Blog Tour: Writers & Readers for LGBT Chechens

Alarmed by the events in Chechnya? Feeling helpless or don't know how to help?

Today we have a special post from some authors to raise awareness and provide tangible ways for both writers and readers to help. 

By Dale Cameron Lowry with Adriana Kraft and Naomi Tajedler

When the news started coming out of Chechnya about the organized police campaign of torture, imprisonment and murder being conducted against men perceived to be gay, it hit me hard.

Growing up in the Netherlands just a few decades after World War II, I learned to dread authoritarianism and genocide — authoritarianism’s frequent offspring — early on in life. On school and family outings we visited houses with secret rooms where families had provided refuge to Jews as they sought to escape Occupied Europe. Every summer, we would drive through northern Germany to see my cousins, and my mom would announce the sites of former concentration camps we passed along the way.

I felt compelled to do something about the situation in Chechnya — but what? How could I possibly help from the other side of the world?

I started talking about the topic with other LGBT authors. Fantasy author Olivia Helling volunteered to organize a charity auction. Over the next week or so, the idea grew into an effort that now includes three dozen writers, publishers, and other book people. We call ourselves Readers & Writers for LGBT Chechens. We raise money for human rights organizations working with LGBT people in Chechnya and the Russian Federation (which Chechnya is a part of) in a few ways:

·         donating royalties to charitable organizations

·         an online charity auction to be held May 5–13

·         letting our readers and fellow authors know how they can get involved

Adriana Kraft, one of our participating authors, talks about her motivations for getting involved: “We have a gay son who is fortunate to live in a nation where marriage equality is the law of the land, even though bias, prejudice, and discrimination still impact all our lives. This is one small way we can reach out to others whose very lives are at risk.”

And author Naomi Tajedler says, “I decided to participate in the auction because we should all strive to make sure that those men can be saved, that they are protected, that they're not going to be slaughtered because they're gay. I write LGBTQIA stories that show how everybody deserves happiness—deserves to live their lives to its fullest. That starts with actually being able to live without fearing for their lives.”

We hope you’ll get involved, too.

 Get Involved

Authors, Publishers and Artists

If you're an author or artist who would like help out, please sign up at Authors & Publishers for LGBT Chechens. There, you can also find answers to frequently asked questions about the auction, royalty donations, the charitable organizations that are helping out LGBT Chechens, and more.

Readers          

If you are a reader who would like to learn more about the situation in Chechnya — including news updates and how to make a direct donation to a designated charity, buy a book from a participating author, or support the auction — please visit Readers & Writers for LGBT Chechens.

Facebook

Please RSVP to our Facebook event and invite friends. It’s a great way to keep up-to-date. https://www.facebook.com/events/286004325144634/

Thank you!

_____

Dale Cameron Lowry (Twitter: @daleclowry) is a romance and speculative fiction writer living in the Upper Midwest with a partner and three cats. Queer Mormons, immigrants and emigrants, people with disabilities, multilingual folks, and others who spend their lives navigating multiple cultures often appear in Dale’s writing.

Adriana Kraft (Twitter: @adrianakraft), winner of the 2014 Bisexual Book Award for erotic fiction, is a married couple writing sizzling romantic suspense and erotic romance for two, three, or more. With backgrounds in criminology and counseling, they combine their expertise in the criminal mind, trauma, healing and human nature with a passion for robust sexuality and life-long vitality.

Naomi Tajedler (Twitter: @Naomi_Tajedler) is a French writer working with Interlude Press, an LGBTQIA publishing house. Naomi wrote lots of fanfiction in the Glee fandom and is now working on a full length novel—always LGBTQIA and body positive.