This Queer Book Saved My Life

Latest Episodes:

The Gaily Show: Authors Lizzie Erhenhault and Ken Ballen Oct 20, 2026

Show notes

A new episode of This Queer Book Saved My Life drops October 27! In our off weeks we air episodes from The Gaily Show. It's the only daily LGBTQ news and talk show in the US! John hosts it and it airs in ten markets across the U.S.!

In this episode, author Lizzie Erhenhault shares her new book Romantic Sensation: The Queer Lives of Leon A. Belmont, 1853–1927. And Ken Ballen discusses his new novel The Better Animal.

Watch on YouTube

We're in video too! You can watch this episode at youtube.com/@thegailyshow

Credits

Host/Founder: John Parker (learn more about my name change)
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Production and Distribution Support: Brett Johnson, AM950
Accounting and Creative Support: Gordy Erickson

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How Do I Live In The World As An Unwanted Outcast? Oct 13, 2026

Show notes

Today we meet Alvin Orloff and we’re talking about the queer book that saved his life: The Naked Civil Servant by Quentin Crisp.

Alvin Orloff began writing in 1977, penning lyrics for the Blow Dryers, an early San Francisco punk band. He spent the 1980s working as a telemarketer and exotic dancer while concurrently attending UC Berkeley and performing with the Popstitutes. In 1990, he and his bandmates founded Clubstitute, a floating queer cabaret devoted to the ideal of cultural democracy that featured spoken word, theater, drag, and musical acts. He has published four novels: I Married an Earthling, Gutter Boys, Why Aren't You Smiling, and Vulgarian Rhapsody, along with a memoir, Disasterama, which was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award. He lives in San Francisco and is the proprietor of Fabulosa Books.

In The Naked Civil Servant, it's 1931 and gay liberation was not a movement--it was simply unthinkable. But in that year, Quentin Crisp made the courageous decision to "come out" as a homosexual. This exhibitionist with the henna-dyed hair was harrassed, ridiculed and beaten. Nevertheless, he claimed his right to be himself--whatever the consequences. The Naked Civil Servant is both a comic masterpiece and a unique testament to the resilience of the human spirit.

Quentin Crisp was a raconteur, author, and performer born on Christmas Day in 1908. Her memoir The Naked Civil Servant was adapted into a 1975 film starring John Hurt. Please note: We want to acknowledge that we misgendered Quentin in part of the episode, until Alvin corrected the record and we apologize for this. It was at 90 years old, in her final book, The Last Word, that Quentin came out as transgender.

Connect with Alvin

website: fabulosabooks.com
website: alvinorloff.com

Our Bookshop
Visit our Bookshop for new releases, current bestsellers, banned books, critically acclaimed LGBTQ books, or peruse the books featured on our podcasts: bookshop.org/shop/thisqueerbook

Buy your copy of The Naked Civil Servant here: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9780141180533

Become an Associate Producer!
Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook

Credits
Host/Founder: John Parker
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, K Jason Bryan and David Rephan, Bob Bush, Natalie Cruz, Troy Ford, Jonathan Fried, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, Sean Smith, and Karsten Vagner
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Stephen Flamm, Ida Göteburg, Thomas Michna, Sofia Nerman, and Gary Nygaard.
Creative and Accounting support provided by: Gordy Erickson

Quatrefoil Library

Quatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can’t buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1

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What Kind of Future Did I Have As An Unfortunate Little Misfit? Sep 29, 2026

Show notes

Today we meet Jeff Copeland and we’re talking about the queer book that saved his life: Miss Rona by Rona Barrett.

Jeff is the author of Love You Madly, Holly Woodlawn and co-author with Holly Woodlawn of Low Life in High Heels: The Holly Woodlawn Story. An Emmy award nominee, he worked for nearly thirty years for a variety of TV Networks and film studios, including Discovery, Animal Planet, HGTV, ABC, FOX, and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

In Miss Rona, Rona Barrett charts her life from childhood and her struggle with a degenerative hip disease while organizing fan clubs for musicians. From there, she charts her rise as a gossip columnist and ultimately entertainment journalist.

