The
gay
literary
machine
never
stops
rolling.
Just
as
national
gay
book
awards
races
heat
up
spring
with
nominations
for
the
best
of
2004,
hundreds
of
new
titles
are
hitting
stores
to
become
next
year’s
contenders.
The
year
has
already
seen
releases
of
gay
and
lesbian
fiction,
biographies,
memoirs,
history
and
academic
studies
that
are
drawing
attention
from
readers
and
critics.
It’s
impossible
to
cover
the
constant
deluge
of
offerings
from
gay
and
mainstream
publishers,
but
here
are
a
few
spring
titles
worth
seeking.
One
of
the
most
highly
anticipated
novels
to
come
out
in
the
next
few
months
is
the
final
entry
in
James
Earl
Hardy’s
wildly
popular
B-Boy
Blues
series
about
a
group
of
African-American
gay
men.
“A
House
is
Not
a
Home”
is
set
for
release
in
June.
Other
works
of
fiction
include
Douglas
McKeown’s
“Queer
Stories
for
Boys,”
Kevin
Bentley’s
gay
romance
“Let’s
Shut
Out
the
World,”
and
“The
Order
of
the
Poison
Oak,”
the
coming-of-age
sequel
to
“Geography
Club”
by
Brent
Hartinger.
Humor,
tongue-in-cheek
advice,
anthologies
and
other
non-fiction
works
keep
their
place
in
readers’
hearts
this
spring
as
well.
Look
for
Dave
Singleton’s
“Behind
Every
Great
Woman,
There’s
a
Fabulous
Gay
Man,”
and
Camper
English’s
“Party
Like
a
Rock
Star,
Even
When
You’re
Poor
as
Dirt.”
Camp
king
John
Waters
lends
his
name
on
two
books
this
season.
“Pink
Flamingos
and
Other
Filth”
compiles
three
screenplays
for
films
starring
Waters’
most
famous
muse,
Divine.
“Shock
Value:
A
Tasteful
Book
About
Bad
Taste”
rounds
up
photographic
and
textual
examples
of
American
schlock
with
Waters’
particular
brand
of
sick
humor.
Another
fun
book
that
readers
can
take
in
doses
for
a
quick
read
is
“The
Quotable
Queer,”
due
out
in
April.
“Worth
the
Room”
by
Paul
Lachlan
Peck
is
an
upcoming
memoir
of
note.
Peck,
77,
overcame
abuse,
prejudice
and
scorn
to
come
to
terms
with
his
gender
identity
and
become
a
minister,
healer
and
psychic.
And
from
world-renowned
gay
author
Felice
Picano
comes
his
memoir
of
70s
Greenwich
Village
told
through
adventures
with
his
cat,
“Fred
in
Love.”
Picano
is
already
on
tour
with
the
book
and
is
scheduled
to
read
at
Lambda
Rising
at
7
p.m.,
Wednesday,
April
6.
Also
based
on
real-life
adventures,
“Superstar
in
a
Housedress:
the
Jackie
Curtis
Story”
releases
in
conjunction
with
a
DVD
on
the
legendary
drag
personality
and
Andy
Warhol
minion.
Gay
publishing
houses
are
churning
out
a
consistent
set
of
interesting
spring
titles
in
every
literary
genre.
In
addition
to
“Party
Like
a
Rock
Star”
and
scores
of
other
titles,
Alyson
Publications
also
offers
Jay
Quinn’s
“Back
Where
He
Started”
in
April.
It’s
a
touching
story
of
a
man
in
his
40s
who
forges
a
new
life
after
his
partner
of
20
years
dumps
him
for
a
woman.
Quinn
tours
with
the
book
in
June.
Cleis
Press,
perhaps
best
known
for
its
“Best
Lesbian
Erotica”
and
“Best
Gay
Erotica”
series,
offers
more
of
those
compilations
as
well
as
“Lesbian
Pulp
Fiction”
over
the
next
few
months.
The
publisher
also
recently
released
“I
Am
My
Own
Wife,”
the
real-life
transgender
story
that
inspired
the
Pulitzer
Prize-
and
Tony
Award-winning
play.
Cleis
also
plans
another
installment
in
its
“Queer
Anthology”
series
on
gay
arts.
Other
publishers
worth
watching
this
spring
are
Haworth
Press,
Arsenal
Pulp
Press,
Akashic
Books,
Kensington,
W.
W.
Norton
&
Co.,
Chronicle
Books,
Houghton
Miflin
as
well
as
Talk
Miramax
Books,
a
division
of
Hyperion
Books
and
several
specialty
divisions
of
Harper
Collins
Publishers.
