Source image photographers: Jeremy Lucido, Tomas, Aceves, Austin McKee
Source image models: Tyree Fifer, Austin Mckee
I’m exhausted by algorithms, and AI, and logins, and subscriptions, and slop, and ads, and platforms that think they know what I want. What I want is to create and connect with real people. Based on the responses that I’ve already received and the contribution of the queer artists in this magazine, it’s clear that there are people out there who want the same.
This magazine is not meant to be around forever. In fact, I hope it isn’t, because, when this magazine is gone, it will mean that queer artists have found an endless supply of platforms.
Hello! Queer World is here to provide a platform for LGBTQ+ artists to display their craft, connect with likeminded groups, and help build a digital community that reaches around the world.
My goal is to have artists from a variety of countries represented in this magazine and to have readers engage with parts of the world they aren’t familiar with.
Living in a bubble is one of the biggest detriments to hu-
manity. Racism, classism, homophobia, ableism, transphobia, and so many other hateful beliefs are the result of being stuck in an echo chamber of false realities. The only way to escape it is to be introduced to different ways of life
I know so many of you reading this right now are thinking, “I’m already accepting of different ways of life.” That’s what everyone thinks, including myself. The truth is, there is constant change that we are doomed to not understand if we aren’t actively trying to learn about it. There are intersectionalities like being Black and queer that present a different experience than just being queer or just being Black. There’s transphobic ideology within the LGBTQ+ community systems that may have begun with good intentions but are now grossly outdated.
Together, let’s see where this magazine goes and what we can learn from each other’s art. This magazine’s existence will depend on the need for it. If the readers and contributors want a space where the queer community around the world can connect, then I will forever be proud to present to you
HELLO! QUEER WORLD
Letters to the editor can be sent to:
Editor-in-Chief
Josh Benny is a career graphic designer and illustrator based in Hollywood, California. His works are often inspired by fashion illustration styles of the 1980s, utilizing clean, minimal, and careful linework. He’s adapted his traditional training in byhand figure illustration, portraiture, and airbrush techniques to the digital design space. These works are part of a growing collection celebrating male beauty and form in a bold, commercial graphic style.
JoshBennyDesign.com
JUNE 2026
BY THE WITCH OF HEMLOCK
Aries (March 1 - Apr 19) King of Wands
Taurus (Apr 20 - May 20) Judgment
Cancer (June 22 - July 22) 6 of Cups
Gemini (May 21 - June 21) 7 of Swords (reversed)
Leo (July 23 - Aug 22) Justice
Virgo (Aug 23 - Sept 22) 10 of Cups (reversed)
Capricorn (Dec 22 - Jan 19) 4 of Wands
Libra (Sep 23 - Oct 23) The Hanged Man
Scorpio (Oct 24 - Nov 21) 2 of Pentacles (reversed)
Aquarius (Jan 20 - Feb 18) Page of Cups (reversed)
Sagittarius (Nov 22 - Dec 21) 4 of Cups (reversed)
Pisces (Feb 19 - Mar 20) Death
Black Mast
With original designs and custom illustrations created by Brandon Redenius, Black Mast is a clothing line inspired by escapism, spooky, camp, and glam Bold colors on black backdrop takes alternative style to a whole new level
Abprallen
Whimsical pastel-colored pins and stickers that are juxtaposed with skulls and all things spooky. Erik creates ORIGINAL art rather than the same old, tired reprints of pins found elsewhere. The pride and gloom of Abprallen are shipped worldwide!
TransfigurePrintCo.
Transfigure Print Co is a US-based screen printing collective that makes custom prints for shirts, totes, and more They also have a brick-and-mortar shop in Michigan and have proudly raised more than 100k in support of the LGBTQ+ community!
