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KT Horning

spy.gifI am a librarian and a children’s & young adult literature specialist, and life-long reader of LGBTQ literature. (Christopher Robin was gay, wasn’t he?) You can read more about my personal journey as a queer kid reader here.

You can contact me here.

13 comments

  1. Hi,

    I’m Carrie Jones and I’ve just published a YA novel called TIPS ON HAVING A GAY (ex) BOYFRIEND, but that’s not why I’m commenting.

    I’m commenting because when I was in LA at the SCBWI conference a bunch of us started a group on yahoo that’s meant to help writers who are LBTQ or who have LGBTQ themes. I’m not sure if you’re interested and we are in the very beginnings of organization, but I think it’s going to be an amazing group. Brent Hartinger and Ellen Wittlinger are involved as well as a whole bunch of pre-published authors.

    The yahoo listserve is: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/glbtqYAwriters/

    And the group’s purpose is:

    This is a networking group for authors of fiction and nonfiction featuring gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer/questioning, gender-fluid, and transgender characters. Although we naturally hope to reach readers in this community, ultimately we hope to reach all teen readers and widen their perspectives with our work.

    You do NOT have to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer/questioning, gender-fluid, or transgender yourself in order to belong to the group, however you must understand and respect our mission if you’re a member, and you must be writing about, or have an interest in writing about, this demographic.

    Many of us belong to the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, but that’s not a requirement either.

    On a personal note, I apologize for writing you at 10:48 p.m. Eastern Time and this message is probably full of typos. Please forgive me.

    -Carrie

         by Carrie Jones August 24, 2007 at 8:48 pm

  2. Hello Kathleen,

    I think you forgot about me in your LGBTQ authors.

    Sandra

         by Sandra Scoppettone August 27, 2007 at 8:42 pm

  3. Sorry about that. I’ve got you added now. I would never forget you! :)

         by KT Horning August 27, 2007 at 9:36 pm

  4. Thank you so much for this resource!

         by Stacy August 29, 2007 at 3:37 am

  5. Ditto Stacy! I found you via our standard-bearer, Dana over at Mombian. You’re already on my “Queer Parenting Resources” blogroll. Thank you for this hugely valuable resource!

         by Polly August 29, 2007 at 2:33 pm

  6. Loved your essay on Spies and Purple Socks! Harriet was the book that probably saved my life too as a young baby butch. Although my grandparents indulged me as the only child of their only child and let me get the hightops I desperately craved. Harriet did teach me about tomato sandwiches, too, and I still eat them to this day. But like you say, what Harriet taught me about was that it was OK to lie sometimes as long you held onto the truth inside yourself.

    My original copy is tattered and brown-edged and I love it so much (out of tribute to Fitzhugh, I keep it right next to the Whole Lesbian Sex Book; maybe it will comfort her somewhat in the afterlife?)

    Anyway, now that I have totally embarrassed myself, I was hoping you might be able to carve out a few minutes to review the book lists over at my website, and your feedback would be gratefully accepted,as I am a humble graphic designer and don’t really have scholarly experience with choosing good books for kids.

    Thanks and hope to hear from you soon!

         by Angela Watson August 30, 2007 at 8:31 pm

  7. Hi, Kathleen!

    Just found your website! Love it. Thank you SO much for such a fabulous resource. I need to quit my job so I can read all these books and authors. Gah! Who knew?? ;-)

    I’d be honored if you’d list me in your line-up of GLBTG authors.

    Your fan,
    Mary Hershey
    THE ONE WHERE THE KID NEARLY JUMPS TO HIS DEATH AND LANDS IN CALIFORNIA, Razorbill, 2007

         by Mary Hershey September 10, 2007 at 10:29 pm

  8. Hi, Kathleen,

    I, too, just found your web site and love it!

    Actually, I adore I’LL GET THERE. IT BETTER BE WORTH THE TRIP. I wrote an essay on it recently, where I whole-heartedly agree with a lot of what you said. It’s been unfairly dismissed by a lot of gay writers I know.

    Anyway, my first YA novel comes out from Delacorte next summer (August 2008), and it is gay-themed!

    Keep up the good work!

    -Martin Wilson

         by Martin Wilson September 11, 2007 at 11:50 am

  9. Thanks for the heads up, Martin. I’ll be on the look-out for your novel next year.

         by KT Horning September 11, 2007 at 12:23 pm

  10. Oh, I just knew your title came from the late great John Donovan’s book!!! He was a wonderful, wonderful man, funny and warm and brave, and I miss him still.

         by Deb October 26, 2007 at 10:04 am

  11. I really enjoyed your absorbing and informative essay, “On Spies and Purple Socks and Such”(you’re a highly skilled writer). I’m one of those not fortunate to have read Louise Fitzhugh’s Harriet the Spy but I did read, “The Archies” and desperately wanted Betty and Veronica to forget Archie, kiss, and go live happily ever after. Does that count?
    In Latino cultures, homos must still play by society’s rules. A high percent of us born in Latin American countries, living in the U.S. are still closeted. Unlike the “out” Latina characters in my novel, many Latina lesbos are married to men and either suppress their true sexuality or have a woman lover on the side. Some gay Latino men are obsessed with building muscles and looking het. Hiding is detrimental to building strong family ties and honest, rewarding, long-term relationships. Unfortunately, one becomes used to lying to the world and to oneself. Due to such extreme homophobia, most closeted Latinas dress and act femmy. Some might look fembo on the outside but are serious butches under the sheets! Hiding from yourself and others can save your life as it did mine. At fourteen, I had a gun to my head simply for loving another girl. Religion and ignorance is the crux of my culture’s homophobia and I’m hoping more Latina/o gays write humorous, yet powerful novels with LGBT heroines and heroes. Let’s make it easier for Latino kids to live in an accepting world and motivate them to be proud!
    Kathleen, your essay left me wondering… If you were a teen today, would you consider yourself a trannyboi or tranny instead of butch dyke? My next novel lication is that of a Latina tranniboy living in Miami and she sounds a lot like you when you were growing up.

    Thanks for placing me on your blogroll. Once I figure out how to do that, I’ll place you on mine. Your blog on my site is truly hilarious and leaves me curious about your relationship with your brother.

    Mayra

         by mayraldole February 28, 2008 at 9:28 am

  12. I don’t think I’d consider myself trans if I were a teen today. The only reason I really ever dressed as a boy was so I could kiss girls.

    I was an exchange student in Quito, Ecuador, when I was 16 (mid 1970s) and, for me, it was a lesbo paradise because I got to hold hands in public with all the chicas I had crushes on. Same-sex physical contact was the norm there, and I loved it. I had a very hard time re-acclimating to U.S. culture when I returned.

         by KT Horning February 28, 2008 at 9:48 am

  13. you’re too much. a true girl-crazy lesbo from the gitgo! i bet you were born lesbian-an LWB (lezzie womb baby). sounds sexy to dress as a boy in order to kiss las chicas. wow, no wonders i didn’t get kissed by una muchacha till i turned 13!

    Latinas are very touchy-feely but i wonder what would have happened if you had taken your crushes a step further. good that you came back. you might have lost your mind, and eyesight, at such a tender age with so many muchachas to look at and hold hands with.

    i’m visiting again… such abundance of valuable info on your site, book recommendations, etc. i’m interested in reading more of your essays. must search. cuidate.

         by mayraldole February 29, 2008 at 3:05 pm

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