Countdown to "No Way, They Were Gay?" Book Launch: Day 31, Day 30, Day 29

 Okay, these countdown graphics are so fun, you're getting Day 31, 30 and 29 here...

There's an online launch party, and you're invited!

bit.ly/NoWayLaunchParty

Hope to see you there.

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,
Lee

Casting Call For Mx. Potato Head

What's in an honorific?

Mr. Potato Head – the brand, not the character – is being re-branded as, simply, "Potato Head."

As reported on CNN and beyond,

"Hasbro is making sure all feel welcome in the Potato Head world by officially dropping the Mr. from the Mr. Potato Head brand name and logo to promote gender equality and inclusion," the company said. The rebranded toy launches this fall.

It's interesting that the reporting at first kind of freaked people out, with the fear being that the characters of Mr. Potato Head and Mrs. Potato Head had changed their genders. So much so that Hasbro tweeted:

Hold that Tot – your main spud, MR. POTATO HEAD isn’t going anywhere! While it was announced today that the POTATO HEAD brand name & logo are dropping the ‘MR.’ I yam proud to confirm that MR. & MRS. POTATO HEAD aren’t going anywhere and will remain MR. & MRS. POTATO HEAD

The photo included in the tweet says volumes about how binary the Potato Head universe still is, with the art still showing Mr. Potato Head and Mrs. Potato Head, each on their respective box, under the new more gender neutral brand name, "Potato Head."

I guess rebranding the overall thing to be gender neutral is a step in the right direction. 

But if Hasbro really wants to be gender inclusive, perhaps the next step is for them to come up with a character who is part of the Potato Head Universe, who is also gender non-conforming, or Two-Spirit, or gender fluid. And maybe give that Gender Queer character their own box.

Casting call for Mx. Potato Head, anyone?

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you, no matter your gender.

Stay safe,
Lee

The Greatest Superpower - 13 Year Old Jorge's Dad Comes Out as Transgender, Prompting Jorge's Re-Thinking Gender, Power, Loyalty, and Conformity.

The Greatest Superpower by Alex Sanchez

It's the summer before eighth grade, and thirteen year-old Jorge Fuerte wants nothing more than to spend his days hanging out with his fellow comic-book-obsessed friends. But then everything changes. Jorge's parents announce they're divorcing for a reason he and his twin brother, Cesar, never saw coming--their larger-than-life dad comes out as transgender.

Jorge struggles to understand the father he's always admired, but Cesar refuses to have anything to do with him.

As Jorge tries to find a way to stay true to the father he loves, a new girl moves into the neighborhood: cool, confident, quirky Zoey. Jorge must face his fears and choose between being loyal to his brother or truthful about his family's secret. Although he's no superhero, Jorge already has the world's greatest superpower--if he decides to use it.

I'm a big fan of Alex's work, and so excited that we'll be having a virtual conversation as part of the April 6, 2021 launch party for my No Way, They Were Gay?

Add your review of "The Greatest Superpower" in comments!

No Way, They Were Gay? Launch Party and Pre-Order Donations To Empower LGBTQ Youth - The March 2021 Lee Wind Video Newsletter

Hello Community!

Want the scoop on the upcoming virtual launch party for "No Way, They Were Gay?" and the preorder campaign to donate copies to empower LGBTQ kids and teens? 

watch the March 2021 Lee Wind Video Newsletter. (Or check out the transcript and links below.)

Transcript:

Hi Everyone! I'm Lee Wind. I'm in one of my favorite places ever [the beach] and I'm talking to you about one of my favorite things, which is empowering LGBTQ kids and teens.

Eleven years ago I started on this journey of research and writing and now, finally, No Way, They Were Gay? Hidden Lives and Secrets Loves is coming out in April! (Like I came out, right? Coming out, it's a good word.) In April, April 6, 2021, there's going to be a big launch party [online] and you're invited. It's free for everyone. 

RSVP at: bit.ly/NoWayLaunchParty

I'm going to be interviewed by Alex Sanchez, whose latest book is The Greatest Superpower. He's an amazing writer, we're going to have an awesome conversation about gender, about representation, about Queer characters -- in fiction and in nonfiction -- and I hope you'll join us!

The other cool thing that we're doing for the launch, that I'm doing for the launch...

(But first, some backstory...)

