Proud Anthology (Compiled by Juno Dawson) - Book Review ⋆ Wonderfully Bookish

Title: Proud
Authors: Various; Compiled by Juno Dawson
Publisher: Stripes Publishing
Date Published: March 7, 2019
Genre: YA Contemporary, LGBTQ+

Date Read: March 9, 2019
Format: Paperback (I was sent a copy of this book from the publisher.)

Note: The links below are affiliate links, meaning I get a small commission on any purchase you make. Thanks!

Find out more or buy the book:

Proud Synopsis

A stirring, bold and moving anthology of stories and poetry by top LGBTQ+ YA authors and new talent, giving their unique responses to the broad theme of pride. Each story has an illustration by an artist identifying as part of the LGBTQ+ community. Compiled by Juno Dawson, author of THIS BOOK IS GAY and CLEAN.

A celebration of LGBTQ+ talent, PROUD is a thought-provoking, funny, emotional read.

Contributors: Steve Antony, Dean Atta, Kate Alizadeh, Fox Benwell, Alex Bertie, Caroline Bird, Fatti Burke, Tanya Byrne, Moira Fowley-Doyle, Frank Duffy, Simon James Green, Leo Greenfield, Saffa Khan, Karen Lawler, David Levithan, Priyanka Meenakshi, Alice Oseman, Michael Lee Richardson, David Roberts, Cynthia So, Kay Staples, Jessica Vallance, Kristen Van Dam, Kameron White

Proud Anthology – Review

All books are important for so many reasons. But sometimes, a particular book comes along that is so important that everyone needs to know about it – and Proud is one of those books.

Proud is a collection of short stories, poetry, and artwork by LGBTQ+ writers and artists, curated by Juno Dawson, and published by Stripes. Stripes have published various anthologies in the past, including I’ll Be Home For Christmas which set out to raise money for homelessness charity Crisis, and A Change Is Gonna Come, a collection written by BAME authors.

For me, short story anthologies can often be hit and miss – some stories are great and others are meh. But with Stripes anthologies, I always love them. Of course, there are some pieces I like more than others, but on the whole, I always enjoy reading every piece.

The thing I especially love about Stripes anthologies, especially Proud, is that they include pieces by well-known authors (like Simon James Green and David Levithan) as well as new authors that have been discovered especially for these anthologies. Finding new voices is wonderful, especially when they’re in a minority, like BAME or LGBTQ+. Give me all the incredible minority authors plz!

So, let’s focus on Proud. I loved this book a lot. The stories have an amazing range of characters who are gay, bi, trans, or questioning their sexuality, and it’s wonderful to see so many identities represented. (The only thing I was hoping for, which I don’t think I saw, was a story about an asexual/aromantic person.)

There are so many different types of people too, from confident party people to nerds who prefer blend into the background. I’m pretty sure that there’s a story in this anthology that almost anyone can relate to, and right now, that’s so important.

Proud is full of messages of hope, love, victory, and everything else in between. There’s also a great range when it comes to style and genre – we’ve got contemporary, fantasy, romance, non-romance – and the artwork that goes along with each story or poem makes the book more unique. I don’t know how many times I can say “I love this book”, but… I love this book!

So, conclusion: Stripes anthologies are always incredible, and Proud is no different. It’s full of stories for everyone and it needs to be sold in every single shop, put into libraries everywhere, and put into the hands of people that need a bit of encouragement to believe that it’s okay to be who they are without shame – but that it’s also okay to wait until you’re ready.