Arts & Entertainment
Best of Gay D.C. XIII: People
Winners from the Blade’s readers poll
To see the winners of the Washington Blade’s Best of Gay D.C. readers poll in other categories, click here.
Best Singer or Band
Frankie & Betty
Runner-up: Wicked Jezabel
Frankie and Betty (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Frankie & Betty are a queer acoustic rock duo comprised of Rachel Bauchman (vocals/bass/guitar) and Jessie Strick (lead guitar). Since forming in 2011, they’ve played numerous events, including Roanoke Pride, Phasefest several times and more. They have shows planned at Tree house Lounge on Monday night and the Rock and Roll Hotel on Thursday. Look them up on Facebook to stay current. (JD)
Local Heroine
Ruby Corado
Runner-up: Ashliana Rowe
Ruby Corado (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Long-time LGBT advocate Ruby Corado is the visionary behind Casa Ruby, a local bilingual, multicultural LGBT organization that works to create “success life stories” among LGBT, gender queer and gender non-conforming residents in need. The recently wed Corado is a former Capital Pride Hero and has received many accolades for her work. (JD)
Casa Ruby
2822 Georgia Ave., N.W.
202-355-5155
Local Hero
Sgt. Matthew Mahl
Runner-up: Ed Bailey
Sgt. Matt Mahl (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Sgt. Matthew Mahl, who oversees six officers as part of the Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit of the D.C. Metro Police Department, says it’s “been a good year.”
“I don’t want to say crime is up, but we have been busier,” the 35-year-old Havana, Ohio, native says. “We have our hands in a lot of stuff.”
Mahl, a cop for 15 years and in Washington since 2001, joined the MPD in 2004 and the GLLU in 2012, having spent his entire previous career on patrol duty. He was forced out on the job during a 2007 incident in which his locker was vandalized but says that’s the only bad experience he’s ever had on the force.
Although initially hesitant to join the GLLU, he says overall it’s been a great experience and he enjoys helping his fellow officers learn “the sensitivities and needs of the LGBT community.” (JD)
Best Drag King
Avery Austin
Runner-up: Sebastian Katz
Avery Austin (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Anna Wimpelberg works by day as an HIV researcher at Whitman-Walker Health but her drag alter ego Avery Austin was born about 11 years ago when the 36-year-old New Orleans native and lesbian saw a drag show in Boston, her then-home.
A veteran of various high school and college theater productions, she says she recognized “immediately that it was something I would love to do.” She continued during an eight-year stint in Austin, Texas, and joined the D.C. Kings when she came to Washington about three years ago. She calls herself “the theater nerd of the group” and guesses she performs with them at Phase 1 and occasional other venues about four or five times per year, often recreating songs she’s seen on “Glee!”
Find more information on the Kings at dckings.com. (JD)
Best Realtor
Mark Rutstein
Mark Rutstein (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
1606 17th St. N.W.
202-498-1198
Runner-up: Ray Gernhart
Best DJ
DJ Rosie
Runner-up: Shea Van Horn
DJ Rosie (Washington Blade photo by Blake Bergen)
DJ Rosie Hicks has been spinning for about 13 years and spins regularly at the Hippo in her hometown Baltimore and also at LURe at Cobalt, Phase 1 and other area events in addition to a day job teaching special education.
Known for a mix of hip-hop, R&B, pop and more, she says she just all-around loves music. She also won this award in 2012.
“I love making people happy out there,” the Baltimore native says. “The whole point of coming out to a bar or club to hear a DJ is to let go of worries and cares and enjoy it.”
Look her up on Facebook to stay current with her events. (JD)
Best Drag Queen
Ba’Naka
Runner-up: Heidi Glum
Ba’Naka (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
A flip-flop of last year’s results when Glum won, Ba’Naka (Dustin Michael Schaad) is on top again this year adding to her 2012, 2011 and 2010 prizes (a Blade record) in this category.
Ba’Naka, who now does drag full-time and has positioned herself as the go-to gal for everything from hosting local Family Feud nights to getting you ready (for a fee of course!) for Miss Adams Morgan two weeks ago, she is widely known in the community for her outspoken Facebook comments, elaborate Disney routines (her Ursula is legendary) and consistent A-game delivery. And although it hasn’t happened yet, she’s our best local hope for “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” (JD)
Hottest Stripper or Go-go Dancer
Steve Pena
Runner-up: Christian Lezzil
Steve Pena (Photo courtesy Steve Pena)
Steve Pena got into dancing through his husband, Brent Everett, with whom he also runs a popular porn site (brenteverett.com). He’s nonchalant about the work, which he does every Friday night at Town when he’s in Washington and monthly at Latin Night at Cobalt.