In Hebrew tradition, there's an expression Chai חי, and it means life. It's two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, Chet ח and Yud י,  so anyway, the letters add up. They have a numerical value, and they add up to 18. 18 is sort of like a good luck number. So I'm getting some author copies, and I'm going to give the majority of them -- 18 of them -- as a donation to LGBTQ Teens, because I really feel that this book is all about empowering them. Empowering readers. 

Because I know if I had had this book growing up it would have changed my entire life. So, I don't have a time machine, so instead I'm going to try to pay it forward. So we're doing this cool preorder campaign. Where, working with my local bookstore, my local indie bookstore PAGES, a bookstore in Manhattan Beach, they're fantastic, and they're helping me. So if you want, you can purchase a copy through their website,

Donate at: bit.ly/NoWayLaunchParty

and we'll add them to the 18 I'm donating. And we'll make a donation through this amazing nonprofit, Brave Trails, to give the books directly to LGBTQ kids and teens. Because that's who really it's for. I mean sure, it's for allies, too. And I think that anybody can learn a lot from it. It's really, really a book of my heart. 

It's all about primary sources and letting these people speak for themselves. Letting Gandhi tell us the story about how the love of his life was Hermann Kallenbach and not his wife Kasturba. It's about us hearing Sappho's poems and learning from her how we all believe in the power of true love because she loved this woman Anactoria. It's us discovering stories of people who lived outside gender boundaries, like Hatshepsut, the Pharaoh, who in Egypt, over the course of 22 years, changed how they publicly presented their gender. 

We have this idea in our culture that LGBTQ people are brand new. That we sprung up since Stonewall in 1969. But you know what? We have thousands of years of stories and legacy and this rich history of men who loved men, and women who loved women, people who loved without regard to gender, and people who lived outside gender boundaries. And that's what the book is about, and that's why I really think it can be so empowering for readers. 

I'm very excited, the launch is coming up April 6, 2021. I hope you'll join me at the party, I hope you'll get a copy, donate a book, and come on board. I'm really excited.

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you. 

Stay safe. Thanks very much! Bye.

Angel Baribeau's Music Video for "Wish We Were Older" - A Queer, Non-Binary, Indigenous Artist Tells of "a lifetime of true love between an elderly 2 spirit Indigenous couple"

This was beautiful (both the song and the video for "Wish We Were Older.") Enjoy,

The quote above is from the video's director, Nang K’uulas / Patrick Shannon. 

Angel (who is originally from the Cree community of Mistissini, Quebec) says about the album this song is from, 

“I named my EP For Those I Love(d) because I realized the songs all represented love I had or have for people that have come through my life,” Baribeau shares. “Whether they are here still, or on their own path, this project aims to honour the love I felt and feel.
“I had many Moms growing up,” Baribeau continues. “Powerful women that showed me love in the times I needed it most. My Moms gave me the tools I needed to be who I am and, in fact, they did the heavy lifting when it came to building up my own strengths. It was the women around me that taught me to be brave, to exist without apology, and to love without fear. These women were blessings and I am forever grateful for their love.”

Excited to learn about Angel Baribeau, proud of them for standing up and creating this, and delighted to share with you,

Lee

Cool for the Summer - A Teen Girl Finally Gets the Guy of Her Dreams... But Can't Stop Thinking About This Girl She Was Romantic With Over the Summer

Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler

Lara's had eyes for exactly one person throughout her three years of high school: Chase Harding. He's tall, strong, sweet, a football star, and frankly, stupid hot. Oh, and he's talking to her now. On purpose and everything. Maybe...flirting, even? No, wait, he's definitely flirting, which is pretty much the sum of everything Lara's wanted out of life.
Except she's haunted by a memory. A memory of a confusing, romantic, strangely perfect summer spent with a girl named Jasmine. A memory that becomes a confusing, disorienting present when Jasmine herself walks through the front doors of the school to see Lara and Chase chatting it up in front of the lockers.
Lara has everything she ever wanted: a tight-knit group of friends, a job that borders on cool, and Chase, the boy of her literal dreams. But if she's finally got the guy, why can't she stop thinking about the girl?

Add your review of "Cool for the Summer" in comments!

Seven Highlights of #NY21SCBWI (plus my top inspiration, and some gratitude, too.)

