The Queer Writer: December 2024

**FREE!** Transcestors Series: Weimar Berlin

• Saturday, December 14th, 2024 from 12:00pm to 1:00pm ET
• Virtual via Zoom
• FREE!

Want to learn more about the history related to my upcoming debut, THE LILAC PEOPLE? (Well, the happy parts, anyway.) This is the session! During the Weimar Republic (1919 to 1933), Berlin was considered the queerest city in the entire world, as well as a trailblazer of transgender healthcare and culture. In this session, we'll look at the era’s vibrant trans community and its endless series of documented firsts, including terminology, surgeries, rights, memoirs, and music.

Transcestors is a series of free 1-hour sessions focused on trans and queer (but mostly trans) history based on Milo Todd's research for his historical fiction. Those interested must have any subscription tier of The Queer Writer, paid or free, and must use their subscriber email to register for sessions. For safety reasons, sessions will NOT be recorded. A Zoom link will be sent to registered attendees ~15 minutes before a session starts.

*Sessions are open to all identities, but please know Transcestors centers trans and/or nonbinary attendees.

Writing Outside of Your Lane

• Friday, March 28th, 2025 from 7:00pm to 8:30pm ET (4:00pm to 5:30pm PT)
• Virtual via Zoom
• $25 (Supporting Tuition); $15 (Helping Hands); $5 (Helping Hands Extended)

As the call for diversity in stories grows stronger (thankfully), many writers without lived experience of marginalization may feel anxiety about how to approach these stories with care and authenticity. Questions like “How do I start?”, “What if I make mistakes?”, and “Am I even allowed to write this?” are common—and valid.

In this 90-minute lecture, Milo Todd offers mainstream writers a thoughtful, practical framework for writing characters outside your own lived experience. Through the pillars of Self-Reflection, Research, Craft, and Editing, you’ll gain tools to approach this process with care, empathy, and a deeper understanding of your responsibility as a writer.

This class welcomes writers of all identities and focuses on equipping you with the knowledge and confidence to write with integrity. Let’s work together to create stories that reflect the rich, diverse world we live in.

Disclosure: I'm an affiliate of Bookshop.org. Any purchase through my storefront supports local bookstores and earns me a commission. Win-win!

I Might Be in Trouble by Daniel Aleman

A few years ago, David Alvarez had it all: a six-figure book deal, a loving boyfriend, and an exciting writing career. His debut novel was a resounding success, which made the publication of his second book--a total flop--all the more devastating. Now, David is single, lonely, and desperately trying to come up with the next great idea for his third manuscript, one that will redeem him in the eyes of readers, reviewers, the entire publishing world...and maybe even his ex-boyfriend. But good ideas are hard to come by, and the mounting pressure of a near-empty bank account isn't helping. When David connects with a sexy stranger on a dating app, he figures a wild night out in New York City may be just what he needs to find inspiration. Lucky for him, his date turns out to be handsome, confident, and wealthy, not to mention the perfect distraction from yet another evening staring at a blank screen. After one of the best nights of his life, David wakes up hungover but giddy--only to find prince charming dead next to him in bed. Horrified, completely confused, and suddenly faced with the implausible-but-somehow-plausible idea that he may have actually killed his date, David calls the only person he can trust in a moment of crisis: his literary agent, Stacey. Together, David and Stacey must untangle the events of the previous night, cover their tracks, and spin the entire misadventure into David's career-defining novel--if only they can figure out what to do with the body first.

The Shutouts by Gabrielle Korn

The year is 2041, and it's a dangerous time to be a woman driving across the United States alone. Deadly storms and uncontrollable wildfires are pummeling the country while political tensions are rising. But Kelly's on the road anyway; she desperately needs to get back to her daughter, who she left seven years ago for a cause that she's no longer sure she believes in. Almost 40 years later, another mother, Ava, and her daughter Brook are on the run as well, from the climate change relief program known as The Inside Project, where they've spent the past 22 years being treated as lab rats. When they encounter a woman from Ava's past on the side of the highway, the three continue on in a journey that will take them into the depths of what remains of humanity out in the wilderness. At the same time, way up North, weather conditions continue to worsen and a settlement departs in search of greener pastures, leaving behind only two members, drawn together by a circumstance and a mystery they are destined to unravel together.

