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Each year The Book Nook honors a "Book of the Year"; a trendsetting book or books that broke barriers and influenced lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered life, literature or politics.
This year's big literary event, however, was not a book or books. Rather, it was the emergence of an on-line LGBT book club, InsightOutBooks.com. Conceived by David Rosen and Retha Powers 18 months ago, InsightOutBooks is an outgrowth of Quality Paperback Book Club (QPB), itself a division of Bookspan. InsightOutBooks calls itself "the first book club ever created specifically for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered readers, family and friends," a claim that, barring a few insignificant exceptions, is actually true. "InsightOutBooks will showcase the finest in LGBT literature, providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for readers to connect through books. InsightOut promises to be an innovative, in-the-know, entertaining and thought provoking online destination - a place where the diversity of voices within the LGBT community will be heard, shared, and celebrated." "InsightOut will build upon our firm foundation of championing books that are the touchstones of the LGBT experience," promised David Rosen, now Editor-In-Chief, at the inception of his new venture. "We aim to reflect the rich diversity of our community by joining forces with our members at every turn. Together we hope to craft a truly interactive book club, one which offers a forum for connecting through books with the vast range of LGBT voices and visions."
InsightOutBooks sells a variety of old and new titles, fiction and non-fiction, by both major publishers and small presses. Jay Quinn, author of The Mentor and Metes and Bounds, and editor of Rebel Yell, is one of many writers whose books are featured on this site: "I have been a book club member of sorts since I was old enough to comprehend that this book-block in my hands was something special, fragile and wonderful," Quinn tells me.
"With the long, warm association with book club fliers and surprise packages in the mail, my personal joy at finding my own books offered through InsightOutBooks.com is hugely satisfying. Beyond that vain, selfish pleasure, believe the endorsement of InsightOut editor David Rosen is more valuable to my career than Oprah's. InsightOutBooks has played a great role in making my works noticed, read, discussed and appreciated. I am lucky to find myself one of this book club's authors and to have the regard of a superior editor/arbiter like David Rosen." My favorite feature of InsightOutBooks is its series of Triangle Classics. Begun by QPB in 1993, this is "a landmark series of beautifully designed special collectible paperback editions of LGBT classics (many out of print elsewhere and nowhere assembled together all on one shelf!)." The 46 Triangle Classics published thus far range from classic novels like Giovanni's Room and Olivia to collections by the likes of Paul Monette, Michael Nava and Sarah Schulman. InsightOut also gives out a "Violet Quill Award each year to "the best new author of LGBT fiction offered from InsightOut." The Club's first Violet Quill Award winner is Ken Harvey, author of the short story collection If You Were With Me Everything Would Be All Right (Pleasure Boat Studio): "The originality of Ken Harvey's vision, the deceptive clarity of his style, and the timeliness of these stories' themes literally took our committee's collective breath away," said Rosen. There is more to InsightOutBooks than books. Members can take part in Yahoo! Chats with the likes of Lea Delaria, Richard Hatch, Linda Sutton and Mark Thompson. They can check the Publishing Gaydar, "an area of the site that offers members an opportunity to obtain VIP access to the gay and lesbian publishing community." Speaking Out provides members with "a forum for discussing issues of importance to the LGBT community." In fact there is so much going on at the InsightOut Web site that one cannot adequately describe it all. You will have to see it for yourself. One of InsightOutBooks' goals is "to give back to the LGBT community." Though its Community Outreach program, it has given grants to GLAAD, PFLAG, SAGE, GLSEN, Lesbian Herstory Archives and other groups, as well as book donations to Gay and Lesbian Community Center libraries. Its ongoing grant to the Lambda Literary Foundation helps support the Foundation's literary publications, The Lambda Book Report and The James White Review. "The support from InsightOutBooks is invaluable to the programs of the Lambda Literary Foundation," said Paul Willis, Lambda's Executive Director. "It is a pleasure to partner with such a genuine organization with the common goal of supporting the creation and dissemination of writings by, for, and about the LGBT community."
With over 10,000 members, the Club has filled the gap left open by the sad closing of too many LGBT-owned book stores. With voices of doom each day proclaiming the death of queer literature, it is good to know that it is alive and well and living within InsightOutBooks. Log on to www.insightoutbooks.com and find out for yourself.
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Jesse Monteagudo is a freelance writer who lives in South Florida with
his domestic partner. He can be reached at