life--that she can truly be herself. But as the days pass, strange happenings around the Roost make Cassie question her instincts. Noises in the trees grow louder, begging the question: Are the dangers in the forest, on the trail, or in the Roost itself? In a world where autistic characters rarely get to be the hero of their own stories, Cassie Davis's one-step-back, two-steps-forward journey to unmasking makes Hollow as much a love letter to neurodiversity as it is a haunting tale you'll want to read with the lights on. Read if You Love:- Don't Go in the Woods
- Deadly Road Trips
- CottageGORE
- Malevolent Masks
- Cults
- Nerd-core
- Wound-tending
- First Love
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Fawn's Blood
Vampires, vampire slayers, and a bloodthirsty underground resistance converge in a campy YA fantasy about being a queer teen in a world that wishes they did not exist. The librarian and critically acclaimed author of Out of Salem puts a pulpy spin on vampire fiction, and bites back at anti-trans moral panic. Fawn and Silver share nearly everything: coming out together as trans in their small Maryland town, clocking a copious number of hours in detention, and spending their sleepovers secretly making out. They're also uniquely obsessed with vampires, who are being hunted, imprisoned, and executed for the danger they allegedly pose to human life. Meanwhile in Seattle, Rachel's relationship to her girlfriend and her membership in her mother's vampire-slaying vigilante group is thrown into question when she's bitten by her mother's nemesis and awakes with a craving for blood. When Silver disappears and Fawn goes west in search of him, her and Rachel's fates converge, both falling into the hands of Cain, an edgelord vampire known for his proselytizing for the drinking of human blood. But in discovering hidden tunnels and secret bars, youth shelters and punk shows and safe houses, Fawn find herself in the middle of a vampire underground in Seattle--an organized resistance keeping each other alive through a network of blood distribution and protection from slayers. Fawn's Blood is a timely antidote to the anti-trans moral panic of today. Playing with tropes about monstrousness, predation, and villainy, this multi-voiced vampire novel offers a paranormal YA fantasy full of complicated queer characters--human and monster alike--all of whom are simply trying to survive in a world that wants them dead. -
Bond That Burns (Deluxe Limited Edition) (Original)
The deluxe limited edition of The Bond That Burns features stenciled edges, custom endpapers, and a jacket with metallic effects! This breathtaking hardcover edition is available only on the first printing and is a must-have for any book lover while supplies last in the US and Canada.
At Bloodwing Academy, blood is currency, but a dragon's legacy is priceless--and as dangerous as fire.
I thought surviving my first year in Bloodwing's deadly halls would be enough. I was wrong.
I accidentally woke a dragon--a creature of myth, of death, of fire.
Now every highblood house wants control over me and the dragon's legacy I carry. But here's the truth: I have no control. I'm bluffing my way through every encounter, trying to keep everyone from realizing that I'm not the one pulling the dragon's strings.
And then there's Blake Drakharrow. I thought he was on my side, that I might even be able to trust him. But he betrayed me. Now I'm his only blood source. How messed up is that? In a place like Bloodwing, where power and survival are everything, this bond may well be the death of us both. Unless I can find a way to end it.
In this world of vampires, dragons, and lies, there are no happy endings. Just legends--and the darkness it takes to make them. -
Among the Burning Flowers: Deluxe Edition
Deluxe limited edition will include sprayed edges and stunning designed endpapers!
Take your first steps into the epic. Yscalin, land of sunshine and lavender, will soon be ablaze. It has been centuries since the Draconic Army took wing, almost extinguishing humankind. Marosa Vetalda is a prisoner in her own home, controlled by her cold father, King Sigoso. Over the mountains, her betrothed, Aubrecht Lievelyn, rules Mentendon in all but name. Together, they intend to usher in a better world. A better world seems impossibly distant to Estina Melaugo, who hunts the Draconic beasts that have slept across the world for centuries. And now the great wyrm Fýredel is stirring, and Yscalin will be the first to fall . . . A story of human resilience in the face of dire circumstances, Among the Burning Flowers leads readers through the gripping and tragic events that pave the way for the opening of the million-copy bestseller The Priory of The Orange Tree. Richly illustrated with magical artwork by Rovina Cai (@rovinacai).
