Gary Carnivele

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27th Lambda Literary Award Finalists Announced

Best LGBT books? Here’s what’s in the running for the Lambda Literary Awards this spring.

Lesbian Fiction: Adult Onset, Ann-Marie Macdonald, Tin House Books; Last Words of Montmartre, Qiu Miaojin, translated by Ari Larissa Heinrich, New York Review Books; Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932, Francine Prose, Harper Collins/Harper; Miracle Girls, MB Caschetta, Engine Books; New York 1, Tel Aviv 0, Shelly Oria, FSG Originals/Farrar, Straus and Giroux; The Palace Blues, Brandy T. Wilson, Spinsters Ink; The Paying Guests, Sarah Waters, Riverhead Books, Penguin Random House; Yabo, Alexis De Veaux, RedBone Press

Gay Fiction: All I Love and Know, Judith Frank, HarperCollins/William Morrow; Barracuda, Christos Tsiolkas, Hogarth; Bitter Eden: A Novel, Tatamkhulu Afrika, Macmillan/Picador USA; The City of Palaces, Michael Nava, U. of Wisconsin Press; I Loved You More, Tom Spanbauer, Hawthorne Books; Little Reef and Other Stories, Michael Carroll, Terrace Books, an imprint of the U. of Wisconsin Press; Next to Nothing: Stories, Keith Banner, Lethe Press; Souljah, John R. Gordon, Angelica Entertainments Ltd/Team Angelica Publishing

Bisexual Fiction: Best Bi Short Stories: Bisexual Fiction, Sheela Lambert editor, Gressive Press, an imprint of Circlet Press; Extraordinary Adventures of Mullah Nasruddin, Ron J. Suresha, Lethe Press; Finder of Lost Objects, Susie Hara, Ithuriel’s Spear; Give It to Me, Ana Castillo, The Feminist Press; She of the Mountains, Vivek Shraya, Arsenal Pulp Press

Transgender Fiction: Everything Must Go, La JohnJoseph, ITNA PRESS; For Today I Am a Boy, Kim Fu, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Moving Forward Sideways like a Crab, Shani Mootoo, Doubleday Canada; Revolutionary: A Novel, Alex Myers, Simon and Schuster; A Safe Girl To Love, Casey Plett, Topside Press

LGBT Debut Fiction: Death in Venice, California, Vinton Rafe McCabe, The Permanent Press; Kill Marguerite and Other Stories, Megan Milks, Emergency Press; A Map of Everything, Elizabeth Earley, Jaded Ibis Press; The Music Teacher, Bob Sennett, Lethe Press; Nochita, Dia Felix, City Lights/Sister Spit; Part the Hawser, Limn the Sea, Dan Lopez, Chelsea Station Editions; Unaccompanied Minors, Alden Jones, New American Press; The Walk-In Closet, Abdi Nazemian, Curtis Brown Unlimited

LGBT Nonfiction: An American Queer: The Amazon Trail, Lee Lynch, Bold Strokes Books; Hold Tight Gently: Michael Callen, Essex Hemphill, and the Battlefield of AIDS, Martin Duberman, The New Press; The Invisible Orientation: An Introduction to Asexuality, Julie Sondra Decker, Skyhorse Publishing/Carrel Books; Nevirapine and the Quest to End Pediatric AIDS, Rebecca J. Anderson, McFarland; Robert Gober: The Heart Is Not a Metaphor, Hilton Als, Ann Temkin, Claudia Carson, Robert Gober, Paulina Pobocha, Christian Scheidemann, The Museum of Modern Art; Sexplosion: From Andy Warhol to A Clockwork Orange, How a Generation of Pop Rebels Broke All the Taboos, Robert Hofler, It Books/HarperCollins; The Transgender Archives: Foundations for the Future, Aaron H. Devor, U. of Victoria Libraries; The Up Stairs Lounge Arson: Thirty-Two Deaths in a New Orleans Gay Bar, June 24, 1973 , Clayton Delery-Edwards, McFarland

Bisexual Nonfiction: Fire Shut Up in My Bones, Charles M. Blow, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Not My Father’s Son, Alan Cumming, HarperCollins Publishers/Dey Street Books; Recognize: The Voices of Bisexual Men, Editors: Robyn Ochs & H. Sharif Williams, Bisexual Resource Center

Transgender Nonfiction: Man Alive: A True Story of Violence, Forgiveness and Becoming a Man, Thomas Page McBee, City Lights/Sister Spit; Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love and So Much More, Janet Mock, Atria Books; Trans Bodies, Trans Selves: A Resource for the Transgender Community, Laura Erickson-Schroth, Oxford U. Press

Lesbian Poetry: Haiti Glass, Lenelle Moise, City Lights/Sister Spit; Janey’s Arcadia, Rachel Zolf, Coach House Books; Last Psalm at Sea Level, Meg Day, Barrow Street Press; Like a Begger, Ellen Bass, Copper Canyon Press; MxT, Sina Queyras, Coach House Books; Mysterious Acts by My People, Valerie Wetlaufer, Sibling Rivalry Press; Only Ride, Megan Volpert, Sibling Rivalry Press; Termination Dust, Susanna Mishler, Red Hen Press/Boreal

