The inaugural collection in the new VERVE Voices series, Queerphoria is a joyful and defiant queer-authored anthology proudly supporting Switchboard, the national LGBTQIA+ support line.
Four housemates welcome the reader into their home for a birthday party. An elderly widow visits her first queer bar, beneath the flat she shared with her husband. A couple invite a shipwrecked sailor into their isolated lighthouse on the stormy night of their thirtieth anniversary. A single woman embarks on a romantic relationship with a sex robot. A married couple secretly prepare for their baby's arrival in a world where procreation is controlled by the Establishment.
Through prose, poetry, essays, illustrations and more, twenty-one writers bring their visions of euphoria to life. These pages celebrate, subvert, expand and reimagine what joy can look like, even in uncertain times.
Switchboard will receive a £1 donation from every copy sold.
Includes contributions from: Amil (translated by Joheun Lee), Santanu Bhattacharya, Maame Blue, James Cahill, Jenny Chamarette, Gerardo Sámano Córdova, Soula Emmanuel, Selali Fiamanya, Eve Gleichman, Remi Graves, Dylin Hardcastle, Chloe Michelle Howarth, William Rayfet Hunter, Seth Insua, Joshua Jones, Laura Kay, Carrie Marshall, Peo Michie, Elle Nash, Peter Scalpello, Joelle Taylor
About Switchboard: For over 50 years, Switchboard has supported the LGBTQIA+ community through challenges and triumphs, offering a listening ear in difficult times and moments of joy. Their support is completely free and available wherever you feel most comfortable, whether that's via phone (0800 0119 100), chat (switchboard.lgbt) or email (hello@switchboard.lgbt). Switchboard's services are open from 10 am to 10 pm, every single day of the year. Their trained volunteers are available to discuss anything related to sexuality and gender identity; whether it's sexual health, relationships or just the way you're feeling. For anyone, anywhere in the country, at any point in their journey.
5-Star Reader Reviews for Queerphoria
'Quite possibly the best anthology of queer writing I've ever read. The joy, the grief, the love, the desire, the loss and the hope all intertwine to give the reader a true sense of "Queerphoria"... This is a collection that will continue to echo in your mind and body long after you've finished reading it' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Beautiful words, so very needed at this point in time... Wonderfully crafted' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'This collection was delightful, I read it all in one go, so consumed was I by the sheer romp and rebellious nature of it. A strong, and brilliant, revelation of queer joy!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Dylin Hardcastle (he/they) is an award-winning author, artist, screenwriter and former Provost’s Scholar at the University of Oxford. They are the author of four critically acclaimed books. Their work has been translated into eight languages. Dylin is the co-writer and co-director of Cloudy River. Their most recent novel, A Language of Limbs, has been optioned by Sony Pictures and is in development.
SETH INSUA is an Anglo-Spanish writer and artist. He was born in Kent in 1989. He graduated from the University of Oxford with a First in English Language and Literature. He has been shortlisted for the Bridport Prize and The London Magazine's Short Story Competition and was a semi-finalist in the BlueCat Screenplay Competition. He lives with his husband, David, between Newcastle upon Tyne and Madrid. Human, Animal is his first novel.
ELLE NASH ;(she/her) is a British-American author and editor known for her fearless exploration of desire, identity and the human condition. Her most recent novel, ;Deliver Me, is a 'darkly vivid examination of faith, obsession and alienation' and was longlisted for Fiction Book of the Year by the Saltire Society. She is also the author of debut novel ;Animals Eat Each Other ;(2018), the short story collection ;Nudes ;(2021) and the novella ;Gag Reflex ;(2022). Her work has appeared in ;Guernica, ;BOMB, ;Literary Hub, ;Cosmopolitan, ;Mslexia, ;The Spectator, ;Columbia Journal, ;Southwest Review, ;New York Tyrant ;and more. She is currently based in Glasgow.
Chloe Michelle Howarth was born in July 1996. She grew up in the West Cork countryside, which has served as an inspiration for her writing. Chloe currently lives in Brighton. Her debut novel, Sunburn, was shortlisted for the 2024 Polari First Book Prize, the 2024 Book of the Year: Discover Award at the British Book Awards and the 2023 Nero Book Award for Debut Fiction and longlisted for the 2024 Diverse Book Awards.
