The Violet Letter, May 2026

We’re here, queers! Lire Queer Reader Fest is this month with thirteen book club meetings in nine days. And not only that, but we have two additional activities for book-lovers, too.

During the first weekend of the festival, join us for Hot Flash Lit Match on Saturday, May 16 at Brasserie Beaubien (73 Rue Beaubien E). The event starts at 7 PM sharp with an ice-breaker: a series of short, timed conversations about your favourite queer reads, hosted by Lenore (doors/sign-up: 6:30 PM). It’ll then be followed at 7:30 PM by a lively, lesbo-centric, multigenerational dance party (all are welcome). Folks are encouraged to bring titles they’d like to share or swap, plus Metonymy Press and Mes pants de queer will be selling books on site. The event is free and goes until 10 PM (karaoke follows).

Then, on Sunday, May 17, join us for Booksmaxxing, a queer-focused conversation between book club organizers, librarians, and literary influencers. I’ll be speaking with Nairne Holtz (Sapphic Arts & Letters), Jame (Gay Writes), and Miguel Gosselin Dionne (Lucioles et morilles) about reading and promoting queer books in the digital age. The event takes place at Mes pants de queer (2025 rue Parthenais, suite 241) from 1 PM to 3 PM, so people will also be able to browse the used bookstore’s extensive collection of titles.

Which book clubs will you be attending? Please remember, some meetings require folks to RSVP (and note, the VHBC meeting for The History of a Difficult Child by Mihret Sibhat is already full!

Click here for the complete list of titles and dates.

If you live in Toronto and have been coming to our meetings at Another Story Bookshop (315 Roncesvalles Ave), please note the next two titles:

• Dandelion Daughter (2023) by Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay (translated into English by Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch): Saturday, May 23 at 6 PM. To confirm your spot, please RSVP at the Eventbrite link.

• Blessings (2024) by Chukwuebuka Ibeh: Saturday, July 11 at 6 PM. Eventbrite link coming soon.

Larry Baer will be leading both Toronto discussions.

As for Montreal, I’m finally ready to announce our summer dates and titles (two in August for the city’s Pride month!):

• A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder by Ma-Nee Chacaby and Mary Louisa Plummer: Saturday, June 20, 2026

• The Freezer Door by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore: Saturday, July 18, 2026

• De Profundis by Oscar Wilde: Saturday, August 1, 2026

• The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller: Sunday, August 23, 2026

• Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart: Saturday, September 26, 2026

Some things to note about the summer titles

Montreal bookstores do have copies of A Two-Spirit Journey (Paragraphe assures me they will have ten soon), but it might be harder to come by if you wait too long to get a copy. Please note the book is also available in librariies and in audiobook format.

As for De Profundis, it is not so much a book as it is a letter that Oscar Wilde wrote to his lover, Lord Alfred “Bosie” Douglas, while incarcerated for gross indecency. The letter is available as its own publication, but also in most collections of Wilde’s work, as well as online for free.

Shuggie Bain is probably the longest book we will have read (around 430 pages), so you will want to plan your time accordingly.

Most meetings will take place at Espace des Possibles dans La Petite-Patrie (1052 rue Beaubien East), however I am still looking for a venue for De Profundis on August 1, so stay tuned.

As always, a reminder: All VHBC titles are available at Librairie Paragraphe Bookstore (2220, McGill College Ave) at 15% off and at Librairie Pulp Books & Cafe (3952 Wellington St.) at 10% off.

Each month I ask VHBC members to share what books they’re currently reading and why it resonates. This month’s pick is by Jen DeTracey, who has been a book club member since 2023. This month Jen recommends Her Tongue on My Theory–Images, Essays and Fantasies by the Kiss & Tell Collective.

“I’ve just reread Her Tongue on My Theory–Images, Essays and Fantasies by the Kiss & Tell Collective. This book was published in 1994, but its themes of censorship for queer communities strike me as relevant to this day. Persimmon Blackbridge, Lizard Jones and Susan Stewart were the founding members of the lesbian collective that made art about sex. They brought their daring videos, readings, and photographs to public spaces to provoke discussion and commentary.

Her Tongue on My Theory is a collection of essays complemented with a fun twist of linked short fantasy stories, which line the bottom of the pages, leading the reader on a journey to different cities with the geeky intellectual protagonist and her chameleon lover. Their essays, which share their individual ideas as well as their collective commentary, address such issues as the hypocrisy of the “The Butler” ruling (1992), which allowed Customs Canada to prohibit books or magazines with queer sexual content.

The authors criticizes the idea that government employees get to decide what is considered violent, dehumanizing and degrading, especially with LGBTS2+ content. With book bannings in Alberta and the USA, Her Tongue On My Theory is still relevant today.”

NYC-based music journalist Christian John Wikane is on a 30-city tour to launch his book, A Night at the Disco, and will be coming to Montreal on Tuesday, June 30. The book is a celebration of groundbreaking dance music from 1970–’79, and features the stories and photos of more than 100 artists who sparked the global phenomenon, including Donna Summer, Barry Gibb, Debbie Harry, Giorgio Moroder, founding members of CHIC, Labelle, The Trammps, Village People, Earth, Wind & Fire, and dozens more artists, songwriters and producers.

