15 years ago, I was walking through the student union of my college when I saw a TV with a news story about a young man in Laramie Wyoming who’d been found badly beaten – and left for dead.
That young man was Matthew Shepard. His grisly murder not only acted as a lightning rod for our community, but it also caused many, including myself, to come out and be counted.
Over the years, the media has tried digging deeper on this story only to be debunked at every conspiracy theory they could unearth. One of the first conspiracy theories around Matthew’s murder came from author Stephen Jiminez. In 2000, just 2 years after Matthew’s murder, Jiminez came across an anonymous letter claiming that Matthew was essentially in a sexual relationship with his murderer, Aaron McKinney. Despite McKinney’s denial of this, despite none of Matthew’s friends or family ever having seen McKinney in their lives prior to the murder and despite not even knowing who wrote this letter, Jiminez thought it necessary to craft a fiction about Matthew Shepard.
The brilliant Media Matters thoroughly debunks “The Book of Matt,” including Jiminez’ own background with the story, every one of his sources (many of whom are “anonymous,”), and his dismissal that Matt’s murder had anything to do with his sexuality despite taped confessions from the killer repeatedly referring to Matt as “the fag” and “the queer.”
Dozens of reputable bookstores around the country are not only stocking this innuendo-filled book, but they’ve invited Jiminez to speak and sell his book to more people.
Last week, I spoke with Bradley Graham at DC’s Politics & Prose – one of the few decent independent booksellers in the city. While grateful that I brought this to their attention, they refused to cancel the event. In a follow-up email to me, Brad dismissed my concerns that the book was full of lies by stating:
“As an independent bookstore, P&P has long played a role as more than just a retail outlet; it’s also an established forum for community discussion on a broad range of topics. In a democracy like ours, such forums are essential. Citizens must have opportunities to hear diverse and sometimes divergent views and to engage in respectful debate about them, even if those views are controversial. As long as this dialogue remains civil and considerate, we will stay committed to holding events featuring a wide universe of books and reflecting many different perspectives.”
Please read the above article from Media Matters on just how hurtful this book is to the LGBT community. Then check the list of readings here and see if one of your local bookstores is hosting a reading. Drop them a line and let them know that they are giving a platform to someone who is spreading lies, rumor and conjecture which are aimed at spitting on the grave of Matthew Shepard.
I’ve done the work of finding phone numbers for all scheduled book events for Mr. Jiminez. Please make the calls and let the stores know what’s going on. Most probably have no idea.
10/8/13
Harvard Coop
1400 Massachussetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02238
1-800-368-1882
10/9/13
Politics & Prose Bookstore
5015 Connecticut Ave. N.W.
Washington, DC 20008
(202) 364-1919
10/10/13
CARMICHAELS BOOKSTORE
2720 FRANKFORT AVE
LOUISVILLE-JEFFERSON COUN, KY 40206-2769
(502) 896-6950
10/12/13
Iowa City Book Festival
Iowa City, IA 52240
http://www.iowacitybookfestival.org/contact/
10/14/13
Sarasota1Bookstore
1359 Main Street
Sarasota, FL 34236
941-365-7900
10/15/13
Books and Books
265 Aragon Ave
Coral Gables, FL 33134
305.442.4408
10/16/13
Inkwood Books
216 S. Armenia
Tampa, FL 33609
(813) 253-2638
10/19/13
MADISON PUBLIC LIBRARY – MARY VAUGHN/ORDER DEPT
126 S. HAMILTON STREET
MADISON, WI 53703-3210
608-266-6300
10/21/13
Auntie’s Bookstore
402 W Main
Spokane, WA 99201
(509) 838-0206
10/22/13
University Book Store
4326 University Way, N.E.
Seattle, WA 98105
(206) 634-3400
10/23/13
Third Place Books
17171 Bothell Way NE
Lake Forest Park, WA 98155
(206) 366-3333
10/24/13
Powell’s Books
1005 W. Burnside St.
Portland, OR 97210
503-228-4651
10/29/13
Copperfield Books
138 N. Main Street
Sebastopol, CA 95472
(707) 823-2618
10/30/13
Book Soup
8818 Sunset Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069
310-659-3110
11/1/13
The King’s English Bookshop
1511 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City, UT 84105
(801) 484-9100
11/3/13
BOULDER BOOKSTORE
1107 PEARL ST
BOULDER, CO 80302-5103
(303) 447-2074
11/4/13
Tattered Cover
2526 E Colfax Ave
Denver, CO 80206
303-322-7727
11/5/13
Old Firehouse Books
232 Walnut St
Fort Collins, CO 80524
(970) 484-7898
11/6/13
Bookworks
4022 Rio Grande Blvd NW
Albuquerque, NM 87107
(505) 344-8139
11/7/13
COLLECTED WORKS BOOKSTORE
202 GALISTEO ST
SANTA FE AIRPORT, NM 87501-2101
(505) 988-4226
11/12/13
BookPeople
603 North Lamar
Austin, TX 78703
(512) 472-5050
11/13/13
The Twig Book Shop
306 Pearl Parkway, Ste 106
San Antonio, TX 78215
210-826-6411
11/14/13
BRAZOS BOOKSTORE INC.
2421 BISSONNET ST
HOUSTON, TX 77005-1451
(713) 523-0701
11/18/13
SUBTEXT A BOOKSTORE
165 WESTERN AVE N STE 14
SAINT PAUL, MN 55102-4613
(651) 493-3871
11/19/13
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BKSTR COFFMAN MEMORIAL UNION
300 WASHINGTON AVE SE
MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55455-0371
(612) 625-6000
11/20/13
BOSWELL BOOK COMPANY LLC DANIEL GOLDIN
2559 N DOWNER AVE
MILWAUKEE, WI 53211-4242
(414) 332-1181
11/22/13
BOOK CELLAR
4736 N LINCOLN AVE # 38
CHICAGO, IL 60625-2089
(773) 293-2665
Talk About Equality 
This is disgusting. The Media Matters for America article which you cite is rife with inaccuracies, starting with the fact that a majority (greater than 80%) of the sources are in fact named and cited, and the book includes even legal documentation that describes methamphetamine presence as a part of the case. The book is not at all anti-gay; THE AUTHOR IS GAY. The book agrees that Matthew was gay and was tragically murdered, but addresses a long-covered-up part of the story that, yes, methamphetamine use and selling was a part of Shepard’s life. The book is entirely based on thoughtful, careful research, and will probably be beneficial to the LGBT community if MMfA stops its atrocious campaign against the book. Check out The Advocate and NPR, among others, to see how accurate the book actually is and how the vested interests that are likely to have led MMfA’s alleged “debunking” of the book through its own vicious lies.