Gay Poetry: [insert] boy, Danez Smith, YesYes Books; Clean, David J. Daniels, Four Way Books; Don’t Go Back to Sleep, Timothy Liu, Saturnalia Books; ECODEVIANCE: (Soma)tics for the Future Wilderness, CAConrad, Wave Books; The New Testament, Jericho Brown, Copper Canyon Press; Prelude to Bruise, Saeed Jones, Coffee House Press; This Life Now, Michael Broder, A Midsummer Night’s Press; This Way to the Sugar, Hieu Minh Nguyen, Write Bloody Publishing

Lesbian Mystery: The Acquittal, Anne Laughlin, Bold Strokes Books; Done to Death , Charles Atkins, Severn House Publishers; The Old Deep and Dark-A Jane Lawless Mystery, Ellen Hart, Minotaur Books; Slash and Burn, Valerie Bronwen, Bold Strokes Books; UnCatholic Conduct, Stevie Mikayne, Bold Strokes Books

Gay Mystery: Blackmail, My Love: A Murder Mystery, Katie Gilmartin, Cleis Press; Boystown 6: From the Ashes, Marshall Thornton, MLR; Calvin’s Head, David Swatling, Bold Strokes Books; DeadFall, David Lennon, BlueSpike Publishing; Fair Game, Josh Lanyon, Carina Press; A Gathering Storm, Jameson Currier, Chelsea Station Editions; Moon Over Tangier, Janice Law, Open Road Media; The Next, Rafe Haze, Wilde City Press

Lesbian Memoir/Biography: Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around: Forty Years of Movement Building with Barbara Smith, Alethia Jones and Virginia Eubanks, with Barbara Smith,  SUNY Press; Cease – a memoir of love, loss and desire, Lynette Loeppky, Oolichan Books; Eating Fire: My Life as a Lesbian Avenger, Kelly Cogswell, U. of Minnesota Press; The End of Eve, Ariel Gore, Hawthorne Books; Under This Beautiful Dome: A Senator, A Journalist, and the Politics of Gay Love in America, Terry Mutchler, Seal Press

Gay Memoir/Biography: Body Counts: A Memoir of Politics, Sex, AIDS, and Survival, Sean Strub, Scribner; Charles Walters: The Director Who Made Hollywood Dance, Brent Phillips, U. Press of Kentucky; Closets, Combat and Coming Out: Coming of Age as a Gay Man in the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Army, Rob Smith, Blue Beacon Books by Regal Crest; Inside a Pearl: My Years in Paris, Edmund White, Bloomsbury; Letter to Jimmy, Alain Mabanckou, translated by Sara Meli Ansari, Counterpoint/Soft Skull Press; The Prince of Los Cocuyos, Richard Blanco, HarperCollins/Ecco; Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh, John Lahr, W.W. Norton & Co.; Wagstaff: Before and After Mapplethorpe, Philip Gefter, W.W. Norton & Co./Liveright

Lesbian Romance: Christmas Crush, Kate McLachlan, Regal Crest; The Farmer’s Daughter, Robbi McCoy, Bella Books; The Heat of Angels, Lisa Girolami, Bold Strokes Books; Jolt , Kris Bryant, Bold Strokes Books; Nightingale, Andrea Bramhall, Bold Strokes Books; Seneca Falls, Jesse J. Thoma, Bold Strokes Books; Tangled Roots, Marianne K. Martin, Bywater Books; That Certain Something, Clare Ashton, Breezy Tree Press

Gay Romance: The Companion, Lloyd A. Meeker, Dreamspinner Press; Everything’s Coming Up Roses: Four Tales of M/M Romance, Barry Lowe, Lydian Press; Foolish Hearts: New Gay Fiction, Timothy Lambert and R.D. Cochrane, Cleis Press; Like They Always Been Free, Georgina Li, Queer Young Cowboys; Message of Love, Jim Provenzano, Myrmidude Press/CreateSpace; The Passion of Sergius & Bacchus, A Novel of Truth, David Reddish, DoorQ Publishing; Pulling Leather, L.C. Chase, Riptide Publishing; Salvation: A Novel of the Civil War, Jeff Mann, Bear Bones Books

Lesbian Erotica: All You Can Eat. A Buffet of Lesbian Erotica and Romance, Andi Marquette and R.G. Emanuelle, Ylva Publishing; Forbidden Fruit: stories of unwise lesbian desire, Cheyenne Blue, Ladylit Publishing; Lesbian Sex Bible, Diana Cage, Quiver Books

Gay Erotica: Bears of Winter, Jerry Wheeler, Bear Bones Books; Incubus Tales, Hushicho, Circlet Press; The King, Tiffany Reisz, MIRA Books; Leather Spirit Stallion, Raven Kaldera, Circlet Press; The Thief Taker, William Holden, Bold Strokes Books

LGBT Anthology: Black Gay Genius: Answering Joseph Beam’s Call, Charles Stephens and Steven G. Fullwood, Vintage Entity Press; A Family by Any Other Name: Exploring Queer Relationships, Bruce Gillespie, TouchWood Editions; Outer Voices Inner Lives, Mark McNease and Stephen Dolainski (co-editors), MadeMark Publishing; The Queer South: LGBTQ Writers on the American South, Douglas Ray, Editor, Sibling Rivalry Press; Understanding and Teaching US Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History, Leila J. Rupp & Susan K. Freeman, U. of Wisconsin Press