Roland Rogers Isn't Dead Yet by Samantha Allen

Adam Gallagher has knocked on thousands of doors. An ex-Mormon and almost-famous memoirist, he is used to sharing his life story with strangers. But this day, this house, is different. For it belongs to none other than Roland Rogers: Hollywood Hunk, and soon to be author. Roland has a story to tell, a decades-old secret to spill, and he's decided that Adam is just the guy to help him do it. Except there's a problem. Roland Rogers is dead. Not in the metaphysical realm--if he focuses, he can summon enough energy to communicate via the kitchen speaker--but certainly in the physical, and he needs Adam to pen his story before his body is found frozen beneath the avalanche of snow that squashed it. That means one month, a hundred thousand words, no breaks. Ghostwriting is hard enough, let alone when you're dealing with a real ghost, and so it isn't long before Roland's idea of what his book should be clashes with Adam's vision for what it could be.But the clock is ticking, the ice melting. And as more truths are told, both men soon discover that this experience is less of a coming out, and more of a coming home . . .

Sister Snake by Amanda Lee Koe

Sisterhood is difficult for Su and Emerald. Su leads a sheltered, moneyed life as the picture-perfect wife of a conservative politician in Singapore. Emerald is a nihilistic sugar baby in New York, living from whim to whim and using her charms to make ends meet. But they share a secret: once, they were snakes, basking under a full moon in Tang dynasty China. A thousand years later, their mysterious history is the only thing still binding them together. When Emerald experiences a violent encounter in Central Park and Su boards the next flight to New York, the two reach a tenuous reconciliation for the first time in decades. Su convinces Emerald to move to Singapore so she can keep an eye on her--but she soon begins to worry that Emerald's irrepressible behavior will out them both, in a sparkling, affluent city where everything runs like clockwork and any deviation from the norm is automatically suspect.

The Blessed by Anne Shade

Suri Daniels, a beautiful and troubled woman, is the descendant of a family of supernaturally gifted women, known as the Blessed, and literally holds keys to gateways between the earthly plane and seven powerful gods. A series of tragic losses and a stipulation in her grandmother's will has her returning to the family's home in New Orleans, unaware that she will need to step into the role of Orisha priestess and escape the attention of a powerful demon. To top it all off, she must accept the help of a Cambion--Lyla Jefferies, a dark supernatural being she has spent her life avoiding. What's worse? She can't help being drawn to Layla in ways she doesn't understand. Being the love child of a top-tier demon and a human isn't all it's cracked up to be. For the past two hundred years, Layla Jefferies has lived a life of quietude. When an unknown force draws her out of seclusion, the pull is too strong to ignore. Layla is tasked to assist with protecting the gateways and saving Suri from becoming a vengeful demon's avatar. Falling in love with her is definitely not part of the plan. Layla and Suri are brought together by fate to defeat the darkness threatening to tear their world apart. What they don't expect to discover is a love that might set them free.

The Resurrectionist by A. Rae Dunlap

Edinburgh, Scotland, 1828. Naïve but determined James Willoughby has abandoned his posh, sheltered life at Oxford to pursue a lifelong dream of studying surgery in Edinburgh. A shining beacon of medical discovery in the age of New Enlightenment, the city's university offers everything James desires--except the chance to work on a human cadaver. For that, he needs to join one of the private schools in Surgeon's Square, at a cost he cannot afford. In desperation, he strikes a deal with Aneurin "Nye" MacKinnon, a dashing young dissectionist with an artist's eye for anatomy and a reckless passion for knowledge. Nye promises to help him gain the surgical experience he craves--but it doesn't take long for James to realize he's made a devil's bargain . . . Nye is a body snatcher. And James has unwittingly become his accomplice. Intoxicated by Nye and his noble mission, James rapidly descends into the underground ranks of the Resurrectionists--the body snatchers infamous for stealing fresh corpses from churchyards to be used as anatomical specimens. Before he knows it, James is caught up in a life-or-death scheme as rival gangs of snatchers compete in a morbid race for power and prestige. James and Nye soon find themselves in the crosshairs of a shady pair of unscrupulous opportunists known as Burke and Hare, who are dead set on cornering the market, no matter the cost. These unsavory characters will do anything to beat the competition for bodies. Even if it's cold-blooded murder . . .