With the awakening of fire-breathing dragons, Among the Burning Flowers sees the first sparks of danger that threaten to consume the world in The Priory of the Orange Tree.Sold out -
Her Soul for Revenge: Deluxe Limited Edition: A Spicy Dark Demon Romance
Explore the darker side of desire and human nature in this edgy, intense, searingly sexy, dark paranormal romance from TikTok phenom Harley Laroux - now with bonus content for fans of Scarlett St. Clair, Katee Robert, Harper L. Woods, and Laura Thalassa. *** DELUXE LIMITED EDITION HARDCOVER with exclusive content, stenciled edges, reversible dust jacket, foil stamping, and designed endpapers!*** To get revenge, she'll need a demon. To get his help, she'll promise him anything. Juniper After a cult tried to sacrifice me to their wicked God, I went on the run, doing whatever was necessary to survive. Until a demon offered me a deal: give him my soul and he'll help me claim the vengeance I seek. Blood will be spilled, and the monsters I once ran from will soon be running from me. But damning my soul was just the beginning--it's my heart the demon wants next. Zane I've been hunting souls for centuries, but she's the ultimate prize--vicious and feral with a broken soul as dark as my own. I thought claiming her would be a simple game, but Juniper is far from simple. I chose to follow her on a path drenched with the blood of her enemies, but it's our blood that may be spilled next. As an ancient God wakes from its slumber, neither of us may survive. -
Water Mirror Echo: Bruce Lee and the Making of Asian America
"Water Mirror Echo is a remarkable story of a man, the traditions and communities that created him, and the new worlds he made possible. Like Bruce Lee himself, Jeff Chang is blessed with the vision to see things we do not yet see, thinking and writing with a restless, chasm-crossing, almost prophetic ambition." -- Hua Hsu, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Stay True: A Memoir
"This book is as celebratory as it is incisive, as it is, at times, heartbreaking. A massive achievement." -- Hanif Abdurraqib, National Book Award-winning author of There's Always This Year and A Little Devil in America
A cultural biography, both sweeping and intimate, of the legend Bruce Lee, set against the extraordinary, untold story of the rise of Asian America--from the author of the award-winning classic Can't Stop Won't Stop and one of the finest culture observers of our era.
More than a half-century after his passing, Bruce Lee is as towering a figure to people around the world as ever. On his path to becoming a global icon, he popularized martial arts in the West, became a bridge to people and cultures from the East, and just as he was set to conquer Hollywood once and for all, he died of cerebral edema at age thirty-two. It's no wonder that Bruce Lee's legend has only bloomed in the decades since. Yet, in so many ways, the legend has eclipsed the man.
Forgotten is the stark reality of the baby boy born in segregated San Francisco, who spent his youth in war-ravaged, fight-crazy Hong Kong. Forgotten is the curious teenager who found his way back to America, where he embraced West Coast counterculture and meshed it with the Asian worldviews and philosophies that reared him. Forgotten is the man whose very presence broke barriers and helped shape the idea of what being an Asian in America is, at the very dawn of Asian America.
Water Mirror Echo--a title inspired by Bruce Lee's own way of moving, being and responding to the world--is a page-turning and powerful reminder. At the helm is Jeff Chang, the award-winning author of Can't Stop Won't Stop, whose writing on culture, politics, the arts and music have made him one of the most acclaimed and distinctive voices of our time. In his hands, Bruce Lee's story brims with authenticity.
Now, based on in-depth interviews with Lee's closest intimates, thousands of newly available personal documents, and featuring dozens of gorgeous photographs from the family's archive, Chang achieves the nearly impossible. He reveals the man behind the enduring iconography and stirringly shows Lee's growing fame ushering in something that's turned out to be even more enduring: the creation of Asian America.
