4 Holiday Stories by LGBT Writers to Get You in the Spirit

The holiday season can be overwhelming and busy, but these holiday stories by LGBT writers are the perfect way to take a break. Food, faith, family, and community are woven throughout these four stories.

1) Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days by Jeanette WintersonEach year Jeanette Winterson, author of Oranges are Not the Only Fruit and Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?, wrote a new story at Christmas time. This year, she brings together twelve of her imaginative tales and a personal story of her own Christmas memories as a lesbian in a Pentecostal household. The recipes throughout the book emphasize the way we connect through food and cooking throughout the holiday season.

2) Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris"Santaland Diaries," David Sedaris’ absurd tale of his season spent as a department store elf at Macy’s, became an instant Christmas classic when he read his essay on Morning Edition in 1992. Pick up Holidays on Ice, which includes "Santaland Diaries" and five other Christmas stories.

3) "Hanukkah at Tiffany’s" by Lesléa NewmanLesléa Newman is the author of a number of children’s books, including Runaway Dreidel and Heather Has Two Mommies. In "Hanukkah at Tiffany’s" a rebellious four-year-old’s name change causes her grandmother to recall her own childhood. 

4) Treyf: My Life as an Unorthodox Outlaw by Elissa AltmanElissa Altman’s memoir is more than just a holiday story, but holiday traditions play a big role. The Jewish writer finds herself sitting on Santa’s lap, singing a Christmas carol to her grandparents and enjoying David Bowie singing "The Little Drummer Boy" with Bing Crosby. Altman will also realize she’s queer. Her memoir explores coming to terms with savoring the freedom to not follow Judaism strictly, but also recognizing the connection with her family and ancestry that are lost.