No Castles Here - A Middle Grade Novel about an 11 year old boy who is bullied and has a Gay Big Brother

By A.C.E. Bauer

Augie's threatened every day by bullies telling him they're going to beat him up.

He used to be able to get by unnoticed, but suddenly he's a target. Then his Mom forces him to join the Big Brothers program, and his assigned mentor is Gay. What if the bullies find that out? And to make things even worse, Augie's roped into the school chorus - run by the toughest and meanest teacher in school.

But when damage from an ice storm closes down Augie's school, he decides someone has to keep the building from being abandoned. He has a plan. And for the first time in his life, Augie is not going down without a fight.


Add your review of "No Castles Here" in comments!

Holocaust Education Week - Lessons for the world to learn

Today starts Holocaust Education Week -


It's a program of the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre- and it's a great reminder of the lesson that we need to stand up whenever there is injustice - even if that injustice isn't directed against us.

Like the famous poem by Holocaust Survivor Martin Niemoller says:

They came first for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for me
and by that time no one was left to speak up.

Today, we ALL have to speak up about Anti-Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning prejudice and hate. Just as we need to speak up about anti-Black and anti-Latino and anti-Jewish prejudice and hate.

Let's learn from history, and change our world for the better. And let's start today.


Namaste,
Lee

My Speaker Visit at Palisades Charter High School in California

Palisades Charter High School, Pacific Palisades, California

So yesterday I had the amazing honor of going to Pali High to do my presentation, "SAFE SPACE: Ending Anti-Gay Bullying in our Culture... And at Your School."

I was met at 7:30am by Jill Barker, Randy Tenan-Snow and Holly Korbonski - the Gay-Straight-Alliance Club's faculty sponsors, and we went to the assembly hall. The room was set up for 350 students, and once the technology was running smoothly (thanks, Ren!) the classes started arriving.

The first hour-long assembly went great - I had so much to share, to tell the students, and they really listened. I spoke about the climate of our culture and the recent spike in media attention to gay teen suicides. I told them my story of coming out as a gay man - and about my being married to a wonderful guy and being a father.


Nearly 90% of the students at Pali High had heard the expression "that's so gay" - not just since the school year began, and not just this week, but that morning before coming to hear me speak!


I got them up on their feet to demonstrate the power of coalitions and allies - and how if you add up all the "minorities" in our culture, we make up the vast majority.

I spoke about language, culture (we watched some video clips and analyzed them) and laws that send messages of GLBTQ second class citizenship.

Students at the first assembly

We looked at history, and at some surprising historical figures that were GLBTQ.

And I challenged every student listening to not be a bystander, but in the term coined by the amazing organization Facing History And Ourselves, be an UPstander. To stand up with courage and bravery when it's not about you, and make a difference.

I'm challenging each of the students to be an UPstander.

I suggested lots of ways for them to stand up for equality and for their school to be a SAFE SPACE - for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning students and for EVERYONE who is different.

I shared my own story about being bullied, and how I was contacted, 32 years later, by one of the guys who had bullied me in elementary school.

And as a finale, I showed them one of my favorite "It Gets Better" videos - and urged them to understand that the message isn't just - hold on, survive high school, it will get better once you're out of here - but that WE HAVE TO MAKE IT BETTER.

Every one of them... Every one of us.

We can make SAFE SPACE be not just something that happens in the room where the GSA meetings are held, or even in the assembly hall where I spoke.

But each one of us can be a SAFE SPACE - if we are willing to be UPstanders, we can change not just a room, or a campus... but these kids can change the world.

It went really well.

A whole bunch of students came up to me afterward to thank me and introduce themselves - really grateful the discussion was happening at their school.

Talking with a student after one presentation

One student came up to me before the second assembly, and said,

"I just went out to my friends and told them I'm not going to use the word 'faggot' or 'bitch' anymore."

And I think that's awesome.

For my second assembly, word had gotten out, and students poured into the hall - the seats were all filled and still they came. They were sitting three, four, five deep on the floor, on the stage behind me, everywhere - more than 450 students, waiting to hear my presentation. Some teens came back to hear me a second time.

It wasn't without incident. I found out afterwards that one parent had heard that I was speaking as a guest of the GSA club, and physically came to the school and pulled their child out of the assembly.

