Celebrate Pride Month!
To celebrate Pride Month, AWP has gathered articles from The Writer’s Chronicle, events from past AWP conferences, online resources, and diverse upcoming events. Explore the resources below to learn more about Pride Month and the LGBTQIA+ community, and be sure to check out a new book from our Pride Month Reading List.
From The Writer’s Chronicle
Remembering Edmund White, Queer Mentor by Alden E. Jones, October 2025
Against Cynicism: “What Makes You a Better Person Makes You a Better Writer” by Lori Ostlund, June 2025
Sungold by Paul Lisicky, April 2025
States of Being by Jarek Steele, February 2024
Queering and Disrupting Appalachian Narratives: A Collective Rumination on Craft and Community by Neema Avashia, W. David Hall, Mesha Maren, Carter Sickels, and Jamie Lyn Smith, February 2024
Nonfiction/Nonbinary Literary Identities: An Investigation of Contemporary Writers Queering Gen(der/re) in America by Chachi Hauser, April 2021
An Interview with Jericho Brown by Jona Colson, November 2020
You Are Making Me Now: Writing God as a Contemporary American Poet by Joy Ladin, May/Summer 2017
GLBTQ Protagonists and the Mainstream Market by Krista Humphrey, March/April 2015
The Lesbian Writer & the General Reader by Honor Moore, March/April 1990
Concerning Being Queer by Allan Gurganus, March/April 1990
Rewatch AWP Events
#AWP25 Queering Form, or Weird Fiction, Sponsored by the Center for Fiction
#AWP24 Lead with Love: Queer Voices in Literature with Red Hen Press
Virtual AWP Pedagogy: Supporting LGBTQ Students in the Creative Writing Classroom
#AWP22 Chosen Families: A Reading & Conversation Presented by Red Hen Press
Resources
Explore “Milestones in the American Gay Rights Movement,” a timeline of American LGBTQ+ history from 1924 to 2015, published by PBS.
For a longer and more detailed timeline, check out “A Timeline of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History in the United States (PDF),” provided by GSAFE.
Read “Queer History,” an article written by Christina B. Hanhardt for the Organization of American Historians, or “A Brief History of Queer Language Before Queer Identity” by Jeanna Kadlec for Lit Hub.
Watch Out in Rural America, a PBS documentary featuring the highs and lows of living as an LGBTQ+ person in rural America.
Upcoming Online Events
All events are listed in ET.
Monday, June 1, 2026
8:00 p.m. Virtual Author Event: Kyle Lukoff
Celebrate the start of Pride Month with a live virtual talk with award-winning children’s author Kyle Lukoff. He has written My Little Golden Book About Pride, as well as picture books, chapter books, fiction, and nonfiction books for kids. Registration is required.
Sunday, June 7, 2026
7:00 p.m. Special Virtual Documentary Night! UNIDAD
This month’s documentary pick, UNIDAD: Gay & Lesbian Latinos Unidos, follows Los Angeles’ first major Queer Latin@ organization, which was founded in 1981, only a few years before HIV/AIDS began to ravage LGBTQ communities. Watch the film for free ahead of time, and be sure to register for the discussion and special guest Q&A.
Wednesday, June 10, 2026
8:00 p.m. Outspoken: The Joyful Resistance of Queer YA Stories
In celebration of Pride Month, join YA authors Bori Cser, Isabel Sterling, Julian Winters, Kim DeRose, and Sonido Reyes as they discuss the joyful resistance of queer YA stories. The event is free, but donations to the Trevor Project can be made at checkout.
Wednesday, June 17, 2026
6:00 p.m. 7 Stories Up | Book Buzz: Pride Edition
This event includes panels featuring LGBTQ+ writers and LGBTQ+-focused titles. Featured speakers are Davey Davis, Katie Siegel, Michael Bronski, and Kate Bornstein. Virtual attendees must register for the live stream.
Friday, June 26, 2026
12:00 noon Two-Spirit Identities: IKKS x Pride Lunch & Learn
Join George Brown’s Office of Anti-Racism, Equity and Human Rights for a short screening and discussion exploring Two-Spirit identities and experiences within Indigenous communities. The event will reflect on the significance of Two-Spirit perspectives, the impacts of colonialism on gender and sexuality, and the importance of creating inclusive and respectful spaces.