CASSIUS continues its celebration of the creatives leading the charge for queer representation with a roundup of LGBTQ+ writers to know.
1. Adam Silvera
Born and raised in the Bronx, Adam Silvera is the bestselling author of More Happy Than Not and They Both Die at the End. His latest novel, History Is All You Left Me, was called “an eloquent, in-depth examination of ‘whatever comes next'” by the Chicago Tribune.
2. Alexis Pauline Gumbs
Dr. Alexis Pauline Gumbs is a self-proclaimed “Black Feminist priestess” known for her poetry and activist work. The co-editor of Revolutionary Mothering: Love on the Front Lines, she’s also the founder and director of the North Carolina-based educational program Eternal Summer of the Black Feminist Mind, and the author of the recently published M Archive: After the End of the World.
3. Danez Smith
A Black queer writer, poet, and performer from St. Paul, Minn., Danez Smith is the author of the brilliant Don’t Call Us Dead, which was a finalist for the National Book Award. Their work has been called a “gauntlet for all of us to speak our deepest truths with more elegance, more ferocity, and almost more beauty than a reader can bear.”
4. Gabby Rivera
You probably know the Bronx’s Gabby Rivera as the writer behind America, Marvel’s first comic starring a lesbian Latinx superhero. She’s also the author of YA novel Juliet Takes a Breath. ICYMI: we chopped it up with her in November.
5. George M. Johnson
Journalist and activist George M. Johnson recently signed a book deal for his forthcoming YA memoir, All Boys Aren’t Blue. His work has been featured by ET, NBC, Teen Vogue, and more.
6. Hari Ziyad
Hari Ziyad is the editor-in-chief of RaceBaitR and managing editor of the Black Youth Project. Their debut book, Black Boy out of Time, is scheduled to be released in 2019 via Little A Books.
7. J Mase III
Seattle-based Black/trans/queer poet and educator J Mase III is the author of If I Should Die Under the Knife. The founder of awQward, the first-ever trans and queer people of color specific talent agency, he has also worked with community members across America, the UK and Canada on the needs of LGBTQIA youth and adults.
8. Mia McKenzie
The award-winning author of The Summer We Got Free, Mia McKenzie, born and raised in Philly, is also creator of the Black Girl Dangerous blog. You’ll also find her steering the ship at Black Girl Dangerous Media, an independent media and education project that centers queer Black women and girls, as explained on her website.
9. Michael Arceneaux
Michael Arceneaux is undoubtedly Beyoncé’s biggest fan. If you follow his work, you know this. If you don’t, you can read about his love for the queen in his forthcoming book, I Can’t Date Jesus: Love, Sex, Family, Race, and Other Reasons I’ve Put My Faith in Beyoncé, when it drops in July.
