Eat, Gay, Love: Longlisted for the Polari First Book Prize

**LONGLISTED FOR THE POLARI FIRST BOOK PRIZE**

’You’ve never read a travel memoir like this before’
The Sunday Times, ’Pride Culture Guide’

’Sweet and fun, with real emotional depth and a rousing, feisty spirit’
Matt Cain

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In the spring of 2012, Calum finds himself single again after his relationship of six years comes to an end.

Heartbroken, unhappy and unsure of what to do next, he leaves the hometown he has been in all his life to embark on a journey that takes him all around the world, from teaching in a school on the outskirts of Rome to exploring the sex clubs of Berlin, to raising tigers in an animal sanctuary deep in the jungles of Thailand. Along the way, he meets LGBT+ people from all walks of life and every part of the rainbow - from an Italian teenager struggling with a homophobic father to a kathoey navigating life as a trans person in Thailand, to a young HIV-positive man living on the streets of London.

Their individual stories, not only of hardship and sorrow but also of profound strength and hope, show the breadth and depth of queer life and experience, shedding light on themes such as homophobia, sexual violence, marriage equality and gender identity. Through these meetings and friendships, Calum not only finds the encouragement to embrace life after heartbreak, but also discovers a beautiful, loving global community who support and uplift him through the best and worst moments of his time on the road.

A travel memoir with a difference, Eat, Gay, Love is a celebration of the power of community and a personal tribute to the extraordinary lives of LGBT+ people everywhere in the world.

Calum McSwiggan is a writer and LGBT+ advocate who has worked with charities such as Switchboard, Terrence Higgins Trust and Stonewall. He hosted a popular radio show for FUBAR Radio and has also created several short films, including the award-winning Love Happens Here, which was named ’Best LGBT+ Short Film’ at the Buffer Festival in Toronto. In 2019 he started a book club to encourage young people to read more LGBT+ literature.