Banned Book Club - Book being read is “Last Night at the Telegraph Cafe"
Apr 23, 2026 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
The story for Last Night at the Telegraph Club was first published by Malinda Lo in an anthology as a short story, named “New Year”. Lo came up with the idea for it when she heard about the lesbian bars that operated in North Beach, near San Francisco’s Chinatown.
She spent three years writing the book. During her research for the book, Lo visited the GLBT Historical Society. The author also drew from her own experience going to lesbian bars to write some of the scenes.
In November 2021, the National Book Foundation announced Last Night at the Telegraph Club had received the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. This was the first time a young adult book featuring an LGBT woman as the main character won the National Book Award. In their praise, one of the judges said the novel “glows with desire and hums with sensuality as sapphic romance flashes against fear and intolerance.” During her acceptance speech, Malinda Lo talked about “diversity and inclusion and living in a time when many books are under siege from people advancing and attempting to enforce conservative views.”
