Speaking Out

Friend of Guys' Lit Wire, Steve Berman, has compiled a new book, Speaking Out: LGBTQ Youth Stand Up, and he wants your help getting it into school libraries.

The anthology, partially inspired by Dan Savage's It Gets Better Campaign, features stories about gay and transgender teens overcoming intolerance and homophobia. As the back cover says, "Queer teens need tales of what might happen next in their lives, and editor Steve Berman showcases a diversity of events, challenges, and, especially, triumphs."

And now, Berman is working to get this important book in schools, trying to raise $2000 by the end of the years, which will allow him to donate copies to 200 school libraries. (You can also nominate a school to receive a copy of Speaking Out.) The fundraising campaign started with a bang, raising $500 in the first week. It's leveled off some since then, and it could use your help. A ten or twenty dollar donation may not seem like much, especially given the amount of cruelty and hate gay teens face everyday. But Guys; Lit Wire is built on the belief that the right book, reaching the right person at the right time, can change a life. Steve Berman and the contributors of Speaking Out are carrying that idea to the next level.