New in the
LILAC collection in 2016

New books 2016

Memoirs

Avery, Ellis
The Family tooth : a memoir

A memoir in essays about health and sickness, mothers and menstruation, resiliency and recovery ... review

Brownstein, Carrie
Hunger makes me a modern girl : a memoir

Memoir from a leader of feminist punk music at the dawn of the riot-grrrl era ... review

Calman, Susan
Cheer up love : adventures in depression with the crab of hate

Scottish comedian Susan Calman's account of coping with depression ... review

Jansson, Tove; Smith, Ali (introd.)
Sculptor's daughter : a childhood memoir

A reissue of Tove Jansson's magical childhood memoir ... review

Niemann, Linda
Boomer : railroad memoirs

Memoir of an academic dropout who went to work on the railroad to force herself to sink or swim ... more

Perkins, Sue
Spectacles

Spectacles is Sue Perkins' memoir covering her life so far from the day she popped out (her mum made notes during labour) ... review

Piepzna-Samarasinha, Leah Lakshmi
Dirty river : a queer femme of color dreaming her way home

In 1996, poet Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha ran away from America with two backpacks and ended up in Canada, where she discovered queer anarchopunk love and revolution, yet remained haunted by the reasons she left home in the first place review

Tea, Michelle
How to grow up : a memoir

Wild grrl grows up ... and shares the tale review

Trefusis, Violet; Leaska, Mitchell A. (ed.); Phillips, John (ed.)
Violet to Vita : the letters of Violet Trefusis to Vita Sackville-West, 1910-21

A Collection of Violet's letters that explores her side of her passionate affair with Vita Sackville-West ... review

Fiction

Alexander, Robin
Gift of time

A story of love, devotion and a bond that carries two women from one lifetime to the next ... more

Calhoun, Jackie
Roommates

Undergraduate romance ... more

Donoghue, Emma
Hood

Coping with sudden widowhood in Catholic Dublin ... more - a top-shelf novel returns to LILAC

Dutton, Erin
For the love of cake

Romance set in the world of reality TV cooking shows ... more

Hill, Gerri
The Scorpion

Poking a sleeping bear with a sharp stick is foolish. Marty Edwards is about to be very foolish ... more

Lynch, Katie
Confucius Jane

A lush novel set in New York's Chinatown ... more

McCoy, Robbi
The Farmer's daughter

The open road is the only place that seems safe to Shirley Hopper ... more. Winner of the 2015 Lambda Literary Award for Best Lesbian Romance

Okparanta, Chinelo
Under the udala trees

A stunning story of coming of age as a lesbian in Nigeria ... Lambda Literary review

Raand, L.L. [aka Radclyffe
Blood hunt

Sylvan, the Wolf Were Alpha, forges an uneasy alliance with Detective Jody Gates, heir to a powerful Vampire clan, to battle a shadow army of humans and rogue Weres ... more

Schulman, Sarah
The Cosmopolitans

A stunning novel set in New York in 1958 ... review

Shieff, Jen
The Gentlemen's club

Headstrong and independent, Rita Saunders is a successful hairdresser by day and a busy brothel madam by night. The only thing missing from her life is the love of a good woman ... review. A psychological thriller set in 1950s Auckland

Vali, Ali
Carly's sound

Is passion still possible the second time around? ... more

White, Kenna
Beautiful journey

Romance set in the British Women's Air Transport Auxiliary during World War II ...more

Winterson, Jeanette
The Gap of time

An ingenious updating of Shakespeare's play 'The Winter's Tale' ... review

Short stories

Cage, Diana (ed.)
On our backs : the best erotic fiction. Volume 2

Erotic stories from 'On Our Backs' magazine ... more

Cole, Gina
Black ice matter

Outstanding debut collection of short stories set in Fiji, New Zealand and beyond from a Fijian-born author ... more plus an interview with the author

Green, Sacchi (ed.)
Lesbian cops : erotic investigations

What is it about lesbian cops that pushes all the right buttons? It?s not just the uniform ... more

Holoch, Naomi (ed.); Nestle, Joan (ed.)
The Vintage book of international lesbian fiction

Presents a range of literary voices - from twenty-seven countries spanning six continents - and offers glimpses of lesbian life in unfamilar places ... review

Young adult

Jaffe, Sara
Dryland : a novel

A coming-of-age story about a young girl's growing awareness - of sexuality, loss, and family truths ... review

Tamaki, Mariko; Tamaki, Jillian (ill.)
Skim
A smart and sensitive graphic novel by and about young women ... more
This one summer
Award-winning teen graphic novel about a summer of secrets, heartaches and growing up ... review

Thrash, Maggie
Honor girl

A graphic memoir set in a girls' summer camp with first kiss, first heartbreak ... review.

