Q&A with Layla McCay – Author Interview

Layla McCay is a thoughtful and insightful voice in contemporary non-fiction, known for her passion for storytelling that celebrates identity, inclusion, and the power of representation. With a warm and accessible writing style, she brings together research, lived experience, and cultural commentary to create work that feels both deeply personal and widely resonant.

In The Queer Bookshelf, Layla explores the richness and diversity of LGBTQIA+ literature, shining a light on stories that deserve to be seen, shared, and celebrated. In this Q&A, she talks about her inspiration for the book, the importance of visibility in publishing, and how books can shape understanding, empathy, and connection across communities.

About The Author

Tell us more about you.

I’ve run queer book clubs in London, Washington and Tokyo.

What are the three items you’d take on a deserted island?

• A solar-powered eReader loaded with thousands of books
• An infinite notebook and pen for writing
• A cosy sleeping bag/pillow set

Who is your biggest role model?

My wife.

What is your favourite book and who is your favourite author?

I don’t think I have an all-time favourite book but I do love Zami by Audre Lorde.

Do you prefer e-books, physical books or audiobook?

I love all of them – depends where I am as to what format is most delightful in that moment.

Is writing your full-time profession or a hobby?

I work in health policy, and I write in my spare time.

What social media platform do you like and use the most?

Links to my socials:

Your Writing Process

How do you go about starting a new novel?

I toss around ideas about the possible topic, and then before planning it, I have a go at drafting the first chapter, to see if the idea continues to excite me.

Where do you like to write?

Often sitting on the sofa at home, laptop in lap.

What do you like most about writing?

I like the idea of telling stories that haven’t been told, and imagining the perfect reader coming across them and being delighted.

What do you find stops you from writing more?

Time! I am always working, or at the theatre or book events, or reading novels, so I need to be good at prioritizing.

What genres do you like to write and why?

So far I’ve written non-fiction because I’ve thought of books I needed for a particular purpose, realized they didn’t exist, and decided to write them myself. But my next book will be a novel, which is really thrilling. It feels like a whole different experience of writing. I’m enchanted by my characters and having them tell my story is such a delight.

What’s one piece of advice you’d give to aspiring writers?

Choose something to write that you think will fill an important gap in what currently exists on the shelves – it’s really motivating! The more you believe that someone needs your book, the more urgently you might write it. Or at least, that’s how it works for me.

Showcase Your Book!

How many books have you written and if more than one, what’s your favourite?

I started out writing a kind of textbook, Restorative Cities: Urban Design for Mental Health and Wellbeing in 2021, because I was running the Centre for Urban Design and Mental Health at the time and professors, students, and urban design professionals were always asking me for a reference book on the topic. Then, after I found out an interview panel had been deterred from selecting me because I’m a lesbian, I wanted to read about how being LGBTQ+ affects us on the career ladder. There was no such book, so I wrote Breaking the Rainbow Ceiling: How LGBTQ+ people can thrive and succeed at work which came out in 2024. But I suspect my favourite book is going to be my current one, The Queer Bookshelf: a reader’s guide which comes out on June 4th 2026, because it’s about the thing I love most in the world: reading!

How long did The Queer Bookshelf take you to write?

Honestly, I’ve been preparing for writing The Queer Bookshelf my whole life – first by reading huge numbers of books with LGBTQ+ themes over decades of my life. Then by starting up a book blog. But formally researching and writing it probably took a couple of years.

Lastly, what is your favourite thing about being an author?

The absolute joy of being a book lover, strolling into a lovely bookshop, and having my eyes alight on a book that has my name on it, and feeling pride and satisfaction that I have contributed something useful to the world.

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