On Sunday 12th February as part of our day of talks on LGBTQ+ history at Exeter
Phoenix we will have a keynote lecture on lesbian history by award-winning author Diana Souhami, entitled “Gluck, Radclyffe Hall, Violet Trefusis and other Notable Lesbians”.

Diana Souhami has published thirteen books and numerous essays, articles and reviews. Her work on LGBTQ+ history includes Natalie and Romaine (2004), The Trials of Radclyffe Hall(1998), Mrs Keppel and her Daughter (1996), Greta and Cecil(1994), Gertrude and Alice (1992/2009), Gluck (1988).

In her keynote lecture, Diana Souhami will draw on her work to discuss the lives of lesbian women like Gluck, Radclyffe Hall, Violet Trefusis and reflect on their contributions to early twentieth-century art, literature and culture.

For more on Diana Souhami’s work, please visit her website.

This keynote lecture will conclude our day of talks and presentations on LGBTQ+ history. All other talks on Sunday 12th are not ticketed, please just drop in. For more information, please check the full programme.

The main Festival event will be a free, one-day programme of talks on Sunday 12th February 2017 at Exeter Phoenix.

We will hear from a wide range of speakers including academics, historians, campaigners, authors, curators and many more. They will be present on many aspects of local and national LGBT history, including:

• How Exeter grassroots movements transformed life for LGBT people in the city
• Whether Oscar Wilde would have used Grindr!
• Bristol’s very recent changing LGBT history
• Chinese underground queer cinema
• Trans women in the Ancient world
• Homosexuality and the Royal Navy during World War I

We are also delighted to welcome our keynote speaker:

Award-winning author and biographer Diana Souhami will talk about her work on women’s and lesbian history, focusing specifically on the British painter, Gluck.

We are asking people to book for the (FREE) keynote talk only – please book here. 

All other talks on Sunday 12th are not ticketed, please just drop in. 

Please see the full programme of talks here.

We will begin the festival with an official launch on Saturday 11th February 2017, 3-5pm at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum.

At this afternoon event, The Right Worshipful the Lord Mayor of Exeter, Cllr Cynthia Thompson will formally open the Festival and we will hear from a range of voices who have distinctive insights into the history and contemporary lives of LGBT people in the South West and further afield, including:

Dr Alan Butler (Plymouth LGBT Archive).

Dr Michael Halls (Intercom Trust)

Natalie McGrath (Dreadnought South West)

Cheryl Morgan (OutStories Bristol)

Come and enjoy a glass of wine with us, generously provided by Barefoot Wines. 

Tickets are FREE for the launch event but booking is essential, please book here.