LOVE LOVE IS IS COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATION
BY JOHN PROMANI
In this show, ten gay men from around Japan come to The Green Room to live and work together for two months In both seasons, the men work on a coffee truck around the town they are staying in Two people work a shift Most of the time, someone is randomly selected, and that person picks who they want to work with It’s one of the few chances the guys get one-on-one time with another person, and it's during those trips that they start to test the waters with their feelings
At a time when queerness in America is under attack (from laws being passed preventing people from transitioning to free speech being used to allow gay conversion therapy), I think shows like The Boyfriend are more important than ever They show not only queer people but also anyone with a Netflix account what it means to live as a queer person The Boyfriend gives hope and shows how to honestly show up for people in your community It teaches how to build community in a different society with lessons that can be learned in the US too, like the need to listen and respond with compassion to someone with a different perspec-
During the pandemic, my friends and I got together on FaceTime to watch TV and try to help each other keep it together It was necessary then but is also a tradition we continue today When we started, we watched Married at First Sight Now, we mainly watch RuPaul’s Drag Race, but we will watch a season of Married at First Sight or Love is Blind in between Drag Race seasons We enjoy these two dating shows for the juicy drama they create, both predicated on a concept that would never happen in real life watching how people come together or totally lose it with a stranger More recently, I’ve been encouraging my friends to watch The Boyfriend, a slow-moving but incredibly endearing Japanese gay dating show
The Boyfriend is simple There is no playing with the idea that attraction shouldn’t matter There’s no meeting someone at the altar for the first time or talking to each other across separate rooms sight unseen until you propose No, The Boyfriend understands that relationships are sacred and to build them you need to move slowly and through different kinds of interactions
tive When one of the guys inadvertently disrespects the lifestyle of one of his castmates, they get mad initially, but they discuss the situation further, apologize, and grow closer to each other Rather than just staying divisive and angry things very common in American politics and life, partly thanks to the algorithms in the screens we all are glued to they talk to each other They take a moment to think about what happened, readjust their feelings, talk with their other friends, and then go apologize They move beyond their differences, learn from each other, and become a closer-
knit community because of it This is what queer and non-queer people need to see Queer people need to see this so we can tighten our bonds together in the face of the adversity that is already against our way of life And non-queer people need to see it so they can understand we ’ re not that different and how differences can be surmounted and learned from to bring people closer together Queer art, like The Boyfriend, has the power to do that to bring people together through love, compassion, celebration, and mutual understanding and that is what the world needs now more than ever
John Promani is a queer writer who loves music and video games and is still just trying to figure it all out.
TravelVlog Travel Vlog
Queer Around the World is my adventure traveling around the world, exploring queer communities in each country to show that, wherever you are, there’s a queer community for you!
I started this journey in 2019 when I escaped my hometown of Los Angeles to see what other queer
communities were like around the US My travels have since evolved to explore queer communities globally!
Journey with me on my YouTube channel as I take you through queer communities all around the world, struggle to figure out how to live as a full-time traveler, and fight my never-ending battle with mental health.
SO I WON’T FORGET
By Lloyd Josephs
I see him in the places we used to visit, Sandy Bay where the sun glazed his face and cascaded over his nude body.
Bronx Bar, where he somehow knew the exact moment to turn around and smile at me.
The old Manhattan Bar, neon reflected the edge of his face while he spoke about the life he thought we might still have. We walked past the queues outside Opium and The Loft, past the noise spilling out of Rosie’s while the ‘girls’ kiki’d over cigarettes and half-finished drinks.
Driving home with the windows cracked, neither of us ready for the night to end.
Past Stargazers, known for good music and bad decisions.
Past Adult World, where I once watched him emerge from a darkroom, red light washed over his face while porn flicked somewhere in the background.
I remember him in rainbow make up at Pride, refusing to shrink himself for anyone.
I remember him worried about his results, waiting until nobody was looking before slipping free condoms into his pocket.
I remember him standing in the bookstore, hiding a copy of Gay Times inside a car magazine, stealing glances at a life he hadn’t learned how to live yet.
I remember him sitting on the train, brushing his knee against a stranger’s, desire
passing silently between them before disappearing at the next stop.
All gone.
The bars. The bookstores. The darkrooms. Some of the men too.
