The Violet Letter, April 2026
This month: Blue Metropolis Literary Festival, Shani Mootoo and Starry Starry Night, Hot Flash: Lit Match, book news and literary links.
VIOLET HOUR BOOK CLUB: Starry Starry Night
This month’s selection for the Violet Hour Book Club is Starry Starry Night (Book*hug Press, 2025) by Shani Mootoo. Both Toronto and Montreal book clubs will be reading it this month. Please make sure you note the correct date for your city.
TORONTO date: Saturday, April 11 at 6 PM; at Another Story Bookshop (315 Roncesvalles Ave) (RSVP link)
MONTREAL date: Sunday, April 19 at 3 PM at Espace des Possibles La Petite-Patrie (1052 Beaubien East, Beaubien Metro)
I spoke briefly with Shani about her new book, her recent win of the 2026 Blue Metropolis Violet Literary Award, and her upcoming appearance in Montreal (more on that below). You can watch the short video here.
ABOUT THE BOOK
From celebrated writer Shani Mootoo comes an innovative and revelatory work of autofiction about family secrets, trauma, race, class, and loss.
In Starry Starry Night, Mootoo gives us the singular voice of Anju Ghoshal, a young girl living in 1960s Trinidad. Through Anju’s innocent and clear-eyed observations, the reader becomes both a witness to and a participant in her negotiations of an unexpectedly new and complex life, spanning from the ages of four to twelve.
Set against the backdrop of a politically exciting time in Trinidad’s history, just before and after it gained independence, we meet Anju’s beloved Ma and Pa and her socially advancing family. While preoccupied with their own dramas, the adults around her often fail to recognize the needs of the children who depend on them.
Beautifully crafted and rich with sumptuous detail, this unique narrative coalesces into a portrait of a child who, despite her privileged appearance, must ultimately fend for herself because her safety depends on it.
Remember: VHBC selections are available at a 15% discount for members at Librairie Paragraphe (2220 McGill College) and 10% at Librairie Pulp Books & Cafe (3952 Wellington). Copies of the Toronto selections are available at a 10% discount at Another Story Bookshop with the promo code VHBC.
BLUE METROPOLIS MONTREAL LITERARY FESTIVAL: April 23-26
The Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival (Blue Met) takes place this month at Hotel 10 (10 Sherbrooke Street West), and as always, Violet Hour has played a role in programming several of the festival’s queer literary events.
On Thursday, April 23 at 9:30 PM, Montreal drag queen Misty Waterfalls hosts an evening of true storytelling, told on-stage without notes. Chosen Ties: Queer Stories of Family, Found and Forged brings together LGBTQ+ voices that explore the evolving shape of family (chosen, inherited, lost, or reclaimed). With stories from Jamie Brickhouse, Nisha Coleman, John Cotrocois, Hollay Ghadery, and Johanne Pelletier (a big thank you to Johanne, too, for helping curate these stories). Admission is free.
On Friday, April 24, Is Niche Literature the Future of Literature and Publishing? will look at how publishing catalogues are becoming increasingly specialized in feminist, queer, and Indigenous cultures (11:30 AM). VHBC member Afrooz Zaad interviews mother-and-daughter duo Heather and Arizona O’Neill about the roles that metaphor, symbolism and fantasy play in their most recent works (The Narrative Spell, 6 PM). Also, American novelist Brandon Taylor (we read his book Real Life as part of the VHBC in 2021) speaks with Eleanor Wachtel about his novel Minor Black Figures (Brandon Taylor in Conversation with Eleanor Wachtel, 6 PM).
Saturday morning (April 25) starts early with Gina Leola Woolsey (who wrote this wonderful thought-provoking work of non-fiction) leading a conversation on unexpected/unlikeable characters in fiction with writers Hollay Ghadery, Sky Gilbert and Lindsay Wong (The Power of Point of View in Divisive Times, 10 AM). The roundtable discussion will be followed by Queer Life Then and Now at 11:30 AM, where journalist Matt Hays will interview writers Bel Olid, Shani Mootoo, and Will Straw about how queer lives are shaped, shared, and sustained in literature.
Saturday is also the day we celebrate Shani Mootoo at the 2026 Blue Metropolis Violet Literary Prize Award Ceremony (2:30 PM). Writer Eva Crocker will be interviewing Mootoo on-stage about her latest novel (and April VHBC pick) Starry, Starry Night, as well as her legendary 30-plus year career.
On Sunday, April 26, festival-goers will also have the chance to take a bilingual master class with Catalan writer and translator Bel Olid. The Masterclass on Gender and Literature with Bel Olid (11 AM) will explore how gender shapes literature and translation and reflect on the similarities and differences between the literary cultures of Catalonia and Quebec (registration required).
