This fall, the Queer Author Expo is returning for its sixth year. This annual event showcases the work of local LGBTQ+ authors, illustrators, and publishers. We are so excited about the fantastic line up of creatives who will be featured at this year’s event!
The Queer Author Expo runs from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Saturday, October 12. Attendees of this free, public event will have the opportunity to meet and greet with the creatives, purchase exclusive items like signed books, connect with local organizations like the Denver Public Library and Out Front Magazine, and show their support for the local queer community.
Read on to learn about a few of the creatives who will be featured at this year’s event.
Dr. Joshua Caraballo (he/him)
Joshua is an Industrial-Organizational Psychologist currently residing in Denver, Colorado. His career trajectory has centered on the themes of inspirational storytelling and applied science for the sake of human betterment, especially for those who have been historically marginalized and oppressed. Joshua has a deep passion for human flourishing, awe-inspiring experiences in nature, and anything involving cats.
Robin (they/them) and Cory (he/him) Childs
Robin and Cory Childs are a storytelling power couple. In collaboration with their friend Jackarais (he/him), the queer artist and writer of Bicycle Boy, they independently publish their comic Wavemen. When not hunched over a laptop writing, Robin enjoys crochet, watercolors, and freelancing as a children’s book illustrator, while Cory loves cooking and painting miniatures. Both have watched Star Trek: Deep Space Nine too many times and probably will again soon.
Tycho Dwelis (he/him)
I’m Tycho (I also use the pen name Cassidy), and I love storytelling! I’m incredibly passionate about writing, art, and anything that allows me to create my own worlds. My goal is to write dreamy fiction for all ages that is unique, inspiring, and imaginative. I currently live in Colorado and have my MA in Publishing. I'm also a self-publishing consultant, and I love helping people bring their books to life!
Shane Emseer (he/they)
Howdy, folks! My name's Shane, and I'm a transmasc author, illustrator, and creative in the Denver area. My favorite thing to do is tell stories, and as I've gotten older, I've transitioned away from ranting them at my friends on the playground into slightly more permanent forms of media. Come chat me up - I'd love to meet you!
Sam Ledel (she/her)
Sam Ledel is the author of eight novels with Bold Strokes Books. Her debut novel, Rocks and Stars, was a Golden Crown Literary Society finalist for Young Adult Fiction. Wildflower Words, a historical romance, was a 2023 LGBTQ+ finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Ledel enjoys being able to write in her free time, usually with a cup of coffee in hand, and her Jack Russell Terrier snuggled close by. She is working on her next novel.
Phil Nash (he/him)
Phil Nash made Denver his home in 1976 and launched a career in LGBTQ activism, journalism, and organizational leadership. He helped found and was the first staff member of the Gay Community Center of Colorado (today known as The Center on Colfax), then became editor of Out Front, Colorado's leading LGBTQ publication in the early 1980s. He also wrote for The Advocate, Westword, and other local and national news outlets. He helped found and served as first board chair of the Colorado AIDS Project. As an out gay professional, Nash later worked in a series of senior communications roles in civic and philanthropic organizations, including as an advisor to Denver Mayor Federico Peña. In his book LGBTQ Denver, Nash documents more than five decades of Denver's LGBTQ history, much of which he witnessed firsthand, reported, and photographed.
Q Publishing House
Q Publishing House is Out Front Magazine’s literary publishing arm. Originally founded in 2021, the publishing house has published several local queer fiction and non-fiction books. Our latest, American Queer, is a gay memoire and lifetime collection from Richard Kitzman. Q Publishing House strives to tell queer stories and connect authors to the community.
Susan P. Schafer (she/her)
In this riveting coming-of-age memoir Susan describes the angst of being married to a man, giving birth to two children, and then coming out as a lesbian. She knew as a teenager that it was wrong that girls and women could not play competitive sports so she and thousands of others fixed this problem with the passage of Title IX in 1972. Her book is about courage and leadership and how to inspire other people to become agents of positive change when they see something is wrong. She was the Prime House Sponsor of the Colorado Civil Unions bill in 2013. Her partner, Barb, and her have traveled to thirty-five foreign countries and she describes the joys and misadventures of these trips.
Come out and support each of these creatives and more next weekend at the Queer Author Expo! Click here to learn more about the event. We hope to see you there!