I always responded, 'Why would I change? Being me is the easiest person to be.' I was lying. It wasn't. At the Beijing Olympic Games, he made history with an unforgettable dive, the first to ever score perfect tens from all four judges, and won gold for Australia. Grinning with pride from front pages around the world, there was no hint of the personal demons that had led this supremely talented young dynamo to quit diving less than two years before. Joyously out and proud, Matthew was a role model for his courage both in and out of the pool. Yet the crippling self-doubt and shadow of depression that had plagued him all his life forced him into premature retirement, at one point reduced to circus diving to earn money. Even after Beijing and being ranked No 1 in the world, those closest to Matthew could not guess that beneath that cheeky, fun-loving exterior he was painfully aware of how easily it could unravel. In the lead-up to the London Olympics, when injury threatened his hopes, he will have to find the strength again to balance his striving for perfectionism with the fear of his self-doubt taking hold again. Told with the honesty and courage he is admired for, Twists and Turns is an inspiring story of a true champion, in and out of the pool.

    A Bulgarian immigrant, Dimitrov writes as both observer of and fervent participant in this "American Youth," as his speakers navigate both the physical and emotional landscapes of desire, intimacy, and longing--whether for a friend, a lover, or a self, "Saint or stranger, I still recklessly seek you."

    The reemergence of the photo, taken fifty-five years earlier, sets her on a journey to reconstruct the vicious summer that changed her life.In the summer of 1945, Ceola Bliss is a lonely twelve-year-old tomboy, mourning the loss of her brother, Robbie, who was declared missing in the Pacific. She tries to piece together his life by rereading his favorite pulp detective story “A Date with Death” and spending time with his best friend, Jay Greenwood, in Royal Oak, VA. One unforgettable August day, Jay leads Ceola and Bunny to a stretch of woods where he found a dead woman, but when they arrive, the body is gone. They soon discover a local woman named Lily Vellum is missing and begin to piece together the threads of her murder, starting with the photograph Jay took of her abandoned body.As Ceola gets swept up playing girl detective, Bunny becomes increasingly skeptical of Jay, and begins her own investigation into the connection between Jay and Lily. She discovers a series of clues that place doubt on the identity of the corpse and Jay’s story of how he found it, and journeys to Washington, D.C. in search of Lily. In D.C., Bunny is forced to recognize the brutal truth about her dear friend, and sets off a series of events that will bring tragedy to Jay and decades of estrangement between her and Ceola.

    An evocative, moving and at times hilarious true-life story about growing up gay in a small town, finding out you're adopted, and losing your father at the age of fourteen. Always an outsider, the Rhona of 1979 was desperate to fit in at any cost, and here lies the bittersweet humour. At the heart of the book is the Clubhouse, a place that symbolises all that is normal, happy, and secure. And behind the club, outside, Rhona and her friends are smoking, fighting, kissing and drinking. In this darkly funny and deeply biographical first book, Rhona Cameron takes us back to a year when everything seemed to change. A new British government came to power, the Eighties were approaching and at times life felt so precarious that it really looked like she and her family might never make it through the next year, let alone the next decade.

    Subjects include icons of reality TV and underground drag royalty, and photographs range from the divine to the trashy. Featuring the likes of Bianca Del Rio and Courtney Act, this collection is a beautiful celebration of drag as an art form and an exhilarating exploration of what drag means to its greatest artists.

    The poet wonders at his own existence and struggles between actual living and the desire to die."Cyril Wong continues to explore the nuances of relationships, in language that is lyrical, beautifully crafted, and erotically charged. There are several fine love poems that reach out to embrace a common humanity. Wong swims into the undercurrents of family tensions, hidden desires, and the meaning of a self... as well as questioning our understanding of both life and death."- Rebecca Edwards, author of Scar Country and Holiday Coast Medusa"Reading Cyril Wong is always to encounter risk, the painful suturing of art and life, trials of faith and baptisms of fire. I have only the deepest respect for someone who has razed the walls between the private and the public, and in doing so, carved more space for all of us."- Alfian Sa'at, author of One Fierce Hour and A History of Amnesia

    Forging a trail that leads into the heart of Morocco, Seven Moves tracks Christine's gradual recognition that no one can ever really know another's soul. Bearing Anshaw's trademark style -funny, hip, and laser-sharp -this is "a tightly told tale that resists the bookmark as well as any thriller" (Chicago Sun-Times). A Reader's Guide is now available.

    She is living out her dream of playing football on an all women's football team while attending a four year college to become a school teacher. With all of her time being split in several directions between schoolwork, practice, homework, and football games, she never thought she would meet a woman where and when she least expected it. Holly Larson was perfect. Sweet, smart, beautiful and at the right time at the right place. She's everything that Charlie could ever want or hope for, but is she too good to be true? If you're a fan of Rachel Maldonado's other books, you'll want to add this one to your collection!

    In this volume, he is an observant guide to a world that he was once master of.

    He has been a prominent advocate of gay rights and feminism, which joins men and women in resistance. A gay man born into an Italian American family in New Jersey, he relates in this book his own experience on how the initiation of boys into patriarchy inflicts trauma, leading them to mindlessly accept patriarchal codes of masculinity, and how (through art, philosophy, and experience—including mutual love) he and others (straight and gay men) come to join women in resisting patriarchy through the discovery of how deeply it harms men as well as women.

