The Light Looks Like Me
The Light Looks Like Me
By the young writers of Shout Mouse Press
“…a balm for loneliness and validation amid an increasingly hostile political climate for LGBTQ+ Americans…” —Booklife
“The Light Looks Like Me is meaningful, moving, and often surprising as it explores different experiences of queer love.”—IndieReader
“Powerful, affirming, and important reading for young people and the adults in their lives.”—Kirkus Reviews
Amidst a fraught regime where assaults on queer and trans rights are leveraged for political clout, the voices of queer youth are more important than ever. In this anthology, 28 DC-area writers aged 13-24 share their thoughts, feelings and vulnerability through poems, stories, comics, and art exploring love in all its forms. Running the gamut from self-love, to romance, and the love they show to their family, friends, and community, their work will resonate with readers of all ages. With authors representing varied sexualities and gender identities, as well as diverse ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds, this tender anthology offers hope and validation to queer young people and cultivates greater understanding in supportive allies. Foreword by award-winning YA author Malinda Lo.
This project was created in partnership with The DC Center for the LGBT Community, Sasha Bruce Youthwork, SMYAL, and Split This Rock.
Educational Curriculum Available:
Discussion Guide created by nelle mills
Zine Workbook created by nelle mills
ISBN: 9781950807833
Age: 12+
Page Count: 192
Published: 2025
Curriculum
“In a time when heartlessness, greed, and hate are not just rampant, but elected, these words are lanterns and fireworks in the dark.”
—Danez Smith
“A celebration of marginalized youth voices that refuse to be unheard or forgotten.”
—Roya Marsh
“In a time when heartlessness, greed, and hate are not just rampant, but elected, these words are lanterns and fireworks in the dark. May reading this anthology not only wrap you in the sanctuary of queer love, but may it be a reminder of exactly what is at stake. Love will always defeat evil; these pieces are testimonies and psalms of that truth.”
—Danez Smith, author of Homie
“This unflinching anthology pulls the truths about queerness, love, and the indelible power of healing. Every piece brings us a step closer to an all encompassing definition of love as an act of resistance. These young writers refuse to stay quiet in the face of silencing and censorship. The Light Looks Like Me is the soundtrack of resilience and an anthem for survival.”
—Roya Marsh, author of dayliGht and savings time
“My closeted-gay inner child found healing here. The Light Looks Like Me is a masterful anthology of lyrical language about love in all its infinite forms. These brilliant and brave youth voices are a salve for any person in search of poetic stories that will inspire hope, joy, grace, and freedom. It is truly a bright and sparkling literary gem.”
—Tony Keith Jr., author of Knucklehead and How the Boogeyman Became a Poet
“The Light Looks Like Me is meaningful, moving, and often surprising as it explores different experiences of queer love.”
—IndieReader
“Within these pages are voices and worlds that bristle with honey and remind us that beauty, like love, is everywhere and undeniable. I'm so grateful for how many of these voices have come together, they are an abundance that rivals the sky herself.”
—Julian Randall, author of Pilar Ramirez and the Escape from Zafa
Meet the Authors
Young people from across the LGBTQ+ spectrum came together to explore what love looks like to them, in all its iterations. This anthology was dreamed as a response to book bans nationwide targeting literature featuring LGBTQIA+ characters and themes, and the related silencing of these voices and conversations. With the help of local queer teaching artists, young writers and artists responded to that call through poetry, prose, comics, art, and more. Their work shows us the love that they find everywhere: in their friends and family, their communities, and bubbling through their brilliant selves. Learn more.
Izan (hey/they) is a 17-year-old queer, neurodivergent, biracial Muslim from Bethesda, Maryland.
Nora (she/her) is a 22-year-old Black artist, storyteller and changer-maker from Greenville, South Carolina.
Oliver (he/they) is an 18-year-old queer Taiwanese-Chinese American writer from Bethesda, MD.
Jamies Dead (they/them) is a 17-year-old queer, non-binary, emo kid from Alexandria, VA.
Alex (they/them) is genderqueer, disabled, 19 years old, and a student at The George Washington University in Washington, DC
CreepShopCreatures is a young morbid artist that writes about overcoming mental health struggles as well as tackling stigma and growing self-acceptance.
Hakim is a poet from Washington, D.C. “My Definition (of Love)” is his first published piece with Shout Mouse.
Sofia (she/her) was 17 years old when she was published with Shout Mouse Press. She is a Mexican-American high school student from Maryland.
T.E.N. (he/they) is a proud Filipino and Chinese-American trans guy who was born and raised in the DMV.
Oshun is an emerging dramaturg, oral historian, community doula, and curator based in D.C.
Recognition & Impact
“Within these pages are voices and worlds that bristle with honey and remind us that beauty, like love, is everywhere and undeniable. I'm so grateful for how many of these voices have come together, they are an abundance that rivals the sky herself.”
—Julian Randall, author of Pilar Ramirez and the Escape from Zafa
“The Light Looks Like Me is meaningful, moving, and often surprising as it explores different experiences of queer love.”
