Today, host John Parker and Executive Producer Jim Pounds wrap up 2025 and preview 2026!

Here's what we discuss:

• Where was our podcast listened to this year? Did we make any chart rankings this year?
• Press coverage!
• Favorite episodes of 2025
• Preview of upcoming episodes in 2026
• Share with us the queer book that saved your life on the podcast!
• Will you join the podcast as an Associate Producer in 2026?

Our Bookshop
Visit our Bookshop for new releases, current bestsellers, banned books, critically acclaimed LGBTQ books, or peruse the books featured on our podcasts: bookshop.org/shop/thisqueerbook

Become an Associate Producer!
Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook

Credits
Host/Founder: John Parker
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, K Jason Bryan and David Rephan, Bob Bush, Natalie Cruz, Troy Ford, Jonathan Fried, Paul Kaefer, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Terry D., Stephen Flamm, Ida Göteburg, Thomas Michna, Sofia Nerman, and Gary Nygaard.
Creative and Accounting support provided by: Gordy Erickson

Quatrefoil Library
Quatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can’t buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1

Support the show

One of the world's oldest surviving novels was a queer book?!

Today we meet Neil Laird and we’re talking about the queer book that saved his life: The Satyricon by Petronius.

Neil is a multiple Emmy-nominated Executive Producer who has worked extensively on both the network and production side of non-fiction TV since 1997. He's developed, overseen, and produced over 1,000 hours of non-fiction programs and specials in nearly every genre, with a particular passion, expertise, and contacts in history, archaeology, and international exploration. He write a series of satirical adventure novels: Prime Time Travelers, Prime Time Pompeii, and, the forthcoming Prime Time Troy. They're all about a time-traveling TV crew uncovering forgotten LGBTQ voices from the past.

Petronius (20 C.E. - 66 C.E.) served as a Governor in the Roman Empire and ultimately as Consul, the most powerful position in the Empire. When he left public service, Emperor Nero named him the Arbiter Elegantiae, or master of elegance. A prominent writer, Petronius is considered the likely author of The Satyricon.

Connect with Neil

website: neillaird.com
instagram: @primetimeauthor
facebook: facebook.com/neil-laird-author

Our Bookshop
Visit our Bookshop for new releases, current bestsellers, banned books, critically acclaimed LGBTQ books, or peruse the books featured on our podcasts: bookshop.org/shop/thisqueerbook

Buy your copy of The Satyricon here: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9780806144382

For the forthcoming Prime Time Troy, as well as Prime Time Travelers and Prime Time Pompeii, check this out: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Neil-Laird/author/B0CYJ7HDB4

Become an Associate Producer!
Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook

Credits
Host/Founder: John Parker
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, K Jason Bryan and David Rephan, Bob Bush, Natalie Cruz, Troy Ford, Jonathan Fried, Paul Kaefer, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Terry D., Stephen Flamm, Ida Göteburg, Thomas Michna, Sofia Nerman, and Gary Nygaard.
Creative and Accounting support provided by: Gordy Erickson
Quatrefoil Library
Quatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can’t buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1

Support the show

We have a new episode of This Queer Book Saved My Life on December 16th! Today, Once Upon a Crime Books presents 7 Minutes in Book Heaven, the podcast where we interview LGBTQ authors about the new books they have coming out for us to love and cuddle up with.

Visit them online: onceuponacrimebooks.com

Once Upon a Crime Books is an independent bookstore specializing in mystery fiction. Located in Uptown Minneapolis, you can shop in their store Monday through Saturday 11am – 5:30pm. Or, visit their website! There, you can browse all of their books, from new releases to classic mysteries.

In this new episode, Once Upon a Crime Books introduces us to Anne Laughlin and her new novel: Clean Kill which is available to buy in in-store or on their website.

Anne Laughlin has written seven books for Bold Strokes Books, all stand alone crime novels of the classic mystery, police procedural, and psychological thrill variety. She is the winner of four Goldie Awards from the Golden Crown Literary Society and has been short listed three times for a Lammy Award from the Lambda Literary Foundation. Currently a board member of Mystery Writers of America/Midwest and MWA's Queer Advisory Board, Anne believes in giving back to the crime writing community. Anne lives in Chicago with her wife, Linda Braasch, and their two cats.

Buy Clean Kill

Visit Once Upon a Crime Books in-person or buy online: https://onceuponacrimebooks.com/book/9781636796345

Connect with Anne Laughlin

website: annelaughlinwriter.com
facebook: facebook.com/anne.laughlin

Credits

Presented by: Once Upon a Crime Books
Host/Founder: John Parker
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Theme music: Summer Mood by lesfm

Support the show

Can you have a happy ending in a gay relationship?

