When you’re reading a book and sobbing your eyes out, who do you cuddle with? Show us a picture!!

(Yes, this is absolutely 100% me shamelessly posting a thread to see everyone’s pets. And if you cuddle a plant or a stuffed animal, show us those too! I’m not sorry for this post.)

A driving criterion for this Side Quest was that the authors identify as men who love men. Given that, I thought it would be interesting to make a post sharing a bit about each author. I was planning to spend time making this a detailed and cited post, but I just don't have the energy for that right now. Instead, I've compiled basic facts that are easily accessible online (mostly from Wikipedia or the author's website; I figured a simple post was better than no post!). If you have any more niche information you'd like to share, please feel free. I'd also love to hear who your favorite author is from this list, if you have one!

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Tash Aw is a Malaysian writer born in 1971. He currently lives in England and has written 5 novels (the most recent one being The South, which is the first book in a planned quartet). 3 of his 5 novels have been longlisted for the Booker Prize!

James Baldwin is easily one of the most well-known authors in this Quest. He lived from 1924 to 1987. He wrote 6 novels, as well as many short stories, essays, and more. I'm honestly at a loss for how to sum him up. He was one of the most influential writers and activists of his time (particularly during the US civil rights movement) and his work remains widely read today; his writings and interviews have had a large impact on my own life and I would highly recommend reading about him if you haven't before. If you're going for Champion in this Quest, Giovanni's Room is essential.

Philippe Besson is a French writer born in 1967. He has written 23 novels. A number of his works have received critical acclaim in France, with some being adapted for film (Besson is also a screenwriter and playwright!). To my knowledge, only 4 are available in English (In the Absence of Men, His Brother, Lie With Me, and his most recent release, The Summer Boy---if I'm missing any, please let me know). I have complicated feelings about Besson's writing, but I still feel that he is another essential read for lovers of MLM litfic.

Alexander Chee is an American writer born in 1967. He has written 2 novels and won numerous awards. His 2001 debut novel, Edinburgh, won the "Lambda Editor’s Choice Prize, the Asian American Writers Workshop Literature Award, the Michener, and was a finalist for the Ferro-Grumley Prize, 2003." (Quote pulled from the author's website.) Chee currently teaches at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.

E.M. Forster is another widely known, critically acclaimed author in this Quest. He was an English writer and lived from 1879 to 1970. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature many times. Forster published 5 novels while he was alive; Maurice was written in 1914, but remained unpublished until after his death. Like Giovanni's Room, this novel is a classic in gay literature.

Curtis Garner is a British novelist born in 1996. He has written 2 novels, with his debut, Isaac, being published in 2024. Garner works in publishing and runs a popular instagram account, @queer_novels, where he reviews books.

Saleem Haddad is an Arab writer and filmmaker born in 1983. He has written 2 novels, the second of which released this year. Guapa, his 2016 debut, received critical acclaim and led to him winning the Polari First Book Prize in 2017. For the aspiring Champions out there, Guapa is another book I would highly recommend!

Christopher Isherwood was an English-American writer who lived from 1904 to 1986. His biography is extensive and includes a number of critically acclaimed novels. Isherwood was part of the Auden Generation, a group of British and Irish writers active in the 1930s. He was also friends with Truman Capote and Dodie Smith. His 1963 novel, A Single Man, was adapted for film in 2009.

Tomasz Jędrowski is a Polish writer born in 1985. He seems to be a relatively private person, but there are numerous interviews available online that I would highly recommend checking out. His popular 2020 novel Swimming in the Dark often references Giovanni's Room, so I would suggest reading that before diving into Jędrowski's work (though it's not completely necessary if you really don't want to).

Robert Jones Jr. is an American author who formerly went by the pen name "Son of Baldwin". Fun fact, a tweet he posted in 2015 is often misattributed to James Baldwin: "We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist." Jones has written 1 novel, The Prophets, which was released in 2021 and won the 2022 Edmund White Award. This is another novel that I would highly recommend checking out!

David Leavitt is an American novelist born in 1961. He has written many novels, but considers himself "more confident as a short story writer." In 2022, he won the Italian Orbetello Book Prize.

Anthony Shapland is a Welsh artist and writer born in 1971. He is the creative director and founder of g39 in Cardiff, which is "an artist-run gallery, resource and creative community." A Room Above a Shop is his debut novel (published 2025).

Douglas Stuart is a Scottish-American fashion designer and novelist born in 1976. He has written 3 novels and won many awards, including the Booker Prize for his debut, Shuggie Bain. This Quest highlights his sophomore novel, Young Mungo, which was longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence and shortlisted for the Polari Prize. Stuart currently lives in Manhattan.

Justin Torres is an American-Puerto Rican novelist born in 1980. He has written 2 novels. Blackouts won the National Book Award for Fiction in 2023 and was shortlisted for 2 other large awards in 2024.

Bryan Washington is an American author born in 1993. He has written 3 novels; Memorial was his debut in 2020 and was longlisted for multiple well-known awards. He currently lives in Tokyo.

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I hope you learned something new from this post! I know it's pretty repetitive, but like I said, I'm tired and threw this together pretty quickly (please correct me if any information is outdated or inaccurate!). I just wanted to highlight info that you might find interesting or relevant to your Quest experience :) I'm also considering making a simple reading guide once I reach completionist (only 3 books to go!)---thoughts?

[Posted 30 July 2026]

How do you pronounce Sciona?

It's time for the pagebound version of "which way do you hang the toilet paper roll". I need to know!

Do you log the last page you read or the next page you are going to read?

I asked a friend, @UnPancito, and it turns out we do it different ways.

I got overly excited a couple of weeks ago and went on a book order frenzy on Vinted. This week I received all my (not really) new seven books! One of them is so pretty I just want to keep it under my pillow when I sleep 😍

I just wanted to share this because it made me so happy. Is there anything that made you happy this week? Can be book related or not.

This book is way too well written for how absolutely wild it is. Pls what did I just read 😭😭😭