Midsumma

Midsumma Festival is a celebration of LGBTQIA+ arts and cultures held annually for 22 days over January and February in Melbourne, bringing together a diverse mix of LGBTQIA+ artists, performers, communities and audiences.

Updated September 8, 2023
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365 gays of the year (plus 1 for a leap year) : discover LGBTQ+ history one day at a time
Laney, Lewis
Paper Book
365 Gays of the Year is a celebration of Queer history told through one LGBTQ+ figure for each day of the year.
Ace voices : what it means to be asexual, aromantic, demi or grey-ace
Young, Eris
Paper Book
How do we experience attraction? What does love mean to us? When did you realise you were ace? This is the ace community in their own words. Drawing upon interviews with a wide range of people across the asexual spectrum, Eris Young is here to take you...
All The Broken Places
Boyne, John.
Paper Book
Ninety-one-year-old Gretel Fernsby has lived in the same mansion block in London for decades. She leads a comfortable, quiet life, despite her dark and disturbing past. She doesn't talk about her escape from Germany over seventy years before. She doesn't talk about the post-war years in France with...
All this could be different
Mathews, Sarah Thankam
Paper Book
2022 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST ONE OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES' TOP 5 FICTION BOOKS OF THE YEAR ONE OF TIME AND SLATE'S TOP 10 BOOKS OF THE YEAR Named one of the BEST BOOKS OF 2022 by NPR, Vogue, Vulture,...
Am I normal? : the 200-year search for normal people (and why they don't exist)
Chaney, Sarah
Paper Book
A deep dive into the strange science of the 'Normal', and the origins of an anxiety-ridden modern obsession.
Arthur and Teddy are coming out
Love, Ryan
Paper Book
The feel-good read of 2024. Perfect for fans of Mike Gayle, Beth O'Leary and Alice Oseman's Heartstopper. Selected as one of the Independent's 19 debut authors set to make their mark in 2023 'Gentle, honest and beautifully authentic' Julietta Henderson ...
Baby making for everybody : family building and fertility for LGBTQ+ and solo parents
Rachlin, Ray
Paper Book
This inclusive, straightforward guide to fertility is What to Expect Before You're Expecting for families outside the heterosexual nuclear family model--perfect for LGBTQ+ and solo parents who want to have kids but don't know where to start.     
Bad gays : a homosexual history
Lemmey, Huw
Paper Book
These "very funny-deep dives into the lives of the most dastardly queer people in history" offer a passionate argument for rethinking gay politics beyond identity (Vogue). What can we learn from the homosexual villains, failures, and baddies of our past? ...
Be not afraid of love : lessons on fear, intimacy and connection
Zhu, Mimi
Paper Book
Be Not Afraid of Love is a stunning collection of interconnected essays and affirmations that follow Mimi Zhu's journey toward embodying and re-learning love after a violent relationship. In their early twenties, queer Chinese-Australian writer and artist Mimi...
A boy and his bear : a memoir
Ladner, Gregory
Paper Book
In this raw and hilarious memoir, a boy of humble beginnings in working-class Melbourne goes from dressing up his teddy to designing for Melbourne's high society. Gregory Ladner lifts the lid on a world of gorgeous women, glamourous gowns and salacious secrets. It's a rags-to-riches story - without...
Burning my roti : breaking barriers as a queer Indian woman
Dhaliwal, Sharan
Paper Book
Part memoir, part guide, Burning My Roti is essential reading for a new generation of South Asian women. With chapters covering sexual and cultural identity, body hair, colourism and mental health, and a particular focus on the suffocating beauty standards South Asian women are...
Caught in the act : a memoir
Jenek, Shane
Paper Book
As Courtney Act, Shane Jenek has built a career as a drag queen, spokesperson, advocate, singer and all around performer with a strong (and beautiful) voice and advocate for change. Courtney uses her dazzling commercial profile to open up positive conversations about gender, sexuality, body...
DC pride, the new generation
Axelrod, Jadzia
Paper Book
The highly anticipated sequel to the Ringo Award-winning DC Pride 2021, DC Pride- The New Generation features more stories, more characters, and more pride than ever before! Spotlighting LGBTQIA+ fan-favorites new and old, including Superman (Jon Kent), Nubia, Tim Drake, Kid Quick,...
