BAD TASTE: Queer Horror and Cake

Join us at Category Is Books for a spooktacular evening of queer horror - with cake!

Writers Heather Parry and Ciara Maguire well read some of their spine-tingling stories and poems, and James Dewar (Great British Bake Off) will create some bespoke bakes for you to sample.

We’ll then explore queer horror and genre writing, asking what draws queer writers and readers to the dark side and sharing some of our favourite horror stories.

Heather Parry is a Glasgow-based writer and editor, originally from South Yorkshire. Her debut novel, Orpheus Builds a Girl, was shortlisted for the Saltire Society Fiction Book of the Year Award and longlisted for the Polari First Book Prize. She is also the author of a short story collection, This Is My Body, Given For You, and the non-fiction book, Electric Dreams: On Sex Robots and the Failed Promises of Capitalism. Her most recent novel is, Carrion Crow. Heather lives in Glasgow with her partner and their cats, Ernesto and Fidel.

Ciara Maguire is a writer and poet living in Glasgow. Her work has been published in Extra Teeth, bath magg, SPAM Zine, Gutter, Propel Magazine and more. Her debut pamphlet, Impossible Heat, was published in 2024 with Little Betty Press and was longlisted for the Polari First Book Prize.

James Dewar is the owner of The Big Gay Bakery, a bakery focussed on the LGBTQ+ community that puts effort into making members feel valued and safe. Famous for their gothic bakes and risqué cookies, The Big Gay Bakery are available for any special occasion (weddings, naming days, coming out celebrations) - they love a wild request.