“Out140: The Little Book of Coming Out Stories” was launched at Norwich Pride in July 2012. It contains 140 stories written in 140 characters or less and costs £1.40. It is on sale at various places around Norwich: the Greenhouse Shop on Bethel St, the BookHive, the Bridewell Museum and Tourist Information in the Forum – or  email Shell for copies by post and bulk and educational discounts.

Here is a review Dr B.J. Epstein, lecturer at University of East Anglia, specialist in queer literature and theory:

“Brave. Funny. Worried. Joyous. Confused. Suicidal. Accepting. Satisfied. These are just a few of the emotions that Out140: The Little Book of Coming Out Stories depicts and also inspires in the reader. This delightful book, edited by Shelly Telly and Vince Laws, includes a range of coming out tales, all told in 140 characters or fewer. Read it and be entertained and motivated. Admire others for their courage, and think about how you’d tell your own story. The most important adjective here for both the writers and the readers is: Proud.”

The book is also available to borrow from any Norfolk Library. We had a special event to launch it at Great Yarmouth library on International Coming Out Day – 12th October 2012. Councillor Barry Stone, Norfolk County Council Cabinet Member for Cultural Services said:

“This is a small but powerful book which has been created by people across Norfolk, telling their story of a significant and defining time in their lives in just 140 characters. It is great that anyone in Norfolk will be able to borrow a copy from their local library”.

Here’s a photo of Barry with the Mayor cutting the OUT140 cake. Photo by Antonella Muscat.

In September 2013, Shell will took the book to booQfest “the festival with a literary bent” in Northampton. Daniel Burrows, Chair of booQfest said:

“booQfest is about exploring the different ways that people are contributing to Queer dialogue, and OUT140 is an excellent contemporary example of this broadening context. By presenting short ‘coming out’ stories of 140 characters or less (the same as a Tweet) OUT140 helps booQfest open itself up to a whole new audience that enjoys easy and immediate access to media and literature.”