“It’s a way to have fun, stay in touch with friends and fans and meet future models for our website,” the San Diego-born, Texas-reared Pena says.
In the region for about a year and a half, Pena, in an e-mail from Amsterdam where he’s traveling, says he appreciates the support.
“I have the best and most loyal friends, fans and followers out there.” (JD)
Best Burlesque Dancer
Private Tails
Runner-up: Glam Gamz
Private Tails (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Private Tails (aka Ashliana Rowe) has been performing burlesque since 2005 and has drawn influence from classic burlesque, hip-hop, Broadway and more for what she calls “the art of the tease.”
As producer of Private Tease Productions, a monthly variety show she uses as an outlet for young performers she mentors, she says she “enjoys the creative process of developing new numbers and looks forward to the opportunity to whip up a fresh new performance.”
Although she has several titles under her belt, this is a new category for Best Of and she’s the inaugural winner.
Her next performance is at Phase 1 on Halloween. Keep up with her on Facebook or at privatetails.com. (JD)
Best Business Person
DC Allen
Runner Up: Ray Gernhart
DC Allen (Washington Blade file photo by Pete Exis)
Businessman DC Allen has been credited with setting the pace for local gay-owned businesses to support the broader LGBT community.
Allen along with his husband Ken Flick owns the Crew Club, a D.C. health club and sauna that caters to gay men.
Last year Allen, 58, presented the D.C. Center for the LGBT Community with a $25,000 check to help the Center pay for renovation costs for its new space in the city’s Reeves Center municipal building at 14th and U streets, N.W.
“We decided it was important for the center to be there for all of us in the community,” Allen says.
Since opening the Crew Club at 1321 14th St., N.W., in the early 1990s, Allen has supported a number of local LGBT organizations and causes, including the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, which presented Allen with its Distinguished Service Award in 1998.
Under Allen’s direction, the Crew Club has also supported Whitman-Walker Health and Us Helping Us, two local community health organizations that provide services to the LGBT community, including AIDS education and prevention services.
In addition to providing financial support for the two groups, Allen has arranged for staff members of the groups to provide HIV testing on the Crew Club’s premises. The Crew Club also serves as a major distribution point for HIV prevention literature and free condoms.
The Capital Area Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce recently named Allen Business Leader of the Year. (LC)
Best Massage
Che Young
Runner-up: Eddie Weingart
Che Young (Photo by Chris Jay Photography)
Relax the stress away with a massage by Che Young. Young provides deep tissue, Swedish, clinical and massage therapy. The Alexandra-based pro can be reached at 703-627-9090 or visit massagetherapy.com. (MC)
Best Visual Artist
Denis Largeron
Denis Largeron (Photo by Denis Largeron)
1621 T St., N.W., Apt. 201
202-420-1030
Runner-up: Amy Martin
Best Personal Trainer
Gerard Burley
Runner-up: Bucky Mitchell
Gerard Burley (Photo by Scott Henrichsen)
Gerard Burley shares fitness tips via his biweekly column in the Blade. He also makes appearances on Fox 5 and is known for his SweatDC fitness party. Find him via Facebook for regular updates and inspirational fitness-related posts.
(Editor’s note: Bucky Mitchell also writes a biweekly column in the Blade.)
Best TV Personality
Chuck Bell, NBC4
Runner-up: Wendy Rieger
Chuck Bell (Washington Blade photo by Jonathan Ellis)
Best Actor
Mickey Daniel DaGuiso
Runner-up: Will Gartshore
Mickey Daguiso, center (Photo courtesy The Landless Theatre Company)
Mickey Daniel DaGuiso grew up in the D.C. suburbs. He attended Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, mostly for the music program, and graduated from the University of Virginia where he majored in anthropology and philosophy.
Throughout school, he was involved in band (saxophone, piano) and chorus. It wasn’t until after college that DaGuiso started doing musicals. “It began as sort of a whim,” he says, “and then I was instantly hooked.”
