BACKGROUND

Édouard Louis, born Eddy Bellegueule, studied sociology with Didier Eribon at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, where he lives. His debut autobiographical novel, The End of Eddy (2014), became a number-one bestseller in France and has been translated into 18 languages. His second novel, History of Violence, was published in 2017, followed by the social study Who Killed My Father. He received the Pierre Guénin Prize for his commitment to fighting homophobia.

Helena Vieira is a writer, playwright, and researcher. In theater, she investigates narrative forms that re-signify history and the lived experience of dissident bodies, as in Jango Jezebel: Where Were the Travestis During the Dictatorship? She has published essays in collections such as Explosão Feminista (ed. Heloísa Buarque de Hollanda) and História do Movimento LGBT no Brasil (ed. James N. Green, Renan Quinalha, Marcio Caetano, and Marisa Fernandes). Her work moves between philosophy, gender studies, and cultural criticism, contributing to outlets such as Cult, Harper’s Bazaar, Galileu, and Folha de S.Paulo.

Renan Quinalha is a human rights lawyer, LGBTQIA+ activist, and professor at the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp). He holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of São Paulo and chairs the LGBTQIA+ Memory and Truth Working Group at Brazil’s Ministry of Human Rights, in addition to serving on the Amnesty Commission. He previously advised the São Paulo State Truth Commission and was a Visiting Research Fellow at Brown University (USA).