written by Honourable Senator Kristopher Wells 

June may be over, but 2SLGBTQIA+ stories should be celebrated all year long! Here are thirteen of my all-time favourite queer-themed reads written by authors from Alberta. I hope you’ll find some new gems to treasure just like I have. 

Kevin Allen: Our Past Matters: Stories of Gay Calgary. The book that started a queer history movement in Calgary! The stories not only inspired a queer history map, but they also challenged us to take queer history more seriously as an important part of Alberta’s and Canada’s history. With queer people being written out of school textbooks and silenced in classrooms and libraries, queer history matters even more today. When we remember and honour the past, we make queer futures possible. 

Our Past Matters: Stories of Gay Calgary

Kevin Allen

Published: August 19, 2019 by Universiry of Calgary
ISBN: 9781999467708

Billy-Ray Belcourt: This Wound is a World. Billy-Ray is a prolific writer and esteemed Indigenous academic from Driftpile Cree Nation. This Wound is a World is his first book of poetry, and it received international acclaim and multiple awards. Billy-Rae’s poetry explores pain and sadness coupled with hope and possibility for a decolonial heaven “where everyone is a little bit gay.” 

This Wound is a World

Billy-Ray Belcourt 

Published: Sep 26, 2017 by Frontenac House Ltd.
ISBN: 9781927823644

Ronnie Burkett: String Quartet: Four Plays by Ronnie Burkett. This short anthology is a collection of four plays by internationally acclaimed queer puppeteer Ronnie Burkett, which includes three plays from his Memory Dress Trilogy, including Tinka’s New Dress, Street of Blood, and Happy, as well as Provenance. Ronnie was born in Lethbridge and grew up in Medicine Hat and discovered his love of puppetry at age seven—and the rest, as they say, is history! Queer themes run throughout his works, including his early years perfecting his craft at Edmonton’s Fringe Festival. 

String Quartet: Four Plays by Ronnie Burkett

Ronnie Burkett 

Published: Mar 15, 2010 by Playwrights Canada Press
ISBN: 9780887548208

Candas Jane Dorsey: The Story of My Life Ongoing by C.S. Cobb. This young adult novel features Corey who was born intersex but refuses to pick a side in defiance of the gender binary. It is one of the few novels for young adults that addresses intersex and non-binary identities with humour, care, and compassion. Published in 2021, it is a powerful novel that reminds us we are all different in unique ways.

The Story of My Life Ongoing, by C.S. Cobb

Candas Dorsey 

Published: Dec 10, 2021 by Inanna Publications & Education Inc.
ISBN: 9781771338677

Brad Fraser: All the Rage: A Partial Memoir in Two Acts and a Prologue. You can’t talk about theatre in Canada, and especially Alberta, without including Brad Fraser. A legend and an icon in Edmonton, his book chronicles his life as an artist, provocateur, and survivor. A must read for all the tidbits of queer history contained within. 

All the Rage: A Partial Memoir in Two Acts and a Prologue

Brad Fraser 

Published: May 14, 2024 by Doubleday Canada
ISBN: 9780385696395

Darrin Hagen: The Edmonton Queen: The Final Voyage. Darrin Hagen, who is perhaps Edmonton’s most infamous drag queen, was born in Rocky Mountain House and came to the big city not in search of fame, but his people. And he found them on the dance floor of the legendary Flashback night club. Darrin’s first book, The Edmonton Queen, which started as a short monologue at Loud N’ Queer Cabaret, was an inspiration for the Edmonton Queer History Project. It is so critical that our community documents and tells our own stories with our own voices. None are more powerful than Darrin’s words. In addition to being an author, Darrin is also an award-winning playwright, queer historian, composer, and now a first-time director with his feature film, Pride vs. Prejudice: The Delwin Vriend Story, which is currently on the global film festival circuit. 

The Edmonton Queen: The Final Voyage

Darrin Hagen 

Published: Apr 02, 2007 by Brindle & Glass Publishing
ISBN: 9781897142202

Glen Huser: Stitches. One of my all-time favourite books! This Governor General’s award-winning children’s book tells the story of two misfit kids growing up in rural Alberta who develop a friendship that helps them survive and thrive in a hostile environment where difference is targeted rather than celebrated. This book should be in every school library in Alberta. It will save many lives. 