Among the local companies where he’s worked, his favorites are Keegan Theatre (“Man of La Mancha” and “Rent”) and Landless Theatre where he played Kebab in “Perez Hilton Saves the Universe” and the lead in “Spidermusical,” a spoof of Broadway’s “Spiderman,” and many other roles. He has also served as musical director and accompanist for assorted Landless productions.
“Keegan is such a friendly, supportive community yet the creativity and work involved is just superior. Landless is the most enjoyable both on stage and backstage, efficient and creative with time and space, with vision and little ego.”
Currently DaGuiso is taking a year away from theater to travel the world. (He responded to these interview questions via email from India where he’s embarking on a six-month walkabout.) While traveling he’s trying his hand at playwriting.
“I’m keeping it very open-ended so just reading a lot, taking down inspiration whenever it comes and doing a daily writing practice. I do plan on continuing with acting in D.C. when I get back. But who knows what the future holds? I’m like the wind.” (PF)
Best Actress
MaryBeth Wise
Runner-up: Holly Twyford
MaryBeth Wise in ‘How to Write a New Book for the Bible.’ (Photo by Danisha Crosby)
MaryBeth Wise likens acting to a never-ending education. Currently she’s taking a class for experienced actors at Studio Theatre.
“I feel that it’s a good way to flex my muscles when I’m not working,” she says. “And I get to do scenes that I’ve always wanted to do by my favorite playwrights like Pinter, Beckett and Chekhov.
Wise advises young actors to see as much theater as possible. “The more you absorb, the better off you’ll be. The more you’ll have available in experience and imagination. After all, what else do we have?”
Typically cast as women of substance, Wise’s more memorable roles include Anne Sullivan in Olney Theatre’s “The Miracle Worker,” a New York psychiatrist in Studio Theatre’s “Frozen,” a newly out lesbian in “Body Awareness” at Theater J, and most recently the stalwart wife and mother married to Mitchell Hébert in Round House’s “How to Write a New Book for the Bible,” a part that called for her to age from 40 to 80 on a dime.
Offstage, Wise’s partner is local actor Sarah Marshall. The talented pair got to know each other while working on Woolly Mammoth’s production of Paula Vogel’s “The Mineola Twins” in 2003. “It was a great time,” Wise says. “And the show was a lot fun. I played a man in the first act and a woman in the second.”
Wise grew up in Miami. She started acting while an undergraduate at Barry University. Initially she came to Washington to attend Catholic University where she earned a master’s in acting.
“The D.C. theater scene is one of the best in the country,” Wise says. “We have a variety of theaters doing interesting, cutting-edge work. Our audiences can handle thought-provoking theater. And the actors are supportive. It’s great.” (PF)
Best Hill Staffer
Kat Skiles
Runner-up: Kenneth Dowling
Kat Skiles (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
As Hill staffers go, Kat Skiles has moved to the top. In July, she became digital director and senior adviser to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). It’s the Utah native’s second consecutive year winning this award. (CJ)
Best Straight Ally
Leigh Ann Hendricks
Runner-up: Brett Johnson
Leigh Ann Hendricks (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Leigh Ann Hendricks made a big change five years ago to manage Level One (in the basement of Cobalt) after 17 years just down the street at Annie’s Paramount Steakhouse.
Managing a staff of about 35 — 90-95 percent of whom, she estimates, are LGBT — she says was a logical change and one she made with no hard feelings toward Annie’s. Having grown up with a gay best friend, she says it simply never occurred to her to treat gay people any differently. She was also inspired by the example of Annie’s namesake, the late Annie Kaylor, whom she worked with for years.
“She was like our second mother,” Hendricks says. “Her attitude was, ‘They either like my gay friends or they don’t like me,’ and that’s been mine as well.” (JD)
Level One
1639 R St. N.W.
202-745-0025
Best Bartender
Dusty Martinez (Town Patio/Number 9)
Runner-up: Angela Lombardi (Phase 1)
Dusty Martinez (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Baltimore native Dusty Martinez has been in the food and beverage industry for a decade and recently completed an in-house internship at the W Hotel. He recently moved from serving customers at Number 9 to operating the new Town Patio, and he is also the owner and director of D&D Cocktails, a private bartending company serving the D.C. area.
