Audible Spotlights a Spectrum of LGBTQIA+ Voices this Pride Month

June is Pride Month in several countries around the world, “a time,” our CEO Bob Carrigan says, “to celebrate the spectrum of the human experience and to honor those who have paved the way.” At Audible, that means elevating Queer stories and voices, highlighting the many new Audible Originals by LGBTQIA+ creators around the globe, and coming together at Pride parties with employees and listeners alike.

Audible editor Michael Collina interviewed Aaron Foley, author of the Audible Original Boys Come First, which Collina said “might just be the first great gay novel about being Black, queer, and millennial in Detroit.” Foley, a magazine editor, was compelled to write his first work of fiction because he realized novels about Black gay male experiences were missing from his life. “In writing Boys Come First, I wanted to do my small part so the next person wouldn’t have to feel that way.” Foley also appeared as part of GLAAD x Audible’s interview series, which will continue throughout the year.

Employees worldwide celebrated the release of the new Audible Original series How to Be Gay with a virtual chat with beloved Australian comedian Josh Thomas (creator of TV’s Please Like Me and Everything’s Gonna Be Okay). Thomas’s series, which is part documentary and part memoir, includes guests like Dan Savage, Tig Notaro, David Sedaris, and Titus Burgess for honest, hilarious conversations filled with stories and advice.

On June 30, our UK team released the Audible Original Algorithms, an audio adaptation of Sadie Clark’s award-winning one-woman show, which The Guardian called “bisexual Bridget Jones for the online generation.” Now reimagined as a full-cast, six-episode series, the comic drama focuses on a queer algorithm writer navigating the online dating scene and is available globally.

And in India, media outlets shared a list of recommended LGTBQIA+ listens available on Audible.in, such as Lily Singh’s self-development book Be a Triangle; a memoir from Queer Eye’s Tan France, Naturally Tan; and a podcast series from filmmaker Mozez Singh called Azaad Awaaz, which uses interviews to explore the hopes, triumphs, struggles, and joy of India's LGBTQIA+ community.

In New York City, Audible joined Playbill, Times Square Alliance, and Heritage of Pride organizations to celebrate NYC Pride as a Presenting Sponsor, sharing Audible’s LGBTQIA+ content from Audible Theater. A double-decker Audible bus was open to the public in Times Square on June 24 and June 25, and provided a unique immersive listening experience in which visitors were treated to a full Pride-ready look by Broadway makeup and hair artists, while listening to stories from Audible’s LGBTQIA+ collection, like Alan Cumming’s Legal Immigrant; Tondurai Munyevu’s Mugabe, My Dad and Me; and Williamstown Theatre Festival’s Chonburi International Hotel & Butterfly Club, by Shakina Nayfack. Nayfack, a well-known Broadway performer and activist for trans rights, also performed at Audible PRIDE Onstage in Times Square.

On June 26, the bus, decorated with “Queer Stories by Queer Voices,” became a spectacular float for employees as it made its way through the official 53rd annual NYC Pride Parade route. In addition to being a sponsor of NYC Pride for the fifth year in a row, Audible was also a sponsor of the Montclair Pride Festival in Montclair, NJ. Throughout the month, attendees of Montclair Pride events received credit for free Audible listens by LGBTQIA+ creators. And GLAAD announced that its Pride Unboxed gift set, which contains products and experiences from more than a dozen organizations, includes a free listen from Audible.

Audible PRIDE and the Black Employee Network (BEN) hosted a skate party for Audible employees at Newark’s Branch Brook Park Roller Skating Center, where a local DJ spun music while Newark Working Kitchens restaurant Mercato Tomato Pie dished out refreshments. The whole month kicked off with a Pride Month Social Hour at our Innovation Cathedral, and for employees it was a welcome chance to reconnect with each other in person.

Check out our Pride collection for new and previously released listens, interviews with LGBTQIA+ creators, and more.