LGBT Children’s/Young Adult: Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out, Susan Kuklin, Candlewick Press; Double Exposure, Bridget Birdsall, Sky Pony Press, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing; Five, Six, Seven, Nate!, Tim Federle, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; Forgive Me If I’ve Told You This Before, Karelia Stetz-Waters, Ooligan Press; Lies We Tell Ourselves, Robin Talley, Harlequin Teen; Pukawiss the Outcast, Jay Jordan Hawke, Dreamspinner Press/Harmony Ink Press; This is Not a Love Story, Suki Fleet, Dreamspinner Press/Harmony Ink Press; When Everything Feels like the Movies, Raziel Reid, Arsenal Pulp Press

LGBT Drama: The Beast of Times, Adelina Anthony, Korima Press; Bootycandy, Robert O’Hara, Samuel French; A Kid Like Jake, Daniel Pearle, Dramatists Play Service; The Whale, Samuel D. Hunter, Samuel French; Wolves, Steve Yockey, Samuel French

LGBT Graphic Novels: 100 Crushes, Elisha Lim, Koyama Press; Band Vs. Band Comix Volume 1, Kathleen Jacques, Paper Heart Comix; Pregnant Butch: Nine Long Months Spent in Drag,  A.K. Summers, Soft Skull, an imprint of Counterpoint; Second Avenue Caper, Joyce Brabner; Art by Mark Zingarelli, Hill and Wang, a division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Snackies, Nick Sumida, Youth in Decline

LGBT SF/F/Horror: Afterparty, Daryl Gregory, Tor Books; Bitter Waters, Chaz Brenchley, Lethe Press; Butcher’s Road, Lee Thomas, Lethe Press; Child of a Hidden Sea, A. M. Dellamonica, Tor Books; Full Fathom Five, Max Gladstone, Tor Books; FutureDyke, Lea Daley, Bella Books; Skin Deep Magic, Craig Laurance Gidney, Rebel Satori Press

LGBT Studies: After Love: Queer Intimacy and Erotic Economies in Post-Soviet Cuba, Noelle M. Stout, Duke U. Press; Charity & Sylvia: A Same-Sex Marriage in Early America, Rachel Hope Cleves, Oxford U. Press; Delectable Negro: Human Consumption and Homoeroticism within US Slave Culture, Vincent Woodard, Ed. Justin A. Joyce and Dwight McBride, New York U. Press; Queen for a Day: Transformistas, Beauty Queens, and the Performance of Femininity in Venezuela, Marcia Ochoa, Duke U. Press; The Queerness of Native American Literature, Lisa Tatonetti, U. of Minnesota Press; Sexual Futures, Queer Gestures, and Other Latina Longings, Juana Maria Rodriguez, New York U. Press; The Sexuality of History: Modernity and the Sapphic, Susan S. Lanser, U. of Chicago Press; Under Bright Lights: Gay Manila and the Global Scene, Bobby Benedicto, U. of Minnesota Press

Winners will be announced on June 1 in New York City.

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Equality California Announces 2015 Legislative Package that Advances Expanded Mission

Equality California is pleased to announce the first eight items in its 2015 legislative package which would improve and advance equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Californians and their families. Equality California will announce additional legislation in the coming weeks.

In September of 2014, Equality California adopted a new mission statement which is to achieve full and lasting equality, acceptance and social justice for all people in our diverse LGBT communities, inside and outside of California. A key focus of our expanded mission is to address disparities in the health and well-being of LGBT Californians. This expanded mission guides this year’s legislative package.

“Collectively, these bills not only close some of the remaining gaps in California civil rights laws but also help advance EQCA’s new objectives which are to address the health and well-being of LGBT Californians,” said Rick Zbur, EQCA executive director. “Our Fair Share for Equality” report highlights that LGBT people face significant disparities in their health and well-being compared with the broader community. Our legislative program is focused on beginning to address these disparities.”

“Much attention has been paid to the Supreme Court and its upcoming decision on gay marriage, and rightfully so,” Assemblymember Susan Talamantes Eggman, chair of the California Legislative LGBT Caucus said. “However, we have to remember the difference between landmark decisions and finish lines. These bills are part of the continuing work to which we dedicate ourselves, and remember that the struggle for equality goes on. Health disparities, school inclusiveness and discrimination against transgender individuals are still pressing issues for the LGBT community. We hope to continue our work with EQCA in ensuring that California remains a leader in civil rights.”

The following bills are aimed at reducing disparities the LGBT community faces by requiring government agencies to collect important data on sexual orientation and gender identity, assisting teachers to combat bullying and harassment through training, addressing transgender health disparities by requiring out-of-state contractors give equal benefits to transgender employees, and updating sex education curriculum to include accurate information about LGBT families and relationships.

Reduce disparities in health and well-being for LGBT people through data collection: AB 959, authored by Assemblymember David Chiu, would require government agencies to collect data on sexual orientation and gender identity whenever additional demographic data is collected. Collecting this data is necessary to understand the extent to which LGBT people are experiencing disparities in health and well-being and whether government programs are reaching LGBT people in need of care and assistance.

