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Reading Passing on the Pen: Ann Bannon and Victor J. Banis

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If queer lit's tangled roots can be traced to pulp fiction, then Ann Bannon and Victor J. Banis wrote some of the genre's urtexts. Though often published under pseudonyms and accompanied by lurid cover art, Bannon's Beebo Brinker Chronicles and Banis' The Man from C.A.M.P. series were as inspired by their authors' pre-Stonewall lives as they were the product of a paperback industry eager to milk "sexual deviance" for cash. However, Bannon's strong butch Beebo and Banis' swishy secret agent Jackie Holmes flouted literary conventions, which often condemned queer characters to unhappy endings. Tonight, the two icons read from and speak about their landmark '60s novels and latest projects.

– Matt Sussman

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