    In each chapter, titled after a letter of the alphabet, an anonymous narrator details his experiences, travelling to cruising grounds and sex clubs, exploring the boundaries of sex, desire, pleasure, and the body, while reflecting on the limits of language and the act of writing.In the tradition of Georges Bataille, Kathy Acker and Jean Genet, these pieces take us to places language doesn't often go. Kemp powerfully stages a series of anonymous encounters, describing the relentless pursuit of sexual pleasure with luminous intensity, while at the same time facing the impossibility of capturing the moments he describes. This is a bold and challenging work, unashamedly sensual and searching. Kemp beautifully counterpoises explicit description with a searing interrogation of the extreme measures taken in the quest for sexual fulfillment.

    Billy is a firefighter, James a paramedic, and both of them have dangerous, stressful jobs that leave little time for anything else, such as romance or even dating. Then Polly, an adorable little black and white kitten that they rescue, comes into their lives and changes everything. James has always thought he was straight, but soon, he has reason to question that, and everything else, when he realizes that he's falling for his best friend. Winter Wedding in Wyoming A decade ago, Jason ruined everything with his best friend when he kissed him impulsively. The only logical thing to do at that point was to run away from his homophobic family and neighbors, not to mention his mistake, and build a new life for himself in a whole new state. Another mistake brings him back to Wyoming, back to Lance, the best friend that he’d freaked out all of those years ago. Even after all of the time that has passed, he only trusts one man on the planet enough to ask to marry him. And that’s exactly what he needs to do, if he wants any chance at keeping his exciting new life. Mistletoe Marriage When David was a teaching assistant, he met Jonathan, a beautiful young student. The two became close friends, but the romance budding between them was forbidden and impossible. After the death of David’s wife, the older man is left a single father, longing for his best friend. It isn’t until Jonathan gets divorced that they have their chance. When David invites Jonathan and his son to live with him in the aftermath of the divorce, both men begin to wonder if the spark that was once there between them still exists. As the holidays approach, will the opportunity for love rise once more? Holiday Engagement Jake Marshal is just a DJ - he never expected to be famous. After a widely publicized relationship with a high-profile pop star ends disastrously, Jake just wants to put the incident behind him. A year later, her betrayed fans are still threatening his well being, her revenge song is still on the radio, and his manager thinks he needs a bodyguard to get him through Christmas. Jake hates Christmas, but his attraction to his bodyguard is nearly instant. When bodyguard Xavier Stone gets a job protecting Jake, he has no idea how much he has his work cut out for him. At least, he figures, the tour of Christmas events that Jake’s manager has planned will keep them in high spirits. Xavier loves Christmas, and spends each year eagerly counting down from December 1st. He quickly discovers that Jake is a scrooge, still stuck on his break up. Small Town Christmas Andy is a small town Sheriff with a secret. For years he’s been in the closet, hiding the truth about who he really is--and this year, it’s even more important that he keep his secret hidden. His position as Sheriff is up for grabs. Jeffrey Smith is a big city businessman, and he’s only in town to secure an investment. When his luck takes a turn, he finds himself falling for the last person he should--the town’s Sheriff himself. Country Christmas Edward Kirby is a big-city surgeon who’s worked himself toward an early grave.

    Despite the group’s warm welcome, Kina (Nayfack) prepares for her life-altering operation all alone. But a caring nurse (Ivory Aquino), a wise couple (Kate Bornstein and Annie Golden), and a karaoke-loving bellhop (Telly Leung) may be exactly who she needs to ignite her truest sense of self. WTF Associate Artistic Director Laura Savia directs this spirited comedy about a woman who tests the bonds of an unlikely sisterhood.The playwright wishes to thank The Drama League's Beatrice Terry Residency, Daryl Roth, Natasha Sinha, Beehive Dramaturgy Studio, Playwrights Horizons, Rachel Jett, Daryl Roth, and the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center’s National Theatre Institute.Note: This play contains mature themes and language.

    Moments after the clock strikes midnight, Veer calls his phone and is relieved when the driver answers. After they agree to meet the next day, neither has any idea that fate has just intervened in both of their lives. Veer is a graduate student pursuing his MBA. Raj is a native of Amritsar. Although the two men are vastly different in terms of their family backgrounds, values, thought processes, and beliefs, it is not long before they fall in love. Still, no matter how hard he tries, Veer cannot shrug the apprehension that haunts him from within. No one has a simple love story and neither do they. But when one of the men takes the other for granted, their bond is jeopardized. Will anything or anyone be able to save it before it is too late? In this romance, two Indians intertwined in a web of forbidden love must attempt to overcome several obstacles in order to move forward in their relationship.

    Uniting fact and fiction into an original romantic vision, The Danish Girl eloquently portrays the unique intimacy that defines every marriage and the remarkable story of Lili Elbe, a pioneer in transgender history, and the woman torn between loyalty to her marriage and her own ambitions and desires.The Danish Girl is an evocative and deeply moving novel about one of the most passionate and unusual love stories of the 20th century.