An LGBTQIA2S+ YA Reading Group
TEENS
Join Rainbow Reads–a young adult LGBTQIA2S+ book group for Lane County teens hosted by Wordcrafters in Eugene in partnership with the Eugene Public Library! Rainbow Reads meets monthly to discuss young adult literature for queer teens, by queer teens, and/or about queer teens. All teen readers across the gender and sexuality spectrum are welcome.
2023 Books of the Month
January: Dreadnought by April Daniels
February: Nimona by ND Stevenson
March: Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell
April: Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
May: Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker, Wendy Xu, and Joamette Gil
June: Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan
July: Wynd Book One: Flight of the Prince by James Tynion IV and Michael Dialynas
Second Wednesday of the Month
Upcoming Dates:
Jan 11, Feb 8, Mar 8 Apr 12, May 10, Jun 14, Jul 12, Aug 9, Sep 13, Oct 11, Nov 8, Dec 12
Time
4:30-6:00 PM Pacific
Eugene Public Library, Downtown
100 W 10th Ave, Eugene, OR 97401
Did you know that we have student and family memberships? Want to know more about membership? Click here.
To foster an inclusive space, a brief safe space policy will be read at the start of each meeting, and participants will be encouraged to share their preferred names and pronouns. Discussions will be kept to age-appropriate topics, and content warnings will be provided.
Starting in April, Rainbow Reads will be meeting at the Eugene Public Library (Downtown) on the second Wednesday of the Month. Please refer to the updated schedule for the new dates and time. We’ll also be streaming the group on Zoom, so feel free to keep joining online if that is more accessible for you.
Eugene Public Library is giving away FREE BOOKS to Rainbow Reads participants– All yours to keep!
To get your book: Visit the reference desk in the children’s section at the downtown library branch for your free copy of the monthly discussion book. Mention Rainbow Reads and they’ll get you the book of the month. You do not need a library card. Sign up online to get reminders for when the books are available by clicking here.
If the library runs out of giveaways and rentals, or you live outside of the Eugene/Springfield Metro area, Wordcrafters has free digital and audiobooks available for members of the reading group to ensure all readers have access. Request an e-book here.
About the Facilitator
Ben Lilley was born in Eugene, OR, and has lived most of his life in the Pacific Northwest. He graduated with a B.S. in Science at PSU—which he mostly uses to contemplate how we can achieve a civilization more closely aligned with Star Trek—and completed a capstone in Sexuality, Gender, and Queer Studies. With over a decade of experience in social media marketing, fundraising, and community relations management, Ben has worked for local authors, nonprofits, and publishing companies as a freelance writer. Ben’s passion is LGBTQIA advocacy and spends his free time volunteering for LGBTQIA organizations, writing the queer stories he wished he grew up with, playing RPGs, training for marathons, and bemoaning the fact the world has yet to make a decent gluten-free donut.
The event is supported by the Oregon Cultural Trust and the Lane County Cultural Coalition.