LIRE QUEER READER FEST & HOT FLASH LIT MATCH: May 16-23, 2026
Lire Queer Reader Fest takes place next month. This grassroots initiative brings together Montreal’s vibrant network of book clubs, literary groups, and bookstores, inviting readers to connect, discover, and explore the rich range of literary events and activities available in the city.
A few weeks ago, I published a special feature on the festival. Since then, we’ve welcomed a few more partners (see the complete list in the graphic below). In all there are thirteen meetings to choose from (eight in English, four in French, and one in Spanish). Remember, some of the clubs have specific instructions for participation (including the need to sign-up in advance), so make sure to do your homework first.
The selected titles are:
The History of a Difficult Child by Mihret Sibhat (Saturday, May 16 at 1 PM - NEW TIME!!)
Antes que anochezca: autobiografía by Reinaldo Arenas (Sunday, May 17 at 2 PM)
Il faut beaucoup aimer les femmes qui pleurent by Martine Delvaux (Sunday, May 17 at 5 PM)
Souterrain by Val Bah (Monday, May 18 at 2 PM)
Prince Faggot by Jordan Tannahill (Monday, May 18 at 7 PM)
Les passions du samedi by André Roy (Tuesday, May 19 at 7 PM)
Crash Test by Amy James (Tuesday, May 19 at 7 PM)
Love Letters: Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West by Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West, with an introduction by Alison Bechdel (Wednesday, May 20 at 6:30 PM)
Firebugs by Nino Bulling (Wednesday, May 20 at 7 PM)
The Good Arabs by Eli Tareq El-Bechelany Lynch (Thursday, May 21 at 7 PM)
You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian (Thursday, May 21 at 7 PM)
Querelle de Roberval by Kev Lambert (Saturday, May 23 at 2 PM)
Gender Trash from Hell edited by Mirha-Soleil Ross (Saturday, May 23, from 3 PM to 5 PM)
My plan is to attend at least five of these meetings, but I won’t be able to attend them all. If you are a regular VHBC member and you plan to go to one of the non-VHBC meetings, can you please let me know? I’d like to arrange to have some kind of VHBC representation at all events, if possible.
Also, in addition to the book club meetings, we are also planning two group socials.
To kick off Lire Queer Reader Fest, we’ve teamed up with Miriam Ginestier to create a special Lit Match edition of her Hot Flash queer dance party on Saturday, May 16. Beginning at 7 PM sharp (sign-up is at 6:30 PM) you can take part in a series of short, timed conversations with other LGBTQ+ book lovers about the queer books you’ve enjoyed. Hosted by Lenore, this activity is for people of all genders and sexualities (and just to be clear, not a “speed dating” activity). Folks are also invited to bring books to flash around or even trade on site.
The event will continue at 7:30 PM with a lesbo-centric, multigenerational dance party with DJ MIM, open to all, until 10 PM (for those who want to keep the night going, karaoke starts right after).
Montreal’s Metonymy Press and Mes pants de queer will also be onsite with tablse to sell books by queer and trans authors. We’ll also have some samosas for sale (cash only), but know that Pizza Bouquet is right next door. The event is free, but we will be accepting donations towards our costs.
And where is this happening? Hot Flash Lit Match takes place at Brasserie Beaubien (73 Rue Beaubien E), a grungy neighbourhood bar in Little Italy (Beaubien Metro).
We are also working on another cultural activity for Sunday, May 17 (from 1 PM to 3 PM at Mes pans de queer). I had hoped to have all my ducks in a row to announce the details today, but I’m afraid I need a bit more time. For now, though, please save the date and time in your calendar.
THE QUEER SHELF: Darren Stehle
Each month I ask VHBC members to share what books they’re currently reading and why it resonates. This month’s pick is by Darren Stehle, who has been a book club member since February 2025. This month Darren recommends The Faggots & Their Friends Between Revolutions (1977) by Larry Mitchell.
“The Faggots & Their Friends Between Revolutions by Larry Mitchell was recommended to me by a friend who’s a queer historian who worked to get Lavender Hill, a 1970s LGBTQ+ commune, added to the National Register of Historic Places in the United States. He gifted it to me as a PDF (which was impossible to read). It wasn’t until I saw it was back in print (2025) that I finally bought a copy from Argo Bookshop a few weeks ago and swallowed it whole like a good little faggot.
I love queer history, be it factual, fictionalized, diary, or memoir. For me, it’s about who cleared the path before me, and how can their wisdom be passed on. In the case of Faggots, this is a queer fable-cum-manifesto-cum-prophecy set in the hippie 70s of communes, faeries, and early post-Stonewall activism. The text reads as anachronistic, but the subject matter is, at present, metaphorically relevant to queer freedom and opposing all forms of heteronormative and patriarchal oppression.