Stitches

Glen Huser 

Published: Oct 01, 2003 by Groundwood Books Ltd
ISBN: 9780888995780

Jeff Mclean: Who’s Hockey? This children’s picture book comes from the co-creator of Pride Tape and helps to spread the message of inclusion in hockey where friends accept you no matter who you are or how you identify. Watch for Pride Tape to appear in the book and for a special guest appearance from Luna, Jeff’s dog! A thoroughly charming book for hockey fans big and small, which proves hockey is for everyone. 

Who’s Hockey?

Jeff McLean 

Published: Oct 18, 2022 by Game 7 Media Inc.
ISBN: 9781777305604

Suzette Mayr: Monoceros. The author of so many phenomenal award-winning books, my favourite is still Monoceros, which tells the story of a teenager who is bullied in a Catholic school and kills himself. Set in a fictionalized Calgary, this powerful book is inspired by true events, which many of us remember. The book, which is surprisingly humorous, has also been made into a musical. 

Monoceros

Suzette Mayr 

Published: Apr 15, 2011 by Coach House Books
ISBN: 9781552452417

Danny Ramadan: Salma Writes a Book. This children’s book explores themes of being religious and queer as a family struggles to come to terms with their uncle’s queerness. Sadly, a book too often banned in schools where it needs to be read the most. 

Salma Writes a Book

Danny Ramadan 

Published: Sep 05, 2023 by Annick Press
ISBN: 9781773218021

Vivek Shraya: What I Love About Being Queer. Not only a book, but also a short film! This book focuses on one big question with 100 diverse and, at times, surprising answers, which inspire us to ask ourselves what do we love about being queer. My short answer is everything! Born in Edmonton, Vivek is an award-winning film maker, writer, actor, and so much more. Check out the animated NFB film she created about the Roost! For children, Vivek wrote The Boy and the Bindi, which is also one of my favourite picture books. 

What I Love About Being Queer

Vivek Shraya

Published: March 26, 2013 by George Brown College
ISBN: 9780986551215

Gail Sidonie Sobat: Chance to Dance for You. Not nearly enough people have read this powerful young adult novel. Published in 2011, this book tells the story of a teenage boy growing up in an Edmonton suburb who falls in love with the high school quarterback. The book parallels many of my own experiences growing up, except I managed to survive my adolescence. A poignant and haunting read that stays with you. 

Chance to Dance for You

Gail Sidonie Sobat 

Published: May 01, 2011 by Great Plains Publications
ISBN: 9781926531113

Rae Spoon: First Spring Grass Fire. I first met Rae when I invited them to become the Artist-in-Residence at Camp fYrefly. Rae instantly brought both music and magic to camp. It was an experience I and our youth campers will never forget. It is so important for our queer and trans youth to have access to inspiring role models and mentors like Rae. Rae’s debut book is about growing up queer and Pentecostal in Calgary and all the complexities that entails. Rae’s book was a Lambda Literary Award finalist and described as a “heart-wrenching coming-of-age book about escaping dogma, surviving abuse, finding love, and risking everything for acceptance.” 

First Spring Grass Fire

Rae Spoon 

Published: Sep 01, 2012 by Arsenal Pulp Press
ISBN: 9781551524801

Of course, there are so many other great books and authors from Alberta that I couldn’t include in this brief list. If you have time, check out the works of Timothy Anderson, Alyssa Linn Palmer, Nisha Patel (Coconut), Tegan and Sarah, Bruce Cinnamon (The Melting Queen), and so many others. Join a book club or visit your local independent bookstore and ask for recommendations! 

This fall watch for a new book from the Edmonton Queer History Project entitled Cruising the Downtown: Celebrating Edmonton’s Queer History published by NeWest Press. You might just learn that queer history is everywhere. You just need to know where to look to find it. 

Cruising the Downtown: Celebrating Edmonton’s Queer History

Kristopher Wells  

Published: Oct 15, 2025 by NeWest Press
ISBN: 9781774391181

Keep telling stories. They matter. Through the word we can create new worlds filled with hope and possibility for a more inclusive future. 

Happy reading!

—♦—