Sweeter Voices Still: An LGBTQ Anthology from Middle America

Editors: Ryan Schuessler and Kevin Whiteneir Jr.

Publisher: Belt Publishing (2021)

Contributors: Kemi Alabi, Samuel Autman, Neema Avashia, Lars Avis, Joss Barton, Yasmin Bashir, Jeffery Beam, Zach Benak, Taylor Brorby, Jasmine Burnett, River Coello, Edward M. Cohen, Brian Czyzyk, Harmony Cox, Gene Dawson, Patrick Del Percio, Dominick Duda, Joanna Eleftheriou, Aaron Foley, Christopher Gonzalez, Stacy Grover, Elizabeth Harper, Jackie Hedeman, Jessica Jacobs, C.J. Janovy, Jessie Keary, Owen Keehnen, River Ian Kerstetter, Doug Kiel, Jocelyn Krueger, Nichole Lohrman-Novak, Raymond Luczak, Ka “Oskar” Ly, K. Ann MacNeil, Mary Maxfield, Gabe Montesanti, Jennifer Morales, Kalene Nisly, Andriy Partykevich, Robert L. Patrick, Kay Patterson, Angela Pupino, Kai Minosh Pyle, Samer Hassan, Michael Schreiber, Sharon Seithel, L.S. Quinn, Jose Quinones, Sarah Sala, James Schwartz, Gregg Shapiro, Joel Showalter, Carmen Smith, Robyn Steely, Sylvia Sukop, Alyson Thompson, Janine Tiffe, Steffan Triplett, April Vazquez, and Evan Williams 

The middle of America―the Midwest, Appalachia, the Rust Belt, the Great Plains, the Upper South―is a queer place, and it always has been. The queer people of its cities, farms, and suburbs do not exist only to serve as “blue dots” within “red states.” Every story about the kid from Iowa who steps off the bus in Manhattan, ready to “finally” live, is a story about the kid who was already living in Iowa. Sweeter Voices Still is about that kid and has been written by people like them. This collection features queer voices you might recognize―established and successful writers and thinkers―and others you might not―people who don’t think of themselves as writers at all. You'll find these truths within these pages: Transgender women and men are women and men, “they” and “them” can be singular pronouns, Black lives matter, sex work is work, and you don’t have to go to a gay bar to be gay―and it’s okay if you do, too. You’ll find sex, love, and heartbreak and all the beings we meet along the way: trees, deer, cicadas, sturgeon. Most of all, you'll find real people.

Featuring a foreword by Northwestern University professor Doug Kiel.