20 years ago today! This is me and Michelle Tea on May 31, 2001, beaming with joy after each of us won Lambda Literary Awards – hers for the inimitable, influential, already-a-classic Valencia (Mission San Francisco at its peak queer ’90s explosion) and mine for The World of Normal Boys, my first novel.
What I remember about that night: my heroic, generous editor, John Scognamiglio of Kensington Books, paid for my rented tux; Michelle told a hilarious story about the uptight flight attendant who didn’t want to let her on the airplane to Chicago because she was wearing her “underwear” (“Yes, it’s a slip, but it’s also my dress!”); we sat at the same table as the lovely Krandall Kraus and Paul Borja, also San Francisco-based writers, who won an award that night, too, which made us the winningest, happiest crew in the room.
I also remember being so flat-broke before I flew from SF to Chicago that I was literally turning over couch cushions in my apartment to scavenge coins for extra pocket money. By the end of the night Kevin (then-boyfriend-now-husband) and were I jumping for joy on the bed in my hotel room, not because the award came with any money but because it had been such a long hard road to publishing. Something like 33 publishers rejected The World of Normal Boys before Kensington said yes, and it’s gone on to be the most-read of my books, in its 10th printing, translated into three languages, still coughing out modest but much appreciated royalties and inspiring a sequel (Robin and Ruby), with another one drafted, currently titled Dorothy’s Children. (Publishing goddesses willing, it won't take 33 rejections to get this one into the hands of readers.)
ALSO: This 20-year anniversary is a prime time to announce that I’ve just signed a contract for a novel, Army of Lovers, that I’ve been writing for a long, long time. This is my ACT UP/Queer Nation novel set in the late-’80s / early-’90s in New York. It's a work of fiction but also really personal, about a time in my life when my mother died, when so many comrades fought to stay alive, when a wave of gay-bashing hit my friends and me. And it's a story about falling in love, finding a voice, and speaking truth to power within a political community doing direct action to change the world.
I’m thrilled that Amble Press, a new LGBTQ publishing imprint headed by the brilliant writer and editor Michael Nava, has acquired this novel. (Michael's new novel is called Lies With Man.) The ink on my contract is barely dry, so I don’t yet have a publication date or any juicy details. But you can be sure you’ll be hearing a lot more about it.
So Happy Lammy-versary to Michelle, Krandall, Paul, and me. And good luck to all the nominees for this year’s Lambda Awards, held on June 1, and hosted by the charming and talented Rakesh Satyal.
Why don’tcha go out and get yourself a queer book today?
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