It stated that a local authority “shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality” or “promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship”. Section 28 of the 1988 Local Government Act is notorious in British LGBT history. It’s pretty amazing to have the quality of my work affirmed in such an unarguable manner.īut I can’t help wondering… if history had been different, might there have been a route into conventional publishing, a route that wasn’t closed off to me and my book? What would have things been like, if it hadn’t been for Section 28? I’m thrilled, of course, and I’m very proud to be the first self-published author on that shortlist. The judges called it “ An original, closely-observed, funny and often touching story with an unusual setting and a keen understanding of the interactions between members of small communities.” Speak Its Name is the story of an evangelical Christian, and closeted lesbian, trying to navigate the troubled waters of university politics. This is an annual award presented to the best first novel by an author under the age of 35. My first novel has just become the first self-published book ever to be shortlisted for the Betty Trask Prize. Speak Its Name explores what happens when faith, love and politics mix and explode.īuy it: Amazon (US) * Amazon (UK) * Lulu (paperback) * Lulu (ebook) Then a disgruntled member of the Catholic Society starts asking whether the Christian Fellowship is really as Christian as it claims to be, and Lydia finds herself at the centre of a row that will reach far beyond the campus.
As the year unfolds, Lydia discovers that there are more ways to be Christian – and more ways to be herself – than she had ever imagined. When she encounters the eccentric, ecumenical student household at 27 Alma Road, Lydia is forced to expand her assumptions about who’s a Christian to include radical Quaker activist Becky, bells-and-smells bus-spotter Peter, and out (bisexual) and proud (Methodist) Colette. And to ensure a certain secret stays very secret indeed. Her mission: to make sure all the Christians in her hall stay on the straight and narrow, and to convert the remaining residents if possible. Before we get to that, a little more on the book itself:Ī new year at the University of Stancester, and Lydia Hawkins is trying to balance the demands of her studies with her responsibilities as an officer for the Christian Fellowship.
(More on that below.) In honor of Pride Month, Kathleen is here to share a piece of queer lit history, namely the British rule of Section 28, and how that affected the publication path of Speak Its Name. On the site today we have Kathleen Jowitt, the author of Speak Its Name, the first self-published book ever to be shortlisted for the Betty Trask Prize.
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