Event Description
Porter Square Books: Boston Edition and GrubStreet are delighted to present the latest installment of the Grubbie Debut event series, featuring Milo Todd! Join us for a celebration of his debut novel The Lilac People on Thursday, May 1 at Porter Square Books: Boston Edition (50 Liberty Dr. Boston, Ma 02210). Author Julie Carrick Dalton will join Todd in conversation, and the author talk will be followed by a signing line.
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ABOUT THE LILAC PEOPLE
In 1932 Berlin, a trans man named Bertie and his friends spend carefree nights at the Eldorado Club, the epicenter of Berlin’s thriving queer community. An employee of the renowned Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld at the Institute of Sexual Science, Bertie works to improve queer rights in Germany and beyond. But everything changes when Hitler rises to power. The Institute is raided, the Eldorado is shuttered, and queer people are rounded up. Bertie barely escapes with his girlfriend, Sofie, to a nearby farm. There they take on the identities of an elderly couple and live for more than a decade in isolation.
In the final days of the war, with their freedom in sight, Bertie and Sofie find a young trans man collapsed on their property, still dressed in Holocaust prison clothes. They vow to protect him—not from the Nazis, but from the Allied forces who are arresting queer prisoners while liberating the rest of the country. Ironically, as the Allies’ vise grip closes on Bertie and his family, their only salvation is to flee to the United States.
Brimming with hope, resilience, and the enduring power of community, The Lilac People tells an extraordinary story inspired by real events and recovers an unknown moment of World War II and trans history.
PRAISE FOR THE LILAC PEOPLE
Goodreads, A Most Anticipated Title
LGBTQ+ Reads, A Most Anticipated Book
"This beautifully wrought historical novel about a trans man’s resilient survival through the promising Weimar Republic to Nazi Germany to the still-oppressive Allied occupation is a poignant reminder that history may not repeat itself, but it surely rhymes . . . Milo Todd paints a rich portrait of this often-overlooked period of queer history with protagonists who might be fictional, but represent the tenacity and hope of queer individuals past and present." —Katherine Ouellette, WBUR
"Not only is The Lilac People a moving story, it might also be a roadmap of how we move forward." —Michelle Hart, Electric Literature
"Stirring . . . In Todd’s hands, this vital chapter of LGBTQ+ history comes to life, as the characters find a means to survive through found family. This timely historical drama hits hard." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Integrating imagined characters with historical research, Todd brings humanity and specificity to atrocities that are still being uncovered. The heartbreaking result honors love and friendship, and ends with hope for one built family of survivors . . . The Lilac People is emotionally wrenching, but also lovely in its details, the humanity of its characters, and the resilience and hope at its end, when a fresh start seems possible. Todd has made an enormous contribution to historical fiction with his own research and this beautiful, touching narrative." —Julie Kastner, Shelf Awareness
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Milo Todd is a Massachusetts Cultural Council grantee and a Lambda Literary Fellow. His work has appeared in Slice Magazine and elsewhere. He is co–editor in chief of Foglifter and teaches creative writing to queer and trans adults.
Julie Carrick Dalton is the author of The Last Beekeeper, longlisted for the 2024 Massachusetts Book Award, and Waiting for the Night Song, winner of the 2023 New Hampshire People's Choice Award for Best Novel, a Most Anticipated Novel from CNN, USA Today, NewsWeek, and Parade, and an Amazon Editor's Pick for Best Book of the Month. A former journalist, organic farmer, and beekeeper, she is a frequent speaker on the topic of Fiction in the Age of Climate Crisis at museums, universities, and conferences nationally and internationally. She teaches Climate Fiction at Tufts University and is on the teaching faculty of Drexel University's MFA program. Her third novel, The Forest Becomes Her, will be released by St. Martin's Press in 2026. When she isn't writing or reading, you can probably find Julie skiing, kayaking, swimming, working in her garden, or obsessing over her dogs.
This class will take place in-person at our Center for Creative Writing in Boston's Seaport neighborhood.
Covid-19 Update:
GrubStreet's space will be mask-optional when Boston's Covid-19 Community Level is low or medium. When the Covid-19 Community Level is high, our space will require masks. Please check GrubStreet's Covid-19 page for the latest info on masking and Community Levels before visiting in person.
Space Accessibility:
Our space is ADA accessible with automatic door openers, ADA-compliant restrooms, desk and table spacing, braille signage, and elevator. Our classrooms can be equipped with ALS for hard of hearing individuals. We cannot guarantee a scent-free environment. For more accessibility requests, please contact our Operations team at [email protected] or (617) 695-0075.