THEGAYUK

Category: Books

  • BOOK REVIEW | No Drum To Beat

    ★★★★ | No Drum To Beat

    Mansel Stimpson, co-author of the Film Review yearbook, has written a memoir, a memoir where he states that ‘he was born in 1978 at the age of 40.’

    The Film Review yearbook is the world’s longest-established movie guide and is the only guide that provides essential credits and reviews for all theatrically released films in the UK. Stimpson began co-authoring the book in 2007, but his own memoir, titled ‘No Drum to Beat’, was actually written thirty years ago. It’s not about Mansel’s life as a writer, nor is it about film, it’s about him recognising his sexuality for the first time, at the age of 40, and then embracing it, and immediately seeing it as an opening to the possibility of loving.

    Mansel says that ‘when I recognised that I was gay I immediately saw it not as a problem but as a solution to a problem.’

    ‘No Drum to Beat’ tells an extraordinary and unique story of one man’s realisation that he was gay a bit late in life, but it’s also a record of gay life in London from 1978 to 1981, a time when London was going through a significant period of social change.

    Mansel mentions that his book ‘was written for men who thought being gay was a problem, and it’s also written for women and straight men in the hope of promoting greater understanding.’

    Mansel Stimpson has previously written for the British Federation of Film Societies, What’s On in London, Capital Gay, Gay Times, and the Pink Paper. Throughout his career he has interviewed countless singers, actors, conductors, and directors.

  • BOOK REVIEW | Speaking Out

    ★★★ | Speaking Out

    Speaking Out is a collection of photographic portraits of LBGT young people (aged 14-24 years old). 65+ young people, mostly from the USA are photographed. On each portrait young people have shared their thoughts, feelings or an experience. The young people have been honest in sharing their joys and tribulations of being an LGBT youth in a heterosexual world.

    In Speaking Out photographer Rachelle Lee Smith took the portraits, handed young people a sharpie pen and left them to write what they wanted. Among other topics, young people wrote about: stereotypes, identity, homophobia, self-love and romantic love. Young people identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender. It was great to see transgendered young people represented, however the vast majority of the young people identified as lesbian.

    Years later, some young people reconsidered their portrait. They wrote about how their lives had changed and what they would write now. It was enjoyable to read these reflections from young people and the book would have benefited from having more of these. Several pages of the book felt wasted as they contained quotes that either praised the photographer or the book its self. Never was there any praise for the young people who were actually brave enough to share their stories.

    Speaking Out is presented well, it’s a large book with 127 glossy pages in full colour. There is the odd page where a young person’s handwriting makes it difficult to read what they’ve written, but at no point is it unreadable.

    Speaking Out is an enlightening book that shows how we are all the same, rather than how we are different. It should be available in every school, college, library and youth club.

  • BOOK REVIEW | The Great Discovery, Jonathan Lemieux

    ★★★★★ | The Great Discovery, Jonathan Lemieux

    You know me and my love for erotic fiction – oh, you don’t? Ok, I love words, they are sensuous and arousing, they can make you conjure images that photographers and illustrators may not be able to.

    And as for erotica, I’m not talking heavy-handed Fifty Shades of Blagh either, I’m talking characters, plots and scenarios that you can relate to. This is where Jonathan Lemieux comes in.

    His first of a series of erotic stories centres on Victor, described as the love-child of an Otter, a Bear and a Pig and this sets the tone nicely for the rest of this story.

    Victor and his boyfriend Thomas have reached that point in their relationship where they either split or go down the “open relationship” route.

    Guess which they choose? And, thus opens the floodgates of the Daddy section of this story. Victor realises that this is where his particular fetish lies. Jonathan is very descriptive, and ensures his story has a good amount of sex sprinkled throughout to keep you flicking those pages.

    This leads Victor to online hook-ups and onwards to Bruce, his 50-ish year old bear conquest and his friend Matt. What follows is an interesting and descriptive threesome.

    Jonathan can write, boy can he write – his backgrounds make his characters real, give them depth – odd really for an erotic short story, but worth the investment.

