Gays Reading

Jason Blitman
  • 5.0 (104)
  • BOOKS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Best authors. Best banter. Host — and gay reader — Jason Blitman is joined each week by bestselling authors, VIP gay readers, cultural icons, and other special guests for lively, spoiler-free conversations. Gays Reading celebrates LGBTQIA+ and ally authors and storytellers through fun, thoughtful, and insightful discussions. Whether you're gay, straight, or somewhere in between, if you love great books or great conversation, Gays Reading is for you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. What Are You Reading? feat. April Reynolds

    19H AGO

    What Are You Reading? feat. April Reynolds

    Host Jason Blitman talks with author April Reynolds (The Shape of Dreams) about what she’s been reading lately and the joyful surprise of discovering just how many LGBTQIA+ authors have quietly shaped her reading life. April Reynolds is the author of the novel Knee-Deep in Wonder, which won the Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Foundation Award and the PEN American Center: Beyond Margins Award. She co-wrote The Red Rooster Cookbook with Marcus Samuelson and is co-editor, with Henry Louis Gates Jr., of The Toni Morrison Reader and The Zora Neale Hurston Reader. Reynolds has taught creative writing at New York University and the 92nd Street Y, and currently teaches at Sarah Lawrence College. A former resident of East Harlem, she now lives in Astoria, Queens. Sign up for the Gays Reading Book Club HERE SUBSTACK! MERCH! WATCH! CONTACT! hello@gaysreading.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    32 min
  2. Nikesha Elise Williams, The Seven Daughters of Dupree

    3D AGO

    Nikesha Elise Williams, The Seven Daughters of Dupree

    Host Jason Blitman talks to author Nikesha Elise Williams about her new novel, The Seven Daughters of Dupree.  Conversation highlights include: 🎶 Janet Jackson choreography 💜 What it means to be "enough" 🙏 The sacred, intimate rituals of hair Nikesha Elise Williams is a two-time Emmy Award–winning producer, an award-winning author, and producer and host of the Black and Published podcast. A narrative strategist by day and journalist always, her work has appeared in The Washington Post, Essence, and Vox. Nikesha is a Kimbilio Fiction Fellow and a DeGroot Foundation Writer of Note grantee. A Chicago native, she lives in Florida with her family. Sign up for the Gays Reading Book Club HERE SUBSTACK! MERCH! WATCH! CONTACT! hello@gaysreading.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    41 min
  3. What Are You Reading feat. Brian Larson (@brian.reads)

    JAN 30

    What Are You Reading feat. Brian Larson (@brian.reads)

    Host Jason Blitman sits down with bookish-multihyphenate Brian Larson aka @brian.reads who shares what he's been reading and talks about his new podcast, The Shelf Care Society. Brian Larson is the author of The Afterparty (publishing June 2027) a memoir that reframes sobriety not as loss but as liberation. Known as @brian.reads on social media, he is the founder of Shelf Care Society, a book club with RuPaul’s Allstora, and the host of Shelf Care Society: The Podcast, where he sits down with authors, activists, and cultural voices for candid, curious conversations. Brian blends humor, honesty, and literary love to explore identity, recovery, ambition, and reinvention. Sign up for the Gays Reading Book Club HERE SUBSTACK! MERCH! WATCH! CONTACT! hello@gaysreading.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    23 min
  4. George Saunders, Vigil

    JAN 27

    George Saunders, Vigil

    Host Jason Blitman is joined by acclaimed author George Saunders who talks about his new novel, Vigil.  Conversation highlights include: 🎭 Comparisons to Shakespeare 🕯️ Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol 🍔 George's Last Meal George Saunders is the author of nine books, including the novel Lincoln in the Bardo, which won the Man Booker Prize, and the story collections Pastoralia and Tenth of December, which was a finalist for the National Book Award. He has received fellowships from the Lannan Foundation, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Guggenheim Foundation. In 2006 he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship. In 2013 he was awarded the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in Short Fiction and was included in Time’s list of the one hundred most influential people in the world. He teaches in the creative writing program at Syracuse University. Sign up for the Gays Reading Book Club HERE SUBSTACK! MERCH! WATCH! CONTACT! hello@gaysreading.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    52 min
  5. What Are You Reading? feat. Nina McConigley

