The Light Looks Like Me from Shout Mouse Press

About the book:

Amidst a fraught regime where assaults on queer and trans rights are leveraged for political clout, the voices of queer youth are more important than ever. In this anthology, 28 DC-area writers aged 13-24 share their thoughts, feelings and vulnerability through poems, stories, comics, and art exploring love in all its forms. Running the gamut from self-love, to romance, and the love they show to their family, friends, and community, their work will resonate with readers of all ages. With authors representing varied sexualities and gender identities, as well as diverse ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds, this tender anthology offers hope and validation to queer young people and cultivates greater understanding in supportive allies.

Foreword by award-winning YA author Malinda Lo. This project was created in partnership with , , , and .

Takoma Park's Poet Laureate, Taylor Johnson, will join us for a special reading alongside the anthology poets!

Taylor Johnson is from Washington, DC. He is the author of (Alice James Books, 2020), winner of the 2021 Norma Farber First Book Award from the Poetry Society of America and a 2024 Whiting Award. His work appears in Poetry Magazine, The Paris Review, The Baffler, Scalawag, and elsewhere. Johnson is a Cave Canem graduate fellow and a recipient of the 2017 Larry Neal Writers’ Award from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and the 2021 Judith A. Markowitz Award for Emerging Writers from Lambda Literary. Taylor was the inaugural 2022 Poet-in-Residence at the Guggenheim Museum. He is the Poet Laureate of Takoma Park, Maryland. With his wife, Elizabeth Bryant, Taylor curates the Green Way Reading Series at People’s Book in Takoma Park.

About the press:

Shout Mouse Press is dedicated to centering and amplifying the voices of marginalized youth (ages 12+) via writing workshops, book publication, and public speaking opportunities.

The young people we coach are underrepresented—as characters and as creators—within young people's literature, and their perspectives are underheard. By supporting them to write and publish their own books, we pass the pen—and the power.

Our authors write books responding to the urgent needs of young readers: representative, authentic stories that foster community, expand empathy, and educate a more just and inclusive next generation.

Accessibility note: This event is up two flights of stairs and Lost City Books does not have an elevator. Please contact [email protected] with questions.

Dato de accesibilidad: Este evento toma lugar en el segundo piso y Lost City Books no tiene ascensor. Favor de contactar [email protected] con cualquiera duda.

Host or Publisher Lost City Books