He remained the editor of the series for many years, and also edited numerous other themed anthologies for the company. Īfter Michael Thomas Ford stepped down as editor of Cleis Press's annual Best Gay Erotica series in 1996, Labonté was invited to become editor of the series, because the deadline for the next anthology was imminent and his job as a bookstore manager meant he would have extensive contacts in the gay literary world whose work he could call in quickly. Although their relationship broke up in 1983, they both remained involved in the store, with Labonté managing the Silver Lake store and Laurila managing a new branch in New York City. The couple subsequently moved to Los Angeles, where they would become co-founders of the influential LGBT bookstore A Different Light. ĭuring his time contributing to the Citizen, Labonté began a relationship with Norman Laurila, then an employee at Glad Day Bookshop in Toronto. In 1980, he contributed to an Ottawa Citizen series on gay life in Ottawa, becoming one of the first Canadian journalists ever to come out in the pages of a mainstream newspaper. Following school he joined the Ottawa Citizen in 1972 as an editor, later writing film and book reviews, and was a contributor to The Body Politic.
Originally from Edmonton, Alberta, Labonté studied English and political science at Carleton University in Ottawa, where he was an editor for The Charlatan.
Richard Labonté (1949 – March 20, 2022) was a Canadian writer and editor, best known as the editor or co-editor of numerous anthologies of LGBT literature.
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