#Anya Johanna DeNiro

[transbookoftheday]

OKPsyche by Anya Johanna DeNiro

An amazing short novella which incorporates the changing world of a trans woman as she navigates a world perhaps slightly weirder than our own.

An unnamed trans woman is looking for a sense of belonging, a better relationship with her son, and friends that aren’t imaginary in this playful and aching short novel. As she navigates the many worlds she belongs to she wrestles with her many anxieties and fears about the world around her. Her son and ex live in another state. Companion robots are popping up. Environmental disasters are being outsourced from the coast to the Midwest. And at any time anyone anywhere might turn out to be a new friend or an enemy.

[haveyoureadthistransbook]

OKPsyche by Anya Johanna DeNiro

goodreads

An unnamed trans woman is looking for a sense of belonging, a better relationship with her son, and friends that aren’t imaginary in this playful and aching short novel. As she navigates the many worlds she belongs to she wrestles with her many anxieties and fears about the world around her. Her son and ex live in another state. Companion robots are popping up. Environmental disasters are being outsourced from the coast to the Midwest. And at any time anyone anywhere might turn out to be a new friend or an enemy.

In this stunning compact novel, DeNiro confidently wends her way through the real and imagined worries and fears of adulthood, parenthood, and selfhood in the contemporary world.

Mod opinion: I haven't read this book yet as it's relatively new, but !!! I'm so excited to read it when I get around to it! Update: I've read this book and its really, really good! Made my heart and soul ache, but in a good way.

[markcampbells]

from OKPsyche by Anya Johanna DeNiro.

[smallbeerpress]

The cover for Anya Johanna DeNiro's Sept. 2023 short novel OKPsyche is filtering out onto the web — get your pre-orders fingers ready: it's a novel of an unnamed transwoman, divorced, getting used to her son being with his other mom, wondering whether she should activate the boyfriend-in-a-box she's ordered, finding out who her friends are, real and imagined, all in a world just like this, but with different weirdnesses.

[haveyoureadthisfantasybook]

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[the-novel-approach-reviews]

2023: The Year in Reviews

If you’re reading this, welcome, and Happy New Year 🎉🎇🎊 If the best you can say is you’re glad 2023 is in the rearview mirror, well, give yourself a pat on the back for persevering. You made it through another year, and that’s something worth acknowledging as an accomplishment in itself. Throughout the year, I’ve read some amazing books, and I love to celebrate those that left a lasting…

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

💜 Queer Book Releases Coming Out September 2023

🦇 Trying to read queer all year? Make sure to check out these queer September releases!

❤️ Forget I Told You This by Hilary Zaid 🧡 The Otherwoods by Justine Pucella Winans 💛 The Lonely Book by Meg Grehan 💚 Every Star That Falls by Michael Thomas Ford 💙 Fly With Me by Andie Burke 💜 Wound by Oksana Vasyakina 🖤 Into the Bright Open by Cherie Dimaline ❤️ A Shot in the Dark by Victoria Lee 🧡 Straight Expectations by Callum McSwiggan 💛 Herc by Phoenicia Rogerson 💚 Deephaven by Ethan M. Aldridge 💙 The Mossheart’s Promise by Rebecca Mix

💜 Those Pink Mountain Nights by Jen Ferguson 🖤 The Borrow a Boyfriend Club by Page Powars ❤️ Ryan and Avery by David Levithan 🧡 What Stalks Among Us by Sarah Hollowell 💛 Your Lonely Nights Are Over by Adam Sass 💚 The Meadows by Stephanie Oakes 💙 A Hundred Vicious Turns by Lee Paige O’Brien 💜 Monstrous by Jessica Lewis 🖤 OKPsyche by Anya Johanna DeNiro ❤️ Cursebreakers by Madeleine Nakamura 🧡 The Death I Gave Him by Em X. Liu 💛 Thank You for Sharing by Rachel Runya Katz

💚 You, Again by Kate Goldbeck 💙 Godkiller by Hannah Kaner 💜 The Society for Soulless Girls by Laura Steven 🖤 Mammoths at the Gates by Nghi Vo ❤️ A Market of Dreams and Destiny by Trip Galey 🧡 A Crown So Cursed by L.L. McKinney 💛 In the Ring by Sierra Isley 💚 How to Find a Missing Girl by Victoria Wlosok 💙 This Spells Disaster by Tori Anne Martin 💜 The Free People’s Village by Sim Kern 🖤 Idlewild by James Frankie Thomas ❤️ Glitter and Concrete: A Cultural History of Drag in NYC by Elyssa Maxx Goodman

🧡 Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner 💛 Mall Goth by Kate Leth 💚 The Siren, the Song, and the Spy by Maggie Tokuda Hall 💙 This Dark Descent by Kalyn Josephson 💜 A Nobleman’s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by KJ Charles 🖤 The Problem with Gravity by Michelle Mohrweis ❤️ Alex Wise vs. the End of the World by Terry J. Benton-Walker

[cypionate60mg]

you've answered some asks with a book cover before, please recommend more books

Gladly. Here's some books off the top of my head, both recent and favorite reads, and authors I like in general.