Connect with Jeff

facebook: @jeff.copeland.982
instagram: @loveyoumadlyhollywoodlawn
youtube: @loveyoumadlyhollywoodlawn

Our Bookshop
Visit our Bookshop for new releases, current bestsellers, banned books, critically acclaimed LGBTQ books, or peruse the books featured on our podcasts: bookshop.org/shop/thisqueerbook

Miss Rona is not available on Bookshop.org. Please check with your local bookstore or a used book retailer.

Buy your copy of Love You Madly, Holly Woodlawn here: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9781627311595

Quatrefoil Library

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The Gaily Show: How to Close a Camp: Dispatches from the Fight Against Immigrant Detention Sep 22, 2026

Show notes

A new episode of This Queer Book Saved My Life drops September 29th! In our off weeks we air episodes from The Gaily Show. It's the only daily LGBTQ news and talk show in the US! John hosts it and it airs on AM950-KTNF (Minneapolis), WCPT 820 AM (Chicago), 92.7 FM WMDX (Madison, WI), plus weekly on NewsTalk WHMP (Amherst, MA) and Alternative Talk 1150AM KKNW (Seattle).

In this episode, Senior Staff Writer for Lookout, John Washington, shares his latest book How to Close a Camp: Dispatches from the Fight Against Immigrant Detention.

Watch on YouTube

We're in video too! You can watch this episode at youtube.com/@thegailyshow

Credits

Host/Founder: John Parker (learn more about my name change)
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Production and Distribution Support: Brett Johnson, AM950
Marketing/Advertising Support: Chad Larson, Laura Hedlund, Jennifer Ogren, AM950
Accounting and Creative Support: Gordy Erickson

Real quick: yes, you too can be a guest on our podcast! If you have a queer book that had a life-saving impact for you, then please visit thisqueerbook.com and fill out the form on the homepage! Looking forward to hearing back from you!

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Fingersmith with Kim van Alkemade Sep 15, 2026

Show notes

How do I be a lesbian, and a writer, at the same time?

Today we meet Kim van Alkemade and we’re talking about the queer book that saved her life: Fingersmith by Sarah Waters.

Kim is the author of the novels Orphan 8, Bachelor Girl, and Counting Lost Stars. Her forthcoming novel Upstate comes out October 27. Her books have been translated into eleven languages. After a career teaching writing at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania, she now works at aån independent bookstore in Saratoga Springs, New York, where she lives with her partner, their rescue dog, and two feisty backyard chickens.

In Fingersmith, Sue Trinder is an orphan, left as an infant in the care of Mrs. Sucksby, a "baby farmer," who raised her with unusual tenderness, as if Sue were her own. One day, the most beloved thief of all arrives—Gentleman, an elegant con man, who carries with him an enticing proposition for Sue: If she wins a position as the maid to Maud Lilly, a naïve gentlewoman, and aids Gentleman in her seduction, then they will all share in Maud’s vast inheritance. But no one and nothing is as it seems in this Dickensian novel of thrills and reversals.

Sarah Waters is the author of several novels, including the New York Times–bestselling The Paying Guests. She has been short-listed for the Man Booker Prize three times. Granta named her of their best young British novelists. She lives in London.

Connect with Kim

website: kimvanalkemade.com
threads: @kimvanalkemade
instagram: @kimvanalkemade
facebook: @kimvanalkemade

Our Bookshop
Visit our Bookshop for new releases, current bestsellers, banned books, critically acclaimed LGBTQ books, or peruse the books featured on our podcasts: bookshop.org/shop/thisqueerbook

Buy your copy of Fingersmith here: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9781573229722

Buy your copy of Upstate here: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9780063438033

Quatrefoil Library

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A Boy's Own Story with Greg Howard Sep 01, 2026

Show notes

This book told me I was not alone and it set me on a journey of queer lit.

Today we meet Greg Howard and we’re talking about the queer book that saved his life: A Boy's Own Story by Edmund White.