“Part gay liberation fable, part radical manifesto, and part allegory of gay communal life, the novel is structured as a series of short parables or aphorisms interspersed with illustrations and tells the story of a capitalist, patriarchal society named ‘Ramrod’ where queer and other marginalized people survive, care for one another, build coalitions, resist mainstream assimilation, envision utopia, and plot revolution.” (Jeff Iovannone)
The Faggots is a fun, easy, and subversive read that had me smirking, laughing, and in awe of the brilliant social commentary on sex, gender, the status quo — and how to be queer.”
BOOK NEWS & EVENTS
New and recent books to discover: Surrender: A Novel by Jennifer Acker; It’s Only Forever: Labyrinth by Jes Battis; Together by the Sea by Marie-Claire Blais and translated by Katia Grubisic; Afternoon Hours of a Hermit by Patrick Cottrell; Fire Island Art: 100 Years edited by John Dempsey; A Queer Inheritance: Alternative Histories in the National Trust by Michael Hall; Honey in the Wound by Jiyoung Han; After Oscar: The Legacy of a Scandal by Merlin Holland; Still With Us: Stories of HIV/AIDS and Dance in Canada edited by Christopher House; Thank You For Calling the Lesbian Line by Elizabeth Lovatt; Kids, Wait Till You Hear This! by Liza Minnelli; Histoires LGBTQ + au Québec et au Canada by Jean-Charles Panneton; Ruins, Child by Giada Scodellaro; Harmless by Miranda Shulman; And Then Again Begin by H. Nigel Thomas; The News from Dublin by Colm Tóibín; and A Kiss of Crimson Ash by Anuja Varghese.
Metonymy Press has announced two new additions to their editorial team: H. Felix Chau Bradley and Cason Sharpe.
Montreal writer Daniel Baylis has released lovely lyric videos for two songs from his upcoming debut album: “The Drifting Kind” and “Space.”
VHBC member Brooke Lee (pen name: River Lee) has announced the upcoming sessions for her Sapphic Writes! Literary Collective, an online creative writing workshop for those who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+ women (allies are welcome). The space is a place to connect with literary peers, share work, and receive constructive feedback. Next events are April 7 (tonight!), April 21, May 05, and May 19. You can also catch Brooke reading at Lectures Logos Readings on Monday, April 13 beginning at 7 PM at UNIA Liberty Hall (2741 Notre Dame West).
On Thursday April 9 at 7 PM, VHBC member (and author of January’s VHBC selection) Su J. Sokol is hosting an event at Librairie Pulp Books & Café (3952 Wellington St) with visiting authors Rich Larson and Sam J. Miller. The event, Writing Against Borders, will feature readings and a discussion on how speculative fiction can challenge the status quo during times of xenophobia and repression. Su J also has a new short story out. “Like Salt Marshes, Like Yourself” can be described as a work of soilpunk, and one of the featured stories in the latest issue of Tractor Beam.
Also on April 9, the Queer Cinema Club screens Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the Cinema du Parc beginning at 9 PM. Montreal drag icon Mary Fagdalene (Gay Writes) will give a special live performance at the screening.
L’Euguélionne welcomes NYC writer L’or N.O.S. on Friday, April 10 for Intimage F[r]agments, a smutty, trans open mic night. Readers are welcome to share works of poetry or prose on the themes of love, lust, heartbreak, or their trans experience (under 7 minutes, in French or English).
It’s the last week to check out Galerie SKOL’s Réveiller L’Androgyne, Reviving the Bookstore exhibition. For their closing event, they are presenting an intergenerational roundtable on LGBTQ2SAI+ bookstores with folks who have been involved with L’Androgyne, Agenda Coop, L’Euguélionne, and Mes pants de queer. The event (possibly in French, if not bilingual) will take place on Saturday, April 11 at 2 PM.
On Tuesday, April 14, poets Jake Byrne, DM Bradford, and Misha Solomon will be reading as part of an event called Gentlethem’s Quarterly, beginning at 7 PM at Librairie Pulp Books & Café (3952 Wellington St). The writers will be sharing poems about the inheritances of family lineages, good and bad.
The finalists for the Publishing Triangle Awards, which honours some of the best LGBTQ+ books of the year, were announced in ten categories. Winners will be announced on Thursday, April 16, at an event in NYC and online.
Author of Queers at the Table Alex Ketchum leads Exploring Queer Food and the Montreal Restaurant Scene, a roundtable discussion with Al Dervisevic (curatorial assistant for A Taste of Queer Montreal: An Exhibition of 2SLGBTQ+ Food and Drink History) and Lauren McGowan (queer baker and artist) on April 22 at 6 PM at the McCord Stewart Museum (690 Sherbrooke St. West). After the discussion, attendees will have the opportunity to take a self-guided tour of the current McCord exhibition, On the Menu – Montreal: A Restaurant Story.
