When

Saturday, September 26, 2026 · 1:00 p.m.

Where

Chapters · 6670 Maryellen Drive · Nanaimo · British Columbia

Join Olympian and activist Betty Baxter and award-winning journalist and author Daniel Gawthrop for a special signing event. Their respective works discuss LGBTQIA+ experiences in Canadian sport, celebrating the courage, resilience, and advocacy that continues to break down barriers and drive meaningful change. Betty Baxter’s memoir, "Outspoken: A Journey from Olympic Athlete to Activist" (Nightwood Editions) details how she went from playing and coaching volleyball at the highest professional level, to being ousted and blacklisted from the sport at the height of the Purge years over rumours of her sexuality. Baxter went on to become a staunch advocate for women and LGBTQ+ athletes, as documented in this moving autobiography. Daniel Gawthrop’s non-fiction "Cutting Edge: Hockey as Queer Culture" (Arsenal Pulp Press) examines Canada’s most popular pastime from a queer lens, examining its history of toxic masculinity, to the cultural shift playing out in real time in both accepting and celebrating gay hockey players at all levels of the sport. Betty Baxter Photo Credit Nicola Davison Daniel Gawthrop Photo Credit Trevor MacNeil