North Is the Night by Emily Rath

In the Finnish wilderness, more than wolves roam the dark forests. For Siiri and Aina, summer's fading light is a harbinger of unwelcome change. Land-hungry Swedes venture north, threatening the peace; a zealous Christian priest denounces the old ways; and young women have begun to disappear. Siiri vows to protect Aina from danger. But even Siiri cannot stop a death goddess from dragging her friend to Tuonela, the mythical underworld. Determined to save Aina, Siiri braves a dangerous journey north to seek the greatest shaman of legend, the only person to venture to the realm of death and return alive. In Tuonela, the cruel Witch Queen turns Aina's every waking moment into a living nightmare. But armed with compassion and cleverness, Aina learns the truth of her capture: the king of the underworld himself has plans for her. To return home, Aina must bargain her heart--as Siiri plots a daring rescue of the woman she loves the most.

Keep It In The Dark by Justin Arnold

Rowan Young knew where his life was heading. The headmaster's son and golden boy of elite Vermont boarding school Mockingbird Prep, Rowan was set to inherit a legacy passed down through generations of forefathers. Until a strange new student arrives to derail those plans. Casper Belamy didn't ask to be a vampire. But now that he is one, all he wants is to travel the world looking for more of his kind. Before he can do that, he must accomplish an impossible task set forth by his adoptive family of vampiric royals: prove he can keep their kind safe and finish high school without being discovered. If controlling his thirst wasn't hard enough, he is forced to share a dorm with the headmaster's son. And despite their instant dislike for one another, Casper can't ignore the mouth-wateringly delicious scent of Rowan's blood. When bitter fights become late night rendez-vous, forbidden romance blossoms in the shadows. Facing a fearful world that would rather they stay hidden, Rowan and Casper contend with an onslaught of troubles: Rowan's father is breathing down his neck, the safety of Casper's new-found family is on his shoulders, and a secret society of slayers threatens to destroy everything. If love blooms in the dark, will it survive being brought into the light?

Robin's Worlds by Rainie Oet (Author) and Mathias Ball (Illustrator)

It's Robin's eighth birthday and it seems like everyone has forgotten. But things take a sudden turn when the Cat-Headed Wanderer shows up and sweeps Robin away to a magical party in a fantastical treehouse. It's a joyful celebration full of song, dance, and newfound friends, but Robin soon realizes there's another reason they've been brought there. To uncover that reason, all Robin needs to do is walk through the half-open door in the back--but what lies beyond? Rainie Oet's enchanting language and Mathias Ball's stunning illustrations will sweep young readers off their feet, as they follow Robin on this fantastical and deeply moving adventure of discovering themself through the joy of new friends and the memory of loved ones lost along the way.

What the Woods Took by Courtney Gould

Devin Green wakes in the middle of the night to find two men in her bedroom. No stranger to a fight, she calls to her foster parents for help, but it soon becomes clear this is a planned abduction--one everyone but Devin signed up for. She's shoved in a van and driven deep into the Idaho woods, where she's dropped off with a cohort of equally confused teens. Finally, two camp counselors inform them that they've all been enrolled in an experimental therapy program. If the campers can learn to change their self-destructive ways--and survive a fifty-days hike through the wilderness--they'll come out the other side as better versions of themselves. Or so the counselors say. Devin is immediately determined to escape. She's also determined to ignore Sheridan, the cruel-mouthed, lavender-haired bully who mocks every group exercise. But there's something strange about these woods--inhuman faces appearing between the trees, visions of people who shouldn't be there flashing in the leaves--and when the campers wake up to find both counselors missing, therapy becomes the least of their problems. Stranded and left to fend for themselves, the teens quickly realize they'll have to trust each other if they want to survive. But what lies in the woods may not be as dangerous as what the campers are hiding from each other--and if the monsters have their way, no one will leave the woods alive.