Greg’s critically acclaimed, debut middle-grade novel The Whispers was nominated for an Edgar Award and was named a Best Book of 2019 by Advocate Magazine. His second middle-grade novel Middle School’s a Drag, You Better Werk! was an Amazon Teacher’s Pick. The Visitors, his third middle-grade offering, was a 2022 New York Public Library Best Book. Also, the author of the young adult novel Social Intercourse, Greg’s new middle-grade book, The Travelers, just came out on August 25, 2026.

In A Boy's Own Story, the unnamed narrator of Edmund White’s first autobiographical novel finds solace in literature, works of art, and his own fantastic imagination. Lyrical and poignant, A Boy’s Own Story—the first of a trilogy, followed by The Beautiful Room Is Empty and The Farewell Symphony—is an American literary treasure that became an instant classic upon publication for its pioneering portrayal of homosexuality.

Connect with Greg

website: greghowardbooks.com
bluesky: @greghowardbooks.bsky.social
instagram: @greghowardbooks
facebook: @greghowardbooks

Our Bookshop
Visit our Bookshop for new releases, current bestsellers, banned books, critically acclaimed LGBTQ books, or peruse the books featured on our podcasts: bookshop.org/shop/thisqueerbook

Buy your copy of A Boy's Own Story here: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9780143114840

Buy your copy of The Travelers here: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9780593111918

Become an Associate Producer!

Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook

Quatrefoil Library

Support the show

Our Lady of the Flowers with Patrick Doyle Aug 18, 2026

Show notes

This book opened a door and no one could ever close that door again.

Today we meet Patrick Doyle and we’re talking about the queer book that saved his life: Our Lady of the Flowers by Jean Genet.

PLEASE NOTE: This is an explicit book and so our episode is too. There is strong sexual content.

Patrick Doyle writes queer fiction, ranging from romance to mystery to thrillers and science fiction to just plain fiction. His stories depict gay men facing the challenges of living and loving in today's world. His previous novels include Pierre and Bill, Beau's Dilemma, and Jordi's Day. His latest novel, Bill & The Kid: A Queer Family. A Troubled Child. A Secret. A Crime comes out on October 1, 2026.

Our Lady of the Flowers is considered Genet's masterpiece. It is a lyrical portrait of the criminal underground of Paris and the thieves, murderers and pimps who occupied it. Genet approached this world through his protagonist, Divine, a male transvestite prostitute. In the world of Our Lady of the Flowers, moral conventions are turned on their head. Sinners are portrayed as saints and when evil is not celebrated outright, it is at least viewed with a benign indifference.

Connect with Patrick

website: patrickdoylewrites.com
goodreads: @Patrick_Doyle

Our Bookshop
Visit our Bookshop for new releases, current bestsellers, banned books, critically acclaimed LGBTQ books, or peruse the books featured on our podcasts: bookshop.org/shop/thisqueerbook

Buy your copy of Our Lady of the Flowers here: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9780802130136

Quatrefoil Library

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My Daddies! with Dr. Helen Webberley and Gareth Peter Aug 04, 2026

Show notes

We have such an issue with: what should we educate children with?

Today we meet Dr. Helen Webberley and we’re talking about the queer book that saved her life: My Daddies! by Gareth Peter. And Gareth joins us for the conversation!

Dr. Webberley is a doctor, gender specialist, and medical educator with years of experience across medicine, science, sexual health, and gender identity. In 2015, Dr. Webberley supported a young trans boy who had been left without care by UK's National Health System. That’s when she founded GenderGP. The small medical service quickly became a lifeline for trans people across the UK and beyond. Now, her goals include developing training for healthcare professionals, improving legal protections for the trans community, and championing a global shift towards patient-led, rights-based models of care.

Gareth Peter has had a career as a composer and lyricist for theater, with his songs performed on stage by West End and Broadway voices across the United Kingdom and internationally. He founded the Broadway School of Performing Arts, a part-time theater school, in 2004. In 2018, he was a top-ten Penguin Random House Write Now finalist. Recent books include a series with Scholastic titled This Book is Full Of, including This Book Is Full of Unicorns and this Book Is Full Of Bunnies. Gareth lives in Nottingham with his partner and his two wonderful adopted children.