    JAN 23

    What Are You Reading? feat. Nina McConigley

    Host Jason Blitman sits down with author Nina McConigley (How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder) to talk about what she’s been reading lately—beyond Eric Carle’s The Very Lonely Firefly. Plus: head to the Gays Reading Substack to hear Nina talk about adapting Cowboys and East Indians for the stage, now playing at the Denver Center through March 1, 2026. NINA McCONIGLEY is the author of the story collection Cowboys and East Indians, which was the winner of the PEN/Open Book Award and the High Plains Book Award. She has received grants and fellowships from the NEA, the Radcliffe Institute, Bread Loaf, Vermont Studio Center, and the Sewanee Writers’ Conference. She was a recipient of the Wyoming Arts Council’s Frank Nelson Doubleday Memorial Writing Award and a finalist for a National Magazine Award for her columns in High Country News. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times, Orion, O: The Oprah Magazine, The Virginia Quarterly Review, Salon, among other outlets. Born in Singapore and raised in Wyoming, she now lives in Colorado. Sign up for the Gays Reading Book Club HERE SUBSTACK! MERCH! WATCH! CONTACT! hello@gaysreading.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    33 min
  6. Gabriel Tallent, Crux

    JAN 20

    Gabriel Tallent, Crux

    Host Jason Blitman talks to author Gabriel Tallent about his new book, Crux.  Conversation highlights include: 💈 The surprising number of hot gay barbers in Salt Lake 🧗🏼‍♂️ What drawing a climb looks like ⭐️ Ambition and legacy Gabriel Tallent is the author of the New York Times-bestselling novel My Absolute Darling. He was born in New Mexico and raised on the Mendocino coast by two mothers. He received his B.A. from Willamette University in 2010, and after graduation spent two seasons leading youth trail crews in the backcountry of the Pacific Northwest. Tallent lives in Salt Lake City. Sign up for the Gays Reading Book Club HERE SUBSTACK! MERCH! WATCH! CONTACT! hello@gaysreading.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    55 min
  7. What Are You Reading feat. Annie Summerlee

    JAN 16

    What Are You Reading feat. Annie Summerlee

    Host Jason Blitman talks to author Annie Summerlee about what she's been reading as she awaited the publication of her book: The Book of Blood and Roses. Annie Summerlee lives in Spain with her partner, two cats, and a rescue dog. Her short stories have been featured in 404 Ink, Litro, and So To Speak, as well as other magazines and anthologies. She also writes in Catalan and Spanish. Sign up for the Gays Reading Book Club HERE SUBSTACK! MERCH! WATCH! CONTACT! hello@gaysreading.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    25 min
  8. February Book Club: Thrity Umrigar, Missing Sam

    JAN 15

    February Book Club: Thrity Umrigar, Missing Sam

    Announcing the February Gays Reading Book Club Pick... ⭐️ MISSING SAM by Thrity Umrigar, the bestselling author of HONOR At first glance, MISSING SAM looks like a classic thriller: a woman goes missing after a morning run and her wife is left behind to search for answers. But very quickly, this book becomes something much deeper. The book is about what happens when grief collides with prejudice. About how quickly suspicion attaches itself to certain bodies. About love, marriage, and what it means to feel unsafe not just in the world, but inside your own community. New to the club? Get your first book for just $1! When you join the Gays Reading Book Club with Allstora, here’s what you get: A SIGNED copy of the book!30% off everything on Allstora’s websiteAccess to our Book Club chatEvery subscription donates a children’s book to an LGBTQIA+ youthA book club that exclusively supports LGBTQIA+ authorsAnd more along the way Thrity Umrigar is the bestselling author of nine previous novels, including Honor, which was a Reese’s Book Club Pick, as well as four picture books and a memoir. Her books have been published in over twenty countries and in several languages. A former journalist, she has contributed to the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, the New York Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and other newspapers. She is a recipient of the Nieman Fellowship to Harvard, and winner of the Cleveland Arts Prize, the Seth Rosenberg prize and a Lambda Literary award. She is currently a Distinguished University Professor of English at Case Western Reserve University. Sign up for the Gays Reading Book Club HERE SUBSTACK! MERCH! WATCH! CONTACT! hello@gaysreading.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    32 min
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About

Best authors. Best banter. Host — and gay reader — Jason Blitman is joined each week by bestselling authors, VIP gay readers, cultural icons, and other special guests for lively, spoiler-free conversations. Gays Reading celebrates LGBTQIA+ and ally authors and storytellers through fun, thoughtful, and insightful discussions. Whether you're gay, straight, or somewhere in between, if you love great books or great conversation, Gays Reading is for you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Jason Blitman
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    174
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Gays Reading
  • Show Website
    Gays Reading

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