Peppermint Book Club: 7 Juicy Queer Reads From Secret Book Stuff
- Words by Peppermint
From stories of resistance that remind us the fight isn’t over yet to steamy tales and books that simply have queer characters without it being a big deal (a novel concept!), Amy Lovat and Laura Kebby give us seven of their favourite queer reads.
Hailing from Newcastle, Amy and Laura are the married couple behind Secret Book Stuff, an online business that helps bookworms find their perfect literary match (queer or not) with curated book gifts and book subscriptions. It’s the home of the very clever Secret Book Club, which takes the stress out of choosing what to read, with bloody great reads delivered to subscribers’ doorsteps every month.
Ready for Amy and Laura’s top picks? Here we go…
INSOMNIAC CITY BY BILL HAYES
Amy: “It’s hands-down one of our favourite books of all time. It’s a memoir of the photographer’s life in New York City and his long, romantic relationship with the late – and very famous – neurologist and writer Oliver Sacks. You’ll absolutely bawl your eyes out and every sentence will be worth it. I introduced this book to Laura when we first met and it’s now one of our shared faves that we revisit over and over.”
WOMEN BY CHLOE CALDWELL
Laura: “I discovered author Chloe Caldwell’s work in a book of essays that, funnily enough, Amy recommended to me many years ago. Chloe’s novella, Women, was published by a small press in the US originally, but it’s now so iconic that it was featured on an episode of The L Word: Generation Q. It absolutely punched me in the gut when I first read it. Women is a story of lust and love – Lena Dunham called it a ‘perfect primer for an explosive lesbian affair’. Chef’s kiss.”
DRESS REHEARSALS BY MADISON GODFREY
Laura: “This book of poetry is glorious and funny and relatable and just so damn good. Madison Godfrey writes about gender, sexuality, bodies, bands and a decade of performing womanhood in a confessional style that will have you clutching your chest, laughing out loud and shouting, ‘Yes, yes!’”
MISTAKES AND OTHER LOVERS BY AMY LOVAT
Laura: “Look, I’m a little biased since this is my wife’s debut novel – hey, Darl! – but it’s honestly the first book that popped into my mind when thinking about my favourite queer novels. The story follows a 23-year-old, El, who has broken up with her fiancé and is embroiled in a toxic, secret love affair with the married youth pastor of the local evangelical church. The beauty of Mistakes and Other Lovers is that El’s queerness isn’t at the forefront – her sexual fluidity is a quiet fact of her identity, not a problem to be solved.”
Read More – Peppermint Book Club: 22 Books by BIPOC Authors You Need to Read
SHE AND HER PRETTY FRIEND BY DANIELLE SCRIMSHAW
Amy: “This book is joyous, inside and out! She and Her Pretty Friend is part memoir, part historical deep-dive into lesbian and bisexual women’s relationships throughout history. Danielle writes about how colonisation altered ideas of sexuality and how women’s relationships have so often been downgraded – ‘she lived with her pretty friend and they were buried next to each other, but definitely weren’t ever in love LOL’. It’s so fascinating and a great read for anyone wanting to learn more about queer history.”
THE IN-BETWEEN BY CHRISTOS TSIOLKAS
Amy: “Christos Tsiolkas is one of my most loved Australian authors, starting with his debut novella Loaded, which was published in the 1990s and takes place over a 24-hour period in which a young man moves around Melbourne, having sex and taking drugs – adore that 90s grunge era of fiction! His latest novel, The In-Between, revisits those queer roots with a story of two heartbroken men in their fifties who meet on a dating app.”
THE BOY FROM THE MISH BY GARY LONESBOROUGH
Amy: “Written by Indigenous author Gary Lonesborough, this young-adult novel is just the most goddamn cute thing I’ve ever read. It’s sort of like the iconic Heartstopper, but it’s not a graphic novel. Two teen boys fall in love as they deal with family, culture and growing up.”
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TOGETHER WE STITCH RETURNS! 🪡✨
Ditch the dishes. Clear your cutting table. Pop the kettle on. Because Together We Stitch is back from 15 to 22 March for seven joy-filled days of sewing, learning and reveling in the joy of shared community, no matter where you are in the world!
Hosted by Megan from @SewAndTell.Co, this global online sewing event brings thousands of makers together for a week of practical know-how, confidence boosts and those “why didn’t I know this sooner?!” moments.
This year’s line-up is packed with masterclasses and practical inspiration, like:
🪡 Simple knit finishing tricks to make your garments look store-bought by @SewAndTell.Co’s Megan Linley
🪡 Troubleshooting your sewing machine by Jenni Miller from @LetsGetSewingNow
🪡 Hands-on pattern adjustments for sway back from @GinaReneeDesigns
🪡 An interview with Brandon Hayden from @HappilyDressed about building a garment around the fabric you love
🪡 Iron Care 101 by @MicheleMuska
🪡 Kate Boyle from @MindMovementHealth shares posture tips and exercises to help prevent sewing aches and pains
🪡 An easy jeans-to-skirt upcycle project from @LaCreativeMama’s Victoria Martinez Azaro
🪡 DIY custom fabrics and creative craft-room upgrades by Stephanie Young from @So_Stephanie_Says
🪡 Plus choosing prints with intention, making your dream wardrobe a reality, and meeting the creator of Project & Cut, Clinton Blackmore to talk all things PDF pattern future
Together We Stitch is all about expert-led sessions, creative demos, practical tips you can take straight to your sewing table, and a community that celebrates every win along the way. Join live or catch the replays when it suits you.
