Publishing LGBTQ

Publishing LGBTQ

Gwynn Scheltema

June is Pride month, so this week I thought I’d take you on a short Canadian tour and introduce you to a few Canadian publishers who regularly publish LGBTQ books by Canadian authors.

Harlequin

First stop: Toronto. Head quartered in Toronto, Harlequin publishes around 100 titles a month. Yes, that’s right…100 books! They publish paperbacks, ebooks and audio books. One of their many niches is one they describe as “gay romance”. June 2019’s titles include a lesbian romance: New Ink on Life by Jennie Davids and a gay romance by Adriana Herrera, American Fairytale.

Submissions Guidelines

Arsenal Pulp Press

Out to the West coast now to meet this Vancouver publisher that regularly publishes LGBTQ work including books by Canadian authors S. Bear Bergman, Ivan Coyote, Amber Dawn, Vivek Shraya, and Kai Cheng Thom.  

They also have a series made up of out-of-print queer titles called “Little Sister’s Classics”. If that name sounds familiar, it’s likely because it reminds you of Little Sister’s Book & Art Emporium, in the heart of Vancouver’s gay district on Davie Street. They have been around for years and were legendary in taking on Canada Customs to have gay literature declassified as porn.

In March this year, five Arsenal titles were nominated for the  Lambda Literary Awards, (writing prize for LGBTQ authors) The nominees were Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead, Little Fish by Casey Plett, Sketchtasy by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore, Sodom Road Exit by Amber Dawn, and The Tiger Flu by Larissa Lai.

Submission guidelines

Insomniac Press 

Back to Ontario—London to be precise. Insomniac Press has evolved over the last 25 years from a small press that published poetry chapbooks, to a medium-size independent press that publishes non-fiction titles as well as fiction and poetry sold in 40 countries.

Insomniac has also become known for its special niche areas like black studies, personal finance and gay and lesbian books. They publish two queer mystery series by writers Liz Bugg and Nairne Holtz. Insomniac’s anthology No Margins: Writing Canadian Fiction in Lesbian, features a whole host of LGBTQ authors.

Just released is Rinaldo Walcott’s book of essays Queer Returns.

Submission Guidelines

Metonymy Press

Heading over to Quebec, we find Metonymy, a newish Montreal-based press that publishes literary fiction and nonfiction by emerging writers. Their website explains: “We try to reduce barriers to publishing for authors whose perspectives are underrepresented in order to produce quality materials relevant to queer, feminist, and social justice communities.”

Two of their books were recently nominated for Lambda Literary Awards: Small Beauty by jia qing wilson-yang and Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl’s Confabulous Memoir by Kai Cheng Thom.

Submission guidelines

Talonbooks

And lastly, I want to head back to the West Coast to tell you about Talonbooks, because as well as literary fiction and poetry, they publish drama (including the amazing queer writer Tomson Highway), and translations of French texts, (including Quebecois lesbian author Marie-Claire Blais.) Recent publications include novels by Karen X. Tulchinsky and Gail Scott and poetry by Daphne Marlatt.

Last Word

If you are looking for more LGBTQ markets or books, here are two blogs you may want to check out:

Writing Pride

Writing Pride

Gwynn Scheltema

June is Pride Month, so Writescape celebrates this week with local LGBTQ YA author Kevin T Craig.  We ask him about his experience as an author and around publishing as a gay author. But first, let’s meet him:

Kevin T. Craig

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Kevin is the author of six novels (four young adult and two coming-of-age). The latest are Pride Must Be A Place, Half Dead & Fully Broken and Burn Baby, Burn Baby.

website: https://ktcraig.com/

twitter:@KevinTCraig

1. When David Leviathan wrote Boy Meets Boy in 2003, many school libraries refused to carry it. Have things changed?

Kevin: Things have definitely changed. Librarians across North America are actively seeking to populate their libraries with LGBTQ sections. On Twitter in the YA community, there are often book-drives for LGBTQ library sections. Librarians feel that need to have the books in stock for those who are seeking them. Nothing is more powerful to a high school student than recognizing themselves in the fiction they read. This is true for all marginalized people, not just the LGBTQ community.

2. Of his book The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley, author Shaun David Hutchinson says, “Drew was just gay. None of his many problems revolved around his sexuality. And I wasn’t exactly sure how readers would respond.” Comments?

Kevin: I’m familiar with Shaun and his book. It’s true that he was one of the forerunners with this trend. But I promise you, this is something that agents and publishers are now actively seeking. For a couple of years now, agents have been asking for YA stories where the sexuality of the LGBTQ characters is NOT the story focus. They want books where the LGBTQ characters’ sexuality is simply a part of who they are…not what the story focuses on.

3. What’s something you’ve seen in LGBTQ lit that’s really stuck with you, for better or for worse?

Kevin: For better- People are now able to see themselves represented. I looked for a long time for the book that would have saved me. It simply wasn’t there. Today’s LGBTQ teens have a wide variety of young adult books to choose from in which “their” stories are being told. The mainstreaming of LGBTQ literature is most assuredly saving lives.

For worse- It’s still a little difficult to write an LGBTQ story and not have the expectation that it will include one or all of the following: Romance, Sex, Erotica. But, our stories do not need to have a tunnel-vision focus on sexuality and love life. I came face to face with this frustration recently during a #PitMad event on Twitter. I wrote a literary novel with LGBTQ characters. I had a few likes, but they were all from publishers who only publish gay romance with degrees of sex. I even tagged the novel as literary. They are not yet looking for gay novels that don’t include these things.

4. What are your challenges and triumphs as a gay author?

Kevin: Just to be adding my voice, and to be finding a level of success. I know how barren the field of gay literature used to be. I know how badly the representation was needed. The young adult community went mad this past spring when Love, Simon was released in theatres. A gay teen who just happens to be gay having a sweet romance on the big screen? Not in my day. If I can add my voice to that kind of inclusion, I’m happy to do so.

5. Anything else you’d like to say to the reading/writing world?

Kevin: Just that there is a place for everyone. If you are looking for a book and you can’t find it…it may be time to write it. Chances are, there’s someone else out there looking for it. Literature is an ideal place in which to find ourselves and tackle our differences. To read is to gain understanding.

Your turn

To mark Pride Month, why not add a Canadian LGBTQ novel to your reading list. Read a book by Kevin Craig or choose one from 49th Shelf’s  list of LGBTQ authors and/or LGBTQ issues.  Their list “includes fiction, poetry, memoir, nonfiction, and books for young readers—not to mention books by award-winning authors and some of the most buzzed-about titles of the season.”