I also heard from a teacher that one student objected to her on the grounds that he was too religious to listen, and while she told him he didn't have to stay for my presentation, she said to him, "Keep in mind - Jesus would have listened." And that student stayed for the whole hour.

More than 450 students stayed, and listened, and interacted, and were challenged for that second assembly, and it was amazing.

And then, I went to the Gay-Straight Alliance Club's lunchtime meeting.

I entered to a packed room of students, and when I walked through the door, everyone burst into applause. (That was so sweet - it totally made me feel like a rock star!)

At the GSA meeting, we had a great Question and Answer session, and the students seemed fired up about shifting the culture at their school to be not just tolerant - not just accepting - but to celebrate the differences, including celebrating the school's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning students.

Author Ben Mikaelsen said to me recently that if you're going to go into a school to just entertain the kids, the school could probably hire a clown for that. You want to go in and make an impact - speak to the students directly about what they can do to live their lives to their full potential.

I took that advice to heart. And I hope (and believe I did) deliver that.

I had (and have) so much to say about ending Anti-GLBTQ Bullying and Bias in our culture and our schools, and yesterday, I was heard by more than 800 high school students!

Before I left the campus, one student stopped me, telling me he'd been at my first presentation. And he said:

"I was very moved and it made me feel better about myself."

That made me so happy.

I'm really honored to have been given the opportunity to have my voice heard at Pali High.

And I'm so delighted to share with you all how great my speaker visit went! (It was the first time I'd spoken to that large a group of students!)

Left to Right: Randy Tenan-Snow, myself, and Jill Barker -
two of the amazing faculty sponsors of Pali High's GSA club.

If you're interested in having me come to your middle school or high school to present my talk or do my in-class SMASHING STEREOTYPES workshops, contact me at leewind (at) roadrunner (dot) com.

Thanks so much Pali High!

Namaste,
Lee

ps - all photos by the amazing Rita Crayon Huang! Thanks, Rita!

Say The Word - A Teen Novel with a Lesbian Mom and Homophobia Theme

By Jeannine Garsee


Shawna is 17 and works hard at being "perfect."

But then her estranged Mom - who left Shawna and her dad seven years ago for a woman - dies, and her Mom's widowed partner and their two children come smashing into Shawna's life.

Shawna's super-controlling Dad finds out one of Shawna's half-brothers is actually his biological child, and as things get nasty and difficult and "perfect" is long gone, Shawna struggles to figure out what's the "right" thing to do.


My thanks to Palisades Charter High School librarian Andrea King for the recommendation. Check out Lulu's awesome Nerds Heart YA review of "Say The Word" here, and leave your review in comments!

Cheryl Rainfield, author of "Scars" tells LGBTQ Teens: "It Gets Better."

Cheryl's novel Scars moved me, and so did this:



If you are Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Gender Non-Conforming or Questioning, and you're in crisis, you can call the Trevor Project's Lifeline, 1-866-4-U-TREVOR (1-866-488-7386) and talk to someone who'll listen.

And Cheryl's right:

It Gets Better.

Namaste,
Lee

Something Like Fate - A Teen Romance With A Gay Best Friend And Homophobia Theme

By Susane Colasanti

Lani's best friend is Erin. They've been best friends forever, especially since the accident when Erin pretty much saved Lani's life.

Now they're in High School, and Erin's started to date Jason, this perfect guy. Only thing is, he's the perfect guy... for Lani.

It's like fate, how Lani and Jason are meant to be. And they both feel it. Only... how can Lani do that to her best friend?

Lani's other best friend is Blake, who is secretly gay. Lani knows, but no one else does. And then, word gets out at school, and Blake's kicked out of his home.

It all leaves Lani struggling to figure out friendship, and love... and fate.



Add your review of "Something Like Fate" in comments!

GSA Mondays: U.S. President Barack Obama has a message for GLBTQ Teens, "It Gets Better"

Watch this with your GSA, or as part of this virtual Gay-Straight Alliance:



It's pretty awesome to hear it from our President.

It would be more powerful if he was more fierce about his advocacy for GLBTQ equality across the board - but I truly appreciate these words.

It Gets Better.

And hopefully all of us adults (including President Obama) will keep the GLBTQ teen community in mind as we continue to fight for full equality for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Americans - and for full equality for everyone who is different.

Yes, individually it does get better - you graduate school, you get out of your parents' house, you get away from the bullies - but for the overall culture to continue to get better for GLBTQ Teens, it requires all of us, Teens and Adults, the GLBTQ communities and our Allies, to keep working, fighting, and making our voices heard!