Today we meet Bobbie Smith and we’re talking about the queer book that saved his life: Coming Out by Wallace Hamilton.

Bobbie has been a community activist for 35 years. He helped found the Gay and Lesbian community council in Salt Lake City, Utah of which he was a member. He also founded the Sacred Fairies. Bobbie started the Stonewall Community Center in Salt Lake City, where he served as its first Librarian and donated over 1,000 books to that library. He has been a leader in the local leather community here in Minnesota since 2000. He is a props designer for various community theaters in the Twin Cities, primarily with Theatre in the Round.

Wallace Hamilton was a novelist and playwright. His four novels include Coming Out and Christopher and Gay. He wrote fourteen plays and co-wrote the screenplay for Streetchild. He graduated from Harvard and was a World War II conscientious objector.

Content Warning: This episode contains a description of a suicide attempt.

Our Bookshop
Visit our Bookshop for new releases, current bestsellers, banned books, critically acclaimed LGBTQ books, or peruse the books featured on our podcasts: bookshop.org/shop/thisqueerbook

Coming Out is not available on Bookshop.org, but you can find copies at AbeBooks or Thriftbooks.

Become an Associate Producer!
Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook

Credits
Host/Founder: John Parker
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, K Jason Bryan and David Rephan, Bob Bush, Natalie Cruz, Troy Ford, Jonathan Fried, Paul Kaefer, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Terry D., Stephen Flamm, Ida Göteburg, Thomas Michna, Sofia Nerman, and Gary Nygaard.
Creative and Accounting support provided by: Gordy Erickson

Quatrefoil Library
Quatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can’t buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1

Support the show

Am I in love with a woman or am I a woman who's in love with women?

Today we meet Lauren Sanders and we’re talking about the queer book that saved her life: Nightwood by Djuna Barnes.

Lauren Sanders (she/they) is the author of the novel Kamikaze Lust, which won a 2000 Lambda Literary Award and was reissued this fall in a 25th anniversary edition. Her other novels include With or Without You (a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award) and The Book of Love and Hate. Short fiction, reviews, rants, etc. have appeared in various publications. By day they run editorial and digital strategy for a national foundation working in education and the arts. Lauren lives in the nation of Brooklyn with her partner and staffie mix, Maverick.

Djuna Barnes (1892-1982) was born in Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY, and worked as a journalist in New York before leaving the country to spend many years in Paris and London. She returned to New York in 1941, and lived in Greenwich Village until her death.

Connect with Lauren

website: laurenisanders.com

instagram: @lisanders99

facebook: facebook.com/lauren.i.sanders
linkedin: linkedin.com/in/lauren-sanders-5345b67

Our Bookshop

Visit our Bookshop for new releases, current bestsellers, banned books, critically acclaimed LGBTQ books, or peruse the books featured on our podcasts: bookshop.org/shop/thisqueerbook

Buy Nightwood: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9780811216715

Buy Kamikaze Lust: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9781888451085

Become an Associate Producer!

Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook

Credits

Host/Founder: John Parker
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, K Jason Bryan and David Rephan, Bob Bush, Natalie Cruz, Troy Ford, Jonathan Fried, Paul Kaefer, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Terry D., Stephen Flamm, Ida Göteburg, Thomas Michna, Sofia Nerman, and Gary Nygaard.
Creative and Accounting support provided by: Gordy Erickson

Quatrefoil Library

Quatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can’t buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1

Support the show

A lot of us get to our 30s and we don't know what the next step is. Sometimes you make a big pivot.

Today we meet Aj Writer and we’re talking about the queer book that saved his life: One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston.

Aj Writer is a nonbinary writer and general dumpster fire of a human being (editor's note: Aj's words!). After a decade in journalism and conversations with top creatives in their field, Aj opened FWDIO Studios, a creative content company, that focuses on making media that is representative of the diversity in LGBT and BIPOC populations. Aj's second book, Strip Me Down, came out in paperback this month and the company is busy working on its first pilot animation. They want to expand to comics and audiobooks next. "If we want to tell our stories, we have to do it ourselves."

Casey McQuiston is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of romantic comedies, including One Last Stop, I Kissed Shara Wheeler, and Red, White & Royal Blue, whose writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Bon Appetit. Born and raised in southern Louisiana, Casey now lives in New York City with a poodle mix named Pepper.