How Could You by Ren Strapp

College upperclassman Molly Song is set on getting over her ex this semester, but it's hard when she dumps you via email and posts all over social media about cozying up with her study-abroad roommate. After convincing her friend, Lou Kingston, that they should go to parties and find rebound girlfriends, Molly learns she should be careful what she wishes for when she starts to develop real feelings for someone she's not sure feels the same way. Meanwhile, Molly and Lou's exes, Yona and Olene, have left their pasts behind as they study abroad in France. Together they see springtime in Marseille, find new friendships, and uncover new personal truths. Will their whirlwind trip bloom into a whirlwind romance, or will their journeys to self-discovery put them on different paths entirely? College is a time to find yourself, but what could you stand to lose along the way?

Inked in Blood and Memory by Allison Ivy

Recluse Sophie Vanguard's winter cabin retreat turns ominous when blue flowers mysteriously appear. They're everywhere. On her front porch, in kitchen cabinets, and even on her pillow. It isn't long before chilling whispers echo in the halls, and her journal repeats seven unsettling entries. Enter the bloodied and beautifully eccentric Ly Thi Ren. Though Ren seems familiar, Sophie refuses to believe the girl's insistence that they are trapped inside a book. In a land of fiction, truth and lies blur together, clear decisions are marred by doubt, and shared family trauma lurks just below the surface. Can Ren and Sophie make it out alive? Or will they end up nothing more than words inked in blood and memory?

We Are the Beasts by Gigi Griffis

When a series of brutal, mysterious deaths start plaguing the countryside and whispers of a beast in the mountains reach the quiet French hamlet of Mende, most people believe it's a curse--God's punishment for their sins. But to sixteen-year-old Joséphine and her best friend, Clara, the beast isn't a curse. It's an opportunity. For years, the girls of Mende have been living in a nightmare--fathers who drink, brothers who punch, homes that feel like prisons--and this is a chance to get them out. Using the creature's attacks as cover, Joséphine and Clara set out to fake their friends' deaths and hide them away until it's safe to run. But escape is harder than they thought. If they can't brave a harsh winter with little food... If the villagers discover what they're doing... If the beast finds them first...Those fake deaths might just become real ones.

Want a previously published book showcased? Let me know! The given work must: 1) be written by a self-identified member of the LGBTQ+ community, 2) be published within the last five years, 3) has not yet appeared on the ICYMI list, and 4) wasn't included in the Anticipated Books section within the last three months. All genres and independently-published works welcome.

Disclosure: I'm an affiliate of Bookshop.org. Any purchase through my storefront supports local bookstores and earns me a commission. Win-win!

Faltas: Letters to Everyone in My Hometown Who Isn't My Rapist by Cecilia Gentili

In these hilarious and heartbreaking letters, Cecilia Gentili reinvents the trans memoir, putting the confession squarely between the writer and her enemies, paramours and friends. Writing to childhood figures such as her rapist's daughter, her father's mistress, her best friend, and her mother, Gentili probes deeply into the bitter cruelty, buried secrets, and delicious gossip of a small town. Is she here for revenge, or forgiveness? Both! And more! A story of sex, theft, murder, motherhood, and outrageous fashion choices, Faltas is a beautiful, messy meditation on what it takes to heal, and even grow.