    His background as a visual artist seems to have given him an ability to be very descriptive about the situations he puts his characters into, and these are very 18+ and ain’t for the kiddies! The whole scenario feels real and that adds a certain edge to the story.

    The story is available here as a download or an actual book – take your pick.

    http://www.blurb.ca/b/5413601-the-great-discovery?class=book-title

  • Polari First Book Prize Awarded To Fairytales For Lost Children

    Diriye Osman has won the Polari First Book Prize for his short story collection, Fairytales for Lost Children, published by Team Angelica Press.

    The British-Somali short story writer, essayist, critic and visual artist was last night [Wednesday 8th October] presented with a cheque for £1,000 by Vincent Francois, Chair of the UK LGBT Network and Regional Head of Audit, Societe Generale, at the Polari Literary Salon at the London Literature Festival.

    The Polari First Book Prize is for a first book which explores the LGBT experience and is open to any work of poetry, prose, fiction or non-fiction published in the UK in English within the twelve months of the deadline for submissions (this year 1st February 2014). Self-published works in both print and digital formats are eligible for submission.

    This year, for the first time, the five shortlisted books are on sale at selected WH Smiths travel outlets across the country.
    Paul Burston, Chair of judges, said, ‘With such a strong shortlist, deciding on a winner was incredibly difficult. The Polari First Book Prize is about celebrating voices which are often ignored or difficult to hear. Writing as a black gay African man from a Muslim background, Osman dazzled us with the wide range of literary voices in this stunning short story collection. We look forward to his next book and feel confident that he will dazzle us again.’

    The judging panel for the Polari First Book Prize 2014 consists of author, journalist and host of Polari Paul Burston, (Chair); critic and broadcaster Bidisha; author and former Culture Editor for Channel 4 News Matt Cain; literary critic and broadcaster Suzi Feay; author and former Head of Literature and Spoken Word at the Southbank Rachel Holmes and VG Lee, author and comedian.

    Fairytales for Lost Children is narrated by people constantly on the verge of self-revelation. These characters – young, gay and lesbian Somalis – must navigate the complexities of family, identity and the immigrant experience as the tumble towards freedom. Set in Kenya, Somalia and South London, these stories are imbued with pathos, passion and linguistic playfulness, marking the arrival of a singular new voice in contemporary fiction.

    ‘At a time when homosexuality is still illegal in most of Africa, and barely features in contemporary African fiction, this book is a welcome surprise … At a time when African writing is on the rise, Osman stands above the crowd.’ The Independent

    ‘East Africa. South London. Queer. Displaced. Mentally ill. My excitement over Osman and his writing comes, in part, out of delight at the impossibility of categorisation.’ Daily Telegraph
    The 2014 shortlisted titles were:

    I Am Nobody’s Nigger by Dean Atta (Westbourne Press)

    Petite Mort by Beatrice Hitchman (Serpent’s Tail)

    Fairytales for Lost Children by Diriye Osman (Team Angelica)

    God’s Other Children – A London Memoir by Vernal W. Scott (self-published)

    The Rubbish Lesbian by Sarah Westwood (Mimwood Press)

  • BOOK REVIEW | The Queen Of Clubs

    ★★★★★ |The Queen Of Clubs

    There’s a quote at the front of this book that states:
    “Some people are born drag queens.Some people become drag queens. And some poor sods have drag queens thrust upon them.”

    And so it starts…

    Riding on a wave of drag queen interest, everywhere from the Facebook controversy over users having to use their real name (but only seems to apply to drag queens?) to RuPaul, this book tells a story – and a bloody good one at that!

    Tobias has taken some characters that could have been drawn as complete clichés and given them life – these characters, like ‘em or loathe ‘em, are real.

    From the still-in-the-closet virgin to the seen-it-all barman, from the abusive relationships to the fading glamorous drag queen – it’s all here and written large.

