Queer Lit

Queer Lit is a podcast about LGBTQIA+* literature and culture. In each episode, literary studies researcher Lena Mattheis talks to an expert in the field of queer studies. Topics include lesbian literature, inclusive pronouns and language, gay history, trans and non-binary novels, intersectionality and favourite queer films, series or poems. New episode every other week! Recent transcripts here: https://lenamattheis.wordpress.com/queer-lit-transcripts/ queerlitpodcast@gmail.com https://lenamattheis.wordpress.com/queerlit Twitter and Instagram: @queerlitpodcast Music by geovanebruny from Pixabay

Queer Lit is a arts podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 166 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Unknown Host hosts Queer Lit, a arts show with 166 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Queer Lit

  LIVE at Out and Wild with Ayse and Queer Girls Book Club

  Aug 10, 202640 min

  Meet Ayse, founder of Queer Girls Book Club, defender of the heated debate, and dyke of the people. In this live recording from the amazing Out and Wild festival, Ayse tells me about why running a queer book club is not just about putting LGBTQIA+ titles on your reading list, all the work she is doing to nurture her bookish community, and a why disagreeing is a good skill to have. To quote Joelle Taylor: That’s community, babe! References Out and Wild https://www.outandwild.co.uk/ Housmans Joelle Taylor’s The Night Alphabet Emily Witham Grace Flahive Polly Shute Gillian Anderson Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home and Spent Gay on Wye Carol Ann Duffy’s Rapture and “Forest” Jackie Kay Lamya H’s Hijab Butch Blues Zoë Berryman Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: Why did Ayse start Queer Girls Book Club? Have you ever thought about starting a group? What was/would have been your motivation? What does Ayse say about contributing to community? How do you feel about this? We speak about literature as being a protected space to practice debate and disagreement. Have you ever experienced this? Which example does Ayse give? How does Ayse speak about marginalised voices in the publishing industry? What can we as readers do to promote change? Are you coming to our next live recording?

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  Queer Lit

  “Spin Cycle” with Zofia Zerphy and Rhiannon Bell

  Aug 3, 202642 min

  In the sapphic launderette play Spin Cycle, the washers are loaded and so are the questions. Penned by Zofia Zerphy, Spin Cycle is an absurdist exploration of intense connections, queer memory and lesbian storytelling. In this summer special, I am joined by Zofia and Rhiannon Bell, who play the main characters and speak to me about crafting a play in queer community, why queer narratives can operate in different realms of sense and meaning making, and why exploring flawed characters is vital to queer and trans representation. References: Berserk Theatre The L Word Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Mitski’s “Washing Machine Heart” Act On Tap Bethan Rose Edinburgh Dyke Bar Ros Watt’s Trans People Are Awful Radclyffe Hall’s The Well of Loneliness Joe Carstairs Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: Zofia and Rhi speak about the different responses queer and non-queer audience members had to the play’s absurdist elements. What do they say about queer narratives making sense and what is your take? Which trope(s) of sapphic storytelling do we mention in the episode? We speak about Spin Cycle using memory and forgetting in queer ways. What could queer memory mean? What does it mean to you? Rhi highlights the importance of showing flawed trans and nonbinary characters on stage. How do you feel about this? Can you think of another example of a flawed LGBTQIA+ character in literature or theatre? Have you ever seen yourself represented on stage? What was that like?

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  Queer Lit

  “Cisgender” with Perry Zurn

  Jul 20, 202646 min

  Who coined the term cis and why are some people calling it a slur? Amazing return guest Perry Zurn joins me to discuss what the concept of cis does, why it’s helpful to look at its origins and etymology and where it might oversimplify the project of gender. Not one to be missed! References: Perry Zurn’s Cisgender: Disorienting a Category (Duke UP, 2026) Perry Zurn’s How We Make Each Other: Trans Life at the Edge of the University (Duke UP, 2024) John Hollister Riva Lehrer’s Golem Girl Marquis Bey’s Cistem Failure: Essays on Blackness and Cisgender (Duke UP, 2022) Stephanie Clare’s Nonbinary: A Feminist Autotheory (Cambridge UP, 2023) Jonathan Ned Katz’s The Invention of Heterosexuality (1995) Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: What does cis mean? Which term is older: cis or trans? When does the term cis emerge? Which community coined the term cisgender and why? What is Perry saying about simplified notions of cis and which example does he give? How does Perry put disability and race in dialogue with cisness and transness?