Quill (Queer) Prose Award

• What: "The Quill Prose Award is for a work of previously unpublished (including self-published works) prose with a minimum of 150 pages by a queer (LGBTQIA+) writer. The awarded manuscript is selected through an annual submission process which is open to all authors."
• Fee: $10
• Pay: $1,000 and publication
• Deadline: December 1st, 2024

2025 Publishing Triangle Awards

• What: "We present nine awards for the best books of the year. They are The Randy Shilts Award for Gay Nonfiction; The Judy Grahn Award for Lesbian Nonfiction; The Audre Lorde Award for Lesbian Poetry; The Thom Gunn Award for Gay Poetry; The Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction; The Leslie Feinberg Award for Trans and Gender-Variant Literature; The Joseph Hansen Award for LGBTQ Crime Writing; The Jacqueline Woodson Award for LGBTQ+ Children’s/YA Literature; and, in conjunction our longtime partner the Ferro-Grumley Foundation, The Ferro-Grumley Award for LGBTQ Fiction."
• Fee: $40
• Pay: $1,000
• Deadline: December 6th, 2024

Watermelon Grant for Palestinian Creators

• What: "The Watermelon Grant offers $2000 USD in unrestricted funds to an emerging Palestinian creator in the field of speculative arts. A panel of three judges with expertise in a given year’s accepted format review in full all applications entered through an electronic submissions portal. Applications are judged on a criteria which considers artistic merit and potential impact. Thanks to the success of the inaugural Match Me campaign, we are able to offer two grants this year."
• Fee: $0
• Pay: $2,000
• Deadline: December 6th, 2024

2o25 Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices

• What: "Since 2007, the Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices has offered sophisticated instruction in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, young adult fiction, playwriting led by the most talented writers working today. In 2022, the Writers Retreat expanded to include instruction in screenwriting and speculative fiction, and in 2025, we will introduce the newest cohort serving writers working in both and between playwriting and screenwriting."
• Fee: $30 ("we are offering a number of application fee waivers for the QTBIPOC members of our community"); $1,625 tuition (fundraising opportunities available)
• Pay: 10-day virtual retreat
• Deadline: December 8th, 2024

2024 Otherwise Fellowship

• What: "The Otherwise Fellowship (formerly Tiptree Fellowship) was established in 2015 to support and recognize new voices who are creating work that is changing our view of gender today. The Fellowship program seeks out creators who are striving to complete new works, particularly creators from communities that have been historically underrepresented in the science fiction and fantasy genre and those who are working in media other than traditional fiction! Each Fellow receives USD $500 in support of a new or ongoing project."
• Fee: $0
• Pay: $500
• Deadline: December 15th, 2024

manywor(l)ds

• What: "We welcome submissions by those who identify with and as any of the following descriptors: trans, two-spirit, disabled, neurodivergent, Mad, queer, crip, nonbinary, genderqueer, intersex. This is a space for the words, works, and worlds of and by those whose bodyminds defy social expectations and invite new ways of thinking and knowing."
• Fee: $0
• Pay: $10
• Deadline: December 31st, 2024

Sinister Wisdom: Barbie: the Movie

• What: "In this special issue, Sinister Wisdom will explore lesbians' reactions to Barbie: The Movie. How do we voice the joy and gratitude of this cultural moment where lesbian lives and lesbian culture is expressed in the movie with a major musical plotline from the Indigo Girls and two out dykes with major roles in this movie, now the highest grossing movie in Warner Brothers' history? What else do we think and feel about this cultural moment? Were you expecting to feel deeply personally touched by Barbie? What was a special scene that reflects your dyke life? Were you surprised or shocked by your reaction to the film? How do we understand Barbie's continuing life and its relationship to lesbians and lesbian culture?"
• Fee: $0
• Pay: N/A
• Deadline: TBD

The Bitchin' Kitsch

• What: "The B’K is a quarterly art and lit, online and printed magazine prioritizing traditionally marginalized creators, but open to all."
• Fee: $0
• Pay: $10
• Deadline: rolling

