BOOKS: The Big Books Of 2022

Expect new fiction from big names like Edmund White, David Sedaris and Patrick Gale, biographies from Harvey Fierstein, Colton Haynes and Hannah Gadsby, plus sex, fantasy and, of course… murder!

A PREVIOUS LIFE Edmund White (Bloomsbury) out February The veteran gay writer and biographer returns with a new novel addressing polyamory, bisexuality and ageing. It follows Sicilian aristocrat and musician, Ruggero and his younger American wife, Constance, who agree to write and share the confessions of their past lives. While Constance reveals her multiple marriages to older men, Ruggero chronicles his relationships with men and women and, most importantly, his passionate affair with White himself.

AND THE CATEGORY IS: INSIDE NEW YORK’S VOGUE, HOUSE AND BALLROOM COMMUNITY Ricky Tucker (Beacon Press) out February Perfect for fans of the TV show Pose, Tucker introduces and historicises the underground subculture of Ballroom founded by LGBTQIA+ African-Americans and Latino men and women of Harlem. Featuring exclusive interviews with prominent LGBTQ/POC Ballroom members such as Lee Soulja and Benjamin Ninja, Tucker shows these marginalised groups’ courage in forming kinships and showcasing fabulousness through art performance. This book also discusses how Ballroom redefines popular culture.

THE CULTURE OF MALE BEAUTY IN BRITAIN: FROM THE FIRST PHOTOGRAPHS TO DAVID BECKHAM Paul R Deslandes (University Of Chicago Press) out February In this illustrated volume, historian Deslandes traces the history of two centuries of male beauty in British culture, unpacking high and popular culture’s inf luence on male beauty standards. The book moves across different male figures from disfigured soldiers, physique models, gay men, and celebrities like David Beckham, and explores the connection between beauty, race, youth, empire and degeneration.

I WAS BETTER LAST NIGHT: A MEMOIR Harvey Fierstein (Knopf) out March A witty yet poignant memoir from the four-time Tony Awardwinning actor and playwright (Hairspray, La Cage Aux Folles, Torch Song Trilogy, and Kinky Boots). Here are never-before-told stories of his personal struggles and conf lict, of sex and romance, and of his fabled career – tales that even those closest to him have never heard before! His candid recollections provide a rich window into downtown New York City life, gay culture, and the evolution of American theatre.

TEN STEPS TO NANETTE: A MEMOIR SITUATION Hannah Gadsby (Allen & Unwin) out March This memoir has been greatly anticipated as it was previously announced more than two years ago and then postponed. The book traces Gadsby’s journey as a queer person from Tasmania (where homosexuality was illegal until 1997) to her ever-evolving relationship with comedy, to her struggle with late-in-life diagnoses of autism and ADHD, and finally to the backbone of her acclaimed stand-up show Nanette – the rejection of misogyny and the moral significance of truth-telling.

SON OF SIN Omar Sakr (Affirm Press) out March Some readers will know Sakr from his 2019 prize-winning poetry book The Lost Arabs but this is his first novel. It’s the story of an estranged father, an abused and abusive mother, an army of relatives and a tapestry of violence, woven across generations and geographies, from Turkey to Lebanon to Western Sydney. This is the legacy left to Jamal Smith, a young queer Muslim trying to escape his past.

MOTHER’S BOY Patrick Gale (Hachette Australia) March This 17th novel from Gale is his first fully historical one since the acclaimed A Place Called Winter. It’s based around the known facts of the boyhood and youth of the great Cornish poet, Charles Causley and the life of the mother who raised him singlehandedly. Gale has lived in Cornwall since 1988 and the setting often appears in his books.

HERE AGAIN NOW Okechukwu Nzelu (Hachette Australia) March From the Betty Trask shortlisted Nzelu comes a quietly devastating novel about masculinity, love and grief. Achike is an up-and-coming actor on the brink of success. His friend Ekene is lost, moving from one unfulfilling relationship to another, estranged from his family and recently made redundant from his job as a drama teacher. Ekene and Achike have always been more than just friends and now it feels like they are on the cusp of fully admitting that to one another.

MOON WITCH, SPIDER KING (DARK STAR TRILOGY BOOK #2) Marlon James (Hamish Hamilton) out March Following on from Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Book 2 is another spectacular, genre-redefining literary fantasy from the Man Booker Prizewinning author. James draws on a rich tradition of African mythology, fantasy and history to imagine an ancient world, a lost child, an extraordinary hunter, and a mystery with many answers.

BOY FALLEN Chris Gill (PRNTD Publishing) out March His debut novel The Nowhere was an indie bestseller and his follow-up book is a change of pace. Set in a remote coastal town in New Zealand’s South Island, locals soon become suspects when the body of wealthy teen, Evan Wiley is found at the foot of a waterfall. Detective Brooke Palmer fears a part of Evan’s life he’d kept secret may have cost the boy his life. YOUNG MUNGO Douglas Stuart (Picador) out April Booker Prize-winner Stuart returns with the story of two Glasgow working-class men, Protestant Mungo and Catholic James, who find themselves in love despite their differences. To survive in their hyper-masculine hometown, both need more than just a dream to escape it. Stuart recounts everyday struggles faced by queer individuals with a rich lyricism that brims with hope for a better future for all.

