The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions by Larry Mitchell
Last updated: 3 October 2026
The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions is Larry Mitchell's 1977 queer fable, illustrated by Ned Asta, about a group of outsiders living through the slow collapse of an empire called Ramrod. Mitchell self-published it, it went out of print, and it survived on photocopies until Nightboat Books reissued it in 2019 for the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. On 3 October 2026 Amazon UK had the 128-page Nightboat paperback at £11.85, against a list price of £12.99, and in stock.
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What The Faggots and Their Friends is about
The book is set in Ramrod, an empire run by "the men". The faggots live together on its edges, making art, having sex and waiting for the next revolution. Their friends include the strong women, the queens, the women who love women and the faeries. The queer men are different, because they have chosen to fit in with the men.
There is no single plot. Instead, the book is a run of short episodes, most of them a page long, mixed with polemic and Asta's line drawings. That makes it quick to read. It also makes it easy to open at random, which is how a lot of people use it.
Where the book came from
Mitchell and Asta were founding members of Lavender Hill, a queer commune in Ithaca, New York. Mitchell first planned the book as a children's picture book. When other publishers turned it down, he set up Calamus Press and published it himself in 1977.
After that first edition went out of print, the book disappeared from shops. However, it kept circulating as photocopies and later as PDFs, and it picked up a cult following. A small reissue followed in 2016, then the Nightboat edition in 2019. The history of each edition is set out on the Wikipedia page for the book.
What is in the 2019 edition
The Nightboat paperback keeps Asta's illustrations and adds two new pieces. The filmmaker and activist Tourmaline wrote a preface. The performance artist Morgan Bassichis wrote the introduction. Bassichis had already adapted the book into a three-part musical performance at the New Museum in New York in 2017.
The book has also reached the stage in the UK. Composer Philip Venables and director Ted Huffman turned it into a music theatre piece for the Manchester International Festival in 2023.
Key facts
- Author: Larry Mitchell
- Illustrator: Ned Asta
- First published: 1977, by Calamus Press
- This edition: Nightboat Books paperback, 15 August 2019, illustrated
- Length: 128 pages, 12.7 x 20.3cm, so it fits in a coat pocket
- ISBN: 9781643620060
- Price: £11.85 on Amazon UK on 3 October 2026, list price £12.99
- Ratings: 4.7 out of 5 from 382 ratings on Amazon UK, checked the same day
Who it suits
- Readers of queer history: it is a primary text from 1970s gay liberation, written by someone who lived in one of the communes it describes.
- People who saw the Manchester production: the book is the source, with the drawings the stage version could not use.
- Gift buyers: it is short, illustrated and under £12, so it is an easy present to post.
The limits
Because the book is a fable rather than a novel, readers looking for characters and a storyline may find it thin. Reviewers of the 2019 reissue in Slate and The Nation both questioned whether Mitchell's idea of withdrawing from the world of the men works as a plan.
The title uses a slur that Mitchell and his community reclaimed for themselves. Some readers will not want it on a gift tag. For a more personal queer history in photographs, Loving: A Photographic History of Men in Love collects 320 snapshots of male couples from the 1850s to the 1950s.
Where to buy it in the UK
Amazon UK had the Nightboat paperback at £11.85 on 3 October 2026, in stock.
The Faggots and Their Friends on Amazon UK
FAQs
What is The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions?
It is a 1977 illustrated fable by Larry Mitchell, with drawings by Ned Asta, about queer communities surviving in a failing empire called Ramrod.
Who publishes The Faggots and Their Friends now?
Nightboat Books published the current edition in 2019, with a preface by Tourmaline and an introduction by Morgan Bassichis.
How long is the book?
The Nightboat paperback runs to 128 pages. Most sections are a single page, so it reads in an evening.
How much does it cost in the UK?
Amazon UK had it at £11.85 on 3 October 2026. The list price is £12.99.
Has it been adapted for the stage?
Yes. Morgan Bassichis staged a musical version at the New Museum in 2017, and Philip Venables and Ted Huffman made a music theatre version for the Manchester International Festival in 2023.
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