Arts BOOK REVIEW: The Whale Tattoo by Jon Ransom The book is alive in the hands, no easy read, it wriggles and tries to leap away from you. I had to put it down more than once as a sentence took a turn into the brutal crepuscular silence and the rough marsh came for me. I laid down and wept. By Eric Page • 4 min read
Arts REVIEW: Writing Our Space: An LGBTQ+ Anthology Writing our Space with a foreword from editors Eilidh Akilade and Ross Tanner which explores the genesis of the book and the collection of short pieces elicited from a wide LGBTQI+ pool of writers is wonderful. I could gush about it, but I’ll say buy it, read it, enjoy it for yourself; then gush. By Eric Page • 2 min read
Arts REVIEW: Edward Carpenter – A Victorian Rebel fighting for gay rights This excellent look at the life of Carpenter from (Hove based author) Brian Anderson uses previously unpublished material and personal letters from his lovers and friends to shine a bold new light over the contributions to developments around sexuality and identify that Carpenter gave with his early By Eric Page • 2 min read
Arts REVIEW: The Chip Shop Wars by Terry Sanderson Love them or loath them you root for them to the very last page. Sanderson is our very own Queer Tom Sharpe, and serves up thick deep fried pure Northern farce, battered with crisp satire, served with a generous sprinkling of his tart vinegar wit. By Eric Page • 2 min read
LGBTQ+ News Author ‘banned from talking about his YA books’ at Catholic school “The result is that children, including LGBT children, are missing out on learning that LGBT people should be celebrated, and their relationships should be respected just like those of straight people.” By Graham Robson • 2 min read
Arts REVIEW: Power Bear by Łukasz Majcher This all new Queer superhero comix with its interwoven stories covering the Alien creation of life on earth, a German bear couple who wrestle with the challenges of everyday life and a secret life of superhero adventures is a fun treat. By Eric Page • 2 min read
Arts PAGE’S PAGES: Eric Page reviews the best queer lit Queer book reviews from our resident book worm, Eric Page By Eric Page • 5 min read
Arts Out On An Island: LGBTQ+ Isle of Wight history book to launch in London StoneCrabs Theatre launches book about the Isle of Wight’s hidden LGBTQ+ history By Graham Robson • 3 min read
Arts Brighton indies launch book festival to amplify “a wide spectrum of voices” Independent bookshop owners Carolynn Bain of Afrori Books, the first Black-owned bookshop in Sussex, and Ruth Wainwright of the Feminist Bookshop, are to launch a book festival in Brighton this summer to amplify “a wide spectrum of voices” By Graham Robson • 1 min read
Arts REVIEW: The Village of Eight Graves by Seishi Yokomizo The book is a delight, twisting and turning in gothic wonder in your mind, bringing to life place and character with deft prose and the narrative grips from the off. I really enjoyed the grip of the tension and adored the slow in relentless discovery of the awful truth by the fun detective Kindaichi By Eric Page • 2 min read
Arts REVIEW: The Fake-Up by Justin Myers This is a lovely exploration of people struggling to have it all and realising that perhaps it’s just each other that they really want, and managing their own, and others expectations of what love can, and should be about. By Eric Page • 2 min read
Arts Bookshop.org reveals its New Futures shortlist with LGBTQ+ candidates The programme aims to select, reach and foster entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities across the UK to open a new independent bookshop. By Graham Robson • 2 min read