Collect data about LGBT Californians through Covered California and Medi-Cal: In tandem with AB 959, EQCA is leading a coalition advocating that the paper and online applications for Covered California and Medi-Cal, which together will insure one-third of all Californians, includes voluntary questions about sexual orientation and gender identity.

Collecting this information is critical in healthcare settings to ensure LGBT individuals get the culturally competent health care they need.

Help teachers combat bullying and support LGBT youth: As proposed to be amended, AB 827, authored by Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell, would create a teacher training program that would aid teachers in identifying and assisting LGBT students who may need particular support in the coming out process or dealing with bias-based bullying. LGBT youth have a higher dropout rate than their straight peers and are four times more likely to attempt suicide than their straight peers. Therefore, AB 827 will give teachers the training they need to help LGBT students.

Require out-of-state companies who contract with the state of California to provide insurance benefits to transgender employees: SB 703, authored by Senator Mark Leno, prohibits state agencies from doing business with companies that fail to offer transgender employees the same health care coverage and benefits they offer all other workers. This would reduce disparities in health care coverage for transgender people. EQCA is co-sponsoring SB 703 with the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Transgender Law Center.

Update existing law to ensure students understand the various kinds of families and relationships: AB329, authored by Assemblymember Shirley Weber, would update and strengthen existing law to ensure that students receive sex education that is accurate, comprehensive, medically accurate, age-appropriate and inclusive. This bill will teach students about LGBT people and their families and will lead to greater understanding and acceptance of LGBT youth and families. Additionally, the bill will update curriculum on prevention of sexually transmitted infections, HIV, and pregnancy. EQCA is co-sponsoring AB 329 with American Civil Liberties Union of California, California Latinas for Reproductive Justice, Forward Together, and Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California.

“California has the most comprehensive pro-equality civil rights protections of any state in the country, but gaps remain. These bills will address some of the gaps that still exist by providing important new protections,” Zbur continued.

End discrimination against transgender jurors: AB 87, authored by Assemblymember Mark Stone, would prohibit discrimination against transgender jurors in the jury selection process in California courts. The bill also makes clear that jury selection discrimination based on ethnicity, age, genetic information, or disability is prohibited as well.

Protect all parents equally: AB 960, authored by Assemblymember David Chiu, would modernize California’s assisted reproduction laws to protect families using assisted reproduction. Current law puts intended parents using this method of reproduction and their children at risk due to discrepancies in parental rights. EQCA is co-sponsoring AB 960 with the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Our Family Coalition.

Ensure that private organizations that discriminate do not benefit from a state employee charitable giving program: AB 1050, authored by Assemblymember Evan Low, would require that all charities eligible for donations through a state employee giving program are screened to ensure that they do not discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Over the past 17 years, EQCA has changed the legislative landscape for LGBT people — from a state with extremely limited protections for LGBT people to the state with the most comprehensive LGBT civil rights protections in the country. With a total of 102 bills passed prior to the 2015 session, passing these eight would bring that total to 110, continuing EQCA’s record-setting legislative agenda.

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Equality California is California’s largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization focused on creating a fair and just society. Our mission is to achieve and maintain full and lasting equality, acceptance and social justice for all people in our diverse LGBT communities, inside and outside of California. Our mission includes advancing the health and well-being of LGBT Californians through direct healthcare service advocacy and education. Through electoral, advocacy, education and mobilization programs, we strive to create a broad and diverse alliance of LGBT people, educators, government officials, communities of color and faith, labor, business, and social justice communities to achieve our goals. www.eqca.org

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Common Herpes Drug Reduces HIV Levels

The results of a new trial show that a common herpes medication can reduce levels of HIV independent of herpes infection.

The herpes drug valacyclovir reduced HIV levels in HIV patients not infected with herpes.

The trial was carried out by an international group of researchers – including a team from Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) in Cleveland, OH – and is reported in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

The investigators found – contrary to previous studies – that the commonly used herpes drug valacyclovir (known under the brand name Valtrex) reduced levels of HIV-1 even in patients that did not have herpes.

HIV-1 is the predominant strain of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). When people refer to HIV without saying which type of virus, they usually mean HIV-1.

Previously it was thought that the herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) had to be present for valacyclovir to be effective against HIV.

Co-senior author Benigno Rodriguez, associate professor of medicine and infectious diseases at CWRU School of Medicine, says:

“These results demonstrated that the mechanism by which valacyclovir acts against HIV is not only through the presence of HSV-2.”

The results of the trial suggest not only that valacyclovir is effective for more HIV patients than previously thought, but they also point to new avenues for developing HIV drugs.

Such news will be most welcome given that some forms of HIV-1 are now resistant to current drugs.

Prof. Rodriguez says their work also reveals important clues about how the drug decreases HIV-1 levels.
Valacyclovir reduces viral load by blocking HIV-1 replication

The findings suggest that valacyclovir reduces viral load because once it activates inside HIV-infected cells, it stops the virus from replicating.