    The story follows one of our cast, Oliver, as he pops his drag club cherry and visits Divas, a seedy, rundown club run by Chris (not me!) It’s here that Oliver meets the rest of the cast – from deluded Robert Davies Junior (aka Wendy WolfWhistle) to the trio of cabaret queens Wendy aspires to join.

    The storyline moves along in short, sharp bursts, each chapter leading you into the next in a clever and addictive way. I’m not one to spoil a good plot, but there is lost love, unrequited love, love on the rocks, self-love and self-loathe, drugs, bad cabaret, cops ‘n’ robbers, and bad drag.

    This isn’t Drag Race calibre, there’s no Sharon Needles or Bianca Del Rio here – and that’s its charm. This is Everytown or Anytown, and these are people you could walk past on the street any day of the week, these aren’t the polished performers that may have to lip-synch for their lives… these couldn’t lip-synch to save their lives!

    This really is one you’ll love – from start to finish, it’ll entice you in, make you feel you know these characters (or someone very like them) and leave you with a shocker of an ending! This is low rent, low end, real life, warts and all stuff and I for one love it!

  • BOOK REVIEW | Camp Carnage (Night Terrors) by Elliott Arthur Cross & Josh Winning:

    The tagline for this kindle edition runs: “Schools out, and so are they. This summer’s going to be killer…” and it does exactly what it says on the tin! If you like your slasher movies Scream style crossed with Eating Out humour and a smidgeon of Nancy Drew, you will love this book.

    Set in the late ’80’s at a remote summer camp with a difference… this isn’t all macrame pot holders, shared showers and Eskimo rolls… this is more seething hormones, furtive fumbles and aversion therapies! This camp is for gay teens to straighten themselves out, or so their parents hope. Under the puritanical leadership of Katherine Creevey, Billy and his friends settle in for 6 weeks of therapy, tasks and campfire tales.

    However, someone has other ideas, and one by one, the campers disappear. Billy, the lead character, joins up with budding lesbian Jem to solve this mystery – a mystery that leads them back 3 years to a mysterious fire at the original Camp Genesis.

    There is plenty of horsing around, teen angst and slasher action. This is one very well written book, with decent, rounded characters, few (if any) stereotypes, comedy aplenty and a plot that draws you right in! The era is well recreated, the tense pitched just right.

    For me, the sign of a good fiction book is when I can see it clearly in my head? If the author has done their job, it appears like good cinema – and this did that perfectly.

    Do yourself a favour, buy it, toast some marshmallows on the fire pit and keep one eye firmly over your shoulder… just in case!

  • BOOK REVIEW | Gaysia – Adventures in the Queer East by Benjamin Law

    ★★★★ | Journalist Benjamin Law is an Australian with Asian roots. In Gaysia, he takes us on a tour of Asia showing us all things gay across the continent.

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  • Shortlist For Polari First Book Prize Announced

    The shortlist for the Polari First Book Prize was announced last night at the Polari Literary Salon at the Southbank Centre.

    This year, for the first time, the five shortlisted books will be displayed at selected WH Smiths travel outlets across the country.
    The Polari First Book Prize is for a first book which explores the LGBT experience and is open to any work of poetry, prose, fiction or non-fiction published in the UK in English within the twelve months of the deadline for submissions (this year Feb 1, 2014). Self-published works in both print and digital formats are eligible for submission. The winner will be presented with a cheque for £1,000, courtesy of the Société General UK LGBT Network.
    The winner will be announced on 8 October 2014 in the Purcell Room at the London Literature Festival.

    The Polari First Book Prize Shortlist:
    I Am Nobody’s Nigger by Dean Atta (Westbourne Press)
    Petite Mort by Beatrice Hitchman (Serpent’s Tail)
    Fairytales for Lost Children by Diriye Osman (Team Angelica)
    God’s Other Children – A London Memoir by Vernal W. Scott (self-published)
    The Rubbish Lesbian by Sarah Westwood (Mimwood Press)

    The judges this year are:
    Paul Burston (Chair of Judges) – author, journalist and host of Polari
    Bidisha – critic and broadcaster
    Matt Cain – author and former Culture Editor for Channel 4 News
    Suzi Feay – literary critic and broadcaster
    Rachel Holmes – author and former Head of Literature and Spoken Word at the Southbank
    VG Lee – author and comedian
    Paul Burston, Chair of judges, said, ‘The judges were impressed with the quality and diversity of books submitted this year. These five books represent a wide range of voices from a variety of backgrounds, making for a very exciting shortlist.’

