How do you decolonise your syllabus and create a queer book fest at the same time? Dr Vedrana Velickovic (Brighton) shares the amazing origin story of the queer literature festival ‘The Coast is Queer’ and tells us about the many authors, activists, students and creatives that shape the programme every year. We talk about our favourite activist bookshops, about exciting queer books from Eastern Europe and about the perception of the East in the West. Vedrana also talks about her ongoing cooperation with Bernardine Evaristo and gives us a sneak peek into her dream festival programme. Jackie Kay? Are you listening?

If you’re looking for even more queer literary content, look no further: follow @coastisqueer and @Lena_Mattheis on Twitter and check out@queerlitpodcast’s little Instagram.

Texts, shops and people mentioned:

https://coastisqueer.com
Vedrana Velickovic’s Eastern Europeans in Contemporary Literature and Culture: Imagining New Europe (Palgrave, 2019)
Grand Parade Building
Afrori Books (Brighton)
The Feminist Bookshop (Brighton)
New Beacon Books (London)
Jay Bernard’s Surge
Danez Smith
Diriye Osman’s Fairytales for Lost Children
Polari Prize
Jackie Kay’s Trumpet
The Marlborough Theatre (Brighton)
Dr Samuel Solomon (Sussex)
Centre for Sexual Dissidence (Sussex University)
New Writing South @newwritingsouth
Lesley Wood
David Sheppeard
Juno Roche’s Trans Power and Queer Sex
Juno Dawson
Dr Sita Balani (Kings College)
Douglas Stuart’s Shuggie Bain
Festival Krokodil (Belgrade)
Lejla Kalamujić’s Call me Esteban
Dragoslava Barzut
Slovenian Poet Anja Golob
Skin from Skunk Anansie
Gay’s the Word
Maria Jastrzębska
Documentary on trans* rights in Germany https://www.abheute-doku.com/doku?fbclid=IwAR2fE740-9HLF66SbbhaaJZ6MD-rG9uHP16BFpzjJssuaYDxoWjrI4-V87w
H Howitt (Brighton)
Crossing Waves Podcast
DeCol Collective https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/decolonisingatfalmer/
Mohsin Zaidi’s A Dutiful Boy
Bernardine Evaristo’s Manifesto
Black and Asian British Women’s Writing International Conference https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/decolonisingatfalmer/common-threads-black-and-asian-british-womens-writing-international-conference/
Pajtim Statovci’s My Cat Yugoslavia, Crossing, and Bolla
Paul Mendez Rainbow Milk

Questions you may want to reflect on after listening:

1.What role can literature and teaching play in creating a more inclusive society?
2.We talk about several radical or activist bookshops. Please look up another one. Is it in your area? Was it easy to find? Do you think we need these shops?
3.Which literature festivals are you familiar with? Will you attend or support one this year?
4.How do you decolonise your bookshelf?