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  Queer Lit

  “Queer Wales” with Emily Garside

  Jul 6, 202644 min

  From popstars to rugby players, this episode has all the Welsh queer icons you could want. Emily Garside teaches me about H from Steps, Russel T. Davies, the Ladies of Llangollen and so many other fascinating LGBTQIA+ people from Wales. We talk about whether wondering if you’re queer enough is similar to wondering if you’re Welsh enough and how the prejudice against ‘sounding gay’ relates to sounding Welsh. Books by Emily Garside: Rainbow Wales: Queer Icons Past and Present (Calon, May 2026) Out of the Box: Queer TV through the Decades (Manchester University Press, January 2027) Gay Aliens and Queer Folks: How Russell T Davies Changed TV (Calon, 2023) Seasons of Love: Why Rent Matters (Applause) You Are My Happy Ending: Schitt’s Creek and the Legacy of Queer TV (Applause) Angels in America at the British National Theatre (McFarland) Love that Journey for me: The Queer Revolution of Schitt’s Creek (404 Ink) Other References: Russel T Davies Ladies of Llangollen Edward II. Piers Gaveston Steps Ian ‘H’ Watkins Elliot Page Luke Evans Eisteddfod Cymru Marquess of Anglesey Viscount Tredegar Norena Shopland Jan Morris’ Conundrum Ivor Novello Colin Jackson Connie Orff Alun Saunders Natha Wyburn Queer As Folk It’s A Sin Lisa Power Section 28 @emigarside (IG) https://thenerdynotebook.substack.com/ https://emilygarside.com/ Surrey Rainbow Choir https://www.rainbowchoir.co.uk/ Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: Is there such a thing as a cohesive Welsh queer identity? What are Emily’s thoughts on this and what is her approach? Emily speaks about parallels between attitudes towards Welsh and queer identities. Which one does she discuss? Is there a facet of your identity that feels similar yet different from your queerness? What is an eisteddfod? Please look it up if you’re not familiar because we forgot to explain the term in the episode. Have you ever askes yourself whether you are queer or trans enough? How do we speak about this question in this episode? Who was your favourite person to learn about in the episode?

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  Queer Lit

  “A Black Queer History” with C. Riley Snorton and Darius Bost

  Jun 22, 202643 min

  If you have not read A Black Queer History of the United States yet, you are so lucky to have this fantastic book in your future! And lucky for me that this is also an excellent opportunity to speak to two dream guests: C. Riley Snorton and Darius Bost speak about gender trouble in the Black queer archives, how Black and queer histories need to be thought together and why grounding oneself in community is part of what it means to survive. References: C. Riley Snorton and Darius Bost’s A Black Queer History of the United States (2026) C. Riley Snorton’s Nobody is Supposed to Know: Black Sexuality on the Down Low (U of Minnesota Press, 2014) C. Riley Snorton’s Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity (U of Minnesota Press, 2017) Darius Bost’s Evidence of Being: The Black Gay Cultural Renaissance and the Politics of Violence (U of Chicago Press, 2019) Cathy J. Cohen “Deviance as Resistance: A New Research Agenda for the Study of Black Politics” (2014) William Cathay/Cathay Williams Phil Black The Funmakers Ball Cheryl Dunye’s The Watermelon Woman Erica R. Edwards Marsha P. Johnson Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) Combahee River Collective National Black Justice Coalition “Black Lesbian Thought” with Briona Simone Jones @c.rileysnorton dbost@uic.edu @windycitybq Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman’s Neptune Frost Jellicle Ball Essex Hemphill’s Ceremonies: Prose and Poetry Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: Why do Black and queer history need to be thought of together? How are they sometimes separated? Darius speaks about the book having two parts. What is each about? Riley speaks about gender and sexual deviance as forms of survival or escape. What does this mean? Can you name an example? What does Darius say about the relationship between civil rights ideology and non-normative gender? Why is it important to speak about collectives as well as individuals when engaging with Black queer history?

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