Our Happy Hours, LGBT Voices from the Gay Bars
edited by S. Renee Bess and Lee Lynch

During the days and nights following the massacre at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, the world listened as various spokespersons attempted to explain to the general public exactly what the gay bar/club meant to LGBTQI people. The words "safe place," "refuge," "free to be ourselves" flew through the air.

We queer writers grappled with the tragedy alongside our brothers and sisters. How could we express our feelings about the places where we could drop all pretense of conforming to the hetero-normative society's rules? What words could we gather to let the rest of the world know the pain we felt upon losing so many beautiful strangers on a night in June and in a place that had been one of our havens?

How and why does the gay bar intersect so many of our lives?

The stories and poems living between the covers of this book attempt to answer those questions. Spend a few happy hours with us in our gay bars.

In the spirit of giving forward, all royalties from the sales of this anthology will be donated to The Attic Youth Center in Philadelphia and the Ali Forney Organization in New York City