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I just helped a friend out by filling out a questionnaire for her psych class, and it kicked my ass a little. These were questions about dating as a teen, and I realized while answering that I have absolutely no answers for what LGBT kids did in the 1980s for dating. For me, there was… Read more »

I get wonderful emails. This one came from a 16-year-old Orthodox Jew who had just finished The Porcupine of Truth. For those of you who are thinking about writing an author to respond to a book, take a look at the way she does it here: it is respectful, yet honest. It is an expression… Read more »

I got a delightful email from a teen in India the other day. This really made me happy! Openly Straight was nearly published in India, but in the end it was decided that too many of the allusions in the book would not translate. Maybe that wasn’t so? — Hey Bill…I Am 17 And From… Read more »

I was so excited to learn that Openly Straight won Honorable Mention in the 2015 Joan F. Kaywell Books Save Lives Award! The award went to my friend Meg Medina for her wonderful novel, Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass. So well deserved! I love, love, love that book. The award is named after Joan… Read more »

If I’ve learned one thing on my trip around the United States, talking to LGBTQ youth about coming out and suicide and depression for The Trevor Project, it’s the fact that the concept of unity in this country is an impossibility. How do we unite: The 18-year-old gender fluid person of color in Little Rock… Read more »

So here’s what happened when I visited a high school in Houston. It’s been an interesting tour so far! At moments, I’m keenly aware that I am doing important work. Then, at others–often when I’m driving–my brain takes over. No one knows who you are, it tells me. These kids think you’re OLD. You’re kidding… Read more »

What follows is the transcript of a fascinating conversation I had Tuesday night with a group of transgender teens at the Oasis Project in Nashville called TYME (Trans Youth Meet to Empower) . I started this journey with a subpar understanding of what transgender really meant, and I’m in the midst of a fast and… Read more »

The thing about traveling the country for a month by car is that you feel very alone. You aren’t with your family and friends, the people who love you. You know they’re there, but they aren’t there, if that makes sense. You look around the coffee shop where you’ve set up to work for the… Read more »

I’m heading out on The Trevor Project Awareness Tour with Bill Konigsberg on Friday! I’m excited and nervous. I have never taken a 5,000-mile driving trip before. When I start in the south (Dallas in early September), it will be summer. When I end (Minnesota in October) it’ll be chilly. I have to take two… Read more »

I’m so excited to announce that I’m hitting the road this September, visiting 18 locations through the South and Midwest. The tour, called The Trevor Project Awareness Tour with Bill Konigsberg, will raise funds for The Trevor Project, the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning… Read more »