Writing OUT: LGBTQ+ Writers and Publishers on the Importance of Representation and Presence in Media

Representation in media is a complicated issue when it comes to LGBTQ+ topics and truths. Not only are queer characters in popular media, from books to movies, written and portrayed by people doing so outside their own experiences/identities, but there’s still a pervasive attempt to censor and suppress any and all LGBTQ+ content, from attempted boycotts and book bans to quiet corporate policies that marginalize, hide, or merely imply LGBTQ+ content.

Co-sponsored by the Chippewa Valley LGBTQ+ Community Center, this panel discussion will attempt to engage with the thorny issues arising from representation when it can misstep, but also how vital and literally life-saving it can be when queer people can find themselves in media, particularly in books, stories, and graphic novels. The authors come from a variety of backgrounds and write and publish in a variety of formats and genres. There will be time following the panel for a Q&A with the presenters.

Moderated by Charles Payseur, the panelists are...

J.M. Lee

J.M. spent his formative years searching for talking animals and believing he could control the weather. After pursuing nerdy interests in comparative film studies, screenwriting, and Shakespeare, he graduated with a much nerdier degree in linguistics. In addition to writing novels, he enjoys teaching his dog new vocabulary words and updating his snooty coffee blog.

Catherine Lundoff

Catherine Lundoff is an award-winning writer, editor and publisher. Her books include Silver Moon, Blood Moon, Out of This World and Unfinished Business and, as editor, Scourge of the Seas of Time (and Space). Her short stories and essays have appeared in such venues as Queer Weird Western Stories, Divergent Terror, Fireside Magazine, Nightmare Magazine, the SFWA Blog, and more. She is the publisher at Queen of Swords Press and teaches writing and publishing classes at the Loft Literary Center, the Rambo Academy and Clarion West Online. 

Kat Weaver

Kat Weaver is a writer and illustrator whose short fiction has been published in Apex Magazine, Timeworn Literary Journal, Lackington’s, and elsewhere. Currently, she is one of the senior fiction editors at Strange Horizons, a Hugo-nominated speculative fiction magazine. Neon Hemlock Press recently published her debut novella Uncommon Charm, co-written with her wife, Emily Bergslien. The two of them live in Saint Paul, Minnesota. You can find her on Twitter @anoteinpink.