Highlights:

Some moments from the wonderful SCBWI 2021 Winter Conference that are still resonating for me:

"I wrote this book for you and girls like you, because you deserve to see Black girls on the cover of books." Reneé Watson, speaking to her goddaughter Ryan in her Golden Kite Award best middle grade/young reader fiction acceptance speech for Ways to Make Sunshine

"You have to get the story right and the music right." – Matt de la Peña, on writing picture books

"Creativity is a thing that gets me through hard times." – Christian Robinson

My answer to you couldn't do that... "I did it anyway and it went great." – Jean Feiwel

"That new book needs to tell its own story, and not be just a giant epilogue." A new story where characters have a chance to breathe, a chance to discover things about themselves, and discover things about each other." – Becky Albertalli, on writing a sequel

"If I can't do it authentically, I'm not interested in performing it for people." – Adam Silvera, on social media

"I like books that allow me to enter them," and too many words get in the way. – Patricia MacLachlan

Inspiration

My biggest inspirational moment happened during the honor of hosting the LGBTQ+ and Allies social. Coming back from multiple breakout rooms, people spoke about a number of people writing stories with LGBTQ characters and themes where they're writing #QueerJoy. 

#QueerJoy - I love that!

Gratitude

My gratitude as well to my fellow members of SCBWI Team Blog for this conference: Debbie Ohi, Lakita Wilson, Jaime Temairik, Jolie Stekly, and Don Tate. And to Lin Oliver everyone at SCBWI who pulled off a virtual conference with over 4,000 attendees, and allowed me be part of it!

Thanks for letting me share,
Lee

Pre-Order Plan Reveal For "No Way, They Were Gay?" - Let's Empower LGBTQ Youth Together!

So you may have heard I have a book coming out. In April. It's nonfiction, and it's the kind of book that would have totally changed my life if I'd read it when I was 11. Or 15. Or heck, any time up through my writing it. (And I've been working on it since 2010.)

It's called NO WAY, THEY WERE GAY? HIDDEN LIVES AND SECRET LOVES, and it's being published by Lerner Publishing Group's Zest Books imprint. It was honored as a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. And it's all about empowering young LGBTQ people.

So I've cooked up this fun pre-order idea. For folks to buy a copy from my local indie bookstore, Pages: A Bookstore in Manhattan Beach, California, to donate to an LGBTQ teen via this wonderful nonprofit, Brave Trails.

It's all being set up, and there will be a special landing page for the virtual book launch party and everything, but I wanted to let you all know about this. Because, wouldn't it be amazing to put this book into the hands of just the readers for whom it will make a huge impact for the good?

And yes, No Way, They Were Gay? is a book about history, but it's not history like I was taught history, all dates and names to memorize. It's not history as medicine. It's more like chocolate. Empowering chocolate.

Because history is fascinating when you put aside the denials of hundreds of years of historians and actually let people tell you their own truths. Primary source materials - like letters, diary entries, poems, songs, ancient artwork - let us hear the stories of men who loved men, women who loved women, people who loved without regard to gender, and people who lived outside gender boundaries.

It's super cool. And exciting! If you want to get a head start on the preorder donation, you can preorder the book at Pages: A Bookstore now. But you can wait until the launch party event page is up, too. Either way, save the date - April 6, 2021 at 5pm Pacific.

And just to keep the fun going, here are three TikTok posts that are helping build the buzz...

@leewind

Abraham Lincoln spills the tea... ##iwroteabook ##foryou ##fyp ##booktok ##queerbooktok ##nowaytheyweregay ##queerhistoryiseverywhere ##queerhistory ##lgbtq

♬ I'm Coming Out - Diana Ross

@leewind

Queen Anne spills the tea... ##Iwroteabook ##foryou ##fyp ##booktok ##queerbooktok ##nowaytheyweregay ##queerhistoryiseverywhere ##lgbtq

♬ Run The World (Girls) (Glee Cast Version) - Glee Cast

@leewind

Pharaoh Hatshepsut spills the tea... ##iwroteabook ##foryou ##fyp ##booktok ##queerbooktok ##nowaytheyweregay ##queerhistoryiseverywhere ##queerhistory ##lgbtq

♬ I Am Changing - Jennifer Hudson

Thanks for sharing this adventure with me, because amazingly enough, Queer history really is everywhere! And know that can change everything.

