John Preston was, before his untimely death from AIDS in 1994, one of the best-known of gay writers. From his personal memoirs, to his Alex Kane "gay action hero" series, to his hot S/M porn, his was a huge influence. This book gathers tributes to his life and work from colleagues and friends.
Not all the pieces in this book are non-fiction. Some of the writers paid tribute to Preston by writing "the unabashed sexual fiction he always championed". Will Leber borrows characters from Franny, the Queen of Provincetown, Antoniou uses a real incident when Preston was turned away from a leather bar for violating the "dress code".
The non-fiction reveals a man who believed in the importance of community and friends, one who, in the words of a friend, "relished his position as an elder". Three of the pieces are by men who were his literary protegés, writers he volunteered to mentor, each for different reasons, and all of whom are writing today.