Carefully curated and thoughtfully researched, 365 Gays of the Year features people from across the globe, throughout history, and from every letter of LGBTQIA+ rainbow alphabet, assigning a person or persons of note to each day of the year to form a fascinating LGBTQ+ hall of fame and enabling readers to learn something new, on a daily basis.

Legendary queer icons such as Marsha P Johnson and Freddie Mercury sit alongside lesser known but equally important names such as activist Renée Cafiero, blood donor Barbara Vick, and Sappho the lesbian poet (who was doing her thing in 570BC). All have contributed amazing achievements to the LGBTQ+ story.  Each month also features one ally – inspiring heterosexual people who have all contributed something significant to the lives of the LGBTQ+ community. People like Elizabeth Taylor who “brought AIDS out of the closet and into the ballroom ­– where there was money to be raised”.All have contributed amazing achievements to the LGBTQ+ story.  Each month also features one ally – inspiring heterosexual people who have all contributed something significant to the lives of the LGBTQ+ community. 

Each entry comprises a short biography plus a brief explanation about why that celebratory date represents an important milestone. Lewis brings international figures to life (famous and lesser-known) with his witty and uplifting prose which are peppered with little-known facts and accompanied by bright illustrative portraits from the hugely talented Charlotte MacMillan-Scott. This witty, unique celebration of queer history promises to inspire and empower readers with its wealth of bright stars.

Lewis Laney says: “The reasons people are featured in this book are wide-ranging. Some are tied to one specific, notable act that is integral to our history. Many have spent their lives fighting for the rights of LGBTQ+ people, while others have excelled in their fields and made outstanding contributions to society and just happen to be queer.  The allies included in this book have all contributed something significant to the lives of LGBTQ+ people too. I can’t fit them all in the book, but we are grateful they are by our sides. The stories of women, people of colour and the financially underprivileged are also often under-recorded however I strived to make this list as diverse as possible.  The LGBTQIA+ acronym has grown to encompass more and more letters over the years, and you’ll find it used in various forms throughout the book.  When using my own voice, I’ve gone with a commonly used standard (LGBTQ+) – but every letter is celebrated here!”

The ultimate queer calendar, a compendium of LGBTQ+ history told through the people that made it.

Lewis Laney hails from Derbyshire, UK and headed to the bright lights of Blackpool in his teens where he began writing queer fiction. After having his first short story published at eighteen in The Next Wave: The Gay Times Book of Short Stories (2002), he went on to write for various publications including the iconic music magazine The Face. His first book The Little Book of Pride was published in 2020 and immediately topped Amazon’s LGBTQ History category. @mrlewislaney

Charlotte MacMillan-Scott is a pen and digital illustrator based in the UK. Her lively works explore empowerment, visibility and identity, and are full of bright colours, bold lines and famous characters.@charlottemscott_illustration Available from White Lion Publishing and Quatro Books

About the Author

Bryen Dunn is a freelance journalist based in Toronto with a focus on tourism, lifestyle, entertainment and community issues. He has written several travel articles and has an extensive portfolio of celebrity interviews with musicians, actors and other public personalities. He’s willing to take on any assignments of interest, attend parties with free booze, listen to rants, and travel the world in search of the great unknown. He’s eager to discover the new, remember the past, and look into the future.