News / Literature
Festival to bring LGBTQ+ authors to Bristol
The world of queer fiction is growing, yet the South West remains short of spaces where independent authors and readers can connect.
That is the view of Lily James, who noticed the gap and has collaborated with three other LGBTQ+ independent authors, Jemma Croft, Kaiden Crossweller, and Tyler Whittaker, to create QueerLit Southwest.
Motivated by a lack of representation in the industry, Lily James co-created QueerLit SouthWest to platform LGBTQ+ fiction in the South West
Creating a unique event for Bristol
Gathering queer and allied authors and readers in a safe and diverse space is the aim of the event.
Vendors and authors will be promoting their books and opportunities will be provided for queer literature fans to meet one another.
“The amount of queer events, especially for books, is growing in the UK,” said Lily, adding that is open to anyone, with all of the authors’ focus on queer fiction.
“But they all seem to be in London or the north. We want to bring them to the South West.”
Lily said: “I’m part of the LGBT+ community, as are the two other co-organisers.
“Queer fiction is growing, but non-queer fiction becomes popular so much more quickly.
“We want to celebrate the LGBT+ spectrum.
“Bringing more awareness to queer fiction that readers don’t realise is out there.”
Tyler Whittaker is one of the co-creators of QueerLit Southwest
The importance of LGBTQ+ fiction
Lily said that mainstream publishing remains heavily focused on heterosexual relationships, leaving many LGBTQ+ writers with limited opportunities through traditional publishing routes.
As a result, many independent authors of LGBTQ+ fiction choose self-publishing.
QueerLit Southwest aims to shine a light on these independent voices.
Encouraging newcomers to attend, Lily said: “People might be scared to come alone. We’re all friendly though.
“At the end of the day, you won’t be on your own.
“There’ll be other members of the LGBT+ community and like-minded readers there.
“It’s an event for the queer community to discover new fiction, and meet one another.”
QueerLit Southwest brings together readers and authors from across the UK, creating opportunities to meet new people, make new friends and support the LGBTQ+ community.
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Looking to the future, Lily explained they hope to keep the event in the South West.
“We want to grow in terms of how many people we can reach,” said Lily.
“It’s not about money. We want to grow, and we look forward to connecting with more people.”
Money raised from tickets will be donated to Bristol Pride and remaining funds will be invested into running the event in 2027.
QueerLit Southwest will take place on July 4 from 10am- 1pm at the Paintworks. Tickets can be bought here
All photos: Lily James
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