Archive

When Two Dads Are Better Than One

By Vee|2020-03-28T13:42:38-05:00October 9th, 2014|Categories: Archive, Author Guest Blog|Tags: gay, Homophobia, lesbian|

By Jessica Verdi Website: http://jessicaverdi.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/JessVerdi When I began writing my first novel, My Life After Now (which was published in April of 2013), there were so many factors on my mind and story elements I wanted to be sure to get just right. The book is about sixteen-year-old Lucy Moore, a straight-A student and drama club star who makes a few bad decisions after a super bad week and, as a result, ends up testing positive for HIV. With a story like this, I was extra conscious to do as much research as it took to [...]

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Book of the Month Fan Artist Feature: Laya

By Vee|2020-03-28T13:42:38-05:00October 8th, 2014|Categories: Archive, Book Club|Tags: Bisexual, Intersex, Non Binary|

We're starting up a new feature to go along with our Book of the Month: Fan Artist Feature! Every month, we'll be highlighting the fan art that someone has created of what we've chosen for our Book of the Month. To start it off, we're featuring one of the most talented and awesome people I know: Laya. I met Laya through our mutual love of the Wicked Lovely Series by Melissa Marr. We got to [...]

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Driving Lessons

By Vee|2020-03-28T13:42:38-05:00October 7th, 2014|Categories: Archive, Author Interview|Tags: lesbian|

An Interview with Annameekee Hesik- Writer of Lesbian YA! My favorite part about bookstore readings is the end. No, not just because I can finally get off the stage (writers were not meant to be stared at- those are called actors), but because at the end of each reading I get to congratulate myself for not passing out and then answer fan questions. But since not all my fans can come to my readings, I have gathered some fan questions to answer right here, right now, just for you! Question #1: Calina in Carmel, CA “Do [...]

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Recap: #JustGrace Book Launch

By Vee|2020-03-28T13:42:38-05:00October 6th, 2014|Categories: Archive|Tags: Bisexual, gay, lesbian, Non Binary, Trans|

The JustGrace book release part was a co-launch of Rachel Gold's new book Just Girls, and Juliann Rich's book Searching for Grace. It was so much fun guys. You shoulda been there. We were invited to join Rachel for dinner beforehand (which unfortunately Kathleen was not able to make it to :( ) and she asked me a bunch of research questions for her next book. She also told me the premise of it and OH MY GOD you guys am I excited for it. Like I told her then, she has a talent of fufilling what I'm looking [...]

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Writing Noir for Teenagers

By Vee|2020-03-28T13:42:39-05:00October 3rd, 2014|Categories: Archive, Author Guest Blog|

by Greg Herren When I was a teenager back in the Pleistocene era, I didn’t read books for teenagers. I learned how to read when I was four, and by the time I was ten my reading comprehension levels were college level. I went directly from the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew and other mystery series for kids straight to Ellery Queen, Agatha Christie, Gone with the Wind, and The Godfather. On the rare occasions when a friend or a teacher would recommend I read a book for teenagers, I was almost without fail disappointed. That was the [...]

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Call for Contributors!

By Vee|2020-03-28T13:42:39-05:00October 2nd, 2014|Categories: Archive, Updates and Announcements|

We are looking for 5 new regular contributors for GayYA.org. Regular contributors are people who write monthly posts for us. The posts must be somehow related to queer characters in YA lit. Contributors can go wide and talk about a lot of different things, or go deep and focus on one topic. Or they can do like a “Top 5 ___” type thing. They can be serious or fun, or anywhere in between. We’re open to people of all ages! We’re especially looking for people who are able to commit for a long period of time. This call [...]

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Review of Searching for Grace by Juliann Rich

By Vee|2020-03-28T13:42:39-05:00October 2nd, 2014|Categories: Archive, Book Review, Teen Voices|Tags: Religion|

At the end of Caught in the Crossfire I was convinced I would not last until Searching for Grace... and the end of Searching for Grace has left me in the exact same state. I believe the email I sent Juliann said something along the lines of "I NEED TAKING THE STAND LIKE YESTERDAY." Like the first book in the Crossfire Trilogy, Caught in the Crossfire, Searching for Grace is an amazingly unique and honest portrayal of a teen walking the line between his sexuality and his faith. As some of you know, I have walked a similar path. The experience [...]

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Announcing our October Book of the Month: Pantomime by Laura Lam!

By Vee|2020-03-28T13:42:39-05:00October 1st, 2014|Categories: Archive, Author Interview, Book Club, Updates and Announcements|Tags: Bisexual, Intersex, Non Binary|

Every month we choose a book as our Book of the Month, one of our favorites that has contributed something great and unique to queer YA literature. We chose Pantomime because it is an excellently written fantasy/steampunk series with an intersex, nonbinary, and bisexual protagonist. There is also a large amount of diversity within the rest of the characters. All of these things are unique in queer YA, and when you put them all together, what you get is a wonderful and important read. Shadowplay is the sequel to Pantomime. The third book, Masquerade is in the works. Unfortunately, Laura Lam's publisher [...]

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Review: Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley

By Vee|2020-03-28T13:42:39-05:00September 30th, 2014|Categories: Archive, Book Review, Teen Voices|Tags: lesbian, New Releases, PoC, Queer Girls, Religion|

by Laurel May When I heard this book was about an interracial lesbian couple living in the 1950's I immediately wanted it. I was just blown away by the idea of this story! Now that I have read it, I am blown away by the actual story. What an exceptional book! "Lies We Tell Ourselves" is not an easy read. You only have to look at the time period to understand why that is. This book is set in 1959, after the desegregation of Little Rock School. Here, Sarah and 10 other black students are the first to [...]

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Interview With Alaya Dawn Johnson, Author of The Summer Prince

By Vee|2016-05-24T14:52:09-05:00September 29th, 2014|Categories: Archive, Author Interview, Book Club|Tags: Bisexual, PoC, Queer Guys, Speculative|

Part 1 of Interview: Part 2: Transcript to come! Next month we'll be interviewing Laura Lam, author of our October Book of the Month, Pantomime. Let us know what you thought of this month's interview in the comments (because they are working again!!! *throws hat*), and drop some questions you'd like us to ask Laura Lam.

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