Queer Folk Tales

Queer Folk Tales presents 15 short stories in which LGBTQ+ characters take centre stage, occupying roles traditionally given to princes, heroines, rogues and monsters. Kevin Walker writes in a folk-tale tradition, reshaping familiar patterns while also creating new stories for queer characters to inhabit.

The collection opens with “Sikander and the Prince” and moves through romantic, brave, foolish, wicked, mysterious and fantastical situations. Its central concern is representation: queer people belong not only in contemporary life, but also within storytelling traditions that reach back through time. The tales therefore make sexuality part of their characters’ lives without treating it as a source of conflict, presenting queer folk as a natural presence in the worlds of folklore.