I recently read Ask the Passengers by A.S. King. Before I’d even finished, I knew it was that book for me ― the book I wished I’d had as a teen. The book that would have validated what I was feeling at that time in my life. It would’ve shown me that it was okay to spend time figuring out my sexuality, that I didn’t have to define myself by someone else’s rules. That it was acceptable, even good, to think outside the lines when it comes to identity and where you fit within a community. YA books [...]

Recently, fellow author and friend, Brigid Kemmerer and I were discussing how we’ve both gotten some reviews on our books that included something along the lines of: “I hadn’t realized there was gay material in this book. I wish I had been warned.” Warned. Okay. Right-o. Nevermind everything else in the book that should be a lot more astonishing. There are people who are unhappy because two people of the same gender locked lips. This was particularly puzzling when it happened to me with HUSHED. When review copies went out, the blurb went along with it. The blurb [...]

by: Shaun Hutchinson  Books have come a long way when it comes to gay characters.  About A year ago I read John Donovan's book, I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip.  Written in 1969, it was one of the first, if not the first young adult book to deal with the issue of homosexuality.  When I finished, I found myself underwhelmed.  I'd expected more. The themes were danced around but never addressed.  I'm not even sure if they used the word "gay" at all. But I tried to put it into context, imagining how a kid [...]

Q: Which is worse, being called a ’nigger’ or a ‘faggot’? 1. Rehearsal was late that night, 10 pm on a Saturday night in Georgetown. I had only one line in the play, but I didn’t care. It was fun to see the play come together, the actors, and the scenery and the special effects. Prospero and Caliban and Ariel came to life on that haunted island now inhabiting the school auditorium. The sodium yellow lights spilled onto the night-time scape of Georgetown at night, its red brick sidewalks, and antique shops.  I went to the bus stop [...]

I am often asked where I get my ideas for my books. I am not Stephenie Meyer; as lovely as it would be, I do not have dreams that direct my writing, word for word. For me, Fighting Gravity was a response to several social phenomena surrounding my life. It was a knee-jerk reaction to wanting to protect the young people in my bubble of the world and wanting to show others the vast rainbow of diversity in their worlds: high schools, relationships, families. The novel became my personal handbook to compassion. I wanted it to be honest, [...]

By: Sarah Deimer I'm twenty, at a party with people mostly older than me.  Everyone's drinking around the bonfire, and I'm sipping my glass of water, talking and laughing, mostly about ridiculous, nerdy things.  It's the beginning of summer, the scent of wood and smoke in the air, the insects buzzing a melody. "I've gotta talk with you..." says one of my friends, her hand at my elbow.  She leads me away from the fire, beer sloshing out of her plastic cup.  "I've been thinking a lot about it.  You," she says, waving her hand over me under [...]

Originally published on Loup Dargent as "QUILTBAG Protagonists in SF/F YA literature." Reposted on YAtopia, March 16, 2013. There is a lack of diversity in young adult fiction especially when it comes to QUILTBAG characters having the starring role in genre fiction. For those unsure, QUILTBAG stands for queer, unisex, intersex, lesbian, trans, bi, asexual and gay - a handy acronym to encompass various sexualities. The only one missing is the fairly new, pansexual, denoting a lack of preference or an all inclusive sexual preference. Science fiction and fantasy, as both a literary and movie/TV genre, has been [...]