LGBTQ+ authors and allies #ReadWithPride: Part Two

#ReadWithPride is a celebration of LGBTQ+ authors and stories for Pride, featuring 2019 Booker Prize winner Bernardine Evaristo, broadcaster and Strictly Come Dancing contestant Reverend Richard Coles, and transgender writer and columnist Juno Dawson.

These short and poignant videos are timely reminders of the importance of voices being heard. These writers come from diverse backgrounds – they are not just LGBTQ+, but also people of colour, parents, partners, a peer and a priest.

Check out the videos below and view part one of #ReadWithPride

You can also join the conversation on social media with the hashtag #ReadWithPride.

Amrou Al-Kadhi reads from Life as a Unicorn: A Journey from Shame to Pride and Everything in Between

Drag queen, filmmaker, director, and writer, Amrou’s book, Life as a Unicorn is a hilarious, yet brutally honest, story of the search for a sense of belonging. It charts the transformation of a god-fearing Muslim boy to a stage-dominating drag queen.

Matthew Todd reads from Pride: The story of the LGBTQ Equality Movement

Author, playwright and former Attitude magazine editor, Matthew’s book Pride chronicles 50 years of gay history. This passage tells the story of a mother who defied convention in the 1970s and publicly supported her gay son, leading to the creation of PFLAG, America’s largest LGBTQ+ family organisation.

Sarah Winman reads from Tin Man

From the internationally bestselling author of When God Was a Rabbit, Sarah Winman encapsulates a heartbreaking celebration of love in all its forms in Tin Man. The book follows the journey of two boys and their perspective of an inseparable friendship which led to a teenage love affair.

Justin Myers reads from The Magnificent Sons

Justin began his anonymous dating blog The Guyliner in 2010, famous for dissecting The Guardian’s Blind Dates feature. Now a columnist for British GQ, he also writes books. This excerpt is from The Magnificent Sons, a compelling story of growing up, self-discovery and sexuality.

Natalia Borges Polesso reads from Amora: Stories

“Grandma, are you a lesbian?” An unscheduled coming out is at the centre of this passage from the Brazilian writer. Amora: Stories features 33 short stories and poems, crafted with a deliberate delicacy, each capturing the candid, private moments of women in love.

Dean Atta reads from The Black Flamingo

The Stonewall Book Award winner is an exploration of a mixed-race LGBTQ+ experience in Britain. The story follows Michael as he comes to terms with his identity as a mixed-race gay teen and finds his wings at university as a drag artist.

Yelena Moskovich reads from Virtuoso

Set in the post-Communist era, Virtuoso traces the story of two Czech school friends and one-time lovers who set out to find new lives for themselves. The story takes them from the apartment blocks of 1980s Prague to the suburbs of 1990s Wisconsin and the lesbian bars of present-day Paris.

Casey Gerald reads from There Will Be No Miracles Here: A Memoir

This coming-of-age story masterfully straddles the complex intersection of race, class, faith, sexuality, and masculinity. In the excerpt, Casey Gerald describes his exploration of his sexual identity with the help of (a new thing at the time called) the internet.

Lila Savage reads from Say Say Say
American writer Lila Savage reads from her debut novel, Say Say Say, which explores the meaning of love and the fluidity of desire. Prior to writing fiction, Lila spent nearly a decade working as a carer - an influence felt deeply in this book.

Ed Hall reads from We Can’t Even March Straight

It’s hard to believe that men and women in the military were being arrested for being gay as recently as the 90s. Ed Hall served as a naval officer before being fired and in his book We Can’t Even March Straight he tells the stories of gay people fighting for their country before the ban on serving in the military was overturned 20 years ago.

Christopher Rice reads from The Snow Garden

A glimpse of university life in this passage acts as a prelude to the dangerous forces of seduction, obsession and vengeance that are unleashed in Christopher Rice’s thriller. Like many of his novels, this book paints a picture of contemporary gay American life – but with a dark twist.

Nick Alexander reads from The Other Son

In this passage from The Other Son, unhappily-married Alice finds herself at a turning-point in her life when her son Matt comes out to her. Nick Alexander is a bestselling British author who lives in the south of France with his partner.

Mark Gevisser reads from The Pink Line: The World’s Queer Frontiers

Last but by no means least, South African writer Mark Gevisser neatly weaves the world’s current challenges – from the Covid-19 lockdown to the Black Lives Matter movement – into his introduction to a passage from his new book, The Pink Line: The World’s Queer Frontiers, which comes out in July.

To find out more about Amazon’s commitment to LGBTQ+ equality and rights, please visit part one of #ReadWithPride.

Find out more about how Amazon is celebrating Pride Month.

Click to view part one of the #ReadWithPride videos

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