Queer spaces disappear quietly. One bar closes. One bookstore changes ownership. One darkroom becomes a gym or luxury apartment. And suddenly an entire generation loses the geography of its becoming. We talk about queer art as expression, but sometimes it is preservation. Proof that people loved here, desired here, survived here. That before dating apps and rainbow marketing campaigns, queer people built entire worlds out of glances, code words, cigarettes outside clubs, hidden magazines and borrowed courage. Maybe memory is the last place some versions of us get to survive.
Now, remember… I remember, so I won’t forget him.
A subtle homage that lived silently in his head.
A quiet witness to a life that refused to disappear.
Lloyd Josephs is an LGBTQ+ writer from Cape Town whose work blends fiction and memoir to explore queer love, desire, and the complexities of relationships. His writing, known for its honesty, humour, and emotional resonance, can be found on his own Substack blog.
lloydjosephs.substack.com
Let’s be brutally honest: Being a Black woman is already hard enough. As part of the overlap of intersectionality, I fully identified as a dark-skinned, cisgender, bi/demisexual, Catholic, Black-American woman of Nigerian descent, whose culture revolves around the Igbo diaspora, and disabled (Neurodivergent: autism/ADHD).
Society likes to overlook autistic women of color. It turns its eyes to autistic white males, whom it identifies as being interested only in trains and math. This group is unfortunately present in the media as a so-called “accurate representation” instead of going in-depth into the intersectionality of disability.
There are not enough resources for minority students who are disabled, and there’s a lack of education/tolerance about neurodiversity, which I’ve faced firsthand.
For the first 12 years of my life, I didn’t have a full context of what was going on with my behavior. When I was 13, my mother explained my diagnosis. In my toddler years, I started walking when I should’ve already been babbling, according to my parents. I was completely silent, except when I wanted milk I would say “mah” a couple of times. To my mother, it sounded adorable.
LIVING FULL COLOR IN
My parents had me evaluated, and I received my autism diagnosis. Nowadays, whenever I tell people that I was diagnosed very early on, they act surprised, and tell me about how they got their diagnosis well into their adult years.
This demonstrates he lack of access to healthcare and medical bias towards the Black community. Said, namely, if a Black child is taken to get diagnosed, evaluators dismiss them, stating that the child doesn’t “look autistic.” They’re looking for a type of autistic behavior, which is based on stereotypes of autism and that white males are more likely to be diagnosed early on compared to nonwhite people, females, and queer & trans people.
Upon getting my diagnosis, I was placed in occupational therapy sessions to
manage my motor skills. When I started kindergarten, I was enrolled in an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that required services such as speech therapy and other accommodations for 12 consecutive school years.
For the duration of the IEP, I was able to meet others like me on the disability spectrum. This reassured me that I wasn’t the only one. However, I did have my fair share of experiencing some form of ableism from my neurotypical peers. I recall being called the R-word by some. It would’ve surprised me if they learned it from their parents, who ead misleading websites like Autism Speaks for encounters with disabled people.
Unsurprisingly, I was labeled as the “weirdo” by my peers due to my “problems” (i.e., stimming). Heck, I was even yelled at by various adults over something I had no control over, which, to this day, contributes to my feeling like I’m always walking on eggshells. I was, of course, bullied as a result, before, during, and after school hours. It was worse during the school bus rides, which is why I don’t like the school bus that much.
My family wasn’t good at adjusting the home setting to my disability. Lack of understanding was the culprit here. I went to middle schools that weren’t
exactly autism-friendly. They were in bad areas, which to this day, I wonder why my parents try to find a school with a proper setting for someone like me.
Anyway, trying to socialize with other Black kids (African-American) was severely problematic, as the kids from elementary school weren’t educated about disability and, like my family members, failed to adjust. This was also the case with the teachers I had in middle and high school.
During my last year of middle school, I recounted times when this group of African-American 8 graders tried to make me conform to the stereotype of the ghetto hoodrat because they viewed my neurodivergence as equivalent to “acting white.” This was based on the false notion that autism is something only white people experience. th
They were peer pressuring me into dressing more like a video vixen from those rap videos that objectify Black women even though we were all in our
early teens! This was an unfortunate example of adultification towards Black minors: treating Black girls as adults, unlike white girls.
