Reviews

We Were Always Here: A Queer Words Anthology by Michael Lee Richardson, Ryan Vance

kadenmcguire's review

4.0

Especially liked a lot of the short stories, which often had me choked up. Everything inside feels real and vulnerable.

cwilsongarry's review

4.0

I really enjoyed this anthology. It was a fantastic way for me to support good friends or writers I admire and also discover a whole host of people I’d never read before. It’s beautifully balanced between poetry and prose, fantastical stories and the everyday, voices from across a community. I’d highly recommend this to anyone looking to read more LGBT+ fiction, or Scottish contemporary writing - or just anyone: because everyone needs a piece of this!

My only wish is for more! Some stories could feel cut short, and I wish there’d been more space to play. Regardless, I take my hat off to 404 Ink for another great publication and for always succeeding to curate such an incredible mixture of different stories and perspectives.

connorgirvan's review

2.0

Favourite stories which I really enjoyed:

Excerpt from Becoming Doctor Barry - MJ Brocklebank
Are You Lonesome Tonight - Shane Strachan
Continental Drift - Zoe Storrie
The Middle of Everything - Ciars Maguire (favourite)

Don’t think anthology books are my thing. prefer long pieces to read.

katarina_kirishiki's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

A collection of a wide range of short stories and poems, from weirder ones to really emotional ones. I enjoyed some of them and others not so much, but I really liked the format of poems between the short stories. 

slintangel's review

informative lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

veeery hit and miss. the poetry was wonderful but a lot of the short stories just seemed half baked, rushed or like first drafts. regardless, a good collection for anyone looking to discover smaller authors.

justfoxie's review

4.0

Read as part of the Queer Book Box.

Some lovely little gems in this book and really loved hearing from an unusual (for me) set of queer voices. Extremely well curated and a great way to discover new authors in a variety of genres.

viktorijam's review

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

auteaandtales's review

emotional informative inspiring slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

ambiiumm23's review

emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.75

jmp_'s review

5.0

I moved away from Scotland when I was 17, before I really participated in a queer community. I found it very moving to read this book and see that, as the title said, it had been there all along. It wasn't that I didn't know other LGBT people as a teenager, but until I read this book I'd never really felt a Scottish queerness with the two parts essential to each other. Thanks for showing me!