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The letter Q : queer writers' notes to their younger selves
2012
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Collects letters from such famous contributors as Brian Selznick, Michael Cunningham, and Amy Bloom to offer hope and support in the face of prejudice. - (Baker & Taylor)

"A volume inspired by the ""It Gets Better"" YouTube campaign for LGBT teens collects letters from such famous contributors as Brian Selznick, Michael Cunningham and Amy Bloom to offer hope and support in the face of prejudice. Co-edited by the creator of the Academy Award-winning short film, Trevor. 40,000 first printing." - (Baker & Taylor)

Life-saving letters from a glittering wishlist of top authors.

If you received a letter from your older self, what do you think it would say? What do you wish it would say?That the boy you were crushing on in History turns out to be gay too, and that you become boyfriends in college? That the bully who is making your life miserable will one day become so insignificant that you won't remember his name until he shows up at your book signing?In this anthology, sixty-three award-winning authors such as Michael Cunningham, Amy Bloom, Jacqueline Woodson, Gregory Maguire, David Levithan, and Armistead Maupin make imaginative journeys into their pasts, telling their younger selves what they would have liked to know then about their lives as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgendered people. Through stories, in pictures, with bracing honesty, these are words of love and understanding, reasons to hold on for the better future ahead. They will tell you things about your favorite authors that you never knew before. And they will tell you about yourself.
- (Scholastic)

Author Biography

James Lecesne is an actor, writer, and activist. His Academy Award-winning short film, "Trevor," inspired the founding of The Trevor Project (www.thetrevorproject.org).
Sarah Moon is a teacher and writer. She lives and works in Brooklyn, New York, with her wife, Jasmine, and their dog, Otis. She is the coeditor of The Letter Q, a young adult anthology. Sparrow is her first young adult novel.
- (Scholastic)

First Chapter or Excerpt
David Levithan"I have no idea if there's such a thing as retroactive gaydar, but I'm pretty sure now that Mr. Jones is not in fact gay. And you, indeed, are.

I'm still not entirely sure whether I use the word irony correctly, but I believe there's something exquisitely ironic about making fun of your non-gay teacher for being gay, and then going home and listening to Barbra Streisand's Broadway Album over and over again."

Sarah Moon"Just between you and me, we both know that the weirdest thing about coming out on your first day of high school in this tiny cow-town is that you haven't even kissed a girl, yet. All you're going on is that feeling in your stomach when you see those pictures of the Spice Girls. It feels a little strange to go around proclaiming that you're a lesbian when you're not even sure that, you know, you'll like it. That quiet fear that this isn't the right thing, that you're going through all of this trouble for nothing, that if you had Angelina Jolie right there in front of you, you wouldn't know what to do with her, it's very scary. I have good news for you: The trouble is worth it, and you'll learn what to do and that will be fun."

Michael Cunningham"As you're nearing thirty, you'll say, screw it, maybe I'll never be recognized, but I still want to write. It's the only thing I've ever wanted to do. So I'm going to start writing about the people who matter most to me, the people I know best. I'm going to stop trying to court the New Yorker with tales of adultery and divorce in Connecticut. I'm going to write about gay people. I can live with the idea that no one will ever publish me. When I'm the oldest living bartender, I'll try to keep those errant hairs plucked.

And that's when your writing career will take off. Try to believe me."

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Booklist Reviews

*Starred Review* The letter Q stands for "queer," of course, and in this lovely, often funny, and always heartfelt book, more than five-dozen celebrated writers send letters to their teenage selves. Each note, in its own way, promises the author's younger self hope that, in the future, life will get better. In a moving introduction, editor Moon offers her own personal testimony to that. The assembled authors, actors, playwrights, and illustrators are a veritable who's who of the LGBT creative world, and their audiences include both young adults and adults. The YA writers include such luminaries as Julie Anne Peters, Jacqueline Woodson, David Levithan, Brian Selznick, Brent Hartinger, Marion Dane Bauer, and Nick Burd. Not every adult author will be familiar to teens, but whether known or not, they are an amazing array of talent—Michael Cunningham, Terrence McNally, Paul Rudnick, David Leavitt, and more. Appended brief biographies of the contributors provide necessary introductions and background information. Though similar in intent to Dan Savage and Terry Miller's It Gets Better (2011), this collection offers its own uniquely personal promise to young readers. In any case, both are books that may save lives—and we can never have too many of those. Copyright 2012 Booklist Reviews.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

