David Sedaris

But me personally, if you told me that here was a short story written by Chad GBT, right, or a book, I do not believe I would want to read it because I want someone on the other end, right?

I want someone who I can write to and I can say, wow, I loved your book.

I loved your story.

And I want a human to think, oh, I just sold a book.

In The Land and Its People, you, for the first time, I suppose, come out as being married, which is not a sentence I thought I would say today, but it is true.

Why was now the time?

To announce your partnership.

Oh, boy, you don't like partner.

To announce your marriage.

Well, you don't like marriage either.

To announce your whatever you want to call it in this book.

Well, Hugh and I, my boyfriend and I, we've been together for like 35 years, right?

Long time.

Yeah, and then at first we were boyfriends, and then people started calling him your partner, right?

And these weren't gay people.

It was like well-meaning straight people because they thought that was the word they were supposed to use, partner, right?

And I just hated the word partner.

And then straight people started saying partner too, so...

Then you no longer knew.

Like if a woman said to me, oh, my partner and I will be at the picnic, you didn't know if she was gay or if she was married to a man.