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2000's "upstart" LesBiGay publisher was the Upstart Press. We already reviewed Upstart's first offering, Paul Gallotta's Living and Dying in 4/4 Time. Psappha: A Novel of Sappho, by Peggy Ullman Bell ($14.95), Upstart's second book, is perhaps the best novel ever written about Sappho (not that there have been that many). Author Bell obviously did her homework, for Psappha avoids many of the pitfalls that plagued its predecessors. Bell's Sappho is not the seductive courtesan of straight male fantasy; nor is she the "right-on womon" 20th century feminists wanted her to be. She was just a woman in her time and place - and the greatest poet the Classic World ever produced. Alyson Books continues to earn its title as our leading LGBT press. One of its Y2K books, Revolutionary Voices, was this column's "book of the year". Almost as important in the queer canon is Gay Spirituality: The Role of Gay Identity in the Transformation of Human Consciousness by Toby Johnson ($13.95).
Humor writer Joel Perry has been delighting audiences with his columns in Frontiers, Instinct and other gay publications. Readers who missed out on Perry's columns in the past can catch up with Funny That Way ($12.95), Perry's first collection. Funny That Way takes the reader from North Carolina, where Perry "grew up fat and queer", to West Hollywood, where Perry and his long-time companion currently reside. With a wit that combines insight and frustration, Perry explores the fads and foibles of modern gay life, from trendy Ikea ads to sleazy leather bars. Leyland Publications always manages to strike a balance between the lewd and the literary, perhaps because the former helps finance the latter. Leyland's most recent literary publication is Blood, Snow and Classic Cars: Mystery Stories by Joseph Hansen ($16.95). As any homosexual knows, Hansen is by far our greatest mystery writer, with over a dozen Dave Brandstetter mysteries under his belt. Blood, Snow and Classic Cars is a collection of prime-cut short mysteries by the Master, culled from a half-dozen publications straight and gay. Those who like their fiction to be one-handed will prefer Sex Rites: An Erotic Sci-Fi Novel ($15.96), the third volume in Brandon Fox's erotic fantasy series that began with Apprenticed to Pleasure and continued with Conjuring the Flesh. Even more fantastic is The S/M Ranch: An Erotic Novel by Luc Milne ($16.95), which picks up the concept that Milne conceived in The Milk Farm and Cocksuck Academy and takes it to new levels. Erotica seems to be the name of the game at the dawn of the new millennium, perhaps in wry response to Shrub's "election". Those who despair at the current political scene can escape into the world of The Duskouri Tales by Byrd Roberts (GLB Publishers; $12.95).
Written in a style made
famous by the Brothers Grimm, this collection of "fairy tales" (in both
senses of the word) takes place in Duskouri, a mystical continent where
homosexuality is the norm. Edmund Miller, whose gayrotic stories have graced
many a book, has collected some his best work in the anthology Night Times
(Zipper Books; $11.95). Written with wit, humor, and a lot of hot sex, Night
Times proves that sex and literature can make very good bedfellows.
Miller is one of many writers, myself included, whose works have graced the pages of John Patrick's STARbooks anthologies. When it comes to sex, Patrick and STARbooks continue to set the literary pace, with collections like Taboo! and Huge 2 (each $14.95) that leave the competition spent and panting. Those who prefer their sex to be factual should pick up The Best of the Superstars, 2001, STARbooks's annual review of young male pulchritude. Covering movies, music, the stage, television and porn, The Best of the Superstars 2001 carries the reader from the "boy groups" of Orlando, Florida to Bel Ami's Eastern European "boys". To which I can only say, Oh Boy! |
The year 2000 was a productive year for
small, lesbian and gay-owned presses. Though some publishers floundered,
other flourished, with books that would make any press proud. Here, listed
by publisher, are some of the best small-press offerings of Y2K:
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