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Golden Boy's Guide to Bipolar
From bestselling author Sonora Reyes comes a poignant and searingly honest companion novel to the multi-award-winning The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School, following beloved character Cesar Flores as he comes to terms with his sexuality, his new bipolar diagnosis, and more mistakes than he can count.
Seventeen-year-old Cesar Flores is finally ready to win back his ex-boyfriend. Since breaking up with Jamal in a last-ditch effort to stay in the closet, he's come out to Mami, his sister, Yami, and their friends, taken his meds faithfully, and gotten his therapist's blessing to reunite with Jamal.
Everything would be perfect if it weren't for The Thoughts--the ones that won't let all his Catholic guilt and internalizations stay buried where he wants them. The louder they become, the more Cesar is once again convinced that he doesn't deserve someone like Jamal--or anyone really.
Cesar can hide a fair amount of shame behind jokes and his "gifted" reputation, but when a manic episode makes his inner turmoil impossible to hide, he's faced with a stark choice: burn every bridge he has left or, worse--ask for help. But is the mortifying vulnerability of being loved by the people he's hurt the most a risk he's willing to take?
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Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines
A groundbreaking, revelatory assessment of America's broken two-party system.
In a country obsessed with blind loyalty to a two-party democratic system, Karine Jean-Pierre, former White House press secretary to the Biden-Harris administration, shares why Americans must step beyond party lines to embrace life as Independents. Jean-Pierre didn't come to her decision to be an Independent lightly. She has served two American presidents, Obama and Biden. In 2020, she joined Biden's campaign as a senior adviser, becoming Harris's chief of staff and then, two years later, White House press secretary. She takes us through the three weeks that led to Biden's abandoning his bid for a second term and the betrayal by the Democratic Party that led to his decision. In an urgent, timely analysis, Independent urges all Americans to vote their values and maintain individuality within party lines. She presents clear arguments and provocative evidence as an insider about the importance of dismantling the torrent of disinformation and misinformation that has been rampant in recent elections and provides passionate insight for moving forward. In a hard-hitting yet hopeful critique, Jean-Pierre defines what it means to be part of the growing percentage of our fractured electorate that is Independent, why it can be worthwhile to carve a political space more loyal to personal beliefs than a party affiliation, and what questions you need to ask yourself to determine where you fit politically. As a history maker, veteran public servant, political analyst and independent thinker, she urges Americans to think outside of the blue-and-red box as we consider what's next to save our democracy. -
Dead of Summer (Book 1)
Stephen King meets Holly Jackson by way of We Were Liars in this action-packed story of queer horror from the acclaimed author of The Honeys!
Two Days Before
Ollie Veltman is finally coming home to the quaint island of Anchor's Mercy after a year away while his mom battled cancer. It should be a celebration -- his mom is cancer free, and she's determined to have the best summer ever -- but Ollie's (now ex) best friends think he abandoned them, and he's returning with a lot of questions. Because for a place that's perfect on the surface, a secret rots below the waves. A secret that could explain his mom's illness, and the illness of so many other locals.
Ollie's desperate search for the truth turns life-or-death when a storm descends upon the island. In its wake, a long-sunken horror rises . . .
Three Weeks After
Ollie is being held in isolation aboard a military hospital ship in the harbor. They say he's a survivor, but they only know half the story. The truth is more monstrous than Ollie ever believed, and he suspects his saviors aren't here to save anyone. Only Ollie can stop what's coming, but that means getting back to Anchor's Mercy before it vanishes, taking with it everyone he has ever loved.