Saturday, April 25 is Canadian Independent Bookstore Day — the day to go and support the indie booksellers in your life. Feel free to check out and support this year’s Lire Queer Reader Fest partners.
The second Queer Food Conference is being held in in Montreal at McGill University from May-3. The conference convenes scholars, activists, artists, and food professionals to explore topics ranging from LGBTQIA2S+ cookbooks and land movements to hospitality, food media, health, and community building.
H Nigel Thomas launches the fourth book in his No Safeguards quartet, And Then Again Begin, on Thursday, May 7 at 6:30 PM at UNIA Liberty Hall (2741 Notre Dame West). The event will feature a reading and a Q&A with author Chanel Sutherland.
Also on May 7, the QUESCREN Researcher-Member Symposium 2026 at Concordia University (May 6–7) will present the roundtable A Collection of Essays on Steve Galluccio’s Work, with contributions by Domenico Beneventi (“Beyond the Silence: Steve Galluccio’s Contribution to Italo-Québécois Literature”), Elio Iannacci (“Queering the Gino: Fashion, Masculinity, and Redressing Cliché in Mambo Italiano”), and Anna Mercuri Maiolo (“A Classroom’s Response to Galluccio’s Plays”). Moderated by Licia Canton, the roundtable runs from 1:15–2:15 PM. The event is free and open to the public. Click here to download the program.
JOBS & OPEN CALLS
The Bureau of General Services Queer Division has launched a GoFundMe campaign to secure its future. For 13 years, founders Donnie and Greg have built a vital community hub for queer art, literature, performance, and culture in New York. With their departure this May, the space is at risk of closing — leaving Manhattan without a queer bookstore. Hive Mind Books is aiming to raise 50K by June 1 to acquire the Bureau and keep it open.
Lambda Scholarship Foundation Canada is recruiting four new volunteer board members, including a Vice-President and Secretary. For 40 years, Lambda has worked to reduce financial barriers for 2SLGBTQIA+ and QTBIPOC students, distributing over $256,000 in scholarships to 182 recipients. They’re especially seeking applicants with experience in finance, law, business, marketing, communications, or social media. Expect a commitment of 8–10 hours per month over a two-year term. Deadline to apply: April 20, 2026. (Watch the interviews I did with some of the folks who have led the organization over the past 40 years)
The Quebec Writers’ Federation is currently hiring for two roles: Executive Director and Operations Manager. With current ED Lori Schubert stepping down, there are big shoes to fill — but also an opportunity to lead a vibrant and supportive literary community. Deadline to apply: April 15.
There’s also an opportunity where I work (yes, I do have a day job keeping the lights on). Community-Based Research Centre is hiring a Senior Editor, Knowledge Mobilization. In this role, you’ll collaborate with our education team to develop resources across a range of projects (and occasionally work with me). The position is remote and open to applicants across Canada. Deadline to apply: May 3.
QUEER VIEW MIRROR: March madness
It was a busy month for Violet Hour in the city. Our group met to discuss our March VHBC selection at Galerie Skol as part of their Réveiller L’Androgyne, Reviving the Bookstore exhibition. The space was open to the public, so folks visiting the gallery could witness our meeting in person. Thanks to VHBC member Héctor Gálvez for the great photos.
We also took part in ARCMTL’s Queer Voices in Print: Panel & Poetry Reading event as part of Owning Our Histories, a series of public events celebrating how Montreal’s queer and BIPOC communities create, share, and preserve their own histories through zines, oral traditions, grassroots collections, and independent publishing. I had a great time speaking with writer and curator Faith Paré about our programming experiences. In addition to hearing Paré read from her work, we also got impactful readings from Liana Cusmano, Erin Mouré and Misha Solomon.
Mid-month I was invited to take part in the Montreal stop on the national Day of Pink ECHO Tour, which brings together powerful storytellers, poets, activists, and community leaders to share their experiences with high school students. I got to speak about book clubs and community building with approximately fifty students from Beurling Academy and Lasalle Community Comprehensive High School. Joining me were writers AJ Dolman and Ryan Thomas Woods.
Finally, we welcomed two authors from out of town with new books at Pulp. Ellis Scott and Matthew J. Trafford spoke with me about exploring queer identity, family, grief, and belonging through experimental storytelling and their own personal histories. It was a great night. Thanks again Héctor for being there to capture it!
That’s it for this month. A big thank you to everyone who came out to events, and to my paid subscribers! Your support allows me to continue to create free literary programming in Montreal.
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