The Book Fairies couldn’t resist hiding some amazing books at the largest Pride celebration in the world – NYC! They spent the weekend hiding books kindly donated by our friends at World of Books, using our new Pride stickers and also some Pride rainbow ribbon. They held onto some of the books to hide at the official Pride NYC parade.

The Book Fairies enjoyed finding Pride flags and events to head to and here are some of the books they hid around NYC on the weekend of 30th June / 1st July 2019.

The Book Fairies in Central Park

First Book Fairy Drop: A Brief History of Seven Killings

This book was taken on a boat onto the boating lake in Central Park NYC, and hidden near a great spot for seeing basking turtles!

About the book:

In A Brief History of Seven Killings, Marlon James combines brilliant storytelling with his unrivaled skills of characterization and meticulous eye for detail to forge an enthralling novel of dazzling ambition and scope.

On December 3, 1976, just before the Jamaican general election and two days before Bob Marley was to play the Smile Jamaica Concert to ease political tensions in Kingston, seven gunmen stormed the singer’s house, machine guns blazing. The attack wounded Marley, his wife, and his manager, and injured several others. Little was officially released about the gunmen, but much has been whispered, gossiped and sung about in the streets of West Kingston. Rumors abound regarding the assassins’ fates, and there are suspicions that the attack was politically motivated.

Gripping and inventive, shocking and irresistible, A Brief History of Seven Killings is a mesmerizing modern classic of power, mystery, and insight.

Second Book Fairy Drop: Believe Me

Near the beautiful Bethesda Fountain in Central Park NYC, there is a stunning building where The Book Fairies hid a copy of Eddie Izzard’s Believe Me.

About the book:

With his brand of keenly intelligent humor that ranges from world history to historical politics, sexual politics, mad ancient kings, and chickens with guns, Eddie Izzard has built an extraordinary fan base that transcends age, gender, and race. Writing with the same candor and insight evident in his comedy, he reflects on a childhood marked by the loss of his mother, boarding school, and alternative sexuality, as well as a life in comedy, film, politics, running and philanthropy.

Third Book Fairy Drop: The Clothesline Swing

Back to the Central Park Boating Lake, and The Book Fairies hid this title from Ahmad Danny Ramadan.

The Clothesline Swing is a journey through the troublesome aftermath of the Arab Spring. A former Syrian refugee himself, Ramadan unveils an enthralling tale of courage that weaves through the mountains of Syria, the valleys of Lebanon, the encircling seas of Turkey, the heat of Egypt and finally, the hope of a new home in Canada.

Inspired by Arabian Tales of One Thousand and One Nights, The Clothesline Swing tells the epic story of two lovers anchored to the memory of a dying Syria. One is a Hakawati, a storyteller, keeping life in forward motion by relaying remembered fables to his dying partner. Each night he weaves stories of his childhood in Damascus, of the cruelty he has endured for his sexuality, of leaving home, of war, of his fated meeting with his lover. Meanwhile Death himself, in his dark cloak, shares the house with the two men, eavesdropping on their secrets as he awaits their final undoing.

The Book Fairies at the Pride NYC Parade

Fourth Book Fairy Drop: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

On Sunday 1st July 2019, Pride Day in NYC, The Book Fairies took more titles out with them! Starting in Central Park and making their way down 5th Avenue, these book fairies hid many Pride related titles for lucky finders!

About the book:

Straight people should have to come out too. And the more awkward it is, the better.

Simon Spier is sixteen and trying to work out who he is – and what he’s looking for. 

But when one of his emails to the very distracting Blue falls into the wrong hands, things get all kinds of complicated.

Because, for Simon, falling for Blue is a big deal …

It’s a holy freaking huge awesome deal.

Fifth Book Fairy Drop: Trans Mission

Alex Bertie’s Trans Mission was left close to the main Pride parade in NYC on Sunday 1st July!

About the book:

I guess we should start at the beginning. I was born on 2 November 1995. The doctors in the hospital took one look at my genitals and slapped an F on my birth certificate. ‘F’ for female, not fail – though that would actually have been kind of appropriate given present circumstances.

When I was 15, I realised I was a transgender man. That makes it sound like I suddenly had some kind of lightbulb moment. In reality, coming to grips with my identity has taken a long time. 

Over the last six years, I’ve come out to my family and friends, changed my name, battled the healthcare system, started taking male hormones and have had surgery on my chest. My quest to a beard is almost complete. This is my story.

Sixth Book Fairy Drop: The Golden Boy

Abigail Tarttelin’s The Golden Boy was hidden with the booming sound of NYC Pride Parade in the background!

About the book:

Max Walker is a golden boy. Attractive, intelligent, and athletic, he’s the perfect son, the perfect friend, and the perfect crush for the girls in his school. He’s even really nice to his little brother. Karen, Max’s mother, is determined to maintain the façade of effortless excellence she has constructed through the years, but now that the boys are getting older, she worries that the façade might soon begin to crumble. Adding to the tension, her husband Steve has chosen this moment to stand for election to Parliament. The spotlight of the media is about to encircle their lives. 

The Walkers are hiding something, you see. Max is special. Max is different. Max is intersex. When an enigmatic childhood friend named Hunter steps out of his past and abuses his trust in the worst possible way, Max is forced to consider the nature of his well-kept secret. Why won’t his parents talk about it? What else are they hiding from Max about his condition and from each other? The deeper Max goes, the more questions emerge about where it all leaves him and what his future holds, especially now that he’s starting to fall head over heels for someone for the first time in his life. Will his friends accept him if he is no longer the Golden Boy? Will anyone ever want him—desire him—once they know? And the biggest one of all, the question he has to look inside himself to answer: Who is Max Walker, really?

In conclusion!

In total across the whole weekend, these book fairies hid over TWO HUNDRED books around NYC! If you were lucky enough to find one, please tell us on instagram: @bookfairies_newyork

How did you celebrate Pride?

Tell us your Pride stories by emailing bookfairyemail@gmail.com – if you have pics of favourite LGBTQ+ books that would be great too!

Join The Book Fairies – hiding books worldwide

If you have a pile of books you’d like to share or donate, why not make it more fun by becoming a book fairy? Grab some stickers and some ribbons and bookmarks, and start by hiding in your local area. If you like it, you might choose to hide them further afield, or when you’re on holiday, like Paul did in Washington, D.C.!