Namaste,
Lee

Joel Burns Comes Out About How "It Gets Better"

This is really powerful.

Joel Burns' It Gets Better address during the Fort Worth, Texas, City Council meeting been watched over 2 million times on YouTube since it was recorded on October 12, 2010.

Watch it:



Share it.

Spread the word: It Gets Better.

And if you need to talk to someone, know that there are people to talk to at The Trevor Project and their Lifeline at 866-4-U-TREVOR (866-488-7386)

It Gets Better.

Namaste,
Lee

My Princess Boy - A Non-Fiction Picture Book (and the true story) Of A Gender Non-Conforming Boy and his Super-Supportive Family And School

In this world of hard stories about bullying - especially bullying of GLBTQ kids - Dyson is a boy who wants to wear sparkly, pink and swirly clothes. And this gender non-conforming 5 year old gets full support and unconditional love from not only his parents, and his older brother, but even his school... When Dyson wanted to dress up as a Princess for the school celebration of Halloween, three of the biggest "macho" male adults at his school dressed up as ballerinas - not as a joke, but to show their support!

It's a story well worth watching:



And as the TV show host says,

"A little more love, kindness and acceptance would go a long way."

Dyson's Mom Cheryl Kliodavis wrote and published "My Princess Boy: A Mom's Story about a young boy who loves to dress up," a non-fiction picture book about her son and their experience.



My thanks to author Hayden Thorne for sharing this with me so I could share it with you, and to Richard Metzger, whose article at Dangerous Minds, My Princess Boy: Meet The Most Awesome Family In America, tells the story beautifully.

Namaste,
Lee

It Gets Better - Broadway Sings For the Trevor Project

Wear your purple shirt, and watch this...



It made me cry.

It does get better.

And if you need to talk to someone, contact the Trevor Project's lifeline: 1-866-4-U-TREVOR (1-866-488-7386)


Namaste,
Lee

Fear Of Falling - A Teen Book About Homophobia

By Hannah R. Goodman

Maddie's 16, and she's given up on love and all those self-help books. Now she's editing the school paper and writing sad poems.

When she gets an anonymous letter from a gay student who's been physically threatened, Maddie feels like she has to take a stand.

But just how far is she willing to go?


"Fear Of Falling" is the third novel Hannah has self-published. It's worth noting that both of her previous self-published books have won awards - her first book, "My Sister's Wedding" winning the first place award for The Writer’s Digest International Self-Publishing Contest, children's book division.

Add your review of "Fear of Falling" in comments!

GSA Homework: Get / Wash / Wear A Purple Shirt So You Are Ready For This Wednesday, October 20, 2010

In the words of Brittany McMillan, who organized this event:

"It’s been decided. On October 20th, 2010, we will wear purple in memory of the recent gay suicides. Many of them suffered from homophobic abuse in their schools or in their homes. We want to take a stand to say that we will not tolerate this. Purple represents Spirit on the LGBTQ flag and that’s exactly what we’d like all of you to have with you: spirit. Please know that times will get better and that you will meet people who will love you and respect you for who you are, no matter your sexuality. Please wear purple on October 20th to remember all the lives of LGBTQ youth that have been lost due to homophobia. Tell your friends, family, co-workers, neighbors and schools."

Thanks, Brittany. It's a great idea.

We all have two more days to get the word out, and get ourselves a purple shirt.

You can spread the word on facebook here or here or here.



And on Wednesday, wear purple with me.

Namaste,
Lee

Where Gay Teen Suicides Start - My 'Viewpoint' is Published in The Palisadian Post!

So reading my local paper last week, there was a short piece by a parent who described an incident at a local AYSO children's soccer game. In one moment before the game, the coaches were busy, so one father jumped in to get the kids moving - he challenged them to race to the goal and back, telling them:

"Last one is a sissy!"

The parent said: "Sure enough, the last kid was called a sissy by several players."

I couldn't get this out of my mind.

So the next day, instead of working on my novel, I found myself writing this piece to my local paper. It was printed in yesterday's edition.



Here's the text:

WHERE GAY TEEN SUICIDES START

Five Gay teenagers killed themselves in September.

Billy Lucas, 15, in Greensburg, Indiana, bullied for being Gay, killed himself on September 9th.

