Kindred Spirits: Family and Belonging in the Queer Novel
Channel: British Library
Date: 2022-03-15

To celebrate LGBT+ History Month join us for an evening of readings and conversation as three writers talk to Uli Lenart from Gay’s the Word bookshop about childhood, family and identity as depicted in their latest novels.

Patrick Gale’s new book, Mother’s Boy, tells the story of a sensitive and gifted child brought up by his single mother in the aftermath of WWI, becoming a man as WW2 rages and the lasting impact of their relationship. Writer and musician Kerry Andrew’s book Skin, depicts a young person’s connection with wild swimming as they search for their vanished father. SJ Sindu, a Tamil diaspora writer, is the author of Blue-Skinned Gods, which explores ethnic, gender, and sexual identities, and the need for belief in a fractured world.

Kerry Andrew is a London-based author and musician, whose debut novel Swansong was described as a 'darkly captivating tale of myth, magic and sinister secrets' by the Mail on Sunday, and whose To Belong To was shortlisted for the 2018 BBC National Short Story Award. Kerry is the winner of four British Composer Awards, and best known for experimental vocal, choral and music-theatre work, often based around themes of community, landscape and myth.

Patrick Gale was born on the Isle of Wight. He spent his infancy at Wandsworth Prison, which his father governed, then grew up in Winchester before going to Oxford University. His most recent works are A Perfectly Good Man, Notes From An Exhibition, the Costa shortlisted A Place Called Winter and Take Nothing With You. His original BBC television drama, Man In An Orange Shirt, was screened as part of the BBC's Queer Britannia series.

SJ Sindu is the author of two literary novels, Marriage of a Thousand Lies and Blue-Skinned Gods. Her middle-grade fantasy graphic novel, Shakti is forthcoming from Harper Collins. Sindu is also the author of two hybrid chapbooks, I Once Met You But You Were Dead, and Dominant Genes which will be published in February 2022. A 2013 Lambda Literary Fellow, Sindu holds an MA in English from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a PhD in English and Creative Writing from Florida State University.

Uli Lenart is the deputy manager of Gay’s the Word bookshop, where he has worked since 2006. He is also a book reviewer, literary event coordinator and author interviewer. Literature Festivals are his version of heaven.

Produced in partnership with Gay's the Word.