We Were Always Here: A Queer Words Anthology

by Ryan Vance (Editor), Michael Lee Richardson (Editor), Jane Flett (Contributor)

From drag queens and discos, to black holes and monsters, these stories and poems wrestle with love and loneliness and the fight to be seen. By turns serious and fantastical, hilarious and confrontational, We Were Always Here addresses the fears, mysteries, wonders and variety of experience that binds our community together.

We Were Always Here is a snapshot of current LGBTI+ writing and a showcase of queer talent.

Contributors: Alice Tarbuck, Andrés Ordorica, April Hill, AR Crow, Bibi June, BD Owens, Callum Harper, Christina Neuwirth, Ciara Maguire, Elaine Gallagher, Elva Hills, Eris Young, Etzali Hernández, Felicity Anderson-Nathan, Freddie Alexander, Garry Mac, Gray Crosbie, Harry Josephine Giles, Heather Parry, Heather Valentine, Jack Bigglestone, Jane Flett, Jay G Ying, Jay Whittaker, Jonathan Bay, Jo Clifford, Kirsty Logan, Laura Waddell, Lori England, MJ Brocklebank, Rachel Plummer, Ross Jamieson, Sandra Alland, Shane Strachan, Zoe Storrie.

Genres: Poetry, Queer, Short Stories, LGBT, Fiction, Anthologies

211 pages, Paperback

First published January 31, 2019

Reviews

[Kirstie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been reading too many things at once so it took me ages to finish my first read of 2019. This was a great read full of queer Scottish goodness. In no particular order my favourite entries were:

🏳️‍🌈The Middle of Everything by Ciara Maguire
🏳️‍🌈 Smudged by Sandra Alland
🏳️‍🌈Forgive the Rain by Felicity Anderson
🏳️‍🌈The Labdscaper by Elva Hills
🏳️‍🌈Selkie
🏳️‍🌈IKEA by Andres Ordorica

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I particularly enjoyed Jane Flett’s story, and Freddie Alexander, Jo Clifford, Alice Tarbuck and Rachel Plummer’s poems.

[Harri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book full of things written by queers for queers.
Not all to my taste in writing/structure, but all worth reading.
No overwrought explanations, nothing written to placate, explain to or satisfy cishets.
Delicious. I want more.

[Siobhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

We Were Always Here is an anthology of fiction and poetry showcasing Scottish LGBT+ writers across a range of genres and styles. Some pieces are historical or speculative, others look at modern life, love, and hints of the magical. As with many anthologies that contain a variety of styles across a common theme, there are certain pieces that will resonate with different people, and others that are less up someone's street, and it's a strength of the editing that the collection moves between different pieces so well, bringing different work together side by side. Some personal favourites were some of the contemporary-set stories looking at characters and their relationships (like Christina Neuwirth's 'Sequins') and a poem about a punctuation error around Mary Shelley.

This anthology is a chance to discover new writers, think about different genres and styles, and get a quick hit of varied LGBT writing all at once. It is important that collections like this keep coming out (no pun intended) as they give a chance to read both familiar and unfamiliar authors together in an accessible format.

[Catherine Wilson Garry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this anthology. It was a fantastic way for me to support good friends or writers I admire and also discover a whole host of people I’d never read before. It’s beautifully balanced between poetry and prose, fantastical stories and the everyday, voices from across a community. I’d highly recommend this to anyone looking to read more LGBT+ fiction, or Scottish contemporary writing - or just anyone: because everyone needs a piece of this!

My only wish is for more! Some stories could feel cut short, and I wish there’d been more space to play. Regardless, I take my hat off to 404 Ink for another great publication and for always succeeding to curate such an incredible mixture of different stories and perspectives.

[Nathaniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this anthology and am glad I finally got around to reading it. It is true to its purpose, the content and the way the stories are told is thoroughly queer. Shifting timelines and perspectives abound, as well as honest depictions of queer experiences. It is funny how you need something and don't fully realise it until you experience it. This book is full of such fulfillments. It was nice to read something that I felt connected to on a generational as well as experiential level. As with all anthologies, some pieces stuck with me more than others but in the case of WWAH there was approximately 80% success rate.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read June 2022
As expected with an anthology; Loved some, liked some & didn't care for some others.
Also, personally I wasn't the biggest fan of how it mixed poetry & short stories. I would have even preffered it if it had been split in the middle with the first half stories and the second the poetry (or the other way around) Reading them mixed for soem reason kept pulling me out.

[Helen McClory · Rating 5 out of 5]

An essential snapshot into Queer writing in Scotland - a hotbed of the best-regarded and the new ones to watch.

[Sophie (RedheadReading) · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best anthologies I've read and a brilliant showcasing of queer voices. I'm excited to go away and explore more of what these contributors have created!

[Kaden McGuire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Especially liked a lot of the short stories, which often had me choked up. Everything inside feels real and vulnerable.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure; I'm in this collection - would I rate it less than five stars?