Dusty Martinez
202-765-7550
danddcocktails.squarespace.com
Best Rehoboth Bartender
Holly Lane, Café Azafran
Runner-up: Matt Urban, Blue Moon
Holly Lane (Washington Blade photo by Kevin Naff)
Holly Lane has lived in more places than most people have visited: Martinique, Greece, Bahamas, Paris, Chicago, Switzerland, the list goes on.
She’s a native Washingtonian who trained in dance at the Washington School of Ballet and later at a modern dance school in Bethesda. After school — and a stint in Chicago with her then-husband — Lane’s travels began in earnest. She left her husband and moved to the Bahamas at age 23 to dance at the Paradise Island resort. A Club Med gig led to more travel and finally a trip to Paris, where she auditioned for a dancing job and stayed for 15 years.
“It was nice to have a place to decorate,” says Lane, sipping a coffee on an unseasonably warm October day in Rehoboth Beach, Del. “I rented a furnished apartment and gradually replaced everything with my own finds at the Paris flea markets.”
After years of working as a professional dancer, it was in Paris at age 30 that Lane discovered she could also sing. She landed a job in a musical production and then at the Hollywood Savoy in the ‘80s, where the wait staff also served as the entertainment, singing and dancing for customers during dinner.
“It was a great place to learn,” she says.
Despite the excitement and adventure of living and working abroad, Lane said a voice kept telling her it was time to go home and so in 1995, she returned to D.C.
“I’m glad I did all the things I did when I did them,” she says. “I just found my passport and realized I haven’t been abroad since 2007.”
After the death of a boyfriend, Lane went to visit her parents at their home in Rehoboth Beach, which they’ve owned since 1977 and stayed. She’s lived full time in the popular beach resort town since 2000 and spent about 10 years in a jazz band performing around the state. Her parents, now 93, still live there. Lane says her father sold the family home in D.C. through a real estate ad in the Washington Blade a few years ago and relocated full-time to Rehoboth.
In summer of 2010, the owner of Café Azafran was opening a new location in Rehoboth and offered Lane a bartending job. She’s worked there since. You can find her tending bar Thursday-Sunday evenings but Thursday is the night when she’s joined by fellow Rehoboth entertainer John Flynn, who plays the keyboard while Lane sings into her wireless headset while making drinks.
“I enjoy multi-tasking,” she says.
Café Azafran attracts a mixed crowd and Lane treats customers like they are guests in her home rather than patrons at a bar. She always finds room at the large granite bar for another stool and makes sure to introduce newcomers to the rest of the crowd.
Lane, 62, is “happily single” and lives with her dog JuJuBee, a “cheagle,” a Chihuahua and Beagle mix. In addition to her duties at Azafran, Lane sings at private parties and functions. (KN)
Café Azafran
18 Baltimore Ave.
302-227-8100
Most Committed Activist
David Mariner
Runner-up: Josh Deese
David Mariner (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
In Washington since 1997, David Mariner, a Corning, N.Y., native, started volunteering at the DC Center in 2008 and became its first full-time executive director a year later.
Under his leadership, the once-fledgling Center has begun to flourish and now has a broad activity schedule and is a hub for LGBT-themed events such as the OutWrite LGBT Book Festival, Reel Affirmations and much more.
“Working at the DC LGBT Center has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life,” Mariner says. “I am so proud of the work we do in the community and am profoundly grateful to the staff and the many volunteers and supporters who make this work possible.” (JD)
The DC Center
2000 14th St., N.W. No. 105
202-682-2245
Best Gay Politician
David Catania
David Catania (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Runner-up: Tammy Baldwin
Best Trans Advocate
Thomas Coughlin (see Queery)
Runner-up: Ruby Corado
Thomas Coughlin (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Best Amateur Athlete
Matt Simeon
Runner-up: Eddie Valentine
Matt Simeon (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Matt Simeon, who currently plays for the Washington Generals, has been a member of the D.C. Gay Flag Football League since 2010. Simeon was also named most valuable player of the league for the 2014 spring season. (MC)
Best Stylist
Michael Hodges
Runner-up: Barry Smythers
Michael Hodges (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Michael Hodges has been sharpening his techniques in the Washington area for 25 years and is the owner and master Stylist of Logan 14. With a keen eye for current trends in men’s hair cuts and women’s styling, Michael and his team are making a powerful impact in the Logan Circle area. (SMH)
Michael Hodges
1314 B 14th St., N.W
202-506-6868
Best Clergy
Rev. David Lett
Rev. David Lett (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
This is Father Lett’s second consecutive win in this category. He also won the best drag queen prize as Lena Lett in 2001 and 2002. (JD)
Runner-up: Rev. Kirsten Blom-Westbrook
Best Republican Advocate
Ted Olson
Ted Olson (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Runner-up: Sen. Susan Collins
Best First Responder
Justin Markiewicz
Runner-up: Kate Fitzgerald
Justin Markiewicz (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Officer Justin Markiewicz has been serving as a part-time member of the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department’s Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit since 2010. Markiewicz hails from Delaware and came to the District to attend Catholic University. After graduation he attended the police academy and was assigned to the 6th District. (MC)
Rob Reiner, most known for directing untouchable classics like “The Princess Bride,” “Misery,” “When Harry Met Sally…,” and “Stand by Me,” died Dec. 14 alongside his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, in their Los Angeles residence. While investigations are actively underway, sources have told PEOPLE Magazine that the pair’s son, Nick Reiner, killed his parents and has been taken into custody.
