Spotlight
LGBTQ Equality Without Exception
06.24.19
Editors Note: this post originally ran in June 2015. View current ALA Stonewall Book Award lists here and find all the titles at dppl.org/findit
June is Pride Month.
In many cities, month-long festivities celebrating the hard-won rights, contributions, and diversity of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities culminate on Sunday, June 28 in a Pride Parade. (NOTE: The 2019 Chicago Pride Parade is June 30.)
This year, I will be back in San Francisco, where the legendary parade’s theme is “Equality Without Exception,” a phrase that speaks volumes about the achievements and struggles of this past year.
It’s also a powerful focal point for thinking and talking about books that deal with the lives and issues of LGBTQIA individuals.
How does a novel, poem, play, or essay address equality, sexuality, and gender? And what does that mean to us, the readers?
Good books that express truths about gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender people are valuable tools that can inform, comfort, empower, or even save lives.
On that note, I am proud that the American Library Association has designated June as GLBT Book Month, a national celebration that highlights literature reflecting the experiences of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities.
Join me here at Des Plaines Public Library to celebrate with a spotlight on many of the books honored with Stonewall Awards.
I’ll Give You the Sun
by Jandy Nelson
2015 Stonewall Honor Book in Children’s and Young Adult Literature
This Day in June
by Gayle Pitman
2015 Mike Morgan and Larry Romans Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award
And…although it’s not in June, on Thursday, August 6th at 2 pm, we will also highlight a moving story about the power of the human spirit amid death and indifference, during the early days of the AIDS crisis.
Join us for Books to Film to watch the HBO film, The Normal Heart, followed by a discussion comparing it to the play it is based on.