This was most likely due to the home environments these kids were raised in, where they were forced to grow up and exposed to what society thinks that “Black culture” is. It ignores the ancestral roots that are overshadowed by Black trauma, stereotypes, and inner turmoil overrun by violence and sex. This differs from my family’s Igbo cultural roots, which is not the environment that was born and raised in.
I was also bullied again for not fitting in with the “Black mold” and Eurocentric beauty standards, making me feel isolated from the Black community, acting in a manner that invoked stereotypes of Black people, making me question my place as a Black woman.
It wasn’t until years later that I was reminded of the quote “being Black isn’t what I’m trying to be, it’s what I am,” and upon attending a support group for Black autistics, it gave me more pride about my identity as a whole, and that I should like something I am not for the validation of society.
Mimi Oh is an auteur filmmaker and writer who can be found on Instagram
@MimiOh01
Death reeks here, It lurks and follows.
Moldy corners and rusty pipes, Rotting meats of Red, White, And Blue.
The air is thick, Full of the smoke from a gun, spirits intertwined with the particles. The bones pile up. Death reeks here.
Barrels sing songs of death While the worn meat hooks Hang and clang, The quiet slapping of old rotting meat bodies Will sit full.
In the deep canals of my ear, I can hear the edge of its knife Running along the neck of decapitated rabbits. Sharpened corners of the mouth, Piles of heads grow, Shackles wearing into the wrist, Blood and guts turn bloodshot, Death reeks here.
Lindsay Ely is a creative writing and visual arts student at Wheaton College, in Norton, Massachusetts. Their work thematically focuses on their political beliefs and current events, queer identity and experience, and mental health and trauma. They have had their work published in their school magazine and in Literature Today.
Surviving an encounter with a gun-wielding lesbian, a car chase by a jealous stranger, and being drowned by drag queens, The Downtown Underground is the satirical memoir of a queer kid that stumbled into the outrageous world of Downtown Los Angeles' drag scene.
ot long ago, many other forest queer folks and I discussed on Threads what it was like growing up queer in Appalachia.
From a membrane-thin tolerance to disguise bigotry to laughable hypocrisy to a questioning but “supportive” demeanor, we traded experiences. One post read: “Being queer in Appalachia is being told ‘I don’t agree with your lifestyle’ by someone who has five baby daddies and a Confederate flag pool float.” Several posts shared how, in many
cases, the queer people in a single small town not only knew each other but were communally in an on-again, off-again relationship; had been hate-crimed at least once; used the arts to escape everyday bigotry, and couldn’t wait to leave. Appalachians face generational poverty, rampant alcohol and drug addiction, familial abuse of every form, CSA, exploitation of workers, disability rights crises, widespread environmental destruction, AI data centers, cultural mistrust of modern medicine, and mental
QUEER ART
QUEER
WITCHCRAFT
health epidemics, but to hear our families tell it the biggest problem they had was the existence, visibility, and public joy of people of color, unmarried childfree women, and most especially, queer people.
Though what I realized as I read through the posts was several of us living in this complicated place were artists and even more fascinating, witches.
This made sense to me.
BY THE WITCH OF HEMLOCK
It was easier to come out saying I practiced Appalachian folk magick than to come out as queer. Those who live here know the rules of these mountains and know there are those who steward the land. We know not to whistle at night and that smelling cucumbers without any nearby meant a copperhead in our midst. We know to curtain our windows after dark. Appalachian folk magick, what’s sometimes referred to as “Granny magick” in the hills, incorporates working-class materials for working-class concerns. We would baptize protective
root bags in whiskey, take up the foot tracks of our enemies, and carry iron for haints and the Fair Folk, and our sacred cloth was sturdy flannel.
I learned this magick with intense pride. This was mine, with the magick of my woods and my hollers. I could easily wear flannel and claim it was for protection but also to appear more masc. I could put on my boots, “for the snakes,” I’d say. Nobody questioned the short nails and shorter hair if I was there on a healin’ journey. I moved through spaces queerly dressed if they thought I’d help. The less I spoke and the more I let the silence hold the magick, the more I garnered the trust needed to do my work. And ultimately, for them to leave me the fuck alone.