TIME IS A MOTHER Ocean Vuong (Jonathan Cape) out April Vuong returns with a poetry collection that captures the feelings of loss and grief after his mother’s death while also exploring his determination to survive this profound change. With similar themes to his bestselling novel On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, this poetry collection also deals with what it means to continue living as the product of an American war on race in America itself.

THE PASSION OF GENGOROH TAGAME: MASTER OF GAY EROTIC MANGA VOLUMES 1 AND 2 Gengoroh Tagame (Fantagraphics) out April Often dubbed the Tom Of Finland of Japan, Tagame is well-known for his visceral, erotic and violent depictions of gay sex. Featuring ten short stories from the late 1990s to the early 2010s, Volume 1 shows the passionate and unbridled exploration of lust, BDSM, romance and gay relationships between bears and hyper-masculine men. While the long-awaited Volume 2 features a treasure trove of long and short stories previously unpublished in English, accompanied by original essays and an exclusive new interview with the renowned manga artist.

SEX IS AS SEX DOES: GOVERNING TRANSGENDER IDENTITY Paisley Currah (New York University Press) out May Transgender scholar and activist, Currah courageously reveals how and why the existing regulations of sex classification fail transgender and non-binary people. By evaluating examples from different states in the US, government bodies and court cases, Currah looks at how the sex category, once recorded in legal documents like in driver’s licenses, inf luences the modern state’s governance of gender and sexuality.

HAPPY-GOLUCKY David Sedaris (Hachette Australia) June Has the acclaimed comic memoirist run out of colourful stories from his own life? In June he is turning his hand to fiction with his first book of short stories. We cannot wait!

MISS MEMORY LANE: A MEMOIR Colton Haynes (Simon & Schuster) out July A brutally honest and moving memoir of lust, abuse, addiction, stardom and redemption from the openly gay Arrow and Teen Wolf actor. By 16, Haynes had been signed to the world’s top modelling agency, yet he was still a broke, lonely, confused teenager, surrounded by people telling him he could be a star as long as he kept his sexuality hidden. As his career in television took off, the stress of wearing so many masks and trying to please so many different people turned his use of drugs and alcohol into full-blown addiction.

THE QUEST FOR SEXUAL HEALTH: HOW AN ELUSIVE IDEAL HAS TRANSFORMED SCIENCE, POLITICS AND EVERYDAY LIFE Steven Epstein (University Of Chicago Press) out August Renowned sociology professor, Epstein explores the history and development of the “sexual health” concept, alongside its inf luence on sexual and social life. What makes sex “healthy”? How has the sexual health concept changed our sexual desires and practices? By addressing these questions, Epstein scrutinises our modern quest for the elusive ideal while remaining attentive to its possibilities to promote social justice. MARLO, 1953 Jay Carmichael (Scribe) out August From the author of Ironbark published back in 2018, comes a new short novel set in conservative 1950s Australia. Christopher, a young gay man, moves the city to escape the repressive atmosphere of his tiny hometown. However, once there, he finds that it is just as censorial and punitive in its own way. Then Christopher meets Morgan, an Indigenous man, and the two fall in love – but the society around them remains rigid and unchanging.

THE BRINK Holden Sheppard (Text Publishing) out August A highly anticipated new book from the author of the immensely popular Invisible Boys is another gritty upper YA novel with major crossover appeal for adult readers. Set on the West Australian coast, The Brink follows a group of school leavers whose schoolies trip is rocked by a shocking murder, which begins to tear their group apart. This raw coming-of-age story tackles masculinity, sex, homosexuality, mental health and identity without pulling any punches. VISIBLE MAN Edward Enninful (Bloomsbury) out September From a childhood in Ghana to being discovered by a fashion editor on the London Underground at the age of 16 to taking the helm of Britain’s most influential fashion publication British Vogue, A Visible Man traces an astonishing journey into one of the world’s most exclusive industries. Taking us into the heady, wild and vibrant fashion scene of 1980s London and beyond, Edward also details his experiences as a Black, gay, working-class refugee.

THE FIRST TO DIE AT THE END Adam Silvera (Simon & Schuster) out October Silvera recounts the journey of new star-crossed lovers as they receive DeathCast’s fateful calls, seven years ago before the couple in his best-selling novel They Both Die At The End. Set as its prequel, this book will take us again to find the beauty of hope and love in the edge of despair and mortality.

ALSO… Watch for a new book from David Marr on Australia’s colonial past, A Family Business (Black Inc) in November. While Fiona McGregor will have a new historical novel out with Picador in October Iris about Sydney lesbian petty criminal Iris Weber. Little is known about the new memoir from Magda Szubanski except that it will be out in the second half of 2022.

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MORE: The Bookshop Darlinghurst specialises in LGBTIQ books. Tel: (02) 9331 1103. Email: info@thebookshop.com.au. Web: thebookshop.com.au. Visit: 207 Oxford Street, Sydney.