Reiner was a master of every genre, from the romantic comedy to the psychological thriller to the coming-of-age buddy movie. But in addition to his renowned work that made him a household name, Reiner is also remembered as a true advocate for the LGBTQ community. In 2009, Reiner and his wife co-founded the American Foundation for Equal Rights, helping fight against California’s Prop 8 same-sex marriage ban. They were honored at the 2015 Human Rights Campaign Las Vegas Gala.
In a statement, HRC President Kelley Robinson said: “The entire HRC family is devastated by the loss of Rob and Michele Reiner. Rob is nothing short of a legend — his television shows and films are a part of our American history and will continue to bring joy to millions of people across the world. Yet for all his accomplishments in Hollywood, Rob and Michele will most be remembered for their gigantic hearts, and their fierce support for the causes they believed in — including LGBTQ+ equality. So many in our movement remember how Rob and Michele organized their peers, brought strategists and lawyers together, and helped power landmark Supreme Court decisions that made marriage equality the law of the land — and they remained committed to the cause until their final days. The world is a darker place this morning without Rob and Michele — may they rest in power.”
Reiner’s frequent collaborators have also spoken out as the industry is in mourning, including figures like Ron Howard and John Cusack.
A joint statement from Jamie Lee Curtis and Christopher Guest (who starred in Reiner’s “This is Spinal Tap”) reads: “Christopher and I are numb and sad and shocked about the violent, tragic deaths of our dear friends Rob and Michele Singer Reiner and our ONLY focus and care right now is for their children and immediate families and we will offer all support possible to help them. There will be plenty of time later to discuss the creative lives we shared and the great political and social impact they both had on the entertainment industry, early childhood development, the fight for gay marriage, and their global care for a world in crisis. We have lost great friends. Please give us time to grieve.”
While attending the 2019 HRC Los Angeles Dinner, Reiner spoke out about the need for equality: “We have to move past singling out transgender, LGBTQ, black, white, Jewish, Muslim, Latino. We have to get way past that and start accepting the idea that we’re all human beings. We’re all human beings, we all share the same planet, and we should all have the same rights, period. It’s no more complicated than that.”
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington perform “The Holiday Show” at Lincoln Theatre (1215 U St., N.W.). Visit gmcw.org for tickets and showtimes.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Santa will be very relieved.
You’ve taken most of the burden off him by making a list and checking it twice on his behalf. The gift-buying in your house is almost done – except for those few people who are just so darn hard to buy for. So what do you give to the person who has (almost) everything? You give them a good book, like maybe one of these.
Memoir and biography
The person who loves digging into a multi-level memoir will be happy unwrapping “Blessings and Disasters: A Story of Alabama” by Alexis Okeowo (Henry Holt). It’s a memoir about growing up Black in what was once practically ground zero for the Confederacy. It’s about inequality, it busts stereotypes, and yet it still oozes love of place. You can’t go wrong if you wrap it up with “Queen Mother: Black Nationalism, Reparations, and the Untold Story of Audley Moore” by Ashley D. Farmer (Pantheon). It’s a chunky book with a memoir with meaning and plenty of thought.
