Finding the Words to say I love you with Kai Spellmeier & Gayathiri Kamalakanthan [First Date 2026]

This event is a part of First Date 2026 edition series. Click to view more from this festival.

This event is part of FIRST DATE ROMANCE FICTION FESTIVAL, which we are thrilled to co-host with Book Lovers Bookshop! You can book tickets to their First Date events on their website.

We're always excited to see romance fiction from a new angle, and we're curious to discuss how our language - and how we use it - shapes love and relationships.

Kai Spellmeier has written a gorgeous book about finding the words to go from friends to lovers. BOY FRIENDS is about Luca, who has secretly been in love with his best friend Simo for as long as he can remember. When an anonymous message on the town noticeboard announces that SIMO AND LUCA ARE IN LOVE, the boys are forced to confront their deepest feelings for one another.

Gayathiri Kamalakanthan's debut verse novel BAD QUEER navigates first love as a non-binary teenager, gorgeously illustrated throughout. The book draws us deeplyl into queer friendship, family secrets, and the necessary act of loving yourself.

About our speakers:

Kai Spellmeier is a German author currently living in England. He has published several books in Germany, including YA novels and non-fiction, and he has been blogging about books on Instagram for many years. Boy Friends is his English language debut.

Gayathiri Kamalakanthan is a Tamil writer and producer. They are a recipient of the Disabled Poets Prize, the FAB Publisher's Prize and the RSL Literature Matters Award. Their play Period Parrrty opened at Soho Theatre in October 2025.

About our chair: Andrés N. Ordorica (He/Him) is a queer Latinx writer based in Edinburgh. His writing seeks to illuminate love and loss while unpacking what it means to be from ni de aquí, ni de allá. He is the author of the poetry collection At Least This I Know and Holy Boys and the novel How We Named the Stars.