The inaugural Pride Book Fest (PBF) is just around the corner, offering a plethora of panels featuring over 80 queer authors, illustrators, and creators who will join together to discuss all things queer lit. Leading up to the event, which takes place from June 11-13, PBF will be announcing a new panel every weekday. As the week draws to a close, the first set of panels has been announced, which you can find below.
Nuance & (Bi)dentity in Publishing
Join Nic Stone, Aaron H. Aceves, Sophie Gonzales, Kayla Ancrum, Jessica Verdi, and Zack Smedley as they discuss identity, bisexuality, and pansexuality in queer lit, publishing, and other spaces.
Magical Worlds, Historical Fantasies & Retellings: The New Frontier of Fantasy
Groundbreaking fantasy authors Aiden Thomas, Kalynn Bayron, Aden Polydoros, and Adrienne Tooley come together in conversation about the constantly evolving genre and how queerness functions within fantasy. The panel will be moderated by Montse (@montse_reads on TikTok).
Writing Through Grief
Mason Deaver, Claribel A. Ortega, Eddy Boudel Tan, and Phoebe North will offer a thought-provoking discussion about the power of grief in writing and their experiences doing so, as well as prioritizing mental health. Mel (@shelf.acceptance on Instagram) will moderate.
Geek Culture & Queer Joy
Join Julian Winters, Jason June, Adib Khorram, C.B. Lee, and Kiki Nguyen as they celebrate their geek in a panel filled with “pure geeky gay chaos energy.” Greg (@gregslibrary on Instagram and @justgreggy on TikTok) will moderate.
Owning Our Voices
Becky Albertalli, Rod Pulido, Ashley Woodfolk, Steven Salvatore, and Sophie Gonzales will discuss OwnVoices and and examine how queer identities are policed.
Check back next week for the second round of panels. Make sure to follow Pride Book Fest on Twitter and Instagram to keep up with their daily announcements, including guests, panels, scheduling, and more!