Bella Books Call for Submissions

• What: "At Bella Books, we believe stories about women-loving-women are essential to our lives—and so do our readers. We are interested in acquiring manuscripts that tell captivating and unique stories across all genres—including romance, mystery, thriller, paranormal, etc. We want our books to reflect and celebrate the diversity of our lesbian, sapphic, queer, bisexual, and gender non-conforming community—in all our glorious shapes, sizes and colors. Our desire to publish diverse voices is perennial. We don’t want to tell your stories for you—we want to amplify your voices....We publish romance, mystery, action/thriller, science-fiction, fantasy, erotica and general fiction. At this time, we are particularly interested in acquiring romance manuscripts."
• Fee: N/A
• Pay: N/A
• Deadline: rolling

Rebel Satori Press: LGBTQIA+ Speculative Fiction, Sci-Fi, and Fantasy Manuscripts

• What: "Rebel Satori Press is pleased to announce the start of our new imprint for LGBTQ+ speculative fiction, Queer Space. The new imprint is now open to submissions of queer positive science fiction right on the bleeding edge of what is possible. We’re looking for all subgenres of speculative fiction involving LGBTQ+ characters written by LGBTQ+ authors, including but not limited to: sci-fi, interstitial, slipstream, horror, and supernatural fictional manuscripts."
• Fee: $0
• Pay: N/A
• Deadline: rolling

Prismatica: Summer 2024

• What: "Prismatica Magazine is a quarterly LGBTQ fantasy & science fiction magazine. Prismatica features short fiction and poetry from emerging and established LGBTQ authors. In the magazine’s stories and poems, readers can find fantasy and science-fiction of all sub-genres and cross-genres. We happily include magical realism, contemporary science-fiction, urban fantasy, and more."
• Fee: $0
• Pay: $0
• Deadline: rolling

Baest Journal

• What: Baest Journal, "a journal of queer forms and affects," seeks to publish work by queer writers and artists.
• Fee: $0
• Pay: $0
• Deadline: rolling

Prepare Your Library Before January Arrives

by Kelly Jensen

The thing that will protect your library collection the most is your suite of collection development policies. These policies might be one single policy with several sections or several policies that fall under the umbrella of collection management. These include not only the types of materials you acquire but also how you make those decisions—we know that books don’t simply appear on shelves. Explain the review sources you use and why they’re used, as well as explain where and how recommendations from the community and from the professional field come into consideration. Be as clear as possible about the difference between review materials used to make collection decisions and tools used to help in reader advisory. You don’t rely on reviews nor on recommendations from places like BookLooks or RatedBooks, created by Moms For Liberty and Utah Parents United and their cohorts respectively, as those are not professionally vetted sources. You don’t purchase materials based on reviews from Common Sense Media but you may utilize it in helping patrons find materials. It is annoying to get this granular, but that granularity is crucial. Most people don’t know how libraries select material.

Librarians Face a Crisis of Violence and Abuse

by Christina Caron

Libraries are one of the few indoor places where anyone can spend time without paying for a membership, buying a product or making an appointment. In many states, like California, where the homeless population has swelled, librarians have had to act as de facto emergency medical workers or mental health professionals at a moment’s notice.

… Confrontations with library patrons have grown frequent and severe enough to prompt those in the field to study their effects on workers. In 2022 a study of more than 400 staff members at urban libraries across the country, nearly 70 percent of respondents said that they had experienced violent or aggressive behavior from patrons.

That same year, Dr. Fisher and one of her colleagues surveyed 1,300 U.S. library workers, who reported that they had experienced more than 8,000 incidents that the researchers labeled traumatic, such as threats, assault or harassment. The library workers also cited other stressors that made their jobs more difficult, including conflicts with library administrators, aging buildings and the fallout over book bans.

Acknowledging these challenges, library systems in Los Angeles, Denver and New York City, among others, have begun using social workers to connect patrons with social services; offering naloxone, which reverses an opioid overdose; barring or suspending patrons who won’t follow the rules; and providing training on how to respond to signs of mental illness and substance use disorders. 

Christianna Barnard, an information services specialist at the Columbus Metropolitan Library in Ohio, said one of the most challenging aspects of her job has been the “compassion fatigue.”

“You can’t fix every problem,” Ms. Barnard said. And that can be a real challenge for workers who want to help, she added.