The AQFF was founded in 2014 to bring Queer and Trans film from around the world to Appalachia and to promote LGBTQ+ filmmakers within the region. This year we are celebrating 10 years in Shepherdstown, WV on Sept 27-28, 2024.

Mission: Our mission is to promote Queer and Trans film and filmmakers across the world, and to offer LGBTQ+ content to the Appalachian region, and discover and amplify Queer and Trans artists in the Appalachia.

Vision: Our vision is to to show the world how incredible our LGBTQ+ community is here in Appalachia and to introduce Appalachians to Queer cinema around the world.
The Appalachian Studies Program at Shepherd University connects all of these programs and creates a bridge to the community to learn about, explore, and celebrate the region known as Appalachia.

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UPCOMING AUTHOR EVENTS

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Trans Kids, Our Kids: Stories and Resources from the Frontlines of the Movement for Transgender Youth

$22.00

PUB DATE: 9/24/24

Over the past few years, we have witnessed a growing wave of anti-LGBTQ+ bills and policies across the United States. According to the ACLU, in 2023 alone, 507 anti-LGBTQ bills were proposed in 47 states; among these, 84 have been passed into law.

The targets of many of these legislative attacks have been the most vulnerable among us—transgender and LGBTQ+ youth. From “Don’t Say Gay” laws to healthcare restrictions, anti-LGBTQ+ policies are impacting trans and queer youth in almost every sphere of their lives, including the medical care they can access, the sports teams they can play on, what they are allowed to talk about in the classroom, and the books they are allowed to check out from the library. The results of this discrimination are often deadly, with over half of transgender and non-binary youth seriously contemplating suicide, and many others falling victim to violent hate crimes inspired by this hostile climate. Trans Kids, Our Kids: Stories and Resources from the Frontlines of the Movement for Transgender Youth shares the stories of transgender youth and their families, exploring the choices they are making to survive in today’s environment. The book also gives voice to the medical providers who are providing care to transgender youth, as well as the activists, community organizers and faith leaders who are leading the resistance efforts.

By contextualizing and sharing these stories, as well as offering resources and next steps, Trans Kids aims to both narrativize the pain and fear experienced by everyday Americans in this cultural moment, as well as highlighting the courage, hope, and resilience of transgender and LGBTQ+ youth, their families, and the people who support them.

Jasmine Beach-Ferrara is an ordained minister and Executive Director of the Campaign for Southern Equality. She is the author of DAMN LOVE, a short story collection that received recognition from PEN/Hemingway in the category of debut fiction. Her essay “Southern Fried Pride” was recognized in Longread’s Best of 2016 Essay category; and her non-fiction and opinion writing about LGBTQ+ issues in the South have been published in regional and national digital and print media. She received her undergraduate degree from Brown University, her MFA from the Warren Wilson Program for Writers, and her MDiv from Harvard Divinity School. She lives in Asheville, NC, with her family.

Adam Polaski serves as the Communications & Political Director for the Campaign for Southern Equality. Prior to this, he worked on the digital and communication teams at Freedom to Marry, the successful campaign to win marriage for same-sex couples across the United States, and Freedom for All Americans, a national organization committed to securing LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination protections. Adam has been recognized for Excellence in Online Journalism by the National Gay & Lesbian Journalists Association and his writing has been published in Hello Mr., The Seventh Wave, The Bilerico Project, and Love Unites Us, an anthology book about the marriage movement. He has also supported communications work to push for the successful passage of the Respect for Marriage Act in 2022, through a campaign that won a Campaign Excellence Award for Public Affairs Campaign of the Year by the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC). He has provided communications and design support for The Brigid Alliance, the Local Solutions Support Center, Freedom to Marry Global, GLSEN, Campus Pride, Religious Exemption Accountability Project, and the Southern AIDS Coalition. He graduated summa cum laude with a degree in journalism from Ithaca College, where he was a member of the Park Scholarship program. He lives in Asheville, NC.

Alexis Stratton has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of South Carolina, and their stories and essays have appeared in Hayden’s Ferry Review, Matador Review and Oyez Review, among other publications. In 2022, their chapbook, Anywhere Else but Here was published by Fjords Review, and in 2023, they won the James River Writers’ and Richmond Magazine’s Best Unpublished Novel Contest. Alexis also writes for the Rebel Girls book series and podcast and provides grant writing support to several LGBTQ+ nonprofits. Before transitioning to writing full-time, Alexis educated organizations in South Carolina on LGBTQ+ rights, violence prevention, and serving marginalized populations. They currently live in Richmond, VA.

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