Writing and witchcraft were the most silent, safe ways to shout my queerness in Appalachia.
Whether you’re an actor, a musician, a writer, a designer, a makeup artist, a sculptor, a weaver, or any other fashion of artist, you are also a magician. You are also an alchemist. We who face our pain without obstruction and transform it into beauty, into the grotesque, into the colorful, into the dark. Our shame and guilt do not just build within us; we build with our most sensitive materials. Witchcraft does the
same in the pursuit and service of us and the natural world. It wasn’t my only form of mysticism, Appalachian folk magick. I was also a prolific writer.
I wrote cosmic horror, finding a similarity between the eldritch unknowables in the darkness between the stars and the mountains I’d deeply loved all my life. I also wrote queer retellings of all the tragedies I read as a girl, when being a girl was too dangerous. I wrote to survive. I wrote to daydream an authentic queer life that wouldn’t come to fruition until I was almost thirty. I wrote for the day I went no-contact with people who demanded a performance I never auditioned for. Writing was an alchemy and manifestation practice.
You who reads this, I see you. We needn’t speak to know each other. Our queer ancestors don’t need to either. They did enough shouting for a lifetime to bequeath us enough visibility and sovereignty to continue their fight while making our art.
The Witch of Hemlock is an Appalachian IrishAmerican pagan witch who offers teaching, divination, and meditations for the community to assist on their paths, with their healing, and through their grief, in whatever form these take
TheWitchofHemlock.com
Identify a queer ancestor that speaks to you.
I recommend either finding a queer ancestor who did the same art you do or a queer icon in general who inspires you and who makes you feel seen. Some of mine include David Bowie, Eartha Kitt (though not queer herself, she was publicly pro-gay during the AIDS crisis and regularly did charity benefit concerts to help fund aid), Freddie Mercury, Marsha P. Johnson, Julie d’Aubigny, Kevin Conroy, and Adrienne Rich.
Once you’ve chosen an ancestor, sit with their art and reflect on how they make you feel.
How did they live up to their authenticity? How did they alchemize their pain into art? What are they saying to you in their art?
Obtain a photo of the ancestor and place it beside your art’s workbench. Select a frame they might have liked. Surround the ancestor with objects that reflect how they make you feel. For example, Eartha Kitt reminds me of my sovereignty as a woman, that I am not obligated to “behave properly as a woman” nor compromise, apologize, shrink, mask, or chase what I desire. Therefore, beside an image of her when I write, I place the Ace of Wands. This is both in reference to her unapologetic passion for art and people, and also to a
couple of lines from her song, “I Want to Be Evil”. In the song, she said she wanted to trump an ace in bridge and lay down a powerful card even when she didn’t need to, just to see the look on her partner’s face. She wields power and fire, untamed and brave. In addition to the Ace of Wands, I also place one of my plants with her when I write. Eartha was an avid gardener in life and trusted soil more than diamonds or gold. She also makes me feel like I can grow enough hope to keep going.
Before you begin creating, take a moment to look into the eyes of the queer ancestor, and give thanks in words or in thoughts—depending on which you intuit the ancestor would respond to best.
Begin creating. Add a candle to your work to enhance the ancestor-inspired session. It can be fully customizable to your needs, desires, and craft.
Dear queer artist, I wish you joy you never have to hide. I wish you luck that you never have to apologize for. I wish you extravagance and radiance.
Gods guard your steps. The Witch of Hemlock
By London Alexander London Alexander
By London
Texas has been a center of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, but that hasn’t stopped folk singer-songwriter Katy Day from performing, cherishing queer joy, and building community in Fort Worth. Day opens up about her experience with the toxic political environment surrounding her and how she finds solace within her community.
You've got a new single that just came out called “Nothing More” that is quite the emotional ride. It was so cathartic writing through this song. It's about going through life and having been in abusive relationships And so writing it felt like a bit of a release.
How would you describe the genre of your music?