There is a known link between HIV-1 and HSV-2 in that herpes causes periodic outbreaks of genital lesions that make herpes-infected people more likely to contract HIV through intimate contact.

Outbreaks of herpes are treated either with acyclovir or its newer sibling valacyclovir, which can be given in less frequent doses.

Earlier work with acyclovir had already suggested that the drug blocked HIV-1 reproduction, even in the absence of HSV-2. This prompted the new trials of valacyclovir in HIV-infected patients.

The study reports the results of two trials that ran between 2009 and 2012. One trial was in the US and the other in Peru. Altogether, 18 HIV-1 infected patients who tested negative for HSV-2 were enrolled. They had low CD4 cell counts and they were not taking antiretrovirals.

The patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups. In one group, the treatment began with the active drug, in the other group, it began with a placebo. The study was double-blind, meaning that throughout, neither the patients nor the clinicians who gave them the treatment knew whether they were receiving the active drug or the placebo.

The patients took the drug (active or placebo) twice daily for 12 weeks. The trial was also a crossover trial, so after a 2-week break with no medication, the groups switched – the placebo was replaced by active drug and the active drug was replaced by placebo. Another 12 weeks of taking the drug twice a day followed.
HIV viral loads were down with valacyclovir, and up with placebo

The results showed that when the patients were on valacyclovir, their HIV viral loads went down, and when they were on placebo, their HIV viral loads went up.

Co-senior author Michael M. Lederman, a professor of medicine at CWRU, says:

“Our most recent clinical study demonstrates that acyclovir blocks HIV replication directly. The anti-HIV activity of valacyclovir does not depend on blocking the inflammation caused by herpes simplex virus 2.”

The CWRU team believes the study offers valuable clues to new anti-HIV drug development, using agents based on the molecular structure of valacyclovir, as Prof. Lederman explains:

“The drug might be an agent that can be used safely in some people with HIV infection who have a form of HIV that is highly resistant to other antiretroviral drugs. Valacyclovir might well augment the cocktail of medications they take for reducing HIV replication. Valacyclovir is a well-tolerated drug, and it doesn’t have a lot of side effects.”

Funds for the study came from various institutes and programs with the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Meanwhile, Medical News Today recently learned about a study presented at a conference that showed the antiretroviral Truvada reduced HIV infection risk by 86%. The researchers found that taking the drug daily was highly effective at preventing HIV infection in men who have sex with men.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD

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15 Books By Transgender Women You Need To Read Immediately

1. Six Months, Three Days by Charlie Jane Anders

Tor.com via tor.com

Charlie Jane Anders via sfweekly.com

A man who can see the future meets a woman who can see many possible futures and the two fall in love, despite knowing exactly when their relationship will end and how.

Date of Publication: 2011
Why You Should Read It: Not only did it win the 2012 Hugo Award for Best Novelette (and get nominated for many more awards), but this novella will also soon be adapted to the small screen by NBC.

2. Last Letters From Hav by Jan Morris

Random House via themanbookerprize.com

Jan Morris via patriciaannmcnair.com

This fictional memoir details Morris’ six-month trip to the imaginary country of Hav, which seems to be on the brink of war.

Date of Publication: 1985
Why You Should Read It: The book, which crosses genres between travel literature and science fiction, was nominated for a Man Booker Prize its year of publication.

3. A Safe Girl to Love by Casey Plett

Topside Press via topsidepress.com

jrvmajesty.tumblr.com

Plett’s collection of short fiction stories feature young trans women navigating life, from a rural Canadian town to the boozy nightlife of Brooklyn.

Date of Publication: 2014
Why You Should Read It: Plett offers insight to the struggles all young women recognize, through journeys of heartbreak to those of growth and transformation.

4. Nevada by Imogen Binnie

Topside Press via olyblog.net

Julie Blair via bklooks.com

Binnie’s dark comedy is about a young punk girl living in New York City who embarks on a journey that will change her life after discovering her girlfriend has lied to her.

Date of Publication: 2013
Why You Should Read It: Imogen won Lambda Literary’s 2014 Emerging Writer Award for the novel and received rave reviews from readers upon her debut.

5. I’ve Got a Time Bomb by Sybil Lamb

Topside Press via topsidepress.com

Sybil Lamb via jrvmajesty.tumblr.com

On her way home from a same-sex wedding, the character Sybil is brutally attacked and wakes up days later in a hospital to find that her brain, and thus reality as she knows it, has changed.

Date of Publication: 2014
Why You Should Read It: A fictional take on a real-life hate crime, this book is a powerful novel about strength, survival, and punk rock.

6. Redefining Realness by Janet Mock

Atria Books via slate.com

Aaron Tredwell via jandaywilson.com

The talk show host and Marie Claire editor shares her coming-of-age memoir, detailing her life growing up as a black trans girl from an impoverished background in Hawaii.

Date of Publication: 2014
Why You Should Read It: With a narrative firmly rooted in both pop culture and academic research, the New York Times best-seller explores the highly relatable themes of family, community, and self-reliance, while also offering teaching opportunities typically missing from similar narratives.

