Explore: LGBTQ

Tagged LGBTQ

Banned Books Week | LGBTQ+ Tween and Children's Edition

Another year, another Banned Books Week ! Each year the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom (OIF) compiles a list of the Most Challenged Books in order to "inform the public about censorship in…

Conversations About Queer and Trans Literature with Author Kacen Callender

In part 2 of interviews conducted around the Trans Writers, Kids, and Books event (you can find our interview with Kyle Lukoff from before the event in an earlier blog post), this time we speak with Lambda and Stonewall Award-winning…

Conversations About Queer and Trans Literature with Picture Book Author Kyle Lukoff

We’re having a really exciting Author Event on the evening of Thursday, July 25 where the topics of discussion will be Trans Writers, Kids, and Books ! Lambda and Stonewall Award-winning author Kacen Callender ( Hurricane Child ,…

Happy Birthday, Frida!

Independence Day isn’t the only famous birthday this week: on July 6, 1907 in Coyoacan, which is now part of Mexico City, the revolutionary spirit Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderon was born in a blue house. If you…

You Can’t Kill a Poet

You Can’t Kill a Poet is a Philadelphia-based reading series for LGBTQ readers which just celebrated its 5th anniversary! The series is held at different locations throughout the city, including Tattooed Mom , South…

New LGBTQ+ Children's Books for 2019!

2019 has been a great year for children’s books so far. We are seeing so many own-voices books, although there is still a long way to go. Some of my favorites from the first half of the year have a common theme—LGBTQ+. I…

The Poetry to the People Tour Is Coming to Philadelphia!

At the Free Library of Philadelphia, we know firsthand that access to books and other media can change lives. The Poetry to the People tour is dedicated to increasing such access—so we’re obviously thrilled to be one of the…

Don’t Be a Drag, Just Be a Queen: Exploring and Celebrating Gender Roleplay in Young Adult Books!

Welcome to another Pride Month, friends! After this season of RuPaul’s Drag Race , I’m sure we're all ready to keep the amazing times rolling with more exploration of performative gender with some rollicking young adult…

Happy Birthday, Barbie and G.I. Joe!

The Barbie doll’s official beau has always been Ken, but to many toy collectors (and some cultural critics ) the real natural counterpart to Barbie has always been G.I. Joe . The two playthings, created within five years of each…

Free Library of Pride | Gender Nonconforming Picture Books

Nonconforming picture books challenge stereotypes: in these books, boys and girls act and behave in a way that feels right to them rather than by conforming to expectations or conventional standards. These picture books encourage…

This Year's GLAAD Media Award Winners Are...

The GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) Media Awards took place on April 12 in Los Angeles and were broadcast on the LOGOtv network last night. The awards, now in their 29th year, honor the media for their fair,…

Celebrating History's Unsung Creative Couples

On February 7, we opened a new exhibition celebrating the art and achievements of romantic couples, from the powerful royalty of the 16th century to cinema stars of Old Hollywood to local artists creating together today. Of Two…

Dena's Favorite Books of 2017

Every year I read a lot of books. Out of the 339 that I read in 2017, I've picked out the 36 that I liked the best . 2017 was a hard year, and I found myself looking for books that were happy and not particularly difficult or…

#ThrowbackThursday: Re-Reading Annie on My Mind

I don’t remember how I first heard about Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden , but what I do remember is that I immediately set out to get a copy by any means necessary. I was a 16-year-old with a debit card and access to the amazing…

Great YA Road Trip Books for Pride Month!

It's pretty much summer time and I don't know about you, but in the summer, I get the urge to travel. However, being a grown up comes with the fact that you can't just up and take off whenever you want, so I like to make due…

Celebrate Pride Month with Free Library!

We're free, we're proud, and we're fabulous here at the the Free Library! We're proud to celebrate Pride Month throughout June with a series of programming throughout our neighborhood libraries including health seminars,…

Partner Spotlight: Independence Business Alliance

Here at the Business Resource & Innovation Center , we are lucky to work with some amazing organizations who are dedicated to growing Philadelphia’s small business community. This month, we are excited to highlight the…

Curious about the Free Library of Pride?

In an informal conversation with Marianne Banbor, Branch Head of the Independence Library , and Sara Palmer, Children’s Librarian at the Ramonita G. de Rodríguez Library , I asked them to share their behind-the-scenes…

Beauty and the Beast Retellings

Excited for the new live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast ? Me too... kind of? Maybe? I hope it will be amazing? Either way, good or bad, at least we'll always have all kinds of different literary retellings of the Beauty and…

Love is Love

Looking for something heartfelt and inspiring to read while supporting a worthy cause this Valentine's Day? Check out Love is Love , a 162-page graphic novel from IDW Publishing and DC Comics , honoring the victims, supporting the…

Voyages by Road and Sea

Voyages by Road and Sea explores the legacies of Walt Whitman and Herman Melville through contemporary voices and art in Parkway Central Library's West Gallery. Marking the bicentennial years for both Whitman and Melville, Voyages…

