Flamboyants: The Queer Harlem Renaissance I Wish I'd Known

Ages 14 to 18

From New York Times-bestselling author of All Boys Aren't Blue comes an illuminating set of profiles of Black and Queer icons from the Harlem Renaissance, interspersed with personal essays and spot illustrations by a Steptoe Award-winning illustrator.

While many iconic figures of 1920s Black America may not have been public about their sexuality at the time, they still found ways to express their identities in essays, songs, poetry, and other art forms. And it wasn’t always pretty or polite! From high-society weddings to raunchy music and friendship feuds, George M. Johnson delivers all the juicy details in twelve short biographies of these iconic flamboyants—like Langston Hughes, Ma Rainey, Zora Neale Hurston, or Josephine Baker—whose sexualities have been obscured throughout history.

Interspersed with Johnson’s personal narrative and their own poetry, Flamboyants illuminates how American culture has always been shaped by people who are both Black and Queer. Award-winning author and illustrator Charly Palmer brings these flamboyant writers, artists, and activists to life on the page through gorgeous full-color portraits.

In their contributions to American thought and culture, these figures left a roadmap for the future. A future where people like George M. Johnson and others can not only live publicly as a queer person, but can create art fully immersed in a queer experience. And lead a flamboyant life!

About the Author

George M. Johnson (they/them) is an Emmy nominated, award-winning, and bestselling Black nonbinary author and activist. Their debut memoir, All Boys Aren’t Blue, was a New York Times bestseller and garnered many accolades. It was the second-most banned book of 2022 in the United States, according to the American Library Association. For their work fighting book bans and challenges, the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) honored George with its Free Speech Defender Award, and TIME Magazine named them one of the “100 Next Most Influential People in the World.” Originally from Plainfield, New Jersey, they now live in Los Angeles, California. iamgmjohnson.com

Charly Palmer is a graphic designer, illustrator, and the Coretta Scott King John Steptoe New Talent Award winner for Mama Africa! As a child, he was fascinated by Ezra Jack Keats’s illustrations for The Snowy Day, which inspired Charly’s own use of color and geometric shapes. He studied art and design at the American Academy of Art and the School of the Art Institute, both in Chicago. charlypalmer.com