JD Doyle's 1981—MY GAY AMERICAN ROAD TRIP Out Now!

 

1981. Rich with promise and possibility, the post-Stonewall era saw queer Americans standing up for themselves and each other like never before. With the rise of gay newspapers, bars, clubs, and businesses in cities all over the US, it was a time of hedonism, activism, pride, and community. A scene ripe for exploration and documentation, and journalist JD Doyle hit the road to do just that, traveling through 27 states to create a playful, intimate, profusely illustrated, one-of-a-kind record of gay life, love, lust, and liberation in the heady days before the devastating crisis that would change everything. 

This is the trip he took.

The premier release to emerge from the partnership of QMH Press and New Texture, JD Doyle's eagerly awaited memoir and travelogue, 1981—My Gay American Road Trip, is now available in full color, fully illustrated hardcover and trade softcover editions. Get it from Amazon HERE.

QMH Press Joins New Texture

We are pleased and deeply proud to ring in Pride Month with the announcement of a civil partnership between JD Doyle's newly minted QMH Press and New Texture for the release of JD's first book, 1981—My Gay American Road Trip. The book will be the imprints' first joint release, appearing in hardcover and softcover editions from QMH and NT later this month.  

JD Doyle, an American LGBT music/history archivist and radio producer, was formerly Editor of Our Own Community Press, a gay newspaper based out of Norfolk, Virginia. Doyle later produced the radio programs Queer Music Heritage on the station KPFT, and OutRadio, heard online. His currently active works include the Texas Obituary Project and the Houston LGBT History website, all part of his 501(c)(3) non-profit, the JD Doyle Archives. Those archives also contain one of the largest collections of queer music in the country. In 2019, the United States Library of Congress selected the archives for digital inclusion in their collection of LGBT history. 

Doyle believes that history exists to be shared, not hoarded, and strives to make his collection accessible to all. 

His work has been honored by numerous awards, such as the Legacy Award from the Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce (2023); Trailblazer Award from Texas Conference on Digital Libraries (2021); a Proclamation from Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner during LGBT History Month (October 2022) naming it “JD Doyle Day;” from the Houston LGBTQ Political Caucus, given the Lifetime Achievement Award (2019) and Kristen Capps Social Conscience Award (2021); Legacy Community Health Mint Julep Award (2023); Male Grand Marshal for the 2014 Houston Pride Parade; and the Alan Bérubé Prize, from the Committee on LGBT History (2012). 

“We are delighted to welcome JD and QMH Press to the New Texture family,” said New Texture ringmaster Wyatt Doyle (no relation). “New Texture's dedication to presenting and preserving personal and cultural histories that too often fall under the mainstream radar suggest NT and QMH Press will prove well matched. JD's passionate, engaged, decades-long commitment to queer art and history (and their documentation and preservation), mirrors NT's own efforts to document left-of-the-dial lives, lifestyles, and cultural trends that might otherwise be lost to history.” 

JD Doyle added, “After more than twenty years documenting as much online history content as I can, it is a new adventure to release my first book, and this time get a more personal story out into the world—of course bringing our history along with it.”