THAT’S

GAY.

THIS MONTH…

When people ask me for a light or heartfelt recommendation, I’m genuinely stumped. Maybe I’m a bitter, jaded queen, or maybe the lit world just doesn’t prioritize stories of queer joy (we can unpack that another time). Regardless, I can officially say that I have 1 (one) such book in my back pocket, and it’s this month's Gay Writes pick — Greta & Valdin, by Rebecca K. Reilly !

The novel splits its narrative between two queer, mixed-race Māori-Russian-Catalonian siblings living in Auckland, NZ. There’s Greta, a young PhD student with a possibly pointless thesis and a laundry list of unrequited crushes; and her brother Valdin, a physicist-turned-TV-travel-show-host (breakups are wild, y’all) who’s sent to Argentina for work where, ain’t that a coincidence, his ex now lives.

It’s a near impossible task to make me laugh (out loud!) and sob (out! loud!!) in the same novel, but with dry humour and whip-smart dialogue, Rebecca constructs a refreshing and distinctly New Zealand take on contemporary queer fiction. This is one of those books that’s less plot and more vibes, but it’s careening energy pulls us through clumsy romances and eccentric relatives to paint a deeply relatable portrait of millennial life, cultural identity, and the search for belonging.

chicken soup for the hole™

//

chicken soup for the hole™ //

REEL GAY:

Mamma Mia!

April 14

doors: 7 pm
show:
8 pm

Sala Rossa
Montreal, QC

You can dance, but can you jive??

In collaboration with our friends at
Pulp Books, Gay Writes gets the musical treatment with a REEL GAY presentation of the worst onscreen renditions of the best ABBA songs — mamma mia, it’s Mamma Mia!

Hosted by
Mary Fagdalene, and featuring MTL's traitorous D-list celebrity, Tranna Wintour, our gang of gays are ready to watch that scene and dish some real live commentary on this real gay film.

**please note**
this venue has a staircase with no alternative accessibility

do you want gay shit ??