—IndieReader
“My closeted-gay inner child found healing here. The Light Looks Like Me is a masterful anthology of lyrical language about love in all its infinite forms. These brilliant and brave youth voices are a salve for any person in search of poetic stories that will inspire hope, joy, grace, and freedom. It is truly a bright and sparkling literary gem.”
—Tony Keith Jr., author of Knucklehead and How the Boogeyman Became a Poet
“This unflinching anthology pulls the truths about queerness, love, and the indelible power of healing. Every piece brings us a step closer to an all encompassing definition of love as an act of resistance. These young writers refuse to stay quiet in the face of silencing and censorship. The Light Looks Like Me is the soundtrack of resilience and an anthem for survival.”
—Roya Marsh, author of dayliGht and savings time
“In a time when heartlessness, greed, and hate are not just rampant, but elected, these words are lanterns and fireworks in the dark. May reading this anthology not only wrap you in the sanctuary of queer love, but may it be a reminder of exactly what is at stake. Love will always defeat evil; these pieces are testimonies and psalms of that truth.”
—Danez Smith, author of Homie
Powerful, affirming, and important reading for young people and the adults in their lives.
You Might Also Like
“Poignant and powerful . . . the students write with fresh power about loss, about the failures of the system around them, and how to decide when, how and where they should speak out.” —Publishers Weekly
“Our young people are asking that we sit with them, that we listen to them, and that we see their lives in all of their complexity. The stories in What It Cost Us must be read. They must be remembered." —Clint Smith, author of How the Word is Passed: Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America
“Authentic and sincere.” —Kirkus Reviews
“A momentous account of a time we must remember.” —Wendy Wan-Long Shang, author of The Secret Battle of Evan Pao
Foreword by Candice Iloh
In this collaborative novel, ten diverse young writers from Washington, DC recreate the historic year 2020 from their perspectives, through fictional stories inspired by their own lived experiences. Told chronologically from the onset of the pandemic to the insurrection of January 6th, their stories of change and resilience are accompanied by maps, social media, original artwork, and real-life headlines to create an immersive experience of an unprecedented coming of age.
You’ll meet Faiza, a Muslim high school student, who struggles to celebrate Ramadan during the worst of the COVID-19 shutdowns. You’ll protest with Roman, the only Black student in his class, whose relationships are challenged in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. You’ll face the fraught 2020 election with Dennis, a young Nigerian immigrant, as he questions a democracy that seems to count him out.
By examining the shards of this shattered year, these authors explore “what it cost us” through stories that both acknowledge loss and celebrate what got us through.
ISBN: 978-1-950807-55-0
Age: 12+
Lexile: 780L
Page Count: 329
Published: Spring 2023
Authors: Tayla, Sarah & Sholachauntel
Illustrator: Jordyn Flood
Learn the days of the week with Sebastian and meet his extended family of neighbors!
On Mondays, Sebastian reads poetry with Mr. and Mrs. Howe. On Tuesdays, he plays with parrots at the Iveys! While his mom is at school, Sebastian spends each day at a different home in his apartment building. What happens the rest of the week as he plays the days away? This rhyming book, written by student parents, celebrates the power of community coming together to help raise a child.
ISBN: 978-1-950807-52-9
Age: 1-3
Lexile: AD450L
Format: Board Book
Page Count: 26
Originally Published: Nov 15, 2022
Curated by your favorite authors and SMP Megaphone Board members, Jason Reynolds, Clint Smith, Elizabeth Acevedo, Hena Khan, Meg Medina, and Wendy Shang, this set contains books for young people ages 12+
Curated by your favorite authors and SMP Megaphone Board members, Jason Reynolds, Elizabeth Acevedo, Hena Khan, Meg Medina, and Wendy Shang, this set contains books for young people ages 4-9
Authors: Tseganesh Chala, Joy Ugwu
Illustrator: Joy Ingram
In Joy-Grace and the Dress Dilemma, authors Joy and Tseganesh wanted to write a book about the challenges--and the beauty!--of having a multicultural identity. Joy-Grace is a fashionista, and this week is her school’s culture day. She wants to bring in a garment to reflect her background, but there’s only one problem: her family is from Nigeria, Jamaica, AND Ethiopia! Will Joy-Grace be able to find the perfect dress to celebrate all of who she is in time for culture day?
En Joy-Grace y el dilema del vestido, las autoras Joy y Tseganesh quisieron escribir un libro sobre las dificultades —y la belleza— de tener una identidad multicultural. Joy-Grace es una fashionista, y esta semana es el día de la cultura en su escuela. Quiere llevar un vestido que refleje sus raíces, pero solo hay un problema: su familia es de Nigeria, Jamaica y Etiopía. ¿Podrá Joy-Grace encontrar el vestido perfecto a tiempo para celebrar todas sus culturas?
ISBN: 978-1-950807-39-0
Age: 4-9
Lexile: AD570L
Page Count: 40
Published: Fall 2021
Ella (she/her) is a 21-year-old author from Salisbury, Maryland.