That said, I'm going to give it four for the choice of stories and poems; particular favourites were Bibi June's Legacy and Freddie Alexander's 301.4157 among the poems, and Eris Young's Meules among the stories.

Plus one star for the sheer exuberance of all the contributions and the fact of being a rare venue in the UK for queer writers to say their piece, not bound by the expectations of the literary and mainstream markets and critics.

[Oz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A friend bought me this for a recent birthday, and I immediately read it cover to cover – something I often struggle to do, with anthologies. As with any collection, not every work included is as stellar as others, but they all felt real, and relatable enough to me personally to still be moving.

[Carlotta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid collection, I love the variety. I love the mixture of prose and poetry as well, with one play mixed in there as well.
Some of the stories/poems that stood out to me:

Borrowed Trouble by Lori England
Legacy by Bibi June
These Are My Hands by Jo Clifford
Outside, It's Always Summer by Elaine Gallagher
Tornados Sweep Ballat Cross by BD Owens
Abbie by April Hill
Rain by April Hill
Practice by Jack Bigglestone
what I see when I see you Etzali Hernández
Mary Godwin Shelley's Second Wife by Alice Tarbuck
The Landscaper by Elva Hills
Selkie by Rachel Plummer
Mr. Fox by Heather Parry
Free Nipple Graft Technique by Jonathan Bay
Not This Again by Jay Whittaker
Mausoleum by Jay Whittaker

[Hollie (she her) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid 3 stars. I never realised how easy it is to make assumptions about a narrator when we're reading a story or poem. It is so easy to assume characters are straight, and identify themselves solely as straight, female / male, and what worked so well about this book was breaking down those boundaries, to get a range of perspectives of people from the LGBTQA+ community. Some stories definately stood out more than others and were very thought provoking.

[Jess Pumphrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I moved away from Scotland when I was 17, before I really participated in a queer community. I found it very moving to read this book and see that, as the title said, it had been there all along. It wasn't that I didn't know other LGBT people as a teenager, but until I read this book I'd never really felt a Scottish queerness with the two parts essential to each other. Thanks for showing me!

[lorin ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exactly what it says on the tin.

I rated each story/poem and then calculated my average rating, which gave me 4.06.

My favourites were:

- adjustment period by gray crosbie
- borrowed trouble by lori england
- are you lonesome tonight? by Shane strachan
- the middle of everything by ciara maguire
- stranger blood is sweeter by kirsty logan (obv)
- smudged by sandra alland

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

A myriad of stories interspersed with poems from some amazing authors I’ll admit I didn’t understand some of them but I did fall in love with quite a few
Are you lonesome tonight I guessed quite quickly the meaning and reasoning of that story. IKEA was sweet and Mr Fox was entertaining a great read for a lazy Christmas break while ill with covid

[Eli · Rating 3 out of 5]

This took me longer to read than I expected. I also expected it to be enjoyable, but it was just okay overall. There were a few good ones and a few favourites, but I just didn’t connect with the majority of it.

[Connor Girvan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Favourite stories which I really enjoyed:

Excerpt from Becoming Doctor Barry - MJ Brocklebank
Are You Lonesome Tonight - Shane Strachan
Continental Drift - Zoe Storrie
The Middle of Everything - Ciars Maguire (favourite)

Don’t think anthology books are my thing. prefer long pieces to read.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed all the stories.
They started all the same and a few were quiet predictable bit I loved the honesty and rawness of them all.

[francis abernathy enthusiast · Rating 3 out of 5]

i don’t really read anthologies but this was good and i liked it, recommended

[KL Baudelaire · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rich, varied, and moving collection of stories and poems. I enjoyed it very much indeed, but especially Jane Flett's 'Jellyfish' and Ciara Maguire's 'The Middle of Everything'.

[Chaundra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as part of the Queer Book Box.

Some lovely little gems in this book and really loved hearing from an unusual (for me) set of queer voices. Extremely well curated and a great way to discover new authors in a variety of genres.

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an incredibly varied anthology, showcasing a wide range of queer voices from across Scotland; with a range of genres and styles. Despite such a varied range of genres and styles these pieces come together well, and feel connected to one another.

At 211 pages this is very much a snapshot of not just queer writing in Scotland, but of the writers themselves. Some of the stories did feel a little short, and that there was just a little too much left unsaid. On the whole though they were just right length, often leaving me wanting to read more from the writer.

Another great publication from 404 Ink.

[Julia Rivière · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great showcase of the Scottish LGBTQ+ literary scene. I particularly loved short stories by Christina Neuwirth ("Sequins"), Lori England ("Borrowed Trouble"), Elaine Gallagher ("Outside, It's Always Summer") and Shane Strachan ("Are You Lonesome, Tonight?") and poems by Jo Clifford ("These are my Hands") and Jay Whittaker ("Not This Again"). I thought these were all very original, personal and touching in their own way. Of course, like in any collection, I didn't love everything and I think a little bit more representation of bi and trans - especially in short stories - would have been nice, but overall a great, bold and much needed anthology.