My Daddies! is a funny, heartfelt picture-book celebrating same-sex parents and shared story time, perfect for introducing children to the different kinds of family in the world today.

Connect with Dr. Webberley and Gareth

Dr. Webberley's website: helenwebberley.com
GenderGP: gendergp.com

Gareth's website: storywise.uk/gareth-peter
Instagram: @gareth.peter

Our Bookshop
Visit our Bookshop for new releases, current bestsellers, banned books, critically acclaimed LGBTQ books, or peruse the books featured on our podcasts: bookshop.org/shop/thisqueerbook

Buy your copy of My Daddies! here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/314591/my-daddies-by-peter-gareth/9780241405772

Quatrefoil Library

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The Color of Summer with Mario Elías Jul 21, 2026

Show notes

As a kid I always wondered where do I belong?

Today we meet Mario Elías and we’re talking about the queer book that saved his life: The Color of Summer by Reinaldo Arenas.

Mario Elías is a multidisciplinary artist of Cuban and Syrian descent based in Chicago. His work spans fiction, nonfiction, photography, painting, and printmaking. His book Queering the Male Gaze reimagined masterpieces of the classical and modern canon through essays and self-portraiture, exploring often-overlooked queer and female figures who shaped them. He is the founder of The KindaSuper Project, a philanthropic initiative offering free photography and video services to underserved communities. His debut novel Beloved Disciples just came out earlier this spring.

The Color of Summer is a Rabelaisian tale of survival by wits and wit and ultimately a powerful and passionate story about the triumph of the human spirit over the forces of political and sexual repression. This novel is the fulfillment of author Reinaldo Arenas' life's work, the Pentagonía, a five-volume cycle of novels that is his "secret history of Cuba."

Reinaldo Arenas was born in Cuba in 1943. In 1980, he was one of 120,000 Cubans who arrived in the United States on the Mariel boatlift. Arenas settled in New York where he lived until his death from AIDS ten years later. His extraordinary memoir, Before Night Falls, was named one of the fourteen "Best Books of 1993" by the editors of The New York Times Book Review and has now been made into a major motion picture.

Connect with Mario Elías

website: kindasuper.com
instagram: @kindasupermario

Our Bookshop
Visit our Bookshop for new releases, current bestsellers, banned books, critically acclaimed LGBTQ books, or peruse the books featured on our podcasts: bookshop.org/shop/thisqueerbook

Buy your copy of The Color of Summer: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9780140157192

Buy your copy of Beloved Disciples: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9781612943374

Quatrefoil Library

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Maurice with Gregory A. Kompes Jul 07, 2026

Show notes

I had never discovered a queer character who didn't die at the end. This book changed that.

Today we meet Gregory A. Kompes and we’re talking about the queer book that saved his life: Maurice by E.M. Forster

Gregory is founder of The Writer Workshop and an award winning, bestselling author of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. He’s the author of Shards, as well as the Broadway series that includes Flash Mob, The Middle Man, Tamburlaine, Obsequies, and Busker. Become a VIP Reader at https://kompes.com.

Maurice is set in the elegant Edwardian world of Cambridge undergraduate life and introduces us to Maurice Hall when he is fourteen. We follow him through public school, then Cambridge University, and finally into his father's firm. In a highly structured society, Maurice is a conventional young man in almost every way--except that he is homosexual. Maurice was ahead of its time in its theme and in its affirmation that love between men can be happy

E. M. Forster was one of the major novelists of the first half of the twentieth century. He was born in 1879 and educated at Cambridge. His other novels include A Room with a View, Howards End, and A Passage to India.

Connect with Gregory A. Kompes

website: kompes.com
bluesky: @gregoryakompes.bsky.social
instagram: @GregoryAKompes

Our Bookshop
Visit our Bookshop for new releases, current bestsellers, banned books, critically acclaimed LGBTQ books, or peruse the books featured on our podcasts: bookshop.org/shop/thisqueerbook

Buy your copy of Maurice: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9780393310320

Buy your copy of Shards: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9798995967408

Quatrefoil Library

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