7. Hiding My Candy: The Autobiography of the Grand Empress of Savannah by The Lady Chablis

Pocket Books via amazon.com

Lady Chablis via monikermgmt.com

The Lady Chablis became well-known after making an appearance in John Berendt’s Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, the longest nonfiction best-seller on the New York Times list. (It was later adapted into a 1997 Clint Eastwood movie of the same name, in which Chablis also starred.) Chablis shares her story as a drag queen and performer in this memoir.

Date of Publication: 1997
Why You Should Read It: The book provides an opportunity to explore the rich life of an entertainer who still maintains an active career, including a 2013 appearance on Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Atlanta.

8. Cooking in Heels by Ceyenne Doroshow

Red Umbrella Project via redumbrellaproject.org

Ceyenne Doroshaw via marisarmiller.tumblr.com

Doroshow shares her life through 40 Southern-style recipes with a Caribbean twist.

Date of Publication: 2012
Why You Should Read It: How can you say no to food? The book stands out in the memoir genre with an interactive and delicious method of storytelling that further connects you to Doroshow’s life and history.

9. She’s Not There: A Life in Two Genders by Jennifer Finney Boylan

Broadway Books via amazon.com

James Bowdoin via jenniferboylan.net

Boylan, the national co-chair for GLAAD, shares her experience with transitioning between genders while navigating life, family, love, and, ultimately, self-acceptance in this memoir.

Date of Publication: 2003
Why You Should Read It: The book is an important part of queer history, as the first memoir by a transgender American author to land on the New York Times best-seller list.

10. Trauma Queen by Lovemme Corazón

Biyuti Publishing via autostraddle.com

Lovemme Corazon via youngist.tumblr.com

This memoir is composed of poems and prose about Corazón’s journey through abuse and assault and her life as a survivor.

Date of Publication: 2013
Why You Should Read It: The memoir explores themes with which survivors of assault and young activists living with gender dysphoria and healing through trauma can easily emphathize.

11. Seasonal Velocities by Ryka Aoki

Trans-Genre via trans-genre.net

Ryka Aoki via womenwhokickass.tumblr.com

Aoki’s collection of essays, poems, stories, and transcripts from her performance art explores violence, love, hope, and home, defined by seasonal themes.

Date of Publication: 2012
Why You Should Read It: A finalist for the Lambda Literary Award, the collection has been praised for offering “the possibility of healing, of hope and redemption, of reunion.”

12. I Rise: The Transformation of Toni Newman by Toni Newman

CREATESPACE via amazon.com

Toni Newman via wildgender.com

The memoir shares the story of Newman’s journey growing up in a strict Christian home in North Carolina, making a living through sex work in Los Angeles and NYC, and, finally, attending law school to help her community.

Date of Publication: 2011
Why You Should Read It: In a rich exploration of life from church pews to the streets of L.A., Toni shares her pride and triumph through life’s trials. The book is also in the process of becoming an independent movie.

13. Whipping Girl by Julia Serano

Seal Press via juliaserano.com

Julia Serano via juliaserano.com

Serano’s collection of critical essays deconstructs socially accepted narratives on trans women in Western culture.

Date of Publication: 2007
Why You Should Read It: The manifesto is great for anyone interested in learning about the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality in feminism. It is also responsible for coining the term “transmisogyny” — the point at which transphobia and misogyny meet.

14. Make Love to Rage by Morgan Robyn Collado

Biyuti Publishing via publishbiyuti.org

Morgan Robyn Collado via Twitter: @witchymorgan

Collado’s collection of poetry explores the evolution from rage to love in the face of injustice.

Date of Publication: 2014
Why You Should Read It: It’s a powerful meditation on how to live in peace and love while struggling through oppression.

15. Wanting in Arabic by Trish Salah

TSAR Publications via amazon.com

Kaspar Saxena via news-centre.uwinnipeg.ca

Salah’s collection of poetry that explores gender, nostalgia, language, race, and the idea of a cultural home.

Date of Publication: 2002 (Reissued in 2013)
Why You Should Read it: A winner of the 2014 Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Fiction, the collection shares a cultural experience rarely made available to mainstream American audiences.

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Paying Those at Risk for HIV to Take Drugs Doesn’t Work

Paying patients in the Bronx and in Washington — where infection rates are high among poor blacks and Hispanics — up to $280 a year to take HIV medications daily improved overall adherence rates very little, a new study found.

SEATTLE — A major study testing whether Americans would take HIV drugs daily if they were paid to do so, essentially failed, scientists at an AIDS conference this week said according to a New York Times article.

Paying patients in the Bronx and in Washington — where infection rates are high among poor blacks and Hispanics — up to $280 a year to take their pills daily improved overall adherence rates very little, the study’s authors said.

The hope was that the drugs would not only improve the health of the people taking them, but help slow the spread of HIV infections. HIV patients who take their medicine regularly are about 95 percent less likely to infect others than patients who do not. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that only a quarter of all 1.1 million Americans with HIV are taking their drugs regularly enough to not be infectious.

Paying patients $25 to take HIV tests, and then $100 to return for the results and meet a doctor, also failed, the study found.

The failure of the cash-incentives trial was a surprise and a disappointment to scientists and advocates. It had paid out $2.8 million to 9,000 patients in 39 clinics over three years, but the clinics where money was distributed did only 5 percent better than those that did not — a statistically insignificant difference, the Times reports.