Lambda Book Group | The Great Believers: a Novel by Rebecca Makkal

Lambda book group presents an opportunity to discuss a mix of LGBTQ+ gems, classics and new releases. Anyone interested in LGBTQ+ literature is welcome. Each month a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender book will be highlighted. A…

Lambda Book Group | Indecent Advances: A Hidden History of True Crime and Prejudice Before Stonewall by James Polchin

Lambda Book Group | Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett

LGBTQ Teen Cafe

LGBTQ Teen Café! Join us on the 3rd Saturday of the month from 1:30-4:00 Air hockey! Crafts! Gaming! Jigsaw puzzles! Snacks! Learn something new, meet new friends, or come to just chill. Ages 12-19

Lambda Book Group | Stonewall Reader by the New York Public Library

LGBTQ - Romance

Fun and fabulous recent romances that feature LGBTQ+ heroes and heroines! There's everything here to make you smile (and maybe cry) complete with a guaranteed happy ending. Just a note: a significant majority of romances with gay male…

LGBTQ - Fiction

A selection of genre fiction featuring LGBTQ+ characters, including fantasy, historical, horror, paranormal, mystery, thrillers, science fiction, and more!

LGBTQ Young Adult Books

Books featuring LGBTQ protagonists within YA fiction that is diverse and accessible to all readers, no matter what their sexual orientation or gender identity may be.

LGBTQ Middle Grade Books

Books featuring LGBTQ characters and voices within children's fiction.

LGBTQ Picture Books

Books for children of LGBTQ parents, or for little brothers and sisters of LGBTQ teens. Revised 4/2019

LGBTQ Teens - Resources for Parents and Families

Resources for Parents and Families of LGBTQ Teens.

LGBTQ Teens - Nonfiction

Information on bullying, safety, coming out, and other important topics relevant to LGBTQ teens.

LGBTQ - Film and Television

LGBTQ Documentaries, Film, and Television

LGBTQ - Stonewall Book Awards

The Stonewall Book Awards are given annually to English-language works of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience and include the Stonewall Book Awards – Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s…

LGBTQ - Nonfiction

A selection of informational nonfiction titles.

LGBTQ - Biographies and Autobiographies

Biographies and Autobiographies of important and influential members of LGBTQ community.

Saeed Jones | How We Fight for Our Lives with Clifford Thompson | What It Is: Race, Family, and One Thinking Black Man’s Blues

Saeed Jones is the author of the “hard and glaring and brilliant” ( NPR Book Review ) poetry collection Prelude to Bruise , winner of the 2015 Stonewall Book Award/Barbara Gittings Literature Award. He is also the co-host of BuzzFeed’s…

Adam Rippon | Beautiful on the Outside

In conversation with award-winning broadcaster, Tracey Matisak The first openly gay U.S. male athlete to win a winter Olympics medal, Adam Rippon earned bronze as part of the figure skating team event at the 2018 games. He was also the…

Gabby Rivera | Juliet Takes a Breath

In conversation with Laurie Halse Anderson, bestselling author of Speak, Shout, Fever 1793, and the Seeds of America trilogy Introduced by the Poet Laureate of Philadelphia, Raquel Salas Rivera The first Latina to write for Marvel…

Jason Baumann | The Stonewall Reader with Mark Segal, Karla Jay and Joel Hall

On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the riots that started the fight for American LGBTQ+ rights, The Stonewall Reader highlights some of the movement’s most iconic moments and figures in the years before and after those tumultuous…

Nicole Dennis-Benn | Patsy with Rebecca Makkai | The Great Believers

Here Comes the Sun , Nicole Dennis-Benn ’s debut novel about a young Jamaican struggling to protect her sister and village as she experiences feelings for another woman, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the…

John Waters | Mr. Know-It-All: The Tarnished Wisdom of a Filth Elder

In conversation with Jason Freeman, producer and editor of author events John Waters’s transgressive movies include Pink Flamingos , Hairspray , Cry-Baby , Serial Mom , and Cecil B. Demented . He is also the author of Shock Value…

Richard Blanco | How to Love a Country: Poems

Richard Blanco made history four times at Barack Obama’s second presidential inauguration: He was the first immigrant, the first Latino, the youngest person, and the first openly gay person to be the U.S. inaugural poet. Exploring…

Pete Buttigieg | Shortest Way Home: One Mayor’s Challenge and a Model for America’s Future

In conversation with Tamala Edwards , anchor, 6ABC Action News morning edition The multifaceted, 36-year-old progressive mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg is a Rhodes Scholar and Harvard graduate. Nearly a decade ago he left…

Feminista Jones | Reclaiming Our Space: How Black Feminists Are Changing the World from the Tweets to the Streets with DaMaris B. Hill | A Bound Woman is a Dangerous Thing

Social worker, public speaker, community activist, and blogger Feminista Jones is the author of the novel Push the Button and the poetry collection The Secret of Sugar Water . She was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in…