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The Heart of Summer
Summer has a funny way of encouraging us to say “yes.”
Yes to trying something new. Yes to staying out a little later. Yes to wandering into a bookstore you’ve never visited before. Yes to accepting the invitation you’ve been thinking about all week.
Some of the best parts of queer community happen exactly like that. Not because they were planned months in advance. But because someone decided to show up. To introduce themselves. To take the first step.
That’s what I love about this season.
The pace slows down just enough to leave room for discovery. Maybe it’s a new hobby. Maybe it’s a new friend. Maybe it’s the first chapter of a book you can’t put down. Maybe it’s simply realizing there’s a whole community waiting to welcome you.
Wherever this summer takes you, I hope it surprises you in the best possible ways.
Happy Monday, Pittsburgh. Here’s to another week of saying yes. Let’s slay the week.
SLAY OF THE WEEK: You
This week’s Slay of the Week goes to you. The readers. The listeners. The neighbors. The volunteers. The organizers. The performers. The people who quietly make queer Pittsburgh what it is every single day.
Last week, we launched the very first issue of the QBurgh newspaper. We hoped people would pick it up. Instead, you nearly cleaned us out.
Copies disappeared from libraries, coffee shops, bookstores, community centers, bars, and businesses across Western Pennsylvania faster than we could have imagined.
And we couldn’t be happier.
But the newspaper is really just one example of something we’ve been seeing all year.
This community shows up. You show up for library board meetings. You organize neighborhood festivals. You coach softball teams. You start book clubs. You row. You volunteer. You mentor. You create art. You cheer from the sidelines. You attend events simply because someone else deserves an audience.
You make this community stronger just by being part of it.
It’s easy to think queer community is built by organizations. The truth is, it’s built by people. By thousands of small acts of kindness, courage, creativity, and connection that happen every single day.
So this week, the crown belongs to every person who picked up a newspaper, attended an event, shared a story, supported a local business, introduced themselves to someone new, or simply showed up as their authentic self.
You are the reason queer Pittsburgh continues to thrive.
Now that’s a slay.
Missed the newspaper or having trouble finding it? We got you. Subscribe to have the QBurgh newspaper delivered by mail!
READER JOY: from Todd
This week’s Reader Joy comes from Todd, who recently reached a milestone many writers dream about.
His debut novel, Heart of Coal, has officially been published.
Set in 1950s Pittsburgh, the novel tells the story of a romance between two coal miners and marks the first book in a planned series.
Todd wrote in to say that after working so hard to get every detail just right, seeing the book finally out in the world feels “surreal.”
This is a reminder that queer stories are still being written every day. Every new novel, memoir, play, poem, or song adds another chapter to our collective history, helping more people see themselves reflected in the stories we tell.
Congratulations, Todd, on an incredible accomplishment. Here’s hoping Heart of Coal is the first of many stories you’ll share with the world.
SHARE YOUR JOY
Did something gay and glorious happen this week?
✨ You wore your first binder out in public
✨ You finally asked them out (and they said yes)
✨ You slayed at karaoke
✨ You felt cute at Giant Eagle
✨ You just felt seen
We wanna hear it! Send us your queer joy, big or small, and we might feature it in next week’s issue. Because your joy? That’s newsworthy too.
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Queer Joy in the World: The Faces Behind the Stories
This week’s Queer Joy spotlight goes to three people who spend their weeks making sure the rest of us get to see just how incredible this community is:
Nebby Nick. Michelangelo. Kalliyan.
Week after week, they’re out across Western Pennsylvania with microphones and cameras, meeting people where they are, asking thoughtful questions, and shining a light on the joy, creativity, resilience, and humor that make queer life so special.
Whether it’s introducing us to a rowing team on the rivers, chatting with drag performers, exploring neighborhood festivals, spending time at Anthrocon, or discovering the next great community organization, they have a gift for making every conversation feel genuine.
What I appreciate most is that they don’t just report on events. They celebrate people.
They remind us that every organization is made up of individuals with stories worth telling, and every interview is another opportunity for someone in our community to feel seen.
So here’s a little behind-the-scenes appreciation for the folks helping document queer Pittsburgh one conversation at a time.
Thank you, Nebby Nick, Michelangelo, and Kalliyan, for showing up every week with curiosity, kindness, and a camera.
You help all of us see our community a little more clearly.
One of the greatest privileges of putting together Slay Weekly each week is getting to witness just how much love this community pours into itself.
Sometimes that love looks like organizing a fundraiser. Sometimes it’s writing a novel you’ve carried in your heart for years. Sometimes it’s grabbing a camera and spending an afternoon helping someone tell their story. Sometimes it’s picking up a free newspaper from your neighborhood library because you believe local queer journalism matters. And sometimes it’s simply showing up.
Every week, I’m reminded that queer community isn’t something we inherit. It’s something we create together. Conversation by conversation. Story by story. Act of kindness by act of kindness.
As we settle into the heart of summer, I hope you’ll keep saying yes to new experiences, new friendships, and new adventures. Visit a neighborhood event. Support a local queer-owned business. Cheer someone on. Introduce yourself to someone new. Borrow a book. Share a story.
You never know which small moment might become someone’s favorite memory of the summer.
Thank you for reading, for listening, for sharing, and for continuing to make QBurgh a reflection of this remarkable community.
We’ll be back next Monday with more stories, more celebrations, and more reminders that queer joy is all around us, if we take the time to notice it.
Have a beautiful week, Pittsburgh.
Talk soon.
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