Debut Memoir Out Now!


The Queen of Gay Street by
Esther Mollica

Isn't New York's motto, "Give me your tired, your poor, your undersexed"?

In New York, the party never stops and love's always just around the corner. At least, that's what queer journalist Esther Mollica told herself when she quit her job during the 2008 recession and moved three thousand miles away to become New York City's first blogger on lesbian dating. Her hometown brought her nothing but heartache, and none more devastating than learning that the love of her life was secretly married to a man. On the other hand, New York, with its brazen, sadistic wiles, promised something more than just another walk of shame.

What it really delivered was the woman who became Esther's hardest subject to write about: her editor. Soon, their tempestuous relationship turned into something as twisted and trauma-inducing as it was intoxicating. And even the haze of all-girl nightlife glamor at the height of pre-pandemic New York couldn't help Esther hide from the truth: about their dysfunction, about her past, and about the life she longed for in the city she loved.

Gritty, dazzling, heartfelt, and hilarious, The Queen of Gay Street is a personal window into the queer dating scene and a promise that those in search of true love will find their own happily ever after.

“A hilarious, irresistible account of a lesbian writing and dating in ‘00s New York.”

— PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

“An exhilarating ride on Gotham’s emotional rollercoaster. ”

— KIRKUS STARRED REVIEW

“I literally read this book in a day…I genuinely couldn’t put it down. Mollica certainly proves that she’s the Queen of Gay Street. All hail the Queen!”

— ★★★★★ BEATRICE TOOTHMAN, Seattle Book Review

“One of the most candid books I have ever read, Esther Mollica's The Queen of Gay Street is a breath of fresh air when it comes to personal storytelling…the author's strength bleeds through on every page of the book”

— ★★★★★ KRISTI ELIZABETH, Manhattan Book Review

“It contains multitudes; at times, it is tender, at other times raunchy. (Those who are squeamish about the lesbian experience may find themselves shocked by this book. I found it delightful.)”

— ★★★★★ JO NIEDERHOFF, Portland Book Review

Interviews

Booklife Talks with Esther Mollica - Publishers Weekly

Interview with Esther Mollica, Author of Queen of Gay Street - Manhattan Book Review




The Queen of Gay Street: Book Trailer!

Come and see how magical and energetic New York seemed to a young, queer sex and dating blogger in the aughts. The trailer’s song, Go to Hell by MindMe, initially sounds breathy, girlish and flirtatious. Yet it contains dark and troubling lyrics that reflect the dramatic undertow of the book. Made in four nights and powered with copious amounts of caffeine, this trailer evokes the same sense of love, loss, and sensuality that haunts the reader after the last page is turned. By studying the same shots and cuts used as the opening to the original Sex and the City, I felt that using my background in film and screenwriting might be the best way to show what “Broads in the Big Apple” brings to the table.

About Esther

Esther Mollica has written for Wired, GO, Bust, Curve, Autostraddle and The Bay Area Reporter. Her work is featured in the 2022 anthology I Feel Love: Notes on Queer Joy. Esther's short romantic comedy, Never the Bride, was featured as one of four films by up-and-coming women of color in San Francisco's Frameline Film Festival, 2010. 

In 2011 she was named, "New York's Most Eligible Lesbian Bachelorette" by Time Out New York, which ironically almost scared off her wife.