Queerly Beloved: LGBTQIA+ Romance Novels

In a session about the art and heart of LGBTQIA+ romance, authors Gabrielle Gamez and Jonny Garza Villa explore writing authentic and joyful queer romances, celebrating the courage it takes to embrace love on your own terms. Gamez’s witty Kiss Me, Maybe follows a late bloomer who turns her viral coming-out moment into a scavenger hunt for a first kiss — with unexpected help from her longtime crush Krystal. Meanwhile, Garza Villa’s heartfelt sports romance, Futbolista, traces the journey of Gabriel, a rising futbol star whose friendship with a classmate challenges everything he thought he knew about his future and his place on his team.