Some small clinics and those where patients had been doing poorly at the start of the study did improve as much as 13 percent, however, the Times article said.
– See more at: http://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/02/27/paying-risk-hiv-take-drugs-doesnt-work/#sthash.Xz6smyIP.dpuf

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Same-Sex Couples Make Their Cases To The Justices

The first formal step in the marriage cases before the Supreme Court is happening Friday, as the same-sex couples in four midwest states ask the justices to strike down bans that prevent them from marrying or having their marriages granted elsewhere recognized in the states.

When the court announced in January that it would be hearing the cases out of Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee, it set a schedule requiring the couples or, in one case, widower, to file their briefs with the court by Friday.

The first brief whose filing was announced on Friday was in a pair of cases out of Ohio, both of which deal with recognition of marriages previously granted to same-sex couples in other states. The brief’s filing was announced at 10 a.m.

Shortly thereafter, the couples in Tennessee — also seeking recognition of their marriages granted elsewhere — filed their brief, as did couples in Kentucky seeking the right to marry and the right to have marriages granted elsewhere recognized.

A bit before 11:30 a.m., the final brief came in from the Michigan couple seeking to marry in that state.

The states’ briefs defending the bans will be due in a month, by March 27.

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Report Details Transgender People’s Economic Struggles

The estimated 700,000 transgender people in the U.S. experience disproportionately high rates of poverty compared with the general population and others within the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population, according to a new report by transgender advocacy groups.

Their financial difficulties are linked to isolation that results from discrimination in the workplace, in the health care industry and in educational settings. Financial insecurity also was attributed to a lack of legal protections, according to the report, sponsored by eight public policy and transgender organizations including the Transgender Law Center, the Center for American Progress and the Movement Advancement Project.

“Transgender people face extreme discrimination in virtually all areas of life — when looking for housing, trying to find decent and affordable health care and health insurance, opening lines of credit and obtaining accurate identity documents,” the report stated.

Transgender people in Sonoma County face the same issues, said Jacqueline Nugent, a counselor for Positive Images, a nonprofit lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender support group based in Santa Rosa.

Nugent runs three transgender counseling groups for Positive Images — one for parents of transgender people, one for male-to-female transgender people and one for transgender youths and people questioning their gender.

She said she’s seen an increase in the number of people seeking support and advice in her groups, which she’s run in Sonoma County for five years. From her perspective, more people are seeking services because of new cultural acceptance. Transgender people are increasingly visible in public and are being represented in the news and on TV, she said.

“I’ve seen a huge uptick,” said Nugent, 65, who is a transgender woman. “Trans people are out in the culture now, being normalized, much more than when I was growing up.”

Documenting challenges among transgender people, beyond anecdotally, can be difficult because few state or national surveys include questions about gender identity, transgender advocates said. However, advocates said increasingly, people are asking for gender-appropriate space to respond on questionnaires.

Nugent said the issue has come up in her support groups, in addition to other health and safety concerns. Five years ago, just two or three people would attend weekly peer counseling meetings. Compare that with today, and the same group has between 15 and 20 people showing up. Between 50 and 120 people attend her other groups.

Nugent said she fields questions and addresses problems with transgender people facing barriers to adequate health care, people who are on the verge of homelessness and many who face harassment at work.

“There is a lot of discrimination when people are transitioning, and it’s really hard,” Nugent said. “That leads to social anxiety and being afraid to go out in public.”

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America’s First Privately-Owned LGBTQ Center Opens In West Hollywood

The owner of three of West Hollywood’s most fashionable men’s retail shops announced this week he will close one in order to convert it into America’s first privately owned LGBTQ Center. On Thursday, February 26, the LA Jock Sport retail shop at 7990 Santa Monica Blvd will become “Home”, a privately-funded help center serving the community and its allies by offering free support – including legal, mental health and vocational services – to those in need. It will provide meeting spaces for groups working to advance LGBTQ causes, as well as free wifi, computer access, a screening room, and research facilities. It will also house a museum chronicling the LGBTQ community and its struggles though out history. Most significantly, “Home” will not seek any public donations. All monetary funds will come from local shop owner, Nir Zilberman.
“I created ‘Home’ as a space where strong minded individuals can meet and work with other strong minded individuals to make the world a better place for all, gay and straight,” proclaims Zilberman. “It’s time we wake up to the many issues plaguing our society and take action here and now.”
As the child of two Holocaust survivors, Zilberman always had plans to create a place to help people, but it wasn’t until he made headlines during the Sochi Olympics that he realized the time to do it was now.
It all began with a window display in his LA Jock Sport shop featuring a mannequin dressed as a Jewish Holocaust victim. The uniform included a pink triangle, the badge worn to identify homosexual prisoners of concentration camps. Zilberman meant it as a political statement to highlight the similarities between Hitler and Russia’s Putin. He hoped it would encourage the gay community – especially Millennials – to protest against Russia, but he was disappointed. “I didn’t realize how complacent we had become,” he says. “We are living in a world where it is a crime to be gay in 78 countries! This is no time to be complacent, people!”
Zilberman accuses the gay community of forgetting its past struggles and the heroes who suffered for the rights the community enjoys today. “There was a time, not so long ago, when doctors refused to touch, let alone treat, homosexuals who were infected with HIV and AIDS.”
Converting the athletic retail shop into “Home” took over six months to complete. In addition to its support services, “Home” is developing a variety of programs designed to remind all of the rich LGBTQ history and instill a new sense of community among gays and allies. Seminars will include “Living as Transgender”, “Prep and Condom Use” and “What’s Next”, a class designed to help individuals realize their life’s potential. There will be political and social groups including one for teens called “LGBTQ Teens Are Our Tomorrow”.
“We aim to build a bridge that spans the distance between our present situation and our vision of a better world,” says Zilberman. “The beauty of the bridge is that once it is in place, anyone can cross it.”
The ultimate goal is that Zilberman’s “Home” will inspire others to build more ‘Homes’ like it in cities throughout the country and, eventually, abroad. “We can’t rely on the city to help us anymore. There is too much red tape and corruption.”
He concedes it would be nice if a billionaire like Bill Gates were to step forward, but says we can’t rely on the wealthy either. “I’m not rich,” he clarifies. “I’m simply fed up. And I believe everyday people can change the world.”
For more information on Home visit https://www.facebook.com/wehohome.

