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...
Jul 30, 2024•14 min
You love your parents because they’re your parents. But would you if they weren’t? This and other queer stories from the Middle East to Canada. Today we meet Mike Z. and we’re talking about the book that saved his life: The Clothesline Swing by Danny Ramadan . And Danny joins us for the conversation! Mike Z. lives in Lebanon and works in art therapy. Danny Ramadan is a Lambda-award winning Syrian-Canadian author. His novels, The Clothesline Swing and The Foghorn Echoes continue to receive accola...
Jul 23, 2024•44 min
A new episode of This Queer Book Saved My Life drops next week on July 23rd! In our off weeks, we air the most recent episode of The Gaily Show which J.P. hosts for AM950 Radio. Today, Jennie Garner and Andrew Frisbie join us from North Liberty Library to talk about book bans, how to support public libraries, and libraries as spaces for belonging and connection. Connect with North Liberty Library website: northlibertylibrary.org instagram: @nlibertylibrary blog: northlibertylibrary.org/blog Watc...
Jul 16, 2024•21 min
When the adults in your life are this reckless and dangerous, what do you do? Today we meet Rex Ogle and we’re talking about the book that saved his life: Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs . Rex Ogle is an award-winning author and the writer of nearly a hundred children’s books, comics, graphic novels, and memoirs—most notably Free Lunch , which won the ALA/YALSA award for Excellence in Non-Fiction. He has written under several pseudonyms, including Trey King and Honest Lee, but is cur...
Jul 09, 2024•44 min
After reading about the characters in this book, I made it my mission to have their kind of life for myself. Today we meet David Ciminello and we’re talking about the book that saved his life: More Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin . David Ciminello is a Lambda Literary Fellow and author of The Queen of Steeplechase Park . As an actor, David guest starred on Seinfeld (“The Barber”), Murder She Wrote , Matlock , and Kojak . His original screenplay Bruno was made into a motion picture directed...
Jun 25, 2024•46 min
This book made me think about how my relationship to myself is lifelong. Today, we meet Saraid de Silva and we’re talking about the book that saved her life: Paul Takes The Form of a Mortal Girl by Andrea Lawlor . And Andrea joins us for the conversation! Saraid de Silva is the author of Amma and is a screen writer on the TV series Shortland Street . Andrea Lawlor teaches writing at Mount Holyoke College and has received the Whiting Award for Fiction. Their publications include a chapbook, Posit...
Jun 11, 2024•51 min
A deep dive into LGBTQ book bans with two of the nation's leading researchers. Today, we are joined by Sabrina Baêta and Tasslyn Magnusson. They are leading researchers in the United States on LGBTQ book bans in our schools. They led efforts to research and write the new 2024 PEN America report Banned in the USA: Narrating the Crisis . Here is part of the official description: "This report provides data, alongside a comprehensive narrative of the censorship crisis affecting public scho...
Jun 04, 2024•58 min
When I read his work, I feel like he is a close friend that I lost. That’s how much he resonates with me. Today we meet Kim Hines and we’re talking about the book that saved her life: The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin . Kim Hines is a playwright, actor, director, and author. Her plays have been produced across the United States, including tours at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Kim has performed at many theaters including the Illusion Theater, Penumbra Theater, and the Guthrie The...
May 28, 2024•41 min
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. 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, On...
May 21, 2024•11 min
Seriously though. When you're life is hyphenated, how do you put it altogether to live the life you want? Today we meet Natalie Cruz and we’re talking about the book that saved her life: We Are All Armenian edited by Aram Mrjoian and featuring eighteen essayists. Natalie lives in Philly, is the managing editor of the Queer Armenian Library, teaches Art History at Camden County College, and is a PhD candidate at Temple University. We Are All Armenian brings together established and emerging ...
May 14, 2024•38 min
They say what matters most is love. But for a lot of us...that’s not what matters most. Today we meet Jake Mier and we’re talking about the book that saved their life: Loveless by Alice Oseman. Jake lives in the Twin Cities and works in restorative justice. Loveless is the funny, honest, messy, completely relatable story of Georgia, who doesn't understand why she can't crush and kiss and make out like her friends do. She's surrounded by the narrative that dating + sex = love. It&a...