  • Comic book hero to die taking bullet aimed at gay character

    Comic series, Life With Archie will change history in the next issue, after Archie takes a bullet for his gay best friend.

    According to a statement on the Archie Comic website, ‘History is in the making in this epic finale to the acclaimed series LIFE WITH ARCHIE, as America’s most beloved character makes the ultimate sacrifice to save a friend. The unthinkable happens: Archie Andrews dies! Fans will experience an epic tale of Archie’s future sure to make headlines, generate discussion and stand as one of the most-talked about Archie stories of all time. Do not miss this game-changing tale of love, friendship and true heroism.’

    Archie dies after he intervenes in an assassination attempt on Archie Comics’ first openly gay character Kevin Keller.

    In an interview with CNN, CEO of Archie Comics, Jon Goldwater, son of Archie creator John Goldwater said, ‘I think it’s the natural conclusion to the “Life With Archie” series.

    ‘Archie dies as he lived — heroically. He dies saving the life of a friend, and does it in his usual selfless way. Archie has always been a representation of us — the best of us. Our strengths and our faults.’

    The famous red head is to die in the next comic, out July 23rd.

  • New Book For Children About Same-Sex Marriage

    A new book, which is already getting a lot of attention across the pond in the US, is helping children learn and understand same-sex marriage.

    Jeffrey Miles, a business professor at the University of the Pacific (in California) has written a children’s picture book with a same-sex marriage called, The Princes and The Treasure.

    The book tells the story of two handsome princes who go on a quest to save a princess, but fall in love with each other, get married, and live happily ever after. With the progress of same-sex marriage, I wanted young and old alike to be able to read a fairy tale story that included a gay marriage.

  • BOOK REVIEW | Best Gay Romance 2014 Edited by Timothy J. Lambert & R.D Cochrane

    ★★★★ | Best Gay Romance 2014 Edited by Timothy J. Lambert & R.D Cochrane

    Best Gay Romance 2014 is a superb collection of fictional short stories about love and romance. Characters in this book are all in different places: some are single, some have just met a special man and some are in a relationship.

    Each of the 15 stories is exceptionally well written, gripping and heart warming. Best Gay Romance 2014 has contributions from some of the best gay Writers out there. One or two of the stories did lack depth, but only because they were too short. Three amazing stories in this anthology were:

    Strange Propositions by Eric Gober
    Strange Propositions is the opening story in Best Gay Romance 2014. The story starts with Kenny ending an unhappy long distance relationship. Then he meets Nate through work and they hit it off. The ending of this story is funny and leaves the reader with a smile.

    Sight by Jordan Taylor
    In Sight, Noah and Archer have been together since their teen years. Now in their twenties, Archer proposes and Noah says no. It’s a clever story about insecurity and getting over it. It shows the reader what a man will do for someone they really love. When life knocks you off your feet, a good man will be there to help you up. This beautiful story will reignite even the most pessimistic readers hope for love.

    Shep: A Dog by Alex Jeffers
    Isaac has unrequited love for Jackson. But he is about to learn that men can come along in the most unexpected of situations. Isaac rescues a dog called Shep from drowning in the sea, but can’t find his owner. Unknown to Isaac is that Shep is about to transform into more than he could ever have imagined. A sweet and imaginative story.

    All of these short stories share the theme of vulnerability. To be in love and loved back means you sometimes need to be emotionally vulnerable.

    If you enjoy romantic tales reads then Best Gay Romance 2014 will delight you. Even if you don’t, Best Gay Romance 2014 will still give you hope that Mr. Right out there; that is, if you haven’t already found him.