I’m a folk singer-songwriter, but I have a little bit of Indie alternative twist to a lot of my music, because I feel like a lot of it leans on that heavier and darker side. I've been writing a lot about my life and my life experiences lately. This has been a new thing for me over the past year Therapy really helped open everything up. And so it made songwriting just that much more easy.
I love that! I’m a huge advocate for therapy. Yes! Asbolutlely. Shout out therapy!
What inspired you to pursue music
Ever since I was a kid, I knew I was destined to do music throughout forever That was always going to be my thing. It's always been a fact. Not like, “this is what I want to do.” It's always been this is where my future is heading. And you're going to be there or you're not.
My second dream job when I was a kid was I wanted to be an entomologist. But now I'm horrified of bugs. So that one didn't work out. Throughout high school, I was still doing music And then my family's like, “Oh, college.” And I’m like, “Oh, OK?” So I tried to do forensic psychology for a little bit. I decided, man, I can't do this So I switched my major to music therapy. I can’t do this either. It’s not like full music.
This is not my life And so never went back to college and have just been pursuing it on my own ever since.
A lot of artists, especially those starting out, are afraid to ask for things. I think they’d be surprised at how easy it is to reach out and ask. Do you have any other advice for artists to get seen more?
[Just asking] has been my life motto throughout forever. I've really started stepping into it more over the past few years It's not that I feel like I'm owed anything. I feel like everybody is owed something. Because they're a part of this universe that's so great and so vast. If you truly just ask for it, you will get everything you want and more I just truly put myself out there and just go for it. That would be my advice to anybody. Truly just go for it because the worst you can get is a no The likelihood of you getting a no from 20 people that you ask is very low.
You have your grandma on the beginning of “Nothing More.”
I am like incredibly sentimental and I save everything always I save every voicemail that anybody ever leaves me. What if this is like the last time I get to talk to them? Four years ago, I left her a letter saying that I'm in a queer relationship and I sealed it and I gave it to her. I told her “you cannot open this
until I leave ” So I left the house She called me that same day. I didn't answer because I'm petrified of losing half my family because I'm gay. And she left me a voicemail, and I didn't listen to it And then the second day she called me again, and I didn't answer because I was scared. And this was the voicemail from the second day.
What's the queer climate like in Texas and in your circles right now?
Horrible. Idid lose half of my family whenever I came out My dad's side, the entire side gone, except for my grandma and grandpa, his parents. They're still part of my life actively. Everybody else gone. And the place I work is incredible. I love the people I work with I love my clients I am a music teacher I keep my identity to myself because I don't need to be
about my personal life But some parents have found me on TikTok and pulled their kids out of my class because I'm gay And they made it like this huge theatrical thing.
Because of algorithms and social media, artists have two jobs now: self-promotion and creating their art. Does it ever get exhausting balancing both?
Oh, definitely, for sure. Sitting and having to edit through content and then thinking of what I want to post. Sometimes I'm a perfectionist. I absolutely adore when other people make human mistakes But when I make a human mistake, it's like, “oh, detrimental.” Editing through content and stuff is so
Let's end this interview with some extra queer joy. Can you tell the viewers some queer joy in your life outside of the music? tedious. because I’m like “oh, flat. Not this one, girl.”
Meeting people through music who have been queer and come up to me and spoke to me and talked about how it related to their life and thanking me for doing what I'm doing. That led into so many different friendships I have met a group of amazing people who started an art club, and I've been going to that art club every month. It's just this beautiful queer space where everybody gets to be themselves Stuff like that has really helped make me feel comfortable in who I am and helped strengthen relationships between me and other people in the community. And I think right now we need that so bad We need that.
“
SOME PARENTS FOUND
ME ON
TIKTOK AND PULLED THEIR
KIDS OUT OF MY CLASS BECAUSE I’M GAY.”
Katy Day’s new single “Nothing More” and full discography can be found on Apple Music and Spotify. She can be found on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram at @KatyDayOfficial.
Check back on the Queer Around the World YouTube channel for the full exclusive interview!
LGBTQ+ artists have worked diligently, putting love and effort into the making of Hello! Queer World magazine. We appreciate the outpouring support for this artistic venture.
Though we are aiming to keep the magazine free, there is a cost of work hours, operation, and the website to host it.
