Joan Lipkin with That Uppity Theatre Company and the Missouri History Museum announce the return of Queer Writes: An Evening of Selections by LGBTQ+ Writers in St. Louis for its fourth consecutive year on Thursday, June 11, 2026, at the Missouri History Museum. The event is part of the Museum’s Thursday
Nights at the Museum series and its Gateway to Pride programming.
“Now in its fourth year, Queer Writes has highlighted the work of 20+ local LGBTQ+ writers and performers, underscoring the Missouri Historical Society’s commitment to sharing the full St. Louis story. We’re excited to welcome audiences back this year and to continue celebrating the humor, honesty, and resilience that these St. Louis voices represent,” said Sam Moore, Managing Director of Public History, Missouri Historical Society.
All of the featured writers are St. Louis natives or people who have chosen to make St. Louis their home.
Part of the goal of Queer Writes is to amplify the presence of St. Louis-based or connected LGBTQ+ writers and to expand the circle and variety of representation with each edition. The organizers of Queer Writes take pride in showcasing the wealth of diverse voices in the local literary community.
This year, we are bringing together memoirists, poets, spoken word artists, and fiction writers. Some works invite audiences to view stories of love or trauma through an intergenerational lens; others imagine futures shaped by new romantic possibilities; still others explore the solace of chosen family within queer-centered spaces. It all begins
with language—what is said, and how it is expressed.
2026 Featured Writers
This year’s Queer Writes features the work of five St. Louis LGBTQ+ writers: Jet McDonald, Molly M. Pearson, Ken Haller, Sidney McGhee, and Christopher Conner.
A Tribute to Kathleen Finneran
This year’s program includes a new addition, a tribute in honor of the late Kathleen Finneran.
“Regrettably, the St. Louis literary community recently lost Kathleen, a cherished writer and author of the Whiting Award–winning memoir The Tender Land: A Family Love Story (Houghton Mifflin, 2000),” said Joan Lipkin. “As a Senior Writer-in-Residence at Washington University in St. Louis, she helped bring the Creative Nonfiction program to national prominence and taught an estimated 1,000 students over the course of her career. She was also the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Missouri Arts Council Writers’ Biennial Prize. More personally, she was a great friend, mentor, and teacher to many of us who will be in attendance.”
The tribute to Kathleen will open with an introduction by host Joan Lipkin, followed by readings from Kathleen’s work by three close friends and colleagues — among the many whose lives she touched — writers Jarek Steele, Edward McPherson, and Mary Jo Bang.
Musical Performance
The evening will also feature a musical performance by CHARIS, the St. Louis Women’s Chorus, under the direction of Artistic Director Michaela Cruse.
The Urgency of the Moment
“Given the current political climate, the program could not be more timely,” said Joan Lipkin. “In Missouri alone, anti-LGBTQ+ legislation has continued to target public accommodations, school sports, healthcare access, and curriculum in recent years. Nationally, anti-LGBTQ+ legislation has reached unprecedented levels.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, more than 575 bills targeting LGBTQ+ people were introduced in state legislatures in 2025 alone, with hundreds more already introduced in the opening months of 2026. The focus has included bans on drag performances, identification, forced outings in schools, censorship of curriculum, and
healthcare access restrictions.”
Lipkin added, “When we tell our stories—whether in song, memoir, or many other genres—we say we will not be erased and that we have gifts to offer the community.”
Previous Queer Writes Presenters
Previous presenters and performers have included Paul Cereghino, Cheeraz Gormon, Matthew R. Kerns, Joan Lipkin, Romell Parks-Weekly, Jarek Steele, Diane Richardson, and Jeff Truesdale, CHARIS, Gateway Men’s Chorus, Chris Andoe, Kris Kleindienst, Sam Moore, Aja La’Starr, Mary Maxfield, Mariah Richardson, Maurice Tracy, Nancy
Fowler, Kelly Hamilton, Michael Kearns, Philip Irving, Charlie Meyers, Gabe Montesanti, and Summer Osborne.
Program of Events
Doors open to the Lee Auditorium at 6:00 p.m., with the program beginning at 6:30 p.m. The event will conclude at 8:00 p.m. A happy hour will be held at 5:00 p.m. in the Grand Hall before the program.
This event is sponsored, in part, by the Regional Arts Commission of Saint Louis.
About Gateway to Pride
Gateway to Pride is an initiative of the Missouri Historical Society that collects and preserves oral histories, artifacts, and photographs documenting the region’s LGBTQIA+ history. Materials gathered through the initiative become part of the Society’s permanent collections at the Library & Research Center, ensuring these stories are preserved for future generations. Related exhibitions and public programs at the Missouri History Museum highlight selected stories and artifacts from the project.
About Joan Lipkin and That Uppity Theatre Company
Joan Lipkin. Photo by Theo Welling.
Joan Lipkin is a groundbreaking, internationally recognized theatre artist, educator, and social activist, and the Producing Artistic Director of That Uppity Theatre Company. Her work resides at the intersection of performance and civic engagement, spanning short plays, rapid-response theatre, devising, and community organizing. Through That Uppity Theatre Company, she has led projects that explore democracy, climate change, disability, racial and gender justice, reproductive choice, LGBTQ+ experiences, immigration, gun sense, and voting rights. Her work has been published and presented throughout the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Europe, Australia, and
Asia. She has received numerous honors for her work, most recently the 2026 Margo Jones Medal.
