The book that showed you what a positive queer future could be. And then literally came true.

Today we meet Brendan Gillett and we’re talking about the queer book that saved his life: Uncle Bobby's Wedding by Sarah S. Brannen. And Sarah joins us for the conversation!

Brendan is a high school English teacher in Brooklyn, New York. He works with English language learners to create poetry, picture books, cooking blogs, and literary analysis essays in every language they know. When he's not teaching, he's writing his own queer stories, poetry, and research essays about queer history. He lives with his illustrator husband and their cat, Pigeon.

Sarah S. Brannen is the illustrator of the Robert F. Sibert Honor book Summertime Sleepers and the author of Uncle Bobby's Wedding, named one of the 100 best children's books of the last 100 years by Booktrust. Sarah has written and illustrated A Perfect Day, Madame Martine, and Madame Martine Breaks the Rules. Miles Comes Home, a companion book to Uncle Bobby's Wedding, came out last November. And her forthcoming book Lolly on the Ice is now available to pre-order.

In Uncle Bobby's Wedding, when Uncle Bobby announces that he and "his friend" Jamie are getting married everyone is happy -- except Chloe. After a magical day with Uncle Bobby and his boyfriend, Jamie, Chloe realizes she's not losing an uncle, but gaining one.

Connect with Brendan and Sarah

instagram: @mrbrendangillett
website: brendangillett.com

website: sarahbrannen.com
instagram: @sarahsbrannen
bluesky: @sarahsbrannen.bsky.social

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 Uncle Bobby's Wedding: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9781499810080

Buy Miles Comes Home: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9781499814736

Pre-order Lolly on the Ice: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9780593711828

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, Jonathan Fried, Paul Kaefer, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Terry 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:

Join us in helping Lambda Literary raise $20k for The Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices to ensure all writers can attend. Donate here: http://bit.ly/3RjW51a

Support the show

This book sparked a five-year long career and life journey.

In a first for us, we have two guests today! They are Arden Harris and Emily Autenrieth. We’re talking about the queer book that saved their lives: The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon and she joins us for the conversation!

Arden Harris is the buyer and lead bookseller for A Seat at the Table Books, an aspiring writer, and overall bookstore cryptid. They’re often found hiding in the shelves or crafting with their partner and four cats.

Emily Autenrieth is the founder and owner of A Seat at the Table Books. Emily saw a need in the community for a space where people of all ages and identities could be themselves and learn about others. With eir spouse Ryan's support, Emily opened a pop-up and online bookstore out of the family's home in January 2020. After getting a lease on a former float spa in April 2021, Emily and Ryan opened the brick-and-mortar store that November. They have been featured by ABC10 as business of the year for 2022!

Samantha Shannon is an award-winning and bestselling fantasy author. She studied English Language and Literature at the University of Oxford. Her novel The Priory of the Orange Tree has sold over a million copies in English worldwide. At the age of 21, she published The Bone Season, the internationally bestselling first installment in a seven-book series of fantasy novels. The Dark Mirror, the fifth installment in the Bone Season series, just came out this past February.

Special Limited Series

This episode is part of a special limited series of episodes featuring only guests who are owners or staff at LGBTQ bookstores. Airing April-June 2025, these episodes will feature six bookstores across the United States and United Kingdom.

Today's bookstore A Seat at the Table Books is a family-owned bookstore in Elk Grove, CA, that fosters community through representation in our curated book selection, eco-friendly coffee, and mission-driven events. They strive to be a third space that is safe and affirming for all identities.

Connect with Arden, Emily, and Samantha

website: aseatatthetablebooks.org
bluesky: @seatbooks.bsky.social
instagram: @ASeatattheTableBooks
instagram: @bookstore.cryptid

website: samanthashannon.co.uk
instagram: @say_shannon

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 (learn more about my name change)
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, K Jason Bryan and David Rephan, Bob Bush, Natalie Cruz, Jonathan Fried, Paul Kaefer, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Terry D., Stephen Flamm, Ida Göteburg, Thomas Michna, and Gary Nygaard.
Creative and Accounting support provided by: Gordy Erickson

Join us in helping Lambda Literary raise $20k for The Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices to ensure all writers can attend. Donate here: http://bit.ly/3RjW51a

Support the show

I was hungry for language. And stories. And how to tell our stories. That's what this book gave me. But let's not make a Bible out of it.

Today we meet Kris Kleindienst and we’re talking about the queer book that saved her life: Diving Into The Wreck by Adrienne Rich.

Kris is a 72-year old queer lesbian writer, bookseller, and activist. She owns Left Bank Books, a 56-year old progressive bookstore in St. Louis, Missouri. Kris edited a collection of activist essays titled This Is What Lesbian Looks Like: Dyke Activists Take on The 21st Century, published by Firebrand Press and winner of a Lambda Literary Award. She was a gold medal winning and 4-time participant in The Gay Games (also the co-founder of Team St. Louis). She has won multiple awards locally, regionally and nationally for my work with Left Bank Books. She is at work on a memoir about growing up in the 50s-60s with a Lesbian mother. Fun fact: She once got high with Armistead Maupin.

Diving into the Wreck: Poems 1971–1972 was Adrienne Rich's seventh book of poetry, an anthology of poems described as provocative and which co-won the 1974 National Book Award for Poetry with Allen Ginsberg's The Fall of America. Adrienne Rich (1929-2012) was an award-winning poet and essayist.

Special Limited Series

This episode is part of a special limited series of episodes featuring only guests who are owners or staff at LGBTQ bookstores. Airing April-June 2025, these episodes will feature six bookstores across the United States and United Kingdom.

Today's guest owns Left Bank Books. Opened in 1969 by a group of graduate students at Washington University who wanted to create a place where one could find all kinds of literature, Left Bank Books is the oldest and largest independently-owned full-line bookstore in St. Louis, Missouri. Open seven days a week, Left Bank Books offers a full-line of new and used books, gifts, cards, toys and services. Learn more and get shopping: left-bank.com

Connect with Kris

website: left-bank.com
facebook: facebook.com/kleindienst

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 (learn more about my name change)
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, K Jason Bryan and David Rephan, Bob Bush, Natalie Cruz, Jonathan Fried, Paul Kaefer, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Terry D., Stephen Flamm, Ida Göteburg, Thomas Michna, 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

Join us in helping Lambda Literary raise $20k for The Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices to ensure all writers can attend. Donate here: http://bit.ly/3RjW51a

Support the show