Detective

Hart, Ellen
The Old deep and dark

The 22nd Jane Lawless mystery ... more. Winner of the 2015 Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian mystery

Hunt, Morgan
Fool on the hill : a Tess Camillo mystery

Sweeney, Kate
She waits

Middle-aged, accident prone ex-PI has opted for the quiet life as a photographer, but life is never quite so simple ... more

Woodham, Jane
Twister

A detective story set in Dunedin that is very much a personal story, told through a series of flashbacks ... more

Nonfiction

Gunn, Alexandra C. (ed.); Smith, Lee A. (ed.)
Sexual cultures in Aotearoa New Zealand education

Explores how the assumption that heterosexuality is the norm operates in education, and the discriminatory effects of this for teachers, for students, and for parents, in early childhood education, schools, tertiary and alternative settings ... more

Hardy, David (comp.); Whiley, Elizabeth (ed.); Cartmel, Hannah Mae (ed.)
Bold : stories from older lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender & intersex people

An anthology of personal stories from over 50 older LGBTI people, mainly from Australia, of first love and family, of struggle and defiance and resistance and pride ... more

Harding, Kat
The Lesbian Kama Sutra

Applies the spirit and intention of the original Kama Sutra to the lives of women ... more.

Jamieson, Philippa
The Wild green yonder : ten seasons volunteering on New Zealand's organic farms

Itching for change a city girl quits her cosy city job and travels around New Zealand on the WWOOF scheme

Jennings, Rebecca
A Lesbian history of Britain : love and sex between women since 1500

Drawing on a wide range of historical sources - court records, newspaper reports, medical records, novels, oral histories and personal papers - the author presents a history of lesbian experience in Britain. review

Levithan, David (ed.); Merrell, Billy (ed)
The Full spectrum : a new generation of writing about gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning, and other identities

Forty essays and poems by 13- to 23-year-olds about growing up gay, lesbian or transgender in the contemporary world ... review

Olson, Jenni
The Queer movie poster book

Traces the history of queer film through its posters and promotional art ... review

Smedley, Georgia (photographer); Godoy, Esther (ed.)
Butch is not a dirty word

A new zine that celebrates butch identity and culture ... more. Download issue #1 at butchisnotadirtyword.com

Anthologies

Clements, Alexis (ed.)
Variations : Sinister wisdom 101

This special volume of the 40-year old lesbian art and literary journal Sinister Wisdom, explores the varied meanings of lesbian feminism in today's world ... more

Enzer, Julie R. (ed.)
Pleasure (Sinister wisdom ; 99)
Poetry and short fiction on the theme of pleasure, by new and returning lesbian feminist writers Sinister wisdom 100 : Anniversary
The 100th issue of lesbian publication 'Sinister Wisdom', published 40 years after the 1st. Features new work by lesbian-feminist writers and artists from around the globe ... more

New DVDs 2016

Annie Leibovitz : life through a lens: Portrait of the life and career of trail-blazing superstar photographer Annie Leibovitz ... review (90 min. ; region 4)
Carol: Based on Patricia Highsmith's novel 'The Price of salt' (originally published as 'Carol' by 'Claire Morgan') ... more (119 min. ; region 4)
Everything relative: Old college chums get together for a weekend reunion that is bound to open old wounds and perhaps heal them ... review (110 min. ; region 1)
Freeheld: Drama based on the true story of an American police officer's fight to have her pension benefits transferred to her domestic partner ... more (99 min. ; region 4)
Gayby baby: Australian documentary about the experiences of four kids with same-sex parents, told from the perspective of the kids ... interview with the director (82 min. ; region 4)
Grandma: Elle(Lily Tomlin) has just gotten through breaking up with her girlfriend when her granddaughter shows up unexpectedly needing $600 before sundown ... review (75 min. ; region 4)
Heavenly creatures: Movie based on the 1954 Parker-Hume murder case in Christchurch ... more (104 min. ; region 4) ... just catching up on the back catalogue
Kissing Jessica Stein: After a string of really bad dates with men, Jessica's search for "Mr Right seems pointless ... review (96 min. ; region 4)
Maggie & Annie: A happily married woman with children falls for her openly gay softball teammate ... review (120 min. ; region 1)
My summer of love: Explores the relationship between two young women from different classes and backgrounds more (86 min. ; all regions)
Puccini for beginners: A romantic comedy about the perils of bisexual dating review (81 min. ; region 4)
The Topp Twins. Volume 1: Seven episodes of the Topp's 1997 TV series (region 4)
The Topp Twins. Volume 2: Six episodes of the Topp's 1998 TV series (region 4)
The Topp Twins : do not adjust your twin-set: Six episodes of the Topp's 1999 TV series (region 4)
Wentworth. Season one: Australian prison drama - a remake of the classic Prisoner series (5 discs (500 min.) ; region 4)

New titles in 2017 New titles in 2015