If you ’ re able to, please consider making a donation that will continue keeping queer voices and art alive during times when we need community the most
Any amount beyond our goal will be donated to the LGBTQ+ Resource Center serving the Dallas-FortWorth communities.
Texas has been hit especially hard with anti-trans, anti-immigrant, and anti-queer legislation with funding cut at the federal and state levels. LGBTQ+ centers in Texas can use all the support we ’ re able to give.
The ResourceCenter provides programs and assistance to LGBTQIA+ communities and anyone impacted by HIV/AIDS through advocacy, health, and education.
Send
How to: How to:
Make a Travel Journal Make a Travel Journal
By Olivia Graves
Keeping a travel journal makes me slow down, be present, become more curious, and collect things in my own way. You don’t need anything special to make one-- a journal of some kind (you probably have some already that have never been used because you don’t want to “ruin” them) and a pen.
Why not make something unique for yourself that you’ll love instead of buying something from an overpriced tourist shop? Keep your memories, thoughts, and breakthroughs in one place that you’ll cherish more than photos.
There are no limits to how this journal should look, be, or have inside, but here are some ideas beyond the usual daily entries to get your creativity going:
Let’s start it now. Take your journal, open it to the first page, and... draw a GIANT, UGLY SCRIBBLE. I’m serious!
Now that it’s “ruined,” you don’t have to worry about trying to keep it pretty with the stacks of your other unused journals.
First impressions of people and places expectations and hopes vs reality things you overhear regional recipes daily memories
media recommendations
Drawing is a great way to kill time waiting for planes and trains. You don’t have to be a Renaissance artist or even good at drawing. You can doodle what you see or make lines and see where it goes.
By the end of your trip, you should have a personal journal that carries more memory than a souvenir Tshirt. I hope it’s torn, worn, and ugly in its own unique way.
Bring a glue stick or tape and some children’s craft scissors (they’re safe to fly with) to collect trinkets along your way.
Don’t think too hard about the journal. Let it be a mess. In fact, make it a mess. Let coffee spill on it, let dirt rub into it, rip pages out, put pages in, create pockets, make pop-ups, poke holes.
in
D Disability Disability Disability
Drag artists are redefining what it means to be disabled. They’re showing that able-bodied people don’t get to decide what is or isn’t “accessible.” Drag has always obliterated the cute little boxes that society tries to put queerpeopleinto,inmuchthesame
way that the disabled community continues to show that there are many ways to be disabled. Queer, disabled artists are now celebrating their intersectional identities through art that plays with absurdity, drama, and over-the-topfun!
GLAMPUTEE
Glamputee is a San Francisco, CAbased drag artist and activist who shifts their art beyond the stage and into disability education through onlinecourses.
HIMISH MACBETH
Spreading queer disabled joy and anarchy, Himish is a Scotland-based drag king that brings the camp, the glam, and the fully decorated wheelchair to his larger-than-life performances!
HELL O’ WEENIE
An alternative drag queen that serves looks, chaos, and punk energy in the London area while living with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.
DRAG SYNDROME
Drag Syndrome is the first-ever drag collective dedicated to performers with learning disabilities. Touring all around Europe, the group highlights pageantry, artistry, and performance before Down Syndromeanddisability.
HOT WHEELZ
A“dragcreature”inawheelchair wants to “make the corporate ladder into a ramp,” as they say on an episode of “Canada’s a Drag.”
QUEER VOICES IN QUEER ROMANCE
Celebrating queer love within the bookish space, these own voices authors give us incredible stories where queer joy is always the outcome.
Bailey gives us gritty, character-focused LGBTQ+ romance with found family at their core. Consumed
BAILEY NICOLE (THEY/THEM) follows childhood best friends into adulthood and fame while exploring the realistic side of mental health.
SONIDO REYES (HE/THEY)
Sonido writes fiction full of queer and Latine characters in a variety of genres. Their YA novel, The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School, explores the struggle to find comfort within yourself and those around you while tackling religion, race, and social status. Sonido previously published under the name Sonora Reyes.