For the giftee on your list who loves to laugh, wrap up “In My Remaining Years” by Jean Grae (Flatiron Books). It’s part memoir, part comedy, a look back at the late-last-century, part how-did-you-get-to-middle-age-already? and all fun. Wrap it up with “Here We Go: Lessons for Living Fearlessly from Two Traveling Nanas” by Eleanor Hamby and Dr. Sandra Hazellip with Elisa Petrini (Viking). It’s about the adventures of two 80-something best friends who seize life by the horns – something your giftee should do, too.
If there’ll be someone at your holiday table who’s finally coming home this year, wrap up “How I Found Myself in the Midwest” by Steve Grove (Simon & Schuster). It’s the story of a Silicon Valley worker who gives up his job and moves with his family to Minnesota, which was once home to him. That was around the time the pandemic hit, George Floyd was murdered, and life in general had been thrown into chaos. How does someone reconcile what was with what is now? Pair it with “Homestand: Small Town Baseball and the Fight for the Soul of America” by Will Bardenwerper (Doubleday). It’s set in New York and but isn’t that small-town feel universal, no matter where it comes from?
Won’t the adventurer on your list be happy when they unwrap “I Live Underwater” by Max Gene Nohl (University of Wisconsin Press)? They will, when they realize that this book is by a former deep-sea diver, treasure hunter, and all-around daredevil who changed the way we look for things under water. Nohl died more than 60 years ago, but his never-before-published memoir is fresh and relevant and will be a fun read for the right person.
If celeb bios are your giftee’s thing, then look for “The Luckiest” by Kelly Cervantes (BenBella Books). It’s the Midwest-to-New-York-City story of an actress and her life, her marriage, and what she did when tragedy hit. Filled with grace, it’s a winner.
Your music lover won’t want to open any other gifts if you give “Only God Can Judge Me: The Many Lives of Tupac Shakur” by Jeff Pearlman (Mariner Books). It’s the story of the life, death, and everything in-between about this iconic performer, including the mythology that he left behind. Has it been three decades since Tupac died? It has, but your music lover never forgets. Wrap it up with “Point Blank (Quick Studies)” by Bob Dylan, text by Eddie Gorodetsky, Lucy Sante, and Jackie Hamilton (Simon & Schuster), a book of Dylan’s drawings and artwork. This is a very nice coffee-table size book that will be absolutely perfect for fans of the great singer and for folks who love art.
For the giftee who’s concerned with their fellow man, “The Lost and the Found: A True Story of Homelessness, Found Family and Second Chances” by Kevin Fagan (One Signal / Atria) may be the book to give. It’s a story of two “unhoused” people in San Francisco, one of the country’s wealthiest cities, and their struggles. There’s hope in this book, but also trouble and your giftee will love it.
For the person on your list who suffered loss this year, give “Pine Melody” by Stacey Meadows (Independently Published), a memoir of loss, grief, and healing while remembering the person gone.
LGBTQ fiction
For the mystery lover who wants something different, try “Crime Ink: Iconic,” edited by John Copenhaver and Salem West (Bywater Books), a collection of short stories inspired by “queer legends” and allies you know. Psychological thrillers, creepy crime, cozies, they’re here.
Novel lovers will want to curl up this winter with “Middle Spoon” by Alejandro Varela (Viking), a book about a man who appears to have it all, until his heart is broken and the fix for it is one he doesn’t quite understand and neither does anyone he loves.
LGBTQ studies – nonfiction
For the young man who’s struggling with issues of gender, “Before They Were Men” by Jacob Tobia (Harmony Books) might be a good gift this year. These essays on manhood in today’s world works to widen our conversations on the role politics and feminism play in understanding masculinity and how it’s time we open our minds.
If there’s someone on your gift list who had a tough growing-up (didn’t we all?), then wrap up “I’m Prancing as Fast as I Can” by Jon Kinnally (Permuted Press / Simon & Schuster). Kinnally was once an awkward kid but he grew up to be a writer for TV shows you’ll recognize. You can’t go wrong gifting a story like that. Better idea: wrap it up with “So Gay for You: Friendship, Found Family, & The Show That Started It All” by Leisha Hailey & Kate Moennig (St. Martin’s Press), a book about a little TV show that launched a BFF-ship.
Who doesn’t have a giftee who loves music? You sure do, so wrap up “The Secret Public: How Music Moved Queer Culture from the Margins to the Mainstream” by Jon Savage (Liveright). Nobody has to tell your giftee that queer folk left their mark on music, but they’ll love reading the stories in this book and knowing what they didn’t know.
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