Works by
Michael T. Luongo
(Aka Michael Theodore Luongo)
(Editor, Photographer, Writer)

Anthologies

• Between the Palms II (In progress)

• Gay Travels in the Muslim World (2007)
  Sure to be a controversial book, the idea came to me when doing Between the Palms which had about a third of its stories set in the Middle East and other Muslim countries. The stories here are most poignant and cover Afghanistan, Palestine, Iraq, Omar, Bangledesh, Los Angeles, Egypt and many other locations. The anthology includes works by Jeff Key, a gay soldier who had been based in Iraq; Afdhere Jama the editor of Huriyah, a gay Muslim news website; Parvez Sharma, the director of the film formerly known as In the Name of Allah on homosexuality in the Muslim world; as well as my own trips to Afghanistan along with the experiences of many other wonderful writers. Some of the stories are poignant and deeply meaningful, others more playful. All present a rare perspective on travel in this region. With the world at war, what better way to promote understanding than by travel to these areas so poorly understood by most Westerners?

• Looking for Love in Faraway Places: Tales of Gay Men's Romance Overseas (2007)
  Real stories of gay men who found love and romance in distance lands.
  
  Looking for Love in Faraway Places is a collection of true stories of gay men seeking--and finding--love and romance against overwhelming odds in exotic locations. Edited by noted travel writer Michael Luongo, this unique book is a testament to the power of gay men's love for each other in the face of cultural, physical, and legal obstacles that can make them feel like second-class citizens. These very personal stories are as varied as the continents they visit, as authors candidly recall that while love may have no boundaries, the law certainly does.
  
  Hearts will do as they please, despite time, distance, language barriers, and extreme political, cultural, and emotional challenges. Looking for Love in Faraway Places travels through Latin America, Asia, and Europe, and closer to home in Canada and the United States with stories of gay men making and maintaining romantic connections while dealing with tremendous cost (financial and personal), cultural clashes, and illness and disease, as well as oppressive domestic and international policies governing gay marriage and immigration.
  
  Looking for Love in Faraway Places includes:

  • "Running with the Bull: A Madrid Romance" by Gabriel Schael

  • "Friends, Roman and Countrymen" by Marc Heft

  • "Costumes, Customs, and One Camaro" by Ken Baehr

  • "Trying to Stop Water with a Net" by James W. Jones

  • "The Shosholooza Meyl: Johannesburg to Cape Town" by Des Ariel

  • "The Ukimwi Road" by Richard Burnett

  • "My Canterbury Tale or the House in Broadstairs" by Michael Luongo

  •  "Marcelo" -- poignant selections from M.S. Hunter and Richard D. Thompson, both of whom died during the book's editing stages by Michael Mele's

  • and much more

  Heartfelt and sometimes heartbreaking, Looking for Love in Faraway Places is a thoughtful and entertaining read for gay men interested in romantic travel and an enlightening resource for anyone interested in immigration and gay marriage.

• Between the Palms: A Collection of Gay Travel Erotica (2004)
  Travel the globe with Between the Palms: A Collection of Gay Travel Erotica. Across the deserts and through the jungles there are sexy encounters to be found by men who are willing to roam. Compiled by writer, editor, and traveler Michael Luongo, these are the true adventures of world wanderers who found romance and hot sex in the most exotic of locales. All six inhabited continents have their share of erotic delights—from the nightclubs of Buenos Aires to the Pyramids of Giza. Many tales take place in the Middle East despite international tensions, reminding us that love knows no boundaries. After reading this anthology, you'll want to pack your bags and head out on your own pilgrimage!

Fiction

• The Voyeur (2007) -- Nominated 2007 Lambda Literary Gay Men's Debut Fiction Awards
  Spy-cams, reality-television, pay-per-view websites. It seems everyone wants to know what someone else is doing in private. But what if watching were your job? What if you were a government sex researcher who knew everyone’s secrets - everyone’s, but your own?
  
  Walking alone late at night after running a safer-sex group in a New York STD clinic, young sex researcher Jason Green is mugged and has only one thing to defend himself - his hard penis. It’s not a real penis of course - it’s a wooden condom demonstrator shaped like one. But once the newspapers get hold of the story and add a titillating headline, Jason is launched to sex research stardom and begins a whirlwind trip through New York’s Giuliani-era sexual underground to continue his work watching what others do in secrecy. He goes to sex clubs and bathhouses to spy on other men having sex, he pulls up dirty internet pictures for research meetings, and maps out cruising areas where men meet in the dark. And all on the federal payroll.
  
  Jason certainly has no problem researching sex, but it’s another story on the personal level. His seemingly clean separation between the personal and the professional disappears in an instant though. Through his research, he discovers that his boyfriend Mark is cheating on him and has become HIV+. He may be used to the sex secrets of total strangers, but Jason can’t bring himself to understanding those of the man he loves. The two break up, but Jason’s late nights are filled with voyeuristic visions of other men having sex, reminding him of how much he misses Mark.
  
  Jason’s psychologist co-workers aren’t much help with advice, either. His best friend is a sexual compulsive who probably shouldn’t be doing this type of research, his unhappily married supervisor often fantasizes she’s a gay man trapped in a woman’s body, and the beautiful professor in charge of the whole project is hiding her past as a Pam Grier-like dominatrix, though it crops up in her unusual fascination with black leather Coach products.
  
  It all comes together for Jason at the book’s climax when he tries to do work in one of the last pornography theatres in Times Square. Finding out that the theatre has been shut down by Giuliani's anti-sex administration, Jason is flooded with memories, from his Mother’s childhood warning of the dangers of New York sex environments, to his clandestine teenage visits to gay porn theatres. Jason finally understands how the fears of sex his Mother instilled in him as a child and his furtive introduction to watching other men having sex in public played into his decision to build a career as a sex researcher. Armed with a better understanding of himself and his own sexual hang-ups, Jason decides to make amends with Mark, but the only question is, will Mark take him back?

Non-fiction

• Frommer's Buenos Aires -- First Edition (2005)
  Streets that look like Paris, warm hearts and souls that lead to long conversations and more, late nights out dancing until the sun comes out. If you know me, you know how much I love Buenos Aires. I'm already one of America's best writers on the city, and I recently completed the Frommer's First Edition Buenos Aires guidebook. It had always been a dream of mine to live in the city, as well as just visit, and with this book, I got my wish.
  
  Let my experiences and love for Buenos Aires and her people be your guide to this wonderful city. This is the best selling U.S. published guide to Buenos Aires, purchased by about 1 in 10 Americans heading to Argentina.  If those people travel with one or two friends, then 20-30% of Americans heading to Argentina rely on my advice.  Shouldn't you??

• Gay Tourism: Culture, Identity, and Sex (2002) by Carrie Callister, Michael Luongo, and Stephen Clift
  Since the mid–90s there has been increased interest in the phenomenon of gay tourism. Researchers are examining the range of cultural, social, psychological and health issues that are affecting men and lesbians on their travels. This, the first book on the subject, defines gay tourism and is a benchmark for future research on this very important and often misrepresented market. Contributors include Claudia Miller, Douglas Sanders, Howard Hughes, Mark Graham, Martin Cox, Matthew Link, Michael Stuber, Philip Want, Richard Scholey, and Thomas Roth.