NB: This is not a union event but may be of interest to some of our members

2015 was described as the year transgender went ‘mainstream’; the popularity of drag performance has risen and the silence around intersex broken. Writing on the Wall invite Queen of Teen and multi award-winning author, Juno Dawson, formerly James, award-winning author, Abigail Tartellin (Golden Boy), and The Vivienne, Liverpool’s very own UK Ambassador for RuPaul’s Drag Race to discuss gender identity in the 21st Century asking the question: mainstream or minority? All welcome!

Juno is the multi award-winning author of dark teen thrillers including Say Her Name, Hollow Pike and young adult fiction including Being a Boy and This Book is Gay. Juno grew up in West Yorkshire, writing imaginary episodes of Doctor Who. She later turned her talent to journalism and has become a regular contributor to Attitude Magazine, Glamour Magazine and The Guardian and has contributed to news items on BBC Women’s Hour, Front Row, ITV News, Channel 5 News, This Morning and Newsnight concerning sexuality, identity, literature and education.  In 2015, Juno announced her intention to undergo gender transition and live as a woman. You can find out more about Juno Dawson and her work here.

Abigail Tarttelin is the author of Golden Boy, “a grippingly innovative” novel with a “radical non-binary, pro-intersex message” (Autostraddle). Deconstructing gender at every turn, Golden Boy centres on the coming-of-age of an intersex protagonist, and is published in eight languages by nine leading publishers worldwide. The winner of an American Library Association ALEX Award for itsimportance to American teens, it has been featured in Vogue, Vanity Fair, Glamour, Cosmopolitan and a host of other publications. Abigail’s debut novel Flick is an exploration of masculinity, and the follow-up to Golden Boy will complete a gender triptych, focusing on girlhood in 90’s Britain. Elsewhere, Abigail fronts feminist concept band Girlboy, featured for two years running in BBC Introducing’s picks of the year with their singles “Jennifer Lawrence” and “Girls Won’t Mind”, and edits the tongue-in cheekily titled zine I Hope You Like Feminist Rants. Find out more about the fantastic Abigail and her work here 

The Vivienne is Liverpool’s very own sassiest drag queen, owning the stage regularly as a resident DJ of Superstar Boudoir and Garlands. The Vivienne is currently the UK’s ambassador for RuPaul’s Drag Race.  Her crowning saw fierce competition from some of the UK's most talented queens which marked the launch of RuPaul's Drag Race on truTV. As part of her duties in the newly-minted role of UK Drag Ambassador, Vivienne will work closely with truTV on a series of vlogs that will accompany episodes of Drag Race as they air. Watch this space. Find out more about Vivienne here.