Vivek Shraya

[A man with short-cropped hair stands thigh-deep in a lake, looking over his shoulder into the camera.

[A solid yellow book cover with bold black text: What I LOVE about being QUEER.]

What I LOVE about being QUEER: One big question. Over 100 answers.

Featuring essays by Farzana Doctor (Six Metres Of Pavement), Elisha Lim (100 Butches), and George Brown College professors Kathryn Payne & Marilyn McLean.

The What I LOVE about being QUEER project has been featured on Huffington Post, About.com, CBC’s Metro Morning, the Shameless blog, Xtra! and Nightlife Magazine.

Made in partnership with George Brown College Diversity, Equity and Human Rights Services.

About the film

Tumblr: What do you LOVE about being QUEER?

Like the many people in this book, What I LOVE about being QUEER is wise, sexy, opinionated, tender, outrageous and fun. It’s a brilliant snapshot of queers and their glorious, radical diversity.

Richard Fung (Dal Puri Diaspora)

There’s so much to love about What I LOVE about being QUEER! It’s about time a book like this exists—one that starts the conversation in a positive light.

Zoe Whittall (Holding Still for as Long as Possible, Bottle Rocket Hearts)

Another unique and powerful offering from one of the the LGBT community’s most original and gifted talents. Anything Shraya touches turns to gold.

Susan G. Cole (NOW Magazine)

What I LOVE about being QUEER seeks to give queers the opportunity to reflect on what it means to be queer and why we are attached to and embrace the concept…

VUE Weekly

This book will challenge you to think about your own queerness in ways that might even make you feel a little uncomfortable.

FAB Magazine

More press: Lambda Literary, blogTO, Xtra!, FAB Magazine (PDF), City Centre Mirror, The Big Q, Buzzfeed.

Order now!

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All proceeds will go to the GBC Positive Space Award for LGBTQ students demonstrating leadership in the classroom and community.

[An illustration of a pair of scissors with brightly-coloured handles descending into a flurry of black locks, with the text 'GOD LOVES HAIR: Stories by Vivek Shraya. Artwork by Juliana Neufeld.']

God Loves Hair is Vivek Shraya‘s first book, a collection of 21 short stories following a tender, intellectual, and curious child as he navigates complex realms of sexuality, gender, racial politics, religion, and belonging.

Told with the poignant insight and honesty that only the voice of a young mind can convey, the stories are accompanied by the award-winning illustrations of Toronto artist Juliana Neufeld.

God Loves Hair was selected as a finalist in the 2011 Lambda Literary Awards.

Watch a reading

Listen to a reading

Read an excerpt: “Eyebrows”

[An illustration of a yellow cartoon character with a bushy “unibrow,” and the word “Eyebrows” written across it in white lettering.]

God Loves Hair is a DIY masterpiece.

rabble.ca

Beautifully illustrated & tenderly narrated, God Loves Hair enchants the reader from the very first page.

Gaysi Family

A touching, poetic exploration of budding sexuality, the mysticism of religion, and family dynamics.

Brian Francis, author of Fruit

Shraya’s endearing descriptions of childhood and adolescence are both humorous and heartbreaking.

Sara Quin (of Tegan and Sara)

A welcome peek into the complexities, richness, hardship, and even ‘juicy’ moments that make up a life lived not part of the majority.

Ted Kerr, Xtra and Vue Weekly columnist

Winner: Applied Arts Award for Illustration

Finalist: 2011 Lambda Literary Awards

Featured on the American Library Association’s
2011 Rainbow Project and Over the Rainbow book lists

More reviews: NOW, Crazy Quilts, Revel & Riot, Trikone, Out in Print,
What is Queer and Asian, The New Gay, Gaysi Family, The Coast.

Interviews with Vivek: CBC DNTO Podcast (mp3),
South Asian Generation Next, Lambda Literary, KQED, Mid Day,
Masala Canada, Xtra!, Eye Weekly, Gaysi Family.

God Loves Hair in the classroom

[A black-and-white illustration of a young boy studying at a desk. A colourful thought bubble shows that he is dreaming of the god Ganesh.]

God Loves Hair is being used as course material in gender and sexuality courses at the University of Alberta, Brock University, and George Brown College, and has been approved by the New York City Council and NYC Department of Education as part of a new initiative to bring LGBT-themed books into classrooms and libraries.

If you are interested in using God Loves Hair in your class as a textbook and/or having Vivek do a reading, workshop, or guest lecture, please contact vivek@vivekshraya.com for more information.

Order the second edition now!


Canadian orders

U.S. orders

Int’l orders

Also available at:

Bhajans for Mom

[An illustration of a young brown-skinned boy with eyes closed and hands clasped in front of his face in prayer, and the text “I’m only a few days till Sunday.”]

Bhajans for Mom are eight Hindu devotional songs performed and produced by Vivek. Listen to them now, or download them all for free.