Works by
Joel Derfner
(Writer)

Biography/Memoirs

• Swish: My Quest to Become the Gayest Person Ever and What Ended Up Happening Instead (2008)
  A hilarious and deeply moving account of one man’s journey from stereotype to truth. According to Elton John, “Joel Derfner writes what we all feel but aren’t brave enough to say.”
  
  Derfner is a knitter, an aerobics instructor, a cheerleader, a go-go dancer, and a musical theater composer, but when he realizes one day that he’s a walking gay cliché he embarks on a quest for deeper meaning. A very, very funny quest for deeper meaning. And whether he’s confronting the demons of his past at a GLBT summer camp, using the Internet to “meet” men—many, many men—or going undercover to a conference of ex-gays, he discovers that what he’s looking for—and sometimes even finds, hidden underneath the surface of everyday life—is his own identity. In the tradition of David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs, but with its own particular flair, Swish is a story told with not just wit but humor; a story told with not just candor but honesty; a story told with not just compassion but humanity.

Poetry

• Gay Haiku (2005)
  Impossible to resist, this hilariously sassy and sweet collection of haiku turns the perilous sport of gay dating into pure poetry.
  
  For hundreds of years, the Japanese haiku has been equated with peaceful contemplation and spiritual enlightenment. A delicate balance of rhythm and line, the haiku has provided countless readers with an appreciation of the changing of the seasons and the miracles of nature. Now, in Gay Haiku, readers can finally appreciate more important things—like the changing of boyfriends and the miracles of shopping.
  
  Irresistible and irreverent, this collection of one hundred and ten witty and wicked short poems captures the many dating disasters of first-time author Joel Derfner. In a wonderfully fresh and original voice, Derfner shamelessly mines his personal life to send up such broad-ranging topics as gay pop culture, politics, family, sex, and, of course, home decorating.
  
  Gay, straight, or undecided, readers will delight in Derfner’s dry sense of humor and unmistakable charm as he tackles the big questions of life.

Other

• Fool For Love: New Gay Fiction (2009), R.D. Cochrane and Timothy J. Lambert, eds.
  In an age of hookups and cybersex, who has time for a little romance? For all those who think love’s gone the way of the 8-track tape comes a collection of new gay fiction designed to reignite their belief in love and romance. Follow the travails of a dog walker enchanted with his new client, a restaurant owner who catches the eye of his most loyal customer, a blind date fix-up, and other seekers of the lost flame as they stumble upon romance and a possible chance at love.
  
  Showcasing new work from some of today’s best-known gay writers the stories in Fool for Love are a funny, sweet, and sometimes wrenching reminder of the joy romance brings to the human heart.  Includes: Andrew Holleran, Brandon M. Long, David Puterbaugh, Felice Picano, Greg Herren, Joel Derfner, Jeffrey Ricker, John H. Roush, Josh Helmin, Mark G. Harris, 'Nathan Burgoine, Paul Lisicky, Rob Byrnes, Rob Williams, Sean Anniston, and Trebor Healey.