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Hook-up Apps Popular Vehicle for HIV Advocates

 

Hook-up apps on smartphones continue to be an avenue for HIV health advocates to reach gay men at risk, Bloomberg reports.

Citing surging rates of new infections in gay and bi men 24 or younger, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the CDC coordinated an online campaign last month with several dating services to promote testing. The messages, which were donated by the app companies, were seen by 19 million users and more than 30,000 clicked through for more information, Hecht said.

Hornet and Jack’d are among dating apps that have undertaken their own awareness campaigns, deploying them in regions with less public discussion about the virus that causes AIDS.

Last year Hornet teamed with a local non-profit in the Philippines to send messages to 94,000 users about testing services, with links for online registration. More than 4,300 men responded, and 539 were HIV positive, said Sean Howell, founder and chief executive officer of the San Francisco-based company.

“Gay men are always on their phone, looking for other gay men,” said Howell, 34, who created Hornet after he realized how much time his friends spent online. “We have 4 million users worldwide who are at the highest risk for HIV and we have their attention.”
– See more at: http://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/02/20/hook-apps-popular-vehicle-hiv-advocates/#sthash.HewfTgL4.dpuf

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“Land of Storms” Explores Gay Life in Germany

 

Szabolcs (nicknamed Szabi) and his teenage German teammates do everything together.  They get matching tattoos and even ‘relieve’ themselves in unison when they are watching straight porn on the TV. However the camaraderie is quickly strained when they get thrashed in an important football match, and Szabi their captain is blamed for the loss. A fight breaks out during their post-game shower between Szabi and his best friend Bernard, which results in a hasty retreat early next morning with an angry Szabi sulking back to his native Hungary.
Instead of heading home and having to face his disappointed father who has all but coerced him into becoming a professional football player, Szabi instead makes tracks to the dilapidated farmhouse in a remote corner of the country that he has inherited from his grandfather.
He is woken up one night by the sound of his motorbike that is about to be stolen by Aron a local village lad. When Szabi sets off in hot pursuit and captures him, the embarrassed young man stays on to help repair the roof as a way of apologizing. These two lonely young men very quickly become firm friends, and when they end up drinking a little too much schnapps one night, Szabi takes advantage of the situation and of his new friend too, by attempting to take their relationship up a level or two. It’s clear that although Aron is enjoying being aroused by his friend, he is also confused and ashamed by the feelings he is experiencing and so later on in a moment of panic he confesses all to his needy religious mother.
As Aron has a sometimes girlfriend he escapes the beating that the local homophobic youths inflict on Szabi when word gets out that the two are more than platonic friends. Whilst Aron now keeps a wide berth of the farmhouse, Bernard turns up from Germany and professes that he has always had a secret crush on his best friend. As Szabi is now coming to terms with his sexuality he is more than happy to embrace this news and Bernard too.  When word gets around the village about Szabi’s new houseguest, a very jealous and somewhat chastened Aron quickly reappears and soon the three young men become a romantic idyllic triangle. It is doomed to failure however as it is inevitable that these three un-worldly innocents will be unable to deal with either their own feelings of jealousy, or the external forces that they quickly encounter.
The beauty of this very tender movie of gay self-discovery from Hungarian filmmaker Ádám Császi is the very sensual and somewhat sad way that rather unsentimentally deals with these boy’s experiences in this rather harsh environment. Császi captures Szabi’s struggle not just with his sexuality but his whole desire for a simpler way of life rather than following the path his father has insisted of mapping out for him.
It is daringly sensuous and although this tender and touching tale is both erotically and emotional charged, for a refreshing change it avoids any temptation to develop into a cliché melodrama.  It is helped by the three very talented leads who give extremely compelling performances of young men finding their own way of dealing with who they really are, and also by the fact that they just happen to be hot as hell too.
It is unquestionably one of the very best new coming of age movies, and even more remarkable when you appreciate that it is also Császi’s debut feature too.
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