The Log Books: Tash Walker and Adam Zmith in conversation with Amelia Abraham @ Palm 2
Description
Join us when we welcome Tash Walker and Adam Zmith to discuss their new book THE LOG BOOKS: VOICES OF QUEER BRITAIN AND THE HELPLINE THAT LISTENED with Amelia Abraham at Palm 2 Event Space.
In a crawlspace at the offices of Switchboard, a queer helpline in operation since 1974, lies dozens of log books kept by volunteers describing the phone calls they had taken: a teenager whose parents had kicked them out of home for dressing as the wrong gender; a lesbian terrified of having her baby taken away from her; a man arrested for chatting up another man in a public toilet; a young person wanting to know how to come out.
These logs were traces of tens of thousands of queer lives, a bridge to a past hidden from people like Tash Walker and Adam Zmith in their youth, captured by people who lent an ear to those in need. Walker and Zmith came of age in the time of Section 28, a law which banned councils and schools ‘promoting the teaching of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship’. In recovering these logs, they encountered people grappling with feelings, questions and problems both familiar and different, and set out to learn from – and sometimes speak to – those on both sides of the calls.
Charged with joy, gossip, sensuality, humour and sometimes fear, and with a potent relevancy to the world today, these stories are brought together in THE LOG BOOKS. Walker and Zmith capture queer lives in stunning detail, embarking on a journey of both collective history and self-discovery and propelling it into the very foreground of our national history.
Lineup
Tash Walker
Tash Walker is a writer, poet, audio producer and community organiser who has worked with institutions such as the Barbican, The National Archives, BBC, The Charles Causley Trust and Queer Britain; they were a member of Switchboard’s board for eight years. They are the co-author, along with Adam Zmith, of The Log Books: Voices of Queer Britain and the Helpline that Listened (Faber, 2026). In 2021 they were named one of the top 101 LGBTQ+ Trailblazers by Attitude Magazine, and in 2022 were included in Stonewall and DIVA’s Pride Power List.
Adam Zmith
Adam Zmith is a writer and multi-format producer. He is the co-author, along with Tash Walker, of The Log Books: Voices of Queer Britain and the Helpline that Listened (Faber, 2026). His book Deep Sniff: A History of Poppers and Queer Futures won the Polari First Book Prize. He writes theatre shows, talks and podcasts, including Press Play Turn On which won Podcast of the Year at the British Podcast Awards 2024.
Amelia Abraham
Amelia Abraham (B. 1991) is a journalist, editor and author from London. She writes for Art Review, The Guardian, The Observer, Dazed, AnOther, and other titles on arts, culture and more. Her books include Queer Intentions: A (Personal) Journey Through LGBTQ+ Culture and We Can Do Better Than This: 35 Voices on the Future of LGBTQ+ Rights. Her first edited photography book, Sex, Clubs, Dissent: Visualising Queer Nightlife will be published in Spring 2026 by MACK Books
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