Devotion
Kent, Hannah
Paper Book
BOOKTOPIA'S FAVOURITE BOOK OF 2021 Prussia, 1836 Hanne Nussbaum is a child of nature - she would rather run wild in the forest than conform to the limitations of womanhood. In her village of Kay, Hanne is friendless and considered an oddity . . . until she meets Thea. Ocean, 1838 The Nussbaums are...
Fat girl dancing : a memoir
Kneen, Krissy
Paper Book
How does a person come to know that they are different from the children around them? To measure themselves against a set normal and find themselves lacking? When did I know that I was plump, and then fat? Fat child, self-denying adolescent,...
Fire island : love, loss and liberation in an American paradise
Parlett, Jack
Paper Book
*A Town and Country Must-Read Book of Summer* *A BUZZFEED BEST BOOK OF JUNE* *A Washington Post "Book to Read This Summer"* *AN ADVOCATE BEST LGBTQ+ BOOK OF 2022* *A USA Today "Book to Celebrate Pride Month"* *A New York...
Girl, woman, other
Evaristo, Bernardine
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE "A must-read about modern Britain and womanhood . . . An impressive, fierce novel about the lives of black British families, their struggles, pains, laughter, longings and loves . . . Her style is passionate, razor-sharp, brimming with...
Growing up queer in Australia
Law, Benjamin
Paper Book
'No amount of YouTube videos and queer think pieces prepared me for this moment.' 'The mantle of "queer migrant" compelled me to keep going - to go further.' 'I never "came out" to my parents. I felt I owed them no explanation.' 'All I heard from the pulpit...
Hijab Butch Blues: A Memoir
H., Lamya.
Paper Book
A queer hijabi Muslim immigrant survives her coming-of-age by drawing strength and hope from stories in the Quran in this "raw and relatable memoir that challenges societal norms and expectations" (Linah Mohammad, NPR). "A masterful, must-read contribution to conversations on...
In/out
Lentz, Steph
Paper Book
'Steph takes you into her world with refreshing honesty. Her voice is that rare combination of conviction and vulnerability' Kumi Taguchi 'With In/Out, Steph Lenz shows that if love does not conquer all, something has gone very badly wrong' Ed le Brocq In January 2021, Steph Lentz...
The Lgbtq+ History Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained
Dorling Kindersley Ltd.
Paper Book
Discover the rich and complex history of LGBTQ+ people around the world - their struggles, triumphs, and cultural contributions. Exploring and explaining the most important ideas and events in LGBTQ+ history and culture, this book showcases the breadth of the LGBTQ+ experience....
Love that story : observations from a gorgeously queer life
Van Ness, Jonathan
Paper Book
Queer Eye star Jonathan Van Ness dives into his favourite subjects in Love That Story, a new collection of heartfelt and entertaining essays. From experiencing heartbreaking grief to uncovering the hidden LGBTQ history of his hometown, Quincy, from overcoming body...
The making of the Victorian Pride Centre
Buckrich, Judith Raphael
Paper Book
Moonlite
Linnell, Garry
Paper Book
Charismatic, intelligent and handsome, George Scott is unlike any other bushranger. Born into a privileged life in famine-wracked Ireland, Scott's family loses its fortune and is forced to flee to New Zealand. There, Scott joins the local militia and fights as a soldier against the Maori in the...
Nothing to hide : voices of trans and gender diverse Australia
Elkin, Sam
Paper Book
Nothing to Hide is Australia's first mainstream anthology of trans and gender-diverse writing, a powerful contribution to Australian letters.
Oh Miriam! : stories from an extraordinary life
Margolyes, Miriam
Paper Book
'Oh Miriam! risks the curse of the sequel, and pulls it off . . . A force of nature, a tour de farce. Bold, brave and bright, but also revealing, shocking and touching. Miriam is an icon, a cocksucker - and the star of her show' ROBERT McCRUM, Independent ...
Penny Wong : passion and principle : the biography
Simons, Margaret
Paper Book
A revelatory portrait of one of the most talented, poised and respected Australian politicians, written by one of Australia's foremost biographers Senator Penny Wong is an extraordinary Australian politician. Resolute, self-possessed and a penetrating thinker on subjects from...
