BOOKS: HOT READS FOR 2021.
A TASTE OF THE TITLES TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN 2021.
THE BOY FROM THE MISH
by Gary Lonesborough
When Jackson’s Aunty Pam visits from the city over summer, she brings along Tomas, a teenage boy with a troubled past. And as the friendship between the two boys develops, Jackson is forced to face his own secret. This queer Indigenous young adult novel has terrific advance praise from authors such as David Levithan, Holden Sheppard and Benjamin Law. February publication in Australia.
MY YEAR OF LIVING VULNERABLY
by Rick Morton
From the author of the acclaimed memoir
One Hundred Years Of Dirt comes a a story about love, trauma and recovery. In early 2019, Morton was diagnosed with Complex PostTraumatic Stress Disorder, which led him on a 12-month journey to rediscover love. This book asks, what is love, how do we see it, what forms can it takes, how do we practice it in our lives, what does it means to us, and how can we live without it, even if we think we can? March publication in Australia.
SEX, SOCIETY AND THE MAKING OF PORNOGRAPHY
by Jeffrey Escoffier
Escoffier returns to the topic of gay pornography that made his previous book Bigger Than Life: The History Of Gay Porn Cinema From Beefcake To Hardcore so notable. This one examines how the sexual imaginations and identities of the performers, writers, directors and editors have shaped the contours of gay porn.
February publication in USA.
WILLIAM YANG: SEEING AND BEING SEEN
Featuring reproductions of over 200 photographs, this new book traces Yang’s career from his early days as a social photographer in the 1970s documenting Sydney’s queer scene through to some of his well-known series addressing family ties, sexual and cultural identity, and the Australian landscape. Also included are essays by Benjamin Law, Rosie Hays and Susan Best who examine Yang’s meaningful engagement with queer history and cultural identity in Australia. The book is published to coincide with William Yang: Seeing And Being Seen, an exhibition organised by the Queensland Art Gallery I Gallery Of Modern Art (QAGOMA) to be held at QAG, Brisbane, from 27 March to 22 August 2021.
March publication in Australia.
KINK: STORIES EDITED
by RO Kwon and Garth Greenwell This collection of short stories portrays love, desire, BDSM and sexual kinks in all their glory. Readers of Garth Greenwell’s most recent novel Cleanness will have no doubt that he is the ideal co-editor for such an anthology! Authors include Roxanne Gay, Brandon Taylor, Alexander Chee, Carmen Maria Machado, Kim Fu and Chris Krauss. March publication in Australia.
CONFESSIONS OF THE FLESH: HISTORY OF SEXUALITY VOLUME 4
by Michel Foucault
Famous for his groundbreaking historical analysis of how erotic desires and practices are fixed into what we now call “sexual identities”, the final volume of History Of Sexuality, completed before his death in 1984, is finally available in English. In this, Foucault extends his analysis to the early Christian church fathers and their influence on the modern notion of sexuality. Mid-April publication in Australia.
FRANCIS BACON: REVELATIONS
by Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan
A decade in the making and based on hundreds of interviews and extensive new material, this is the first biography of the seminal artist to appear in 25 years. Bacon flung open the 20th Century closet doors: by day he exposed the secrets of a dark century, and by night he swashbuckled through Soho, never concealing his homosexuality. Bacon was celebrated as a sexual adventurer who liked rough trade but he never stopped longing for a committed relationship, however painful. April publication in Australia.
MADNESS OF GRIEF: A MEMOIR OF LOVE AND LOSS
by Richard Coles
He went from sharing the stage with Jimmy Somerville as part of pop act The Communards in the 1980s to becoming a Reverend in the Church Of England! Pastoral care for the bereaved, discussions about the afterlife and performing the last rites were all part of Reverend Coles’ life and work. But when his partner died unexpectedly at the age of only 43 in 2019, Coles discovered he had a great deal more to learn about death and grief. April publication in the UK.
UNTITLED MEMOIR
by Chelsea Manning
Activist, politician and whistleblower, Manning promises an intimate and candid memoir. She will reveal her challenging childhood, struggles as an adolescent, and what led her to join the military. We learn how and why she decided to send classified military documents to WikiLeaks. The book also explores her journey toward selfacceptance as a trans woman. May publication in the UK.
LET THE RECORD SHOW: A POLITICAL HISTORY OF ACT-UP NEW YORK, 1987-1993
by Sarah Schulman
Drawing on over 200 interviews with ACT-UP activists, Schulman reveals the radical power of people across races, sexualities and backgrounds in the face of a death toll caused by the AIDS epidemic. She chronicles the strategy of these activists to transform the US insurance industry, and wage the battle against the Church, the media, corporations and the pharmaceutical industry to create a liveable future for marginalised people. May publication in USA.
LOVE’S NEXT MEETING: THE FORGOTTEN HISTORY OF HOMOSEXUALITY AND THE LEFT IN AMERICAN CULTURE
by Aaron Lecklider
Based on rich archival research and critical exploration of art and literature, Lecklider reveals the deep connections between homosexuality and the American Left between 1920 and 1960. Long before the Stonewall riot, queers, radicals, workers, and the poor together had challenged censorship and other forms of conservatism for true sexual liberation. To be published June in the USA.
FILTHY ANIMALS
by Brandon Taylor
Laying bare intense desire, gripping emotional undercurrents and human vulnerabilities is all part of Taylor’s literary talent. His first novel, Real Life, was shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize and this year he returns with his first collection of short stories. He continues exploring vulnerabilities and unruly desires from the perspectives of a young woman with cancer and a young man entangled in an open relationship, among others. Late June publication in USA.
IT’S ALL AN ACT: COURTNEY ACT’S MEMOIR ABOUT GENDER, SEXUALITY AND GROWING UP FLUID
by Courtney Act
Since her original appearance on Australian Idol, her stint on RuPaul’s Drag Race, 2019’s Dancing With The Stars and her yearly Mardi Gras involvement, Courtney Act is now a household name – and certainly the biggest drag star we’ve grown locally. This memoir promises to provide a personal account of what it has been like to grow into a proud, passionate, politically aware genderfluid, queer Australian icon. October publication in Australia
SEVEN AND A HALF
by Christos Tsiolkas There’s limited info at present on the new book by the author of Loaded, The Slap and Barracuda except that it’s a “work of autofiction enclosing a novel and meditations on nature, conflict and beauty”. We might also surmise from the title that it could have something to do with cock size and a return to gay themes. To be published in the second half of 2021.
NOTE: Books with a US or UK publication date may not be available in Australia until two or three months later, depending on how the publisher ships them.