30th June 2023 @ 20:00 UTC+1
Explicitly queer stories haven’t always been readily available for readers and viewers, particularly not those from small communities or oppressive cultures. Our panel of storytellers take up the mantle of queer heroes for the next generation, to tell the stories they couldn’t hear when they were growing up. Where do their stories come from? Where do they see queer literature heading as society outgrows straight culture? And how do we get to a point where we don’t need to code our characters queer, and just let them be?
Moderator: MaryBrigid Turner
Panellists: SL Dove Cooper, Kat Dodd, Joe Glass
Lists of books recommended on the panel
Explicitly Recommended:
TJ Klune – The Extraordinary Trilogy
TJ Klune – Wolfsong
C.B. Lee – Sidekick Squad
Margaret Owen – Little Thieves
Positively Spoken About:
Tamora Pierce – Protector of the Small Quartet
Jo Walton – “King’s Peace” & “King’s Name”
(Tamora Pierce and Jo Walton were brought up as examples of queer rep after the fact because the authors realized the characters were queer when fans asked; on Twitter I added “Animorphs” to that list, because K.A. Applegate has supported people’s interpretations of Marco as bi and Tobias as trans, and has said that if she were writing them now she’d write them explicitly queer.)
Alice Oseman – Heartstopper
Darren Charlton – “Wranglestone” & “Timberdark”
Aliette de Bodard – The Red Scholar’s Wake
Kaia Sandersby – Failure to Communicate