In a thoughtful, humorous, and moving collection of letters and comics (not all seen by PW), 64 queer authors and artists tell "their younger selves what they could do to make their lives a little better, a little lighter." Though largely hopeful, these correspondences often include painful references to bullying, self-harm, feelings of isolation, and thoughts of suicide. Readers may be surprised by entries from contributors like Marion Dane Bauer and editor Arthur Levine, who remember growing up in a world that depicted gay people as perverts ("I may as well be one of those inverts you once saw pictured in an old psychology book," writes Richard McCann). But the stories are also frequently funny, as the authors tell of successful careers ("you get to be friends with some of your heroes," writes Gregory Maguire. "Like oh not to name names but like Maurice Sendak! I know!"), friendships, marriages, sex lives, and repaired relationships with parents. Read together, the letters become a powerful refrain. Jacqueline Woodson concludes hers by writing, "The world is big—and there is so much love in it. I promise you—you will find it." Ages 14–up. (May)

[Page ]. Copyright 2012 PWxyz LLC

School Library Journal Reviews

Gr 9 Up—This anthology features 64 LGBTQ authors and illustrators, both well-known and not, who send letters to their younger selves. Whether it's Paige Braddock's graphic-style note or Brent Hartinger's letter to his teenage self, the message is clear: it gets better; you will find love; don't give up. Read on an individual basis, these missives can range from boastful to witty to extremely touching. Unfortunately, when read as a whole, they become somewhat monotonous; thus, the letters seem most suitable for classroom use on LGBTQ issues or bullying when paired separately with a story from a good collection such as Michael Cart's How Beautiful the Ordinary (2009) or Marion Dane Bauer's Am I Blue? (both, HarperCollins).—Betty S. Evans, Missouri State Univ., Springfield, MO

[Page 131]. (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1(4)
Amy Bloom
5(3)
Michael Cunningham
8(4)
Julie Anne Peters
12(4)
Jacqueline Woodson
16(3)
Eileen Myles
19(5)
David Levithan
24(5)
Jasika Nicole
29(6)
Rakesh Satyal
35(3)
Doug Wright
38(6)
Melanie Braverman
44(2)
Brian Selznick
46(7)
Stacey D'Erasmo
53(3)
Adam Haslett
56(5)
Terrence McNally
61(3)
Erik Orrantia
64(3)
Jennifer Camper
67(5)
Martin Moran
72(5)
Armistead Maupin
77(3)
Arthur Levine
80(6)
Malinda Lo
86(3)
Maurice Vellekoop
89(2)
Michael Nava
91(4)
Larry Duplechan
95(3)
Ali Liebegott
98(3)
Paul Rudnick
101(2)
Linda Villarosa
103(6)
J. D. McClatchy
109(3)
Anne Bogart
112(3)
Eric Orner
115(2)
Lucy Jane Bledsoe
117(6)
Tony Valenzuela
123(4)
Carole DeSanti
127(10)
Gregory Maguire
137(5)
Christopher Rice
142(3)
Jewelle Gomez
145(3)
Bill Clegg
148(3)
Erika Moen
151(1)
Sarah Moon
152(5)
Bruce Coville
157(4)
LaShonda Katrice Barnett
161(4)
Howard Cruse
165(7)
Bil Wright
172(4)
Michael DiMotta
176(2)
Carter Sickels
178(3)
Diane DiMassa
181(5)
Brent Hartinger
186(5)
Mayra Lazara Dole
191(5)
Benoit Denizet-Lewis
196(4)
Susan Stinson
200(3)
Marc Wolf
203(4)
Lucy Knisley
207(2)
Nick Burd
209(4)
Ray Daniels
213(3)
James Lecesne
216(7)
Paula Gilovich
223(4)
Colman Domingo
227(2)
Richard McCann
229(3)
Marion Dane Bauer
232(5)
Lucy Thurber
237(3)
Randall Kenan
240(4)
Paige Braddock
244(5)
Jaye Maiman
249(6)
David Leavitt
255(4)
David Ebershoff
259(10)
Acknowledgments 269(1)
Contributors 270(11)
The Trevor Project 281

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