Gratefully,
Lee

Reverie - A YA Fantasy Where Dreams Become Reality (with a Gay Teen Main Character)

Reverie by Ryan La Sala

A few weeks ago, Kane Montgomery was in an accident that robbed him of his memory. The only thing he knows for certain is that the police found him half-dead in the river. The world as he knows it feels different—reality seems different. And when strange things start happening around him, Kane isn't sure where to turn.

And then three of his classmates show up, claiming to be his friends and the only people who can tell him what's truly going on. Kane doesn't know what to believe or who he can trust. But as he and the others are dragged into increasingly fantastical dream worlds drawn from imagination, it becomes clear that there is dark magic at work. Nothing in Kane's life is an accident, and only he can keep the world itself from unraveling.

Oh, and Kane is Gay and has a new boyfriend...

Add your review of "Reverie" in comments!

Attending #NY21SCBWI? Join me and some special faculty guests at Tuesday Feb 16th's LGBTQ+ and Allies Social!

It's one of my favorite times of the year... And my favorite safe space gathering of community within the larger SCBWI community!

And even though the SCBWI Winter Conference is an all-virtual event this 2021, there's still going to be an LGBTQ+ and Allies Social!

Are you writing, illustrating, or translating works for kids, tweens, or teens with LGBTQAI2+ characters or themes? Or are you thinking of doing so? Then this is the social for you!

I'm hosting, and you can join in. 

Day: Tuesday February 16, 2021

Time: 4pm Pacific - 5pm Pacific

We'll be gathering in a safe space zoom room, and our special faculty guests will include Jane Yolen (multi award-winning author of 386 books for kids and adults)

The "How Do Dinosaurs..." series may be better known, but this is the most recent of Jane's titles.

Heidi Stemple (author of, most recently, with Jane, I Am The Storm)

Laurent Linn (author/illustrator of the YA novel Draw the Line and art director at Simon & Schuster

along with SCBWI staff moderators April Powers, Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer at SCBWI

Julian Petri,

SCBWI Executive Director Lin Oliver,

Associate Executive Director Sarah Baker,

Director of Special Projects Kim Turrisi,

as well as Claudia Pearson and Debra Schmidt.

Conference registrants will receive a PDF schedule with event links. On clicking to join, you'll have to register for this zoom social with your name and email, and then you'll be welcomed in.

We hope to see you there. Stay safe,
Lee

***UPDATE Tuesday Feb 16, 2021 at 11:30am Pacific: If you're registered for the conference, check your email for a special link to this event.***

Pet - A Black Trans Main Character Has To Save Her Friend From a Monster - But How Can You Share The Truth When The World Is In Denial?

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

Pet is here to hunt a monster. Are you brave enough to look?

There are no monsters anymore, or so the children in Lucille are taught. Jam and her best friend, Redemption, have grown up with the lesson that the city is safe for everyone. But when Jam meets Pet, a creature who some might call monstrous but, in reality, is anything but, she must reconsider what she's been told. Pet has emerged from one of her mother's paintings to hunt a true monster--and the shadow of something grim lurks in Redemption's house. No one has encountered monsters in years, though, and Jam's quest to protect her best friend and uncover the truth is met with doubt and disbelief. 

A National Book Award Finalist and Stonewall Book Award Winner, you can add your review of "Pet" in comments!

The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea - YA Fantasy Adventure with a Queer Teen Love Story at its Center

The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

In a world divided by colonialism and threaded with magic, a desperate orphan turned pirate and a rebellious imperial lady find a connection on the high seas.

The pirate Florian, born Flora, has always done whatever it takes to survive--including sailing under false flag on the Dove as a marauder, thief, and worse. Lady Evelyn Hasegawa, a highborn Imperial daughter, is on board as well--accompanied by her own casket. But Evelyn's one-way voyage to an arranged marriage in the Floating Islands is interrupted when the captain and crew show their true colors and enslave their wealthy passengers.

Both Florian and Evelyn have lived their lives by the rules, and whims, of others. But when they fall in love, they decide to take fate into their own hands--no matter the cost.

Add your review of "The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea" in comments!

Foreword Reviews Says NO WAY, THEY WERE GAY? "transmits rare facts and firsthand accounts with a sense of joyous wonder...[to] reverse queer historical erasure."

