Books

Kelly is a former librarian and a long-time blogger at STACKED. She's the editor/author of (DON'T) CALL ME CRAZY: 33 VOICES START THE CONVERSATION ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH and the editor/author of HERE WE ARE: FEMINISM FOR THE REAL WORLD. Her next book, BODY TALK, will publish in Fall 2020. Follow her on Instagram @heykellyjensen. View All posts by Kelly Jensen Kelly is a former librarian and a long-time blogger at STACKED. She's the editor/author of (DON'T) CALL ME CRAZY: 33 VOICES START THE CONVERSATION ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH and the editor/author...

Erica Ezeifedi, Associate Editor, is a transplant from Nashville, TN that has settled in the North East. In addition to being a writer, she has worked as a victim advocate and in public libraries, where she has focused on creating safe spaces for queer teens, mentorship, and providing test prep instruction free to students. Outside of work, much of her free time is spent looking for her next great read and planning her next snack. Find her on Twitter at @Erica_Eze_. View All posts by Erica Ezeifedi Erica Ezeifedi, Associate...

The Locus Awards, first started in 1971, are given out annually in several sci-fi, fantasy, and horror categories. The winners are determined by votes from the readers of Locus Magazine. This year, the awards ceremony was MCed by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, author of the YA SFF books The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea and Squad, among others. Here are this year’s winners! Fantasy Novel Babel, R.F. Kuang (Harper Voyager US; Harper Voyager UK) Horror Novel What Moves the Dead, T. Kingfisher (Nightfire; Titan UK) Runners up: Saturnalia, Stephanie Feldman (Unnamed)...

There are usually two types of people who take a workshop: people who want to improve their technique and people who want to learn a new thing altogether. As someone who enjoys being creative but isn’t exactly that good at creating art, I have discovered that workshops are a great way to find out that we are, in fact, a lot better at art than we give ourselves credit for. After all, who hasn’t seen a piece of art and thought: I could have done that. But, alas, we haven’t...

Rainbow capitalism is a thing, and we know that this year more than any other, corporate Pride merchandise has experienced backlash thanks to right-wing provocateurs. While it’s disappointing that stores like Target and Kohls have pulled some of their Pride themed goods, they’re corporations. On the one hand, it’s powerful to see major retailers have these items available in store, but on the other hand, there’s no question to anyone — queer or ally — this is an easy cash grab. While we know this year is trickier since actual...

Last week’s legislation in Illinois which aims to end book bans in schools and libraries requires those institutions receiving state aid to have the Library Bill of Rights as part of their policies and procedures. But what is the Library Bill of Rights? It is a document celebrating its 70th year of existence in 2023, and it’s one that deserves some history, context, and understanding. The Library Bill of Rights is a small but important document that was enacted by the American Library Association’s (ALA) membership council on June 19,...

Mystery writer Carol Higgins Clark died Monday, June 12 at the age of 66. The statement her family gave listed the cause of death as appendix cancer. Clark was born in New York City in 1956 and was the daughter of suspense author Mary Higgins Clark. Carol Higgins Clark got her start acting, and even had a few credits in movies based on her mother’s books, before she got introduced to the writing process by retyping her mother’s manuscripts. It was this time spent discussing her mother’s characters and plots...

We know that LGBTQ+ books are under fire across the country and they have been specifically targeted by right-wing conspiracy theorists in a very organized fashion now for several years. In addition, we have seen public education and teachers come under fire by these same conspiracists who believe that by having LGBTQ+ books in the mere presence of children will be enough to fundamentally change who they are. Imagine if that were the case: today’s kids would never need to work on math or on writing or on thinking because...

We recently covered how bookstore employees often aren’t paid a living wage, but it might surprise you to know that a lot of authors face the same issue. One queer indie bookstore is working to change that, especially where LGBTQ authors are concerned. This marginalized community has been hit particularly hard by increasing anti-LGBTQ laws and book bans. That’s not all: according to ShopQueer.co, most authors only receive about 10% of the profits any time their book is sold. Many write on the side of a full-time career or juggle...

The place where the lost things go isn’t one of the most frequently-occurring story tropes, but it’s certainly one of the more compelling. In the Wizard of Oz universe, L. Frank Baum created the Valley of Lost Things, a location in Merryland where anything lost in the real world will eventually turn up. Danielle Page expanded on Baum’s concept in her Dorothy Must Die series, giving us the Island of Lost Things, a place that travellers can only find if they get totally lost on their journeys. There are contemporary...

It’s been a little over a week since the publication of Elliot Page’s memoir, Pageboy, and the haters have settled in on Goodreads. This isn’t surprising. Page is perhaps the most publicly visible trans celebrity to publish a memoir in recent memory. What’s more, though he does write about his career in Hollywood, the making of movies like Juno and Whip It, and his relationships with famous actors, in many ways, the book is not a traditional celebrity memoir. Pageboy is an intimate, vulnerable, and poetic coming-into-self story about one...

No lengthy introduction this week. Instead, this week is dedicated to a survey to authors: are you seeing an impact on the number and types of school and library visit invitations in this era of censorship? Click this link to fill out the survey. All responses are due July 1, for an anticipated July 14 run date. Anyone who is a traditionally published author for minor-age readers may participate. It is anonymous, and participation in every question is not required. We want to find out how much your income is...

It’s about the middle of the year — and the middle of Pride Month — and Esquire has blessed us with a roundup of 20 of the best queer books out this year so far. In this list, you’ll find trans memoirs, illuminating nonfiction, poetry, and a variety of genres written by well-known authors as well as exciting new ones to know. So, here are the 20 best LGBTQ+ books so far this year to pick up between Pride events. Also In This Story Stream...