Vendor
	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Sebastian Ritscher

MOBY DYKE

Krista Burton

An Obsessive Quest To Hunt Down The Last Remaining Lesbian Bars in America

This insightful and hilarious travelogue takes the reader along on a journey that is sometimes rowdy (Jell-O shots, Britney Spears playlists, and nights that last until morning) but always full of heart.

In 1987, there were 206 lesbian bars in America; today, only a couple dozen are still open for business. Although they have provided a long-treasured service of safe spaces for their customers - havens that provided not only a good time and a stiff drink, but a sense of belonging, a shelter from societal alienation and outright persecution - these institutions are a fast-vanishing breed. How and why did this happen? What has been lost by such a decline? Has anything been gained? Venturing on an epic cross-country pilgrimage from a drag show in Bloomington, Indiana to a two-stepping dancefloor in Phoenix, Arizona, Krista Burton seeks to answer these questions with firsthand experience while embarking her own personal journey of self-reflection, as well. Krista Burton is the creator of Effing Dykes, a humor-filled blog that discusses life as a queer woman in the world, and was a frequent contributor to Rookie magazine before its closure. Her writing has also appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, Elle, and Vice. She lives in Minnesota.

Available products
Book Published 2023-06-06 by Simon & Schuster

Comments

Moby Dyke is a hilarious adventure story, a full-throated love letter to lesbian bars, and an open-hearted memoir all wrapped up in one glorious package. Come for the bars and stay for the people inside them.

This book is a masterpiece - simultaneously a hilarious memoir, rip-roaring travel diary, and thoughtful trip through history. Burton writes such ferocious personality that you'll feel as though you are right there with her, zipping around unknown cities on scooters and panicking on the highway in rental cars while trying to grasp the last beacons of a vanishing gay cultural touchstone. Engaging, witty, heart-filled and heartfelt - I couldn't put it down.

MOBY DYKE has been selected in Cosmopolitan's June Pride roundup of "31 Queer Books to Read in Defiance During Pride" Read more...

a witty cross-country tour of lesbian bars ... Burton's keen observations and sense of humor are on full display. It adds up to an infectious celebration of the joy and resilience of queer spaces.

As warm, lively, and funny as your favorite regular at your favorite queer bar.

Using lots of capital letters, exclamation points, italics, and pop-culture references to get points across, the author presents a lighthearted, honest narrative about her messy adventure. Fans of travel memoirs and Burton's zealous personality will delight in this white-whale hunt.

Krista Burton's voice is one of a kind and this is the exact book I've wanted from her. Moby Dyke is hilarious and perceptive, expertly weaving cultural and personal history with observations that made me laugh in public. I hope to copy down a drunk thought as eloquently as Krista does, and to read many more books that are this in love with their subjects.

While hundreds of lesbian bars across the United States provided a safe space for queer women throughout the 20th century, only about 20 are still in business today. Effing Dykes blog creator Krista Burton goes on a cross-country road trip to visit the lesbian bars that are still open, to capture what these spaces have meant to the queer community, and seek answers as to why they are closing down. Read more...