Apr 30, 2024•37 min
That moment when you meet kindred queer spirits in podcasting. Today we have a special cross-pollination episode with the Queer Spirit podcast. The Queer Spirit podcast has conversations with embodied artists, practitioners and activists who care for, enliven and empower our 2SLGBTQ+ communities to thrive + flourish. Their hosts are Nick Venegoni, MA (he>they) and TanyaMarck Oviedo (they/them). Nick is a holistic psychotherapist based on unceded Ohlone territory (San Francisco, CA), where he ...
Apr 23, 2024•47 min
All the love in our queer families. Today we meet Archie Arnold and we’re talking about the book that saved his life: Love Lives Here: A Story of Thriving in a Transgender Family by Rowan Jetté Knox. Archie is a grant writer working at a community college in Minnesota. His career in grants and fundraising spans twenty years. Rowan Jetté Knox is an author, speaker and human rights advocate. His work in LGBTQ2S+ inclusion and mental health awareness has sparked change worldwide. was humbled to be ...
Apr 16, 2024•54 min
As gay kids we have to get through so much that we end up not remembering a lot of our childhoods. Today we meet K Jason Bryan and we’re talking about the book that saved his life: Becoming A Man: Half A Life Story by Paul Monette. Jason is a Sr Client Consultant for corporate insurance, and used to chair his company’s LGBT & Allies ERG. He is a former member of the Governors Board at the Human Rights Campaign. He also served as the Membership Director at Quorum, Minnesota's LGBTQ Chamb...
Apr 02, 2024•35 min
No one ever told me that I could be divine. That my sexuality was a gift. Today we meet Sandy Hope and we’re talking about the book that saved her life: Swinging on the Garden Gate by Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew. And Elizabeth joins us for the conversation! Sandy is a licensed mental health counselor whose practice focuses Internal Family Systems theory. She works with people around sexuality, spirituality, couples therapy, and people who struggle with eating disorders. Elizabeth is an author, writ...
Mar 19, 2024•49 min
Everyone calls me ma'am on the phone. I love it. Today we meet Jacob Budenz and we’re talking about the book that saved their life: Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris. Jacob is a true multi-hyphenate: musician, author, performance artist, director, and witch. Jacob published their new book Tea Leaves in 2023 and is the front person for the band Moth Broth. Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim is an essay collection where David Sedaris lifts the corner of ordinary li...
Mar 05, 2024•46 min
When a closeted queer kid meets his fairy godfather what does he wish for? Today we meet Ricardo Galaviz and we’re talking about the book that saved his life: Am I Blue? by Bruce Coville. And Bruce joins us for the conversation! Ricardo (all pronouns) is the Associate Director of the Milwaukee LGBT Center. Bruce (he/him) is the author of over 100 books including My Teacher is an Alien , Into the Land of Unicorns , and Jeremy Hatcher, Dragon Hatcher . Am I Blue? Coming Out From The Silence is an ...
Feb 20, 2024•45 min
A tomboy who wants to be Perry Mason (and has a crush on Della) included this book on job applications. Today we meet Jean M. Gustafson and we’re talking about the book that saved her life: To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Jean M. Gustafson is a seasoned attorney who specializes in various branches of law, including employment law, elder law, criminal and family law. She is licensed in the states of Minnesota, South Dakota, Utah and Federal Court of the District of Minnesota. She has also re...
Feb 06, 2024•30 min
Are you ready to un-ban LGBT books in real time? I share with you about The Banned Book Club and then I sit down with the head of the project: John Bracken who is the Executive Director of The Digital Public Library of America. How to start reading: Download the Palace Project App for iOS or Android in the Apple App store or Google Play . Open the app Select Banned Book Club Start reading! Banned Book Club website: thebannedbookclub.info Digital Public Library of American website: pro.dp.la Cred...
Jan 30, 2024•17 min
It was such a catharsis that I took the book into the woods and acted out scenes from it. Today we meet Leon Acord and we’re talking about the book that saved his life: The Front Runner by Patricia Nell Warren. Leon Acord is the author of the memoirs Expletives Not Deleted and Sub-Lebrity: The Queer Life of a Showbiz Footnote . Leon created, wrote, and starred in the TV series Old Dogs & New Tricks on Amazon Prime Video. On stage, he has performed in numerous West Coast premieres at the New ...