Hurrah!

No Way, They Were Gay? gets it's second editorial trade review!

I'm so jazzed their reviewer (Letitia Montgomery-Rodgers) "got" it, and since Foreword Reviews "only recommends books that we love" it's even more of a grand compliment. Here's another excerpt from the review:

From Gandhi to Eleanor Roosevelt, Wind doesn’t shy away from revealing his subjects in their full complexity. A fellow traveler and guide on a journey of discovery, Wind calls out the shadow sides of those profiled, as well as what’s laudable. His book transmits rare facts and firsthand accounts with a sense of joyous wonder. It also encourages readers to come to their own conclusions about the facts provided. Each chapter closes with some iteration of the question, “What do you think?” Even in regards to his own book, Wind emphasizes that history is an interpretative place that requires critical thinking.

At a time where issues of social justice are often deemed either overinflated or “solved,” Lee Wind makes a powerful case that queer historical erasure is an ongoing issue.

Foreword Reviews is read by over 30,000 indie book lovers, including librarians and booksellers, so that's pretty awesome. It's gratifying to know that this review will help my book reach – and empower – more readers, which is really what it's all about.

Thanks for sharing the adventure with me!

Stay safe,
Lee

Be Dazzled - Two Ex-Boyfriends Compete In an Epic Costume Contest

Be Dazzled by Ryan La Sala

Raffy has a passion for bedazzling. Not just bedazzling, but sewing, stitching, draping, pattern making--for creation. He's always chosen his art over everything--and everyone--else and is determined to make his mark at this year's biggest cosplay competition. If he can wow there, it could lead to sponsorship, then art school, and finally earning real respect for his work. There's only one small problem... Raffy's ex-boyfriend, Luca, is his main competition.

Raffy tried to make it work with Luca. They almost made the perfect team last year after serendipitously meeting in the rhinestone aisle at the local craft store--or at least Raffy thought they did. But Luca's insecurities and Raffy's insistence on crafting perfection caused their relationship to crash and burn. Now, Raffy is after the perfect comeback, one that Luca can't ruin.

But when Raffy is forced to partner with Luca on his most ambitious build yet, he'll have to juggle unresolved feelings for the boy who broke his heart, and his own intense self-doubt, to get everything he's ever wanted: choosing his art, his way.

Add your review of "Be Dazzled" in comments!

From Archie to Zack - A Picture Book Celebrating "the Joy of a First Crush" Between Two Young Boys

 

From Archie to Zack by Vincent X. Kirsch is definitely a picture book I wish had been read to me when I was a little kid. 

Here's the publisher description:

"Archie loves Zack!" "Zack loves Archie!" Everyone said it was so. But Archie hasn't told Zack yet. And Zack hasn't told Archie. They spend just about every minute together: walking to and from school, doing science and art projects, practicing for marching band, learning to ride bikes, and so much more. Over the course of a few months, Archie tries to write a letter to Zack to tell him how he feels: "From A to Z." None of his drafts sound quite right, so he hides them all away. One by one, Archie's friends (Zelda, Zinnia, and Zuzella) find the letters . . . but they know exactly whom they're meant for.

There's so many things to love about this picture book, and here are my top three: 

1) There's no shame about their love. Adults know the two boys love each other. The other kids know the two boys love each other. It's all a joyous celebration of the journey of the boys being able to tell each other how they feel. 

2) The illustrations do so much of the storytelling, and are beautifully rendered. 

It's a great example of how an author/illustrator can sometimes tell a story so fully that every part reinforces the whole. Even the endpapers add to the storytelling, with 16 more vignettes of Archie and Zack spending wonderful times together. 

3) It's a picture book about two young boys in love. The concept of making that a first crush love is so smart. This is the kind of love that's valentines given to every classmate in kindergarten - and a special one for that special someone! It's sweet and incredibly "G" rated - which is entirely awesome and appropriate.

Like I always say, the word homoSEXual isn't helping our Queer community. If we used the word homoLOVEual, we'd be having different conversations. Because the love that holds my family together is the same love that holds other families together.

And the first-crush love that Archie and Zack delight in is the same first-crush love that so many other young children delight in.

And that's worthy of celebrating!

With Valentine's Day coming up, "From Archie to Zack" is an extra special treat. 

Add your review of "From Archie to Zack" in comments!