Philip Sparrow Tells All show Samuel Steward’s development as a writer and a gay sophisticate; speaking on a wider range of topics—bodybuilding, cryptography, psychiatry, espionage, opera, pet cemeteries, Gertrude Stein, Chicago, and Paris… read more

The Times’ epic 100 Notable Books list was published online last week and the list includes both surprises and snubs. Patti Smith’s Just Kids—which just won the National Book Award—is not among the official 100, but the memoir does appear in Janet Maslin’s editor’s picks, along with Wendy K. Moffat’s A Great Unrecorded History: A… read more

Secret Historian Signing Benefits Lifebeat—Music Fights HIV CHICAGO—Justin Spring will be signing copies of his biography, Secret Historian (FSG) on Wednesday, December 1, at 7 PM at the Lincoln Park Borders in Chicago (2817 N. Clark Street). The signing is part of December One at Borders, a series of special events at stores nationwide to commemorate World… read more

As you’ve already read, singer-songwriter, poet, and now author, Patti Smith, walked away with the National Book Award earlier this week for her memoir, Just Kids (Ecco). Read Reginald Harris’ review of Just Kids here. The full list of finalists and winners below…. read more

Justin Spring, just nominated for a National Book Award for his seminal biography, The Secret Historian: The Life and Times of Samuel Steward, Professor, Tattoo Artist, and Sexual Renegade with poet and biographer, Honor Moore at the New York Public Library, on September 29, 2010. Listen to a podcast of the conversation, and check out the… read more

Amos Lassen doesn’t think of himself this way, but he is one of the most influential Amazon reviewers in the nation — especially when it comes to the categories for gay romance, gay fiction, gay and lesbian erotica, DVD, and documentary. An Amazon Top 50 Reviewer and a member of the Amazon Vine Program—a highly-coveted,… read more

Too controversial for Vanity Fair? Secret Historian may be the Big Gay Book of 2010. Justin Spring’s Secret Historian: The Life and Times of Samuel Steward is shaping up to be The Big Gay Book of 2010. It’s not often that a tome this scholarly contains so much sex and sadness. But that’s what makes… read more

The National Book Foundation announced their award nominees this morning. Among the nominees are two Lambda-relevant titles, Justin Spring’s much buzzed about book, Secret Historian (reviewed this week), and Patti Smith’s NY Times bestseller, Just Kids (reviewed here). Although, there are more women on this year’s list, many of the most-hyped books of the season… read more

While I may not remember my first encounter with Phil Andros, I do know the one that made the strongest impression on me occurred in the bathroom of a friend’s house in New Jersey: There I discovered a copy of The Boys in Blue, Andros’ tale of cops on the make in 1970’s San Francisco—he… read more