The Banal and Profane Archives

August 25, 2019 7 min read

"My goal in these last few months has been to write essays that might draw potential readers toward my novel." Read More

Becca Blackwell (photo by Max Bernstein)

On Being Born, Dying, and Getting an Acting Gig: Delving into the Life of Becca Blackwell

Edit Team

Opinion

July 31, 2019 5 min read

"This business is bananas no matter what rug you look under." Read More

Navigating a Book Launch and a Bear Encounter: A Week in the Life of Tom Ryan

Edit Team

Opinion

May 29, 2019 9 min read

"My closeted insecure teenage self would have been completely gobsmacked to learn he’d someday be flying to NYC to promote a queer teen thriller." Read More

Navigating a Red-State Book Tour: A Week in the Life of Samantha Allen

Edit Team

Opinion

April 25, 2019 18 min read

"Now, I wish I could write a Real Queer America 2 about this magical book tour—and then do a book tour for that sequel while writing Real Queer America 3, repeating the process ad infinitum. That’s how much I love being with my LGBT red-state friends." Read More

Navigating a Book Launch and a Family Wedding: A Week in the Life of Sam Ross

Edit Team

Opinion

February 24, 2019 13 min read

"[...] my books are going to be for sale for the first time, so I’m excited. Is that why the skin on my arms and chest has broken out into something positively biblical?" Read More

Navigating the Start of a New Year: A Week in the Life of M.K. England

Edit Team

Opinion

January 9, 2019 11 min read

"I am sitting in a pile of old notebooks and dog hair, feeling guilty about not writing." Read More

Navigating Dating and Apartment Hunting in New York City: A Week in the Life of De’Shawn Charles Winslow

Edit Team

Opinion

November 13, 2018 11 min read

"I don’t have a conventional, full-time job. In NYC, that’s like saying to a landlord: 'I light fires in buildings.' Makes them just a lil nervous." Read More

Navigating Monsters and Our Challenging Times: A Week in the Life of Thomas Page McBee

Edit Team

Opinion

October 2, 2018 12 min read

"I have been thinking a lot about suspense lately, and monsters. It is the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, but mostly it is that we live in an age of monstrosity..." Read More

Navigating Sleepless Nights in LA: A Week in the Life of North Morgan

Edit Team

Opinion

August 5, 2018 11 min read

"[...] I’m currently in the process of writing a new book, so where am I going to get the inspiration if I don’t throw myself into absurd, ridiculous, and borderline dangerous circumstances?" Read More

Navigating Secrets and Capitalism: A Week in the Life of Andrea Lawlor

Edit Team

The Banal & the Profane

September 28, 2017 11 min read

"Everyone tells me I need to write personal essays to sell my book, but I just spent 15 years working really hard to say everything I had to say in disguise." Read More

Reviews

Unearthing Queer Archive in Early 1990’s West Palm Beach, Florida

The Mars House: Science Fiction and the Hazards of Imagination

Maps of Belonging: Italian Trans Geographies

Random

‘Kiss Me Again, Paris,’ or: How Many Drafts Does it Take to Change a Light Bulb?

Features

Unearthing Queer Archive in Early 1990’s West Palm Beach, Florida

Maps of Belonging: Italian Trans Geographies

Dreaming up a Hopeful Future: A Conversation with Grist authors on queer climate fiction

Interviews

Bonds & Boundaries: A Conversation with Dale Corvino

Dreaming up a Hopeful Future: A Conversation with Grist authors on queer climate fiction

“What if it was both and all of the above?”: An interview with CJ Hauser

Excerpts

An Excerpt from Sleep Tight Satellite: Stories by Carol Guess

Read This! Excerpt from the delicacy of embracing spirals by mimi tempestt

In Bed with Joan Nestle

Navigating the Launch of a Debut Novel: A Week in the Life of Jonathan Vatner

On Being Born, Dying, and Getting an Acting Gig: Delving into the Life of Becca Blackwell

Navigating a Book Launch and a Bear Encounter: A Week in the Life of Tom Ryan

Navigating a Red-State Book Tour: A Week in the Life of Samantha Allen

Navigating a Book Launch and a Family Wedding: A Week in the Life of Sam Ross

Navigating the Start of a New Year: A Week in the Life of M.K. England

Navigating Dating and Apartment Hunting in New York City: A Week in the Life of De’Shawn Charles Winslow

Navigating Monsters and Our Challenging Times: A Week in the Life of Thomas Page McBee

Navigating Sleepless Nights in LA: A Week in the Life of North Morgan

Navigating Secrets and Capitalism: A Week in the Life of Andrea Lawlor

Unearthing Queer Archive in Early 1990’s West Palm Beach, Florida

The Mars House: Science Fiction and the Hazards of Imagination

Maps of Belonging: Italian Trans Geographies

The High Stakes of Young Adulthood: A Review of Idlewild by James Frankie Thomas

An Artist’s Journey from the U.S.-Mexico Border: An Interview with Ashley Robin Franklin

People Collide by Isle McElroy: A Review

Reviewing Bad Gays; or how we use the past to shape the future

A Review of Cassandra Khaw’s The Salt Grows Heavy