On the 11th December 2024 we finally launched People Like Us - The Photo-book - at Queercircle! It was a true celebration after working hard all year on the production of this book.
Queercircle were a total joy to work with - super responsive and supportive from the start, accommodating all my needs from date changes to sourcing tea urns, the space was perfect for our event and they made it look beautiful!
It was an absolute dream community event with such a gorgeous mix of people filling out the space. Quite a few fellow creatives who have known me a long time were there too and a number of them told me how much they had seen me grow with this project, which was nice to hear!
I could not have done this launch without my righthand buddy and participant Sabah who helped me plan the evening, spent a day setting it up with me and was beside me all night giving out the books and keeping everything in order and most importantly made the spiced cinnamon tea which was something I really wanted, lol! They also colour co-ordinated their top with the book - they really did think of everything!! ;)
I spoke a little about self publishing and NOT having to “kill my darlings”! I kept ALL 370 of them! (photographs) ;)
I also read some of the text I wrote for the book “This is Me”, an anecdotal piece reflecting on moments from the shoots and conversations I had with participants. hotpencil press read their specially commissioned piece from the book - mapping their non-binary and trans-masc timelines from 1976 to the present. Then participants: Sabah, Lucy, Nneka, Amber, Laura, Cairo and Chuck read their texts written for the book. We ended with a fab comedy set from Chuck transitioning us into the night very nicely!
Photographs by my lovely friend and once upon a time creative accomplice Jemima Yong who always supports and shows up for stuff.
hotpencil press - Serge and Libro Levi
It was such a buzz to hear how much people enjoyed the launch and how much it meant to them!
“It was heartwarming and inspirational to see so many "people like me" in the room, old and new to transition. I'm excited to get stuck into the book to read all of their stories!” Jay
“Great event. Powerful brave exciting energising hopeful anarchic and pushing all the boundaries in the right way!” Kelly
“The launch of the ‘People Like Us’ book at Queercircle was funny, moving and a beautiful celebration of trans-masc and gender non-conforming experiences. It’s more than a photobook: it’s a vital record of voices that need to be heard right now.” Katy
If you missed the launch or were there and want to relive some of it - here’s a 22 minute film I edited from Ana de Mato’s footage featuring clips from the readings:
Or if that’s too long here’s a one minute edit to give you the vibe!
The photo-book is available to purchase here - still at the presale price of £25 : http://www.hollyrevell.co.uk/shop/people-like-us-photobook
