A crime story that leads us from a gay sauna, to the intrigues of of an international AIDS conference. This is celebrated gay activist Altman’s 17th book and draws on his considerable experience of the gay underworld and the political rivalry.
Recorded at BAD Crime Writers Festival Sydney 2023
Two great memoir reads to do with sex and identity this week- Fiona Patten and Benjamin Law. Fiona’s book is her own story while Benjamin Law tells his story of growing up queer in Queensland in a collection of other gay memoirs.
Your maiden speech in Parliament is a big deal. It is your one chance to ‘nail your colours to the wall’, and indicate where you stand on important issues. Fiona Patten decided to get in first on the matter of her colourful past history and delivered one to remember.
Recorded at Bellingen Writers Festival 2019
Well that’s the hetero side of it- now over to Benjamin Law….
Benjamin Law recounts his rocky adolescence- if you are gay and Asian in Queensland, where are your role models? How can he get the right hair? Get rid of acne? Tell your parents?
Recorded at Byron Writers Festival 2019
Lots more authors and interviews to come.
There are over 230 authors on the Narratives site and we are continuing to add more!The world’s largest collection of authors reading from their own works!
I felt I had to to pair these two authors together as they deal with young adult anguish of facing up to ones true sexual orientation.
Alicia Tuckerman has written a searing memoir of what it is like to try and hide your true sexual feelings when growing up in a small town, while Will Kostakis’ book is a novel but so clearly based on his own experiences as a young gay teenager.
Both authors have written about the tension of growing up in small towns and agonising over whether they will be ‘ found out’ and what that would mean not just for themselves but for their families and friends. Maybe if you have a teenager or a friend who you suspect is struggling with sexual identity these two beautifully written books might give them the confidence to be themselves.
Recorded at the Bellingen Writers Festival 2018
‘The SidekickS’ deals with a young man trying to fit in with a small town definition of what it means to be male. In this read, the hero has a heart to heart with his mother about and realises he doesn’t have to hide anymore. As Will Kostakis says in his interview, everything became easier for him once he became honest about who he was.
click on image to buy book
Recorded at the Somerset Festival of Literature 2018
Click on image to buy book