Jan 23, 2024•46 min
You go to his place to hook up. The book that saves your life is on his coffee table. Today we meet Philip Anthony and we’re talking about the book that saved his life: The Homosexualization of America by Dennis Altman. And Dennis joins us for the conversation! Philip is based in Minneapolis and is host of the podcast The Downright Upright Show . Dennis is the son of Jewish refugees, and a writer and academic who first came to attention with the publication of his book Homosexual: Oppression &am...
Jan 09, 2024•34 min
Today, we meet Jeff Billington and his new novel: Summer's Second . In this novel, Asher Brock’s last summer of youth is far from ideal. His hopes for the future, including an escape from his constricting Ozark Mountains hometown, seem increasingly fragile as he faces hurdles of poverty and abuse, all while coming to terms with being gay. Jeff Billington is the author of Chicken Dinner News and Summer's Second . He has worked as a journalist, Communications Director for a member of Con...
Dec 26, 2023•11 min
My eighth grade brain was like: they're such great friends AND they kiss on the mouth?! That's great! Today we meet Maya Williams and we’re talking about the book that saved their life: The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Maya Williams (ey/em, they/them, and she/her) is a religious Black multiracial nonbinary suicide survivor who is currently an Ashley Bryan Fellow and the seventh Poet Laureate of Portland, Maine . Maya's debut poetry collection, Judas & Suicide , is available ...
Dec 12, 2023•41 min
Without this book, I wouldn't have become me. And I guess I'd be married to a man. Today we meet Adrineh Der Boghossian and we’re talking about the book that saved her life: Princess Freak by Nancy Agabian. And Nancy joins us for the conversation! Princess Freak documents through poetry and prose texts Nancy's coming-of-age of as a shy, funny, bisexual Armenian-American woman who flees the small town of Walpole, Massachusetts to tell the stories of her family. Adrineh Der Boghossi...
Nov 28, 2023•1 hr 1 min
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. 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, On...
Nov 21, 2023•13 min
Ancient queer Greek love. The Easter Bunny. And everything in between. Today we meet Christina Bagni and we’re talking about the book that saved her life The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. Christina is an editor, host of Classics and Chill, and the author of the YA novel My Only Real Friend is the Easter Bunny at the Mall . For Christina, The Song of Achilles not only helped her to process a painful past relationship, but it also put her on a path to host a podcast based on the novel'...
Nov 14, 2023•35 min
You didn't realize you'd end up reading a charming gay couple's 3,100 love letters. Today we meet Scott Bane and we’re talking about the book that launched a life-saving journey for him: American Renaissance by F.O. Matthiessen. Scott is a Program Officer at the John A. Hartford Foundation and author of A Union Like Ours: The Love Story of F.O. Matthiessen and Russel Cheney . Imagine coming across a book in a New York Times Book Review that introduces you to a writer whose little ...
Oct 31, 2023•35 min
I knew something was wrong, but what? This book helped me realize I have a disability. And it's treatable. Today we meet David-Elijah Nahmod and we’re talking about the book that saved his life: Blind: A Memoir by Belo Miguel Cipriani. And Belo joins us for the conversation! David-Elijah Nahmod is a freelance journalist in San Francisco, who writes for publications all over the country and in Canada. Belo Miguel Cipriani is a digital inclusion strategist, author, and publisher. Blind: A Mem...
Oct 17, 2023•43 min
We meet Dianna Hunter and her new novel Clouded Waters which releases today: October 10! What's it about? When a local water scientist goes missing, newspaper owner Susan B. Ellingson follows a trail of evidence from a tiny, off-grid community into a global tangle of lies, corruption, whistleblowing, and danger. All the while her mother-in-law leads a group of Ojibwe and Métis grandmothers fighting to protect the water, and when after an intriguing new woman comes to town, Susan isn't ...
Oct 10, 2023•15 min
Coming out wasn’t a switch that fixed everything. This book explained why. Today we meet Chris Tompkins and we’re talking about the book that saved Chris' life: The Velvet Rage by Alan Downs. Chris is an LGTBQ affirmative therapist and author of the new book Raising LGBTQ Allies: A Parent's Guide to Changing the Messages from the Playground . In The Velvet Rage , psychologist Alan Downs draws on his own struggle with shame and anger, contemporary research, and stories from his patients...
Oct 03, 2023•43 min
