30 Queer Lives: Conversations with LGBTQIA+ New Zealanders

(Paperback)

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Description

IDENTITY, UNDERSTANDING AND CELEBRATION THROUGH THE STORIES OF 30 REMARKABLE NEW ZEALANDERS 30 Queer Lives explores the lives, struggles and successes of LGBTQIA+ New Zealanders. The author, Matt McEvoy, notes that as a young gay Kiwi kid growing up, books about All Blacks and Sir Edmund Hillary were ubiquitous, while stories about other New Zealanders struggled for a place in school libraries and bookshops. 'The singular elevation of the sports-hero genre made us feel that perhaps we weren't real New Zealanders. 'To this day, there still has not been a book to celebrate queer expression and contribution to New Zealand life, and show how LGBTQIA+ people strengthen our rich culture.' This book, bold and bright as the rainbow community itself, fills that gap. It explores the lives of queer people across New Zealand society, from north to south and from soldiers, celebrities, lawyers, drag queens, businesspeople and Olympians to farmers and fa`afafine. From the famous - Grant Robertson, Gareth Farr, Chle Swarbrick - to the less well known, these 30 stories encourage empathy and understanding, challenge stereotypes, and offer courage and hope. '30 Queer Lives is a wonderfully encouraging book that I'm sure many of us wish we had when we were young, and it is the perfect gift for young allies, the recently out, family and anyone else just seeking to understand.' - NZ Listener

Author Bio

Matt McEvoy completed a Bachelor of Music degree between Auckland and Otago Universities. A holiday job at an Auckland tech company turned into ten years of working in communications technology around Europe and finally Qatar, where he joined a small team creating the first outpost of Vodafone in the Middle East. Returning to Auckland, Matt now spreads his time between teaching piano, managing property interests, accepting the occasional local technology contract, and writing, with a particular interest in social history and the diverse stories of extraordinary people who are seldom given a voice in New Zealand culture. His first book, The Grey Lynn Book, published in 2018, went into a second printing.