511: Telling our LGBTQ+ Stories, One Book at A Time – Greg Howard

We’ve all got our story and stories. Yet, in this day and age where books are being burned that inform young minds about LGBTQ+ people, it’s more apparent than ever that we need a hero. An author hero.

That hero is author Greg Howard who lovingly and bravely puts pen to paper, or in this modern age types like a mad man on his computer the stories that bring LGBTQ+ life to spotlight, unlike when most of us were growing up. It is not time to hide the truth, but to print the truth and continue to live the truth and to let our stories, even fictional stories, stake our claim as human beings who do belong in society – no guilt or shame. Here’s Greg’s story.

About Greg

Greg Howard was born and raised in the South Carolina Lowcountry where his love of stories blossomed at a young age. Originally set on becoming a songwriter, Greg followed that dream to Nashville, Tennessee, and spent years producing the music of others before eventually returning to his childhood passion of writing stories. Greg’s critically acclaimed debut middle-grade novel, The Whispers was nominated for an Edgar Award and his second middle-grade novel, Middle School’s a Drag, You Better Werk! is being adapted for television by Harry Potter producer, David Heyman, Heyday Television, and NBC/Universal.

Greg writes about LGBTQ characters and issues as his focus is writing the kind of books he wishes he’d had access to as a gay kid growing up in the South. There’s also a measure of his own life in all of Greg’s stories. On writing, Greg says, “The more of yourself you leave on the page, the more the readers will connect and engage. But once you write your story and send it out into the world, it no longer belongs to you. It belongs to the reader.”

Also, the author of the young adult novel Social Intercourse, Greg’s latest middle-grade offering, The Visitors, will be published by Putnam/Penguin on February 1, 2022. Still involved in the music industry as co-owner of an independent record label in Nashville, when he’s not writing books or producing music, Greg enjoys traveling, reading, hiking, and spending time with friends. He currently resides in Nashville with his three rescued fur babies–Molly, Toby, and Riley.