I’ll be interviewing Christian about what it was like to meet and speak with these legends, and the place that disco has played in his life and in gay culture. The event take place at De Stiil Bookstore (351 Av. Duluth E), beginning at 7 PM.

New and recent books to discover: Plastic, Prism, Void: Part One by Violet Allen; The Summer Boy by Philippe Besson, translated by Sam Taylor; Without Prejudice: My Life as a Gay Judge by Harvey Brownstone; Little Ruins by Manni Coe; Homebound by Portia Elan; The Silent House of Sleep by Allan Gaw; The Lost Book of Lancelot by John Glynn; Pretend You’re Dead and I Carry You by Julián Delgado Lopera; The Outer Country by Davin Malasarn; Bond, Queer Bond: The Fabulous Other History of a Spy by Mark O’Connell; Inspiration P*rn by Ryan O’Connell; The Saw Mouth by Cale Plett; Murder at the Hotel Orient by Alessandra Ranelli; Bromantasy by Máire Roche; Conversion Therapy Dropout by Timothy Schraeder Rodriguez; Take Me with You by Steven Rowley; The Tuxedo Society by Paul Rudnick; My Bad: A Personal History of the Queer Nineties and Beyond by Hugh Ryan; No God but Us by Bobuq Sayed; The Open Era by Edward Schmit; The Land and Its People by David Sedaris; John of John by Douglas Stuart; You X Me by Ayla Vejdani; and Super Castle Fun Park by Daniel Zomparelli.

H Nigel Thomas launches his latest novel And Then Again Begin on Thursday, May 7 at 6:30 PM at UNIA Liberty Hall (2741 Notre-Dame West). The evening will include a reading, a conversation with 2025 Commonwealth Short Story Prize laureate Chanel Sutherland, and a book signing. Refreshments will be served.

Last month, Eric Chacour’s unstoppable What I Know About You was selected for the One eRead Canada book club, which meant the book was highlighted (without holds or waitlists) in over 1,000 public libraries across the country. The book is also a finalist for the 2026 Dublin Literary Award (winner announced on May 21).

Sky Gilbert’s new one-act play, Witness for the Persecution, will be presented at the Théâtre Sainte-Catherine (264 St. Catherine East) from May 21-23. The camp melodrama stars Gilbert as himself, calling a woman claiming to be Sky’s mother (Gavin Crawford, who looks, acts and speaks like Marlene Dietrich) to the witness stand to defend him. Click here for tickets.

On May 26, Ayla Vejdani will be launching her new book YOU x ME with francesca ekwuyasi (Butter Honey Pig Bread) at L’Euguélionne (1426 Beaudry). The evening will include a reading, a conversation about queer romance, a Q&A, and a book signing. Click here to reserve your spot.

Anuja Varghese (Chrysalis) launches her debut novel A Kiss of Crimson Ash – the first book in a new medieval India-inspired fantasy trilogy – in Montreal on Thursday, May 28 at Joie de Livres (5163 Saint-Laurent). Anuja will be in conversation with Heather O’Neill.

Writer/musician Rae Spoon and Evelyn Charlotte-Joe (PinkSnail) have launched a new bi-monthly showcase for 2SLGBTQ+ artists and allies at Turbo Haus (2040 Saint-Denis) called ‘Trans Family Reunion.’ They haven’t announced the next date yet, but you can follow the artists on Instagram to find out.

The QWF’s 2026 Writers in the Community Pyramid Campaign is on until May 15. The program pairs small groups of young people with a professional writer or literary performance artist who can teach them and motivate them to use language to express themselves in productive ways. Find out more and donate here.

QUEER VIEW MIRROR: Blue Metropolis

Last month was all about Shani Mootoo. Not only was her latest novel Starry Starry Night the April selection for both Montreal and Toronto chapters of the Violet Hour Book Club, but Shani was also celebrated for her thirty years of publishing queer stories at the Blue Metropolis Literary Festival where she won the Violet Prize. Big congrats to Shani, and thanks, too, to Eva Crocker who interviewed her on stage.

I also want to thank Johanne Pelletier for helping curate Chosen Ties, an evening of queer storytelling at Blue Met. Thanks also to all the performers in addition to Pelletier: Hollay Ghadery, John Cotrocois, Jamie Brickhouse, Nisha Coleman, and Leila Marshy. And big thanks to our host Misty Waterfalls.

ALSO, PLEASE NOTE: I’m planning to leave Facebook at the end of May. It was a tough decision as I was trying to grow a community there, but have had enough with the cycle of rage bait and AI slop. At this point, the drawbacks outweigh the benefits. I’ll be using Substack and Instagram as my main platforms for here on out.

That’s it for this month. A big thank you to everyone who came out to events, and to my paid subscribers! Your support allows me to continue to create free literary programming in Montreal.