Welcome to IHS’s Great Pride Giveaway!
June is a special month for us at IHS Headquarters because it’s Pride season. Which means rainbows galore! That makes us truly happy because one of our missions in life is to spread rainbows and to show our pride every single day.
PRIDE PHOTO
TB here. Sammy has taken a liking to my rainbow bow tie, so when I put it on with my hat, he wasn’t happy. In fact, he tried biting it off me. I had no idea he likes rainbows that much and I couldn’t be prouder!
GREAT PRIDE EBOOK GIVEAWAY
We asked authors to donate eBooks for a massive giveaway and wowzers, so many authors are taking part. Every day in June, there will be a new eBook giveaway. So not only will you see another pride photo, but you can enter to win loads of eBooks!
A few things about the giveaway. They’re open internationally. Authors will be responsible for delivering the eBooks. You WILL NOT be signed up to anyone’s newsletter when you enter.
Today’s giveaway has 60 books involved. One winner will be selected on June 24. That’s right. One lucky reader will get 60 books!
THE JUNE 20 WINNER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED
We’re thrilled to announce the twentieth Great Pride Giveaway winner has been sent an email. They won 57 eBooks featured on June 20, 2025.
The winner for June 21 will be selected tomorrow. There’s still time to enter by clicking here. Don’t wait. It closes later today.
QUEER TRIVIA
Before we get to all the wonderful books involved in today’s giveaway, we want to share some queer trivia. It’s the former historian and teacher that compels TB to pull together the daily trivia. So many amazing and brave people in history paved the way for the rest of us. The fight isn’t over, but while we keep showing up it’s important to remember those who came before us.
Here’s today’s trivia:
Born on April 17, 1919, in San Joaquín de Flores, Costa Rica, she had a difficult childhood. Her parents divorced and left her in the care of an uncle, and she contracted poliomyelitis (polio). At age 17, she left her native country due to the lack of opportunities for a musical career and sought refuge in Mexico, where the entertainment industry was beginning to flourish. She lived there for more than seventy years and became a naturalized Mexican citizen.
For many years she sang on the streets, but in her thirties she became a professional singer. In her youth she wore men’s clothing, smoked cigars, drank heavily, carried a gun, and became known for her signature red jorongo (a long blanket-like shawl), which she continued to wear in performances well into old age. She rejected heteronormativity in a bold and uncompromising way.
She sang the canción ranchera in her own distinctive style. Traditionally performed from a man’s perspective and accompanied by a mariachi band, she instead sang these songs solo, using only guitar and voice. She often slowed the tempo of the melodies to heighten dramatic tension, giving the songs a playfully subversive and humorous tone.
Her first album, Noche Bohemia (Bohemian Night), was released in 1961 with the professional support of José Alfredo Jiménez, a leading singer and songwriter in Mexican ranchera music. Over the course of her career, she recorded more than 80 albums. She achieved major success during the 1950s, 1960s, and the first half of the 1970s, touring in Mexico, the United States, France, and Spain.
She was known to have had several lesbian relationships and was rumored to have had affairs with Frida Kahlo and Ava Gardner. Although her lyrics were directed toward women, she did not publicly come out until she was 81, when she shared her story in her 2002 autobiography And If You Want to Know about My Past (Y si quieres saber de mi pasado).
She left a lasting impact on both the Americas and Europe. Celebrated for her powerful and emotionally resonant performances, she was known as la voz áspera de la ternura, or “the rough voice of tenderness.” Her honors include the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic in recognition of her contributions to music.
Do you know her name? The answer can be found below all the books.
TODAY’S ENTRY FORM:
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NOW FOR ALL THE BOOKS IN THE GIVEAWAY
Don’t forget to scroll to the bottom for today’s trivia answer!
