Event Info
Queer Lit Quarterly is an evening of book talks and book signing hosted by Gayberystwyth Books with the support of Aberration Cymru. This is an opportunity to meet queer authors and researchers and publishers, who will read from their books, speak about their motivation and the writing process and take questions from the audience, finishing the evening with a panel discussion. As February is ‘LGBTQ History Month’ we are running with a historical theme!
Our speakers are:
Aberystwyth University students who have been set with the task to ‘Co-create and present a public presentation with Aberration at Gayberystwyth Books’ event Queer Lit Quarterly’ The students have been working with the National Library of Wales to ‘Queer Up the Archive’; creating a digital archive of Aberration’s contribution to the LGBTQ+ community in Wales,
Alis Hawkins' The Oxford Mysteries' (A Bitter Remedy, The Skeleton Army & The Hunters Club) Meticulously research historic fiction set in Victorian Oxford.
Emily Garside' Gay Aliens and Queer Folk: How Russell T Davies Changed TV' (Non-fiction, cultural history)and ‘Rainbow Wales: ‘Who are the Queer figures, past and present, who have made, and continue to make, Welsh history?
Rachel Dawson' Neon Roses' (historic fiction, set in the 80's during the era of Lesbian's & Gays Support the Miners (LGSM), the AIDS crisis and Section 28.
Alis Hawkins is a founding member of Welsh crime writers’ collective, Crime Cymru, and a member of the Society of Authors and the Crime Writers’ Association. Two of her four Teifi Valley Coroner novels have been shortlisted for the CWA’s prestigious Historical Dagger award. She lives on the Welsh border in the Forest of Dean with her partner and makes regular forays to west Wales and Oxford.
Following her success with the ‘Teifi Valley Coroner’ series, she has now published three ‘Oxford Mysteries (A Bitter Remedy, The Skeleton Army, and The Hunters Club):
The Hunters Club: Oxford, 1883. Young men are being found bound, gagged and hooded at the gates of their colleges in the small hours.
Basil Rice, Jesus College fellow, is asked by the senior proctor to investigate. But matters of sexual purity are dangerous, as it lays Basil open to unwelcome scrutiny of his own private life.
Meanwhile, the University Vice Chancellor's Court has wrongly imprisoned a young shopgirl from the town, and she seeks the services of young academic and budding journalist, Non Vaughan, to clear her name.
The uncovering by Basil of a secret society, The Venatores, and the murder of a student, cause Non and Basil to join forces. But is justice possible in a world so unjust and dangerous?
A scintillating historical mystery from the author of CWA Historical Dagger shortlisted ‘A Bitter Remedy’.
Emily Garside is a writer and professional nerd based in Cardiff. She has a PhD in theatrical responses to the AIDS crisis and is a leading expert on LGBTQ+ theatre. Emily regularly writes for journals such as The Queer Review, American Theatre, and Wales Art Review. She also uses her research and lived experience to tell queer stories through fiction, having had several plays performed in London and nationally.
Rainbow Wales- Out 7th May 2026, Calon
Who are the Queer figures, past and present, who have made, and continue to make, Welsh history?
Discover the diverse array of LGBTQ+ figures influencing Wales – and the world – in an exploration of the household names and hidden icons who have shaped their fields and driven forward Queer representation.
From Jan Morris to Ivor Novello, Kenneth Williams to Callum Scott Howells, Jess Fishlock to Lauren Price, via Terrence Higgins, The Vivienne and Owain Wyn Evans, Welsh people have marked the breadth and variety of Queer achievement.
Rainbow Wales is an exciting, inspiring tour of figures from culture and sport to politics and activism, and a jubilant exploration of the rich tapestry of Queer identity in Wales.
Gay Aliens and Queer Folk
The television writing of Russell T Davies defies easy categorisation, ranging from children’s programmes, across Shakespeare, historical drama and comedy, to the landmark series that have made him a household name: Queer As Folk, Doctor Who and It’s a Sin.
Gay Aliens and Queer Folk takes a deep dive into the queer narratives Russell T Davies has brought to our screens, exploring how each work created new space for LGBTQ+ stories to enter our living rooms and looking at their impact on the people who saw themselves reflected on mainstream television, often for the first time.
Covering Russell T Davies’ career from his earliest work to his highly anticipated return to the TARDIS for Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary, and highlighting key themes such as politics, sex, AIDS and the role of Wales in his writing, Emily Garside reveals how Davies broke down barriers, showing gay characters unapologetically living their lives to the full and celebrating the complexity and joy of queer identities.
Rachel Dawson is from Swansea and lives in Cardiff. In 2020 Rachel won a New Writer's Bursary from Literature Wales, and she was mentored by Rebecca F. John.
Neon Roses, her debut novel, was published by John Murray Press in 2023. Neon Roses is a lesbian love story set against the backdrop of the politically and culturally turbulent 1980s:
Eluned Hughes is stuck. It's 1984 in a valley in South Wales: the miners' strike is ravaging her community; her sister's swanned off with a Thatcherite policeman; and her boyfriend Lloyd keeps bringing up marriage. And if they play '99 Red Balloons' on the radio one more time, she might just lose her mind. Then the fundraising group Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners comes down from London, and she meets June, a snaggle-toothed blonde in a too-big leather jacket. Suddenly, Eluned isn't stuck any more -she's in freefall. June's an artist and an activist. With June, Eluned can imagine a completely different life for herself. But as her family struggles with the strike, and her relationship with her sister deteriorates, should she really leave it all behind?
From the Valleys to the nightclubs of Cardiff, London and Manchester, NEON ROSES is a heart warming, funny and a little bit filthy queer coming-of-age story with a cracking '80s soundtrack.
Neon Roses was short listed for the Betty Trask Prize and Wales Book of The Year, and has been long-listed for the Polari Prize for queer writing. Rachel works in communications for a theatre company, tutors in Creative Writing at the Cardiff University School of Lifelong Learning, and is a Non Executive Director at Seren Books. She is currently working on a second novel exploring queer parenthood and a love for history.
Age Restriction: STRICTLY 12+ years
Running Time: TBC
Access Needs: Please contact us to book if you have any access needs that will require suitable seating or if you need a designated wheelchair space.
