It’s fabulous that LGBT characters and “out” celebrities are becoming more common in pop culture and mainstream media but it feels like the richness and complexity of real queer lives is still undervalued and often invisible. We have a dream of creating a an event where we can share queer lives and celebrate the ritual and community-building value of storytelling, where we can reach across demographics with a common theme and where we can create a tradition that nourishes a sense of queer family.

I don’t know about you, but one of the things that keeps my chaotic, extremely messy, extremely beautiful family together is our shared stories. We tell the one about the time my brother ran away from home with an entire suitcase full of vitamins, my tangle with the fire ants in 10th grade or the fact that my sister interupted the family’s watching of the moon landing with “dad, dad, I just finished another Nancy Drew mystery” and we are reminded of our common history.

LGBT performers, writers and visual artists have been chronicling and illustrating our stories in various ways over the years, often fighting against great odds to stay alive, let alone create art. Yet, the very act of telling one’s personal story is so transformative that we want even more people to find a time and place to share. Hence, Queer Memoir.

So that’s it. we have some exciting readers/participants at the first one including Renair Amin, Virginia Ahearn, Cheryl B, Tara Shuai, Taueret Manu, Genne Murphy and Joel Nichols. We’re looking for people to submit for the coming months, and we really want to reach as wide into our communities as possible, so please share with anyone who might have a story to tell.