Welcome to February
Hey, QLL 💜
We've got some really exciting news to share this time. We're lucky enough to be collaborating with Penguin Press and Ocean Vuong for his upcoming novel, The Emperor of Gladness. Ocean and Penguin Press have generously offered to donate a portion of preorder funds to QLL, up to $10,000! We are blown away by the opportunity, and so grateful to Ocean and Penguin Press! If you'd like to preorder Ocean's incredible novel, and want a portion of that to go to QLL, all that's required is that you enter in your preorder number information to this website. It doesn't matter the book format or retailer, so you can order through your local indie store and get the donation to us too! This event is U.S. only.
If you already preordered your copy of The Emperor of Gladness weeks ago, you can still participate. Any preorders since the book was announced back in October are eligible. So if you preordered right away last year, you can still input your preorder number and help Penguin Press hit $10,000 for QLL! In the meantime, you can put a hold on On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous.
Now, since it's February, and Black History Month, we want to make sure we're highlighting some queer Black excellence for you. We've put together some new curated lists to feature Nonfiction, Fiction, and Poetry titles by Black queer authors for all readers.
Our two featured titles above are from our Nonfiction BHM list and our Poetry BHM list. Black Queer Untold by Jon Key is a nonfiction exploration of what it means to be Black and to be queer in the world of graphic design. As a Black queer man from the south, Key strugged to find representation in the world of art and design, and it led to him asking a great many questions about identity and its place in his professional world. Key seeks to tell stories of the artists and designers of the past whose stories have been erased, as well as tell his own.
The other featured title this time is SLINGSHOT by Cyrée Jarelle Johnson. This book of poetry is disruptive, reflective, revolutionary. With a dreamlike quality and an unabashed sensuality, Johnson considers the consequences of marginalization as well as gender nonconformity, sexual deviance, and the experience of Black masculinity.
Give these, and many other amazing works, a read this month. And hey, if your hold doesn't come in right away, it just means you're celebrating Black history year round.
Read on,
The Team at QLL