Shassii’s writing is filled with love, pain, healing, and acceptance. Her debut novel is a sapphic thriller following the darker side of SHASSII (SHE/HER) abuse, forced proximity, and love that does not always conquer all.
K focuses on young adult fiction filled with diversity and representation. Her book, The Corruption of Hollis Brown, gives a fresh K. ANCRUM (SHE/HER) take on possession while showing the gritty cycle of American poverty and the strength of community.
CHIP PONS
(HE/HIM)
Chip gives us romantic comedies rooted in queer joy and the belief that everyone deserves their happily ever after. His newest release takes a trip to the paranormal realm where the former god of the underworld gets banished to the mortal realm and falls for a human funeral director; available June 16 , 2026. th
DEVON MCCORMACK (HE/HIM)
Devon is an out and proud gay man who writes a wide array of novels, including romance, erotica, para-
normal and young adult. Between These Sheets is a male-male romance featuring a bisexual war veteran struggling with PTSD.
Riley writes heartfelt stories about broken boys finding home in each other. His latest release, This Might Hurt, follows an unlikely
RILEY NASH (HE/THEY) duo stumbling into a marriage of convenience.
ELLIOT WAKE (HE/HIM) with twists that will leave you turned upside down on every page. Previously, Elliot published books under his birth name, Leah Raeder.
Elliot is a best-selling author of love stories, hate stories, and everything in between. Black Iris is a sapphic story of revenge.
KELLEN
GRAVES (THEY/THEM)
Kellen is transmasc indie author of queer romance; most known for their world building and fantastical
characters. Their most recent release, A Bone in his Teeth, takes a darker turn, adding horror elements to a fantasy between a lighthouse keeper and sea siren.
SKYLER SNOW (THEY/THEM) & BREA ALEPOÚ (SHE/HER)
Partners in life and partners in writing, this author duo gives us over-
the-top messy LGBTQ+ romances. They’re best known for their six-book mafia series following the Vitale Brothers.
Jennifer Adams (she/her) is a sober bartender, chaotic mood reader, and queer bookish content creator thriving off of Red Bull and early 2000's emo music. She strives to one day be as confident as her four year old cracking eggs.
@SobrietyAndBooks
R E S
ILGA WORLD
International organization with interactive maps that show LGBTQ+ laws around theworld.
PFLAG
Organization dedicated to supporting, education, and advocating for the LGBTQ+ community as well as allies in the US, China, and Australia.
POINT OF PRIDE
Financial aid and diret support to trans folks in need of health and wellness care. Trans surgery funds andfreechestbinders.
LIBBY
Library app that let’s you borrow from libraries around the world for free, including the Queer LiberationLibrary.
REVRY
A FREE TV app that plays exclusively queer content like the first ever drag king show,KingofDrag.
TREVOR PROJECT
Crisis intervention and suicide prevention in the US and Canada. 24/7 help through text, calls, and desktopchat.
DIGITAL TRANSGENDER ARCHIVES
Free archives preserving trans history around the world.
LGBTQ+ OUTDOORS
US nonprofit with chapters around the country connecting LGBTQ+ people to nature through group hikes,camping,andmore.
CENTER LINK
Database of LGBTQ+ centersaroundtheworld
PINK NEWS
World’s largest queerfocused magazine covering local UK and international news.
IGLTA
International queer-friendly travel guides, tours, events, businesses,andmore.
HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN
The US’ largest civil rights organization for the LGBTQ+ community and a great database for all resources.
WANDERLOG
Interactive map of LGBTQ+ barsallaroundtheworld!
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Alistoffree online LGBTQ+ archives.
DESI RAINBOW
Organization for South Asianfamiliesandfriendsof LGBTQ+ individuals that promotesunderstandingand acceptance.
LGBT FOUNDATION
Provides sexual health resources and education witheasy-to-readguides.
RAINBOW RAILROAD
Human rights organization that helps LGBTQ+ refugees find safety outside of their country.
CENTER FOR BLACK EQUITY
Global organization for improving Black LGBTQ+ lives through economic, social, and health equity. Also provides info on Black queerPridesevents.