Connect with Aj

website: fwdiostudios.com

patreon: patreon.com/FWDIOStudios

tiktok: @ajwriter
bluesky: @ajwriter.bsky.social or @fwdio.bsky.social

Our Bookshop

Visit our Bookshop for new releases, current bestsellers, banned books, critically acclaimed LGBTQ books, or peruse the books featured on our podcasts: bookshop.org/shop/thisqueerbook

Buy One Last Stop: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9781250244499

Buy Strip Me Down: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9798304331609

Become an Associate Producer!

Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook

Credits

Host/Founder: John Parker
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, K Jason Bryan and David Rephan, Bob Bush, Natalie Cruz, Troy Ford, Jonathan Fried, Paul Kaefer, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Terry D., Stephen Flamm, Ida Göteburg, Thomas Michna, Sofia Nerman, and Gary Nygaard.
Creative and Accounting support provided by: Gordy Erickson

Quatrefoil Library

Quatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can’t buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1

Support the show

This book flipped on a lot of switches in my head.

Today we meet Joel Freedman and we’re talking about the queer book that saved his life: Good Times/Bad Times by James Kirkwood.

Joel Freedman taught English at a college-prep high school in South L.A., where for most of his tenure, he was the only out gay instructor. He’s a retired writing instructor at L.A. Southwest College and a produced playwright. He published “Echoes of Silence: Empathy and Making Connections through Writing Process” in English Journal, which is a publication of the National Council of Teachers of English. As a member of his union, he contributed to the union’s paper United Teacher. He co-chaired the UCLA-WP’s LGBTQ Study Group and has three as-of-yet unpublished novels: 10 Months to Vermont, All Beneath the Sky, and Love Song. He has been married for 40 years to author-comic-producer Mike Player.

James Kirkwood was a Tony Award-winning author, actor, and playwright. During his career, he won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Connect with Joel

bluesky: joelmfreewriter.bsky.social

Our Bookshop

Visit our Bookshop for new releases, current bestsellers, banned books, critically acclaimed LGBTQ books, or peruse the books featured on our podcasts: bookshop.org/shop/thisqueerbook

Buy Good Times/Bad Times: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9781476767536

Become an Associate Producer!

Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook

Credits

Host/Founder: John Parker
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, K Jason Bryan and David Rephan, Bob Bush, Natalie Cruz, Troy Ford, Jonathan Fried, Paul Kaefer, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Terry D., Stephen Flamm, Ida Göteburg, Thomas Michna, Sofia Nerman, and Gary Nygaard.
Creative and Accounting support provided by: Gordy Erickson

Quatrefoil Library

Quatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can’t buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1

Support the show

How do I move forward in life without any queer representation in my life?

Today we meet Troy Ford and we’re talking about the queer book that saved his life: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Troy Ford is an author and editor, and the publisher of two popular newsletters: the writing-focused Ford Knows Books, and Qstack, an LGBTQIA+ Directory, Platform, and Community of newsletter writers and readers on Substack. His debut novel, Lamb, released in June 2025. Unsung, his short film with co-director Kimberly Warner of Unfixed Media, received the OurPride 2025 Innovative Storytelling Award. A native Californian, he grew up overseas in the Middle East and eventually settled in the San Francisco-Bay Area where he earned a B.A. in Rhetoric from UC Berkeley. Since 2019, he has lived in Sitges, Spain with his husband and AmStaff Terrier.

In The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling any farther than his pantry or cellar. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an adventure. They have launched a plot to raid the treasure hoard guarded by Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. Bilbo reluctantly joins their quest, unaware that on his journey to the Lonely Mountain he will encounter both a magic ring and a frightening creature known as Gollum.

J.R.R. Tolkien was a distinguished academic, though he is best known for writing The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion, plus other stories and essays. His books have been translated into over sixty languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide.

Connect with Troy

substack: troyford.substack.com
website: troyfordauthor.com
bluesky: @mrtroyfordauthor.bsky.social
instagram: @mrtroyfordauthor

Our Bookshop

Visit our Bookshop for new releases, current bestsellers, banned books, critically acclaimed LGBTQ books, or peruse the books featured on our podcasts: bookshop.org/shop/thisqueerbook

Buy The Hobbit: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9780547928227

Buy Lamb: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9798992613810

Become an Associate Producer!

Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook

Credits

Host/Founder: John Parker
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, K Jason Bryan and David Rephan, Bob Bush, Natalie Cruz, Troy Ford, Jonathan Fried, Paul Kaefer, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Terry D., Stephen Flamm, Ida Göteburg, Thomas Michna, Sofia Nerman, and Gary Nygaard.
Creative and Accounting support provided by: Gordy Erickson

Quatrefoil Library

Quatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can’t buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1

Support the show