Today's Best of the Web is for those of us who turn to writing and literature in times of tragedy. Read on for responses to Orlando, and work that celebrates the LGBTQ+ community. 

In this compilation from Lambda Literary, writers capture our feelings of anger, sorrow, and defiance in the face of the attack last weekend in Orlando. 

"The Orlando Massacre: Writers Respond with Sadness and Outrage."

Spanning eight generations, three centuries, and two countries, Yaa Gyasi's debut novel Homegoing, released today, has already been commended by literary figures from Ta-Nehisi Coates to Roxane Gay

Twice a month, we feature our favorite literary links. As ever, we promise: You’ll laugh. You'll ponder. You won’t get any writing done.

Arnold Lobel, who wrote and illustrated the classic "Frog and Toad" books, came out to his family in 1974. His sexuality, says his daughter in the New Yorker, adds a new layer of poignancy to this series of same-sex friendship. 

Twice a month, we feature our favorite literary links. As ever, we promise: You’ll laugh. You'll ponder. You won’t get any writing done.

"In a time when acceptance is illusory, it’s more important now than ever that these stories from the outside are heard": On the enduring power of queer voices in poetry. 

"Why Queer Poetry Still Matters."

Twice a month, we feature our favorite literary links. As ever, we promise: You’ll laugh. You'll ponder. You won’t get any writing done.

"The version of a place depicted in a novel will undoubtedly not entirely fit the view from your car window or hotel room": Laura Barnett on Gerald Durrell, a sheep carcass, and the dangers of seeing countries through a fictional lens.