Richard LABONTE

RICHARD LABONTÉ Richard Labonté died peacefully on Sunday, March 20, 2022, after a battle with stomach cancer. As an editor of gay anthologies, co- founder of the A Different Light bookstore chain, and mentor to many authors, he was one of the most influential advocates of queer culture and literature in North America. From the 1990s until the last decade, Richard edited more than 40 anthologies, wrote over a thousand reviews, and received three Lambda Literary Awards. An army brat born in Edmonton in 1949, his career began in Ottawa at Carleton's student newspaper, The Charlatan. He received a visit from the RCMP after publishing in it the FLQ Manifesto. Starting as night copy editor at the Ottawa Citizen, he rose to become one of its leading lights as a reporter, reviewer and editor. In 1980, he contributed to the newspaper's first extensive study of gay life in the nation's capital, and became one of the first Canadian journalists to come out in a large metropolitan newspaper. It had a powerful impact on the gay community across Canada. He moved to California, to Los Angeles and then San Francisco and later to New York, where he helped create three influential gay bookstores. These were the early years of the AIDS epidemic. Richard took a lead in fighting for recognition of the epidemic affecting gay communities across the world, raising tens of thousands of dollars for victims at a time when the stigma of AIDS was a powerful deterrent to community support. Throughout the 1990s, A Different Light became a centre of queer culture in California and New York, places where authors and fans met for readings and informal receptions. Over 22 years, Richard combined his bookselling career with his editorial expertise to connect authors with thousands of new readers. He also contributed to screenplays and documentaries. Richard moved back to Canada, where he continued his editing and advocacy, from a farm near Ottawa. There he married his longtime partner, Asa Liles. For the past two decades he and Asa have lived on Bowen Island in British Columbia. Richard continued his editing and reviewing while working at a nearby rehab centre and volunteering at the public library - true to his lifelong devotion to the stories and lives of others. He leaves his loving husband, Asa Liles, and many devoted friends.