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Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist
An intimate and captivating exploration of Lin-Manuel Miranda's artistic journey, revealing how the creator of the Broadway musicals Hamilton and In the Heights found his unique voice through bold collaborations and a seamless blend of cultures, redefining the world of musical theater. How did Lin-Manuel Miranda, the sweet, sensitive son of Puerto Rican parents from an immigrant neighborhood in Manhattan, rise to become the preeminent musical storyteller of the 21st century? Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist offers a compelling narrative that traces Miranda's path from a friendly but often isolated child to the winner of multiple Tonys and Grammys for his Broadway hits Hamilton and In the Heights, a global chart-topping sensation for his songs in Disney's Moana and Encanto, and the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize and a MacArthur Genius Grant. Miranda's journey is a testament to the power of creativity, collaboration, and cultural synthesis. Despite not being a musical prodigy, Miranda's insatiable drive to create art and learn from those around him propelled him to synthesize his Latino heritage with the pop, hip-hop, and Broadway musical styles of New York City. The unique blend allowed him to craft a new way of telling American stories. Drawing on over 150 interviews with Miranda's family, friends, and mentors, including insights from Miranda himself, Daniel Pollack-Pelzner delves into the formative experiences that shaped Miranda's artistic vision. From his early musicals in high school and college to the creation of his professional masterpieces, this book reveals the sources of Miranda's creativity--not only as innate genius, but also as a result of exceptional openness and collaboration. With full access to Miranda's inner circle, this behind-the-scenes origin story is sure to captivate his legions of fans and beyond. -
Herculine
One of the Most Anticipated Books of 2025
Debutiful - LitHub - CrimeReads - LGBTQ Reads A "paranoid, self-annihilating" (Gretchen Felker-Martin, author of Manhunt and Cuckoo) horror debut following a woman who seeks refuge at an all-trans girl commune only to discover that demons haunt her fellow comrades--and she's their next prey! Herculine's narrator has demons. Sure, her life includes several hallmarks of the typical trans girl sob story--conversion therapy, a string of shitty low-paying jobs, and even shittier exes--but she also regularly debates sleep paralysis demons that turn to mist soon after she wakes and carries vials of holy oil in her purse. Nothing, though, prepares her for the new malevolent force stalking her through the streets of New York City, more powerful than any she's ever encountered. Desperate to escape this ancient evil, she flees to rural Indiana, where her ex-girlfriend started an all-trans girl commune in the middle of the woods. The secluded camp, named after 19th-century intersex memoirist Herculine Barbin, is a scrappy operation, but the shared sense of community among the girls is a welcome balm to the narrator's growing isolation and paranoia. Still, something isn't quite right at Herculine. Girls stop talking as soon as she enters the room, everyone seems to share a common secret, and the books lining the walls of the library harbor strange cryptograms. Soon what once looked like an escape becomes a trap all its own. While trying to untangle the commune's many mysteries, the narrator contends with disemboweled pigs, cultlike psychosexual rituals, and the horrors of communal breakfast. And before long, she discovers that her demons have followed her. And this time, they won't be letting her go. -
Dark Renaissance: The Dangerous Times and Fatal Genius of Shakespeare's Greatest Rival
In repressive Elizabethan England, artists are frightened into dull conventionality; foreigners are suspect; popular entertainment largely consists of coarse spectacles, animal fights, and hangings. Into this crude world of government censorship and religious authoritarianism comes an ambitious cobbler's son from Canterbury with a daring desire to be known--and an uncanny ear for Latin poetry. A torment for most schoolboys, yet for a few, like Christopher Marlowe, a secret portal to beauty, visionary imagination, transgressive desire, and dangerous skepticism.
What Marlowe seizes in his rare opportunity for a classical education, and what he does with it, brings about a spectacular explosion of English literature, language, and culture. His astonishing literary success will, in turn, nourish the talent of a collaborator and rival, William Shakespeare.
Dark Renaissance illuminates both Marlowe's times and the origins and significance of his work--from his erotic translations of Ovid to his portrayal of unfettered ambition in a triumphant Tamburlaine to Doctor Faustus, his unforgettable masterpiece about making a pact with the devil in exchange for knowledge. Introducing us to Marlowe's transgressive genius in the form of a thrilling page-turner, Stephen Greenblatt brings a penetrating understanding of the literary work to reveal the inner world of the author, bringing to life a homosexual atheist who was tormented by his own compromises, who refused to toe the party line, and who was murdered just when he had found love. Meanwhile, he explores how the people Marlowe knew, and the transformations they wrought, gave birth to the economic, scientific, and cultural power of the modern world including Faustian bargains with which we reckon still.