Head to togetherwestitch.com or hit the link in bio to save your seat. 🪡
#TogetherWeStitch #SewingExpo #SewingInspo #MeMade #SewingCommunity #SewistsOfInstagram
Coffee begins long before your morning cuppa! ☕️
2026 has been declared the International Year of the Woman Farmer, led by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the @UnitedNations. It’s a global spotlight with a practical purpose: to recognise women’s indispensable roles across agrifood systems, and to push for the changes that still haven’t arrived evenly, like equal access to land, finance, training, technology and decision-making.
Into that bigger picture steps Elizabeth Duna, a coffee farmer from Papua New Guinea and the chairwoman of the Keto-Tapasi Progress Association. Elizabeth is also the only female chairperson across the @FairtradeANZ cooperative network in the Pacific, overseeing farmers across the association and helping ensure Fairtrade standards are met.
We had the privilege of chatting to Elizabeth (just in time for International Woman’s Day this Sunday, too!) about what’s been growing and changing within her cooperative, what ‘fair trade’ means to her, and the hopes that manifest in a ‘simple’ bag of coffee beans.
Link in bio ☕️
#FairTrade #FairTradeCoffee #InternationalWomensDay
DIFFICULT ✊🏻✊🏽✊🏿
The collab we needed for International Women`s Day… and every day!
From @DangerousFemales:
"Hands up if you’ve ever been called difficult behind your back, to your face, or by an Australian Prime Minister during a Q&A?
DIFFICULT by Grace Tame, in her own handwriting is… one word: ICONIC!
100% of profits from our tees are donated, 100% of the time. Funds from this @TamePunk tee will go to @BerylWomen_inc, a First Nations led women’s refuge in the ACT.
Kinda ironic, don’t ya think?
Supporting an org in the parliament state with words from a politician for Australia’s longest running and underfunded women’s refuge.
Thank you @TamePunk for being difficult." 🫶🙌
Link in bio to get behind this tee!
#InternationalWomensDay #DangerousFemales #GraceTame #Difficult
NEW PATTERN ALERT 🎉
She’s giving comfort, she’s giving style, she’s giving palate-cleansing sewing. There’s nothing quite like an easy breezy dress that’s not only a dream to wear but a delight to sew, and the NEW Peppermint Myrtle Shift Dress delivers!
Cute, classic and cool with a touch of retro: the Myrtle Shift Dress is a beginner-friendly make with sleek lines and elegant curves. Bust darts are in play for shaping and spacious pockets to hold all your treasures. Top-stitching detail around the neck and armholes invites creative contrast threads and the keyhole loop closure at the back neck begs for a feature button (or a tie closure!).
Myrtle cuts above the knee with options to customise the length. Don’t think she’s reserved for hot weather either: try a heavier-weight fabric to turn your Myrtle into a pinafore-style garment for layering.
For our fabrics we chose two from @Karmme_Apparel – the bold Rottnest Stripes in a lightweight, soft-drape cotton, and the quality linen in the handpainted Mexico Collection. Karmme also stocks darling tassels so we popped a hot pink one on as a closure!
The love child of Imby Langenbach, Karmme Apparel (fittingly pronounced ‘calm’), is a haven of boho apparel sewing patterns alongside complementary fabrics steeped in tradition with modern iterations from Jaipur, India. Hand block-printed and digitally printed soft cottons produced by Indian artisans showcase rich colours and designs from Imby’s travels, perfect for showing off me-made masterpieces.
Our dresses were superbly stitched by our sewing manager @Laura_The_Maker, and modelled magnificently by Shannon @Pins_And_Tonic and Serah @SerahSews. And that perfect pink wall was courtesy of the good folk at @ShareTheDignityAustralia, an organisation that aims to bring dignity to women, girls and those who menstruate who are experiencing homelessness, domestic violence and period poverty.
Get making the Myrtle – the only question is, can you stop at just one?
Link in bio 🪡
Photos: @KelleySheenan
Sewist: @Laura_The_Maker
Patternmaker: @GarmentaApparel
Models: @SerahSews and @Pins_And_Tonic
Fabric: @Karmme_Apparel
#PeppermintMyrtleShiftDress #PeppermintPatterns
Connection 🫶🏻
Such great ideas from @GrowWithColby:
“A common theme I noticed in 2025:
Everyone is craving more connection.
Use these friend nights to make it happen in 2026.
Send this to the people you want to do these with.”
#Connection #Friends #Community
No bull - these pants are the cat`s (or cow`s) pyjamas...
Jenny from @RhubarbSundays:
And they are done! My @PeppermintMagazine #PeppermintFernPleatedPants made using a gorgeous fabric from @IndyBindyFabrics! I absolutely love this fabric! It’s soft and drapes beautifully. And the best thing about it is that, from a distance, it looks like an abstract print and then you look closer and theres a curious bull looking right at you. 🤣🤣 🐄 🐮
Really happy with the end product. They are very comfy! I didn’t make many changes to the pattern. Just a touch more room in the rise and a little bit off the waist. I’ll post some closeups of the details tomorrow when I actually take them off. 🤣 "
Grab the pattern from the link in bio!
#PeppermintPatterns #IMakeMyOwnClothes #ClothesThatFeelLikePyjamas #SewersGonnaSew