Perfectly queer : facing big fears, living hard truths, and loving myself fully out of the closet
Abby, Jillian
Paper Book
Jill had a happy, healthy 20-year relationship with her college sweetheart, two wonderful kids, and rescue cat from the Humane Society. They lived in a nice suburban home with a white picket fence and owned a small bar that was rated one of the "Best Mom & Pop" businesses in Tampa Bay. From the...
The priory of the orange tree
Shannon, Samantha
Paper Book
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER A world divided. A queendom without an heir. An ancient enemy awakens. 'Epic' Guardian 'Majestic' Daily Mail 'The new Game of Thrones' Stylist ...
The queen's wife
Drayton, Joanne
Paper Book
A memoir of a turbulent time - and a chess game that broke all the rules. In 1989, two married women met by chance. They instantly hit it off, but little did they know that their new relationship would turn their lives upside-down. This is the true...
The queer film guide : 100 great movies that tell LGBTQIA+ stories
Turner, Kyle
Paper Book
Beginning with early trailblazers like Different from the Others, Kyle Turner has selected 100 of cinema's greatest queer films to guide you through the eras. From Hitchcock's Rope and cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show through the New Queer Cinema movement of the 90s to the...
Queer heroes of myth and legend : a celebration of gay gods, sapphic saints and queerness through the ages
Jones, Dan
Paper Book
Hidden in the margins of history books, classical literature, and thousands of years of stories, myths and legends, through to contemporary literature, TV and film, there is a diverse and other-worldly super community of queer heroes to discover, learn from, and celebrate. Be captivated by stories...
Queer X design : 50 years of signs, symbols, banners, logos, and graphic art of LGBTQ
Campbell, Andrew Raymond
Paper Book
The first-ever illustrated history of the iconic designs, symbols, and graphic art representing more than 5 decades of LGBTQ pride and activism. Beginning with pre-liberation and the years before the Stonewall uprising, spanning across the 1970s and 1980s and...
Rainbow history class : your guide through queer and trans history
McElhinney, Hannah
Paper Book
Rainbow History Class is your entry into LGBTQ+ history, sharing queer and trans stories from Ancient civilisations all the way up to the internet.  So much of queer and trans history and culture has been erased, but Hannah McElhinney, writer and...
Rainbow rainbow : stories
Conklin, Lydia
Paper Book
A collection of stories that celebrate the humour, darkness and depth of emotion of the queer and trans experience that's not typically represented: liminal or uncertain identities, queer conception and queer joy. In this delightful debut collection of prize-wining stories,...
A short history of queer women
Loehr, Kirsty
Paper Book
No, they weren't 'just friends'! Queer women have been written out of history since, well, forever. 'But historians famously care about women!', said no one. From Anne Bonny and Mary Read who sailed the seas together disguised as pirates, to US football captain Megan Rapinoe declaring 'You...
Sissy : a coming-of-gender story
Tobia, Jacob
Paper Book
Through revisiting their childhood and calling out the stereotypes that each of us have faced, Jacob Tobia invites us to rethink what we know about gender and offers a blueprint for a world free from gender-based trauma. Sissy takes you on a gender odyssey you won't soon forget. Writing with the...
Unbounded : manifesting a life without limits
Thattil, Maria
Paper Book
What would you change in your life if you could silence the voice that tells you- you're not enough, keep quiet, you can't do it, or there is no space for you? As a queer child of immigrants, Maria Thattil knows what it is like to struggle with belonging. In Unbounded, she shares...
Unprotected : a memoir
Porter, Billy
Paper Book
It's easy to be yourself when who and what you are is in vogue. But growing up Black and gay in America has never been easy. Before Billy Porter was slaying red carpets and giving an iconic Emmy-winning performance in the celebrated TV show Pose; before he was the groundbreaking Tony and...
Vinegar hill
Tóibín, Colm
Paper Book
From the highly acclaimed author of Brooklyn, Colm Tóibíns first collection of poetry explores sexuality, religion and belonging through a modern lens. Fans of Colm Tóibíns novels, including The Magician, The Master and Nora Webster, will relish the...
Wild abandon
Bitto, Emily
Paper Book
A breathtaking new novel from the Stella Prize-winning author of The Strays.

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