Hi Samuel,
I’d like to pitch a first-person opinion piece for Independent Voices:
Queer writers deserve more than trauma narratives
Pride Month is full of stories about queer pain, resilience and representation. I get why. Those stories matter. But there’s a quieter problem when queer writers are mainly given space because we can explain ourselves, educate others, or turn our lives into something useful.
I’m a gay novelist whose new romantic comedy, Lisa Doyle Is Absolutely Fine, is published on 18 June. It’s a Manchester-set story about a woman who invents a fiancé called Brian after too much awful wine, then has to deal with the consequences when her imaginary fiancé shares a name with her very real, very married boss.
It isn’t a coming-out novel. It isn’t trauma-led. It isn’t asking to be praised for suffering. That feels like the point. Queer writers should be allowed to write jokes, fake engagements, bad decisions, desire, friendship, office politics, difficult families and complicated happy endings without the work being treated as less queer, less serious, or less relevant.
The piece would argue that Pride culture can sometimes over-reward pain and under-value pleasure, comedy and mainstream ambition. Growing up gay, I learned to read myself into straight romantic stories that were never quite written for me. Now I write from that angle: not outside romance, but looking at it slightly sideways.
Confirmed coverage and appearances around the book include BookBrunch, QX, The Bookseller, Writing.ie, Book DNA, PinkNews, Queer the Streets Festival and Hertford Literary Festival.
I can write 700–900 words quickly, in a sharp first-person style, and can supply an author photo, cover image and preorder link.
Best wishes,
Mo Fanning
07881 925376
mofanning.co.uk