Seth Walsh, 13, in Tehachapi, California, bullied for being Gay, killed himself on Sept 19th.

Tyler Clementi, 18, at Rutgers University in New Jersey, killed himself on Sept 22nd, after being publicly outed as Gay.

Asher Brown, 13, in Houston, Texas, bullied for being Gay, killed himself on Sept 23rd.

And on September 29, openly Gay Raymond Chase, 19, at Johnson & Wales University, Rhode Island, killed himself.


Five suicides in three weeks.

And suddenly the media’s on the case, the country’s paying attention, and headlines (like in People magazine) shout: “Why did this happen, and how can it be stopped?”

And then I read in last week’s two cents column about the father at a local soccer game, who challenged the players on his boy's team to race to the goal and back, telling them, “The last one is a sissy.” The Two Cents caller said, “Sure enough, the last kid was called a sissy by several players.”

This is where hate starts. In small moments like this. A thoughtless comment, meant to motivate, but what did it actually teach? Being last is bad. Being a “sissy” is the same as being a loser. You don’t want to be a loser. You don’t want to be a sissy.

Similar to “You run like a girl,” this is the kind of lesson that teaches our kids to hate and look down on those different from themselves – girls, gays, the weak, the slow – and teaches our kids who are different that maybe they should hate themselves, too.

Why do these Gay teen suicides happen? They’ve been taught to hate themselves. They couldn’t hear the messages of hope over the noise of hate. They didn’t know about the books out there for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning teens. They didn’t hear the voices of out, proud and happy GLBTQ Adults, telling them “It Gets Better,” an important project Dan Savage started on youtube. They didn’t call the Trevor Project’s Lifeline (1-866-488-7386) to talk to someone who could help.

How can these Gay teen suicides be stopped? We can start at the AYSO games right here in Pacific Palisades – when our kids are 5 and 6 years old. We can start by thinking before we “motivate” children by teaching them to feel better about themselves by putting others down or beating them in a meaningless foot race. We can start on the path to a better world, today, just by changing what we say.

We need to.



(Lee Wind, a resident of Pacific Palisades, writes “I’m Here. I’m Queer. What the Hell do I Read?,” a blog about books, culture and politics for GLBTQ teens and their allies. He leads Smashing Stereotypes Workshops in middle and high schools, and can be reached at www.leewind.org)

I'm so pleased to get the word out about this. And I want to thank the Palisadian Post for running my piece in this week's print edition - on the top of page 2!

Namaste,
Lee

Sharing Some Good News

I'm pretty excited to share with you all two really nice things that have happened regarding my writing.

1. My middle grade manuscript, OVER GOD, just won the 2010 Honorable Mention for the Sue Alexander Most Promising New Work Award. It's a huge shout-out, and I'm doubly thrilled because my friend Sara Wilson Etienne won the same award two years ago - the 2008 Honorable Mention for the Sue Alexander Most Promising New Work Award - and she just sold her novel in a two book deal! I am in very good company!

Sue Alexander was an amazing writer and teacher and Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators powerhouse (did you know she was SCBWI's very first member?), and this award to help writers break through continues her legacy with beauty and meaning.

2. The same manuscript got me a place in the 2010/2011 Nevada SCBWI Mentor Program - and as part of that program I'll be revising OVER GOD over the next 7 months with the incredible Emma Dryden as my editor/mentor! I feel so fortunate to be part of this program, and I'm grateful to Ellen Hopkins and Suzanne Morgan Williams at the Nevada SCBWI for creating this mentoring program to help writers like myself take our work to the next level.

I'll be revising and writing up a creative storm in the upcoming months, and I hope that leads to more good news to share in the future.

Thank you, my community, for cheering me on.

Namaste,
Lee

Tips On Having A Gay (ex) Boyfriend - A Teen Novel with a Main Gay Character

By Carrie Jones

Belle is sure that Dylan is her soulmate. After all, he's Eastbrook High School's 'Harvest King' to her 'Harvest Queen.'

But then, Dylan tells her he's Gay.

Belle struggles to figure out where that leaves her - and how she could have missed figuring it out. And when Dylan starts dating a guy in their small town, now she has to worry about him being in real physical danger.

And then Belle falls in love, all over again, with Tom. And she's sure Tom's not Gay. Fingers crossed.


Add your review of "Tips On Having A Gay (ex) Boyfriend" in comments!