Prairie Fairies draws upon a wealth of oral, archival, and cultural histories to recover the experiences of queer urban and rural people in the prairies. Focusing on five major urban centres, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Regina, Edmonton, and Calgary, Prairie Fairies explores the regional experiences and activism of queer men and women by looking at the community centres, newsletters, magazines, and organizations that they created from 1930 to 1985.　

Challenging the preconceived narratives of queer history, Valerie J. Korinek argues that the LGBTTQ community has a long history in the prairie west, and that its history, previously marginalized or omitted, deserves attention. Korinek pays tribute to the prairie activists and actors who were responsible for creating spaces for socializing, politicizing, and organizing this community, both in cities and rural areas. Far from the stereotype of the isolated, insular Canadian prairies of small towns and farming communities populated by faithful farm families, Prairie Fairies historicizes the transformation of prairie cities, and ultimately the region itself, into a predominantly urban and diverse place.

Valerie Korinek is a professor in the Department of History at the University of Saskatchewan.

Valerie Korinek's profile page

• Winner, Jennifer Welsh Scholarly Writing Award awarded by Saskatchewan Book Awards
• Short-listed, University of Saskatchewan Non-Fiction Award awarded by Saskatchewan Book Awards
• Winner, The Clio Prairies Region Prize awarded by the Canadian Historical Association
• Winner, CSN/RÉC Prize for the Best Book in Canadian Studies

"Reclaiming the term 'fairies' from diminishment and disrespect to pride, gender, and sexual difference is a notable claim. This research forms part of a trans-national project and contributes to the extensive cultural geographic literature on queer urban histories."

<em>The Prairie Journal of Canadian Literature</em>