Hugh Ryan on Writing Lifestyles and Learnings, and uncovering Queer History

Hugh is a writer, historian and curator focused on all things queer and New York city. His debut book When Brooklyn Was Queer received numerous accolades, including writeups as an editor's pick in the New York Times and it was listed as one of Harper Baazar's best LGBTQ books of 2019.

His most recent book, The Woman's House of Detention was discussed with none other than Terry Gross of NPRs fresh air and talks about the 20th century women's house of detention in the West Village. It has already received numerous praise from many outlets, and by some of my own personal favorite writers like Melissa Febos. Hugh is a fantastic writer and also an educator now back teaching at Bennington College, where he received his MFA.

And you can get some of that education through our conversation, as I sure did. Make sure to stick around for his recommendations on some craft picks to read.