Nonfiction:

The Promise of Happiness by Sara Ahmed, Cruel Optimism by Lauren Berlant, The Queer Art of Failure by Jack Halberstam. Mark Fisher's K-Punk blogposts, Walter Benjamin, Jean Baudrillard, Robert Macfarlane, Amitav Ghosh, Robin Wall Kimmerer.

Fiction:

Blackouts by Justin Torres, Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino, OKPsyche by Anya Johanna DeNiro, Sacred and Terrible Air by Robert Kurvitz (after playing Disco Elysium), The Story of the Eye by George Bataille, Emanon by Shinji Kajio and Kenji Tsuruta. James Baldwin, Kazuo Ishiguro, Octavia Butler, Ursula K. Le Guin, Clarice Lispector.

Hard to narrow it down. If you want more specific recommendations, or you have some you'd like to share with me, send me a message.

[ilikereadingactually]

New Adventures in Space Opera

New Adventures in Space Opera ed. by Jonathan Strahan

there is almost literally a galaxy of stars in this collection, wow, and SO MANY banger stories!! it's clear to me by now that i love space opera, so these were all right up my alley. some were more to my taste than others, which is the case with any multi-author collection, but overall it's a stunning collection that really showcases everything space opera can be!

i particularly want to highlight Strahan's introduction, which does a really brilliant job of wrangling the slippery definition of what space opera is, has been, and could be—and defining the basic criteria he used to determine what stories to include in a space opera collection that is meant to explore the edges of the boundaries. "First, a space opera should primarily take place in space, either on ship or station, and only occasionally touchdown on a planetary surface. Second, it should take place in a populated universe. When the protagonist of the story ventures forth, they must encounter someone. And, finally, the stakes should be high...it should feel like the world might, emotionally or physically, be about to end." clear! straightforward! much room for variation! (this also brought home to me that a short story i'm currently working on is also space opera, which i hadn't clocked before in my vibes-based process)

from this basic definition, Strahan goes on to elaborate how space opera evolved over time, the changing of trends, the moving away from colonialism and manifest destiny toward more diversity and a hard look at the impacts of empire. this sets the stage so beautifully for all the wonders that follow, stories that question the limits of humanity and consciousness, the intricacies of morality and resistance, the universality of emotion and compassion. specific highlights for me were "Zen and the Art of Starship Maintenance" by Tobias S. Buckell, "Belladonna Nights" by Alastair Reynolds, "Metal Like Blood in the Dark" by T. Kingfisher, "The Old Dispensation" by Lavie Tidhar, "A Good Heretic" by Becky Chambers, "A Voyage to Queensthroat" by Anya Johanna DeNiro, and "The Last Voyage of Skidbladnir" by Karin Tidbeck. Almost every story was catnip to me, but these in particular stood out as stunners!

this was a fascinating journey of a collection, i can't wait to get a physical copy and have it on my shelf.

the deets

how i read it: an e-galley from NetGalley again! i know that's all i read anymore but i'm making progress through the backlog.

try this if you: are into space opera obviously, love to be surprised by what you're reading, really dig questions of what a human is and what a person is, or are excited for a lot of queers in space!

some lines i really liked: a really random assortment of delights

The cards were just to give his hands something to do. He had considered taking up crochet, but thanks to an incident earlier in the term, crochet hooks, knitting needles, and fountain pens were no longer permitted in class. from "Extracurricular Activities" by Yoon Ha Lee

___

Under the drape of your overjacket, snugged up to your spine like you're its best lovecrush, are the disassembled pieces of a sniper rifle. Nestled right at the small of your back is the lead-shielded explosive heart of an electromagnetic pulse bomb. from "All the Colors You Thought Were Kings" by Arkady Martine

___

"We will protect you," said Sister fiercely, and the old man winced. He had never programmed ferocity into them, but love had a way of waking other things that never felt the touch of code. from "Metal Like Blood in the Dark" by T. Kingfisher

___

By the side of the rock there was a small, makeshift hut, a little like a Passover sukkah. It is the holiday we celebrate for passing from the old universe to this one, so long ago, and the presence of the sukkah was incongruous in these surroundings. Here, amidst the hidden denizens of the Ashmoret Laila, our Passover was no cause for celebration, but for mourning; for what we call Passover, they inexplicably call Invasion. from "The Old Dispensation" by Lavie Tidhar

pub date: August 13, 2024! hop in your spaceship and go get it!

[libraryleopard]

December reads

asterisk = reread

Blood to Poison by Mary Watson

Mimosa by Archie Bongiovanni

The Mossheart’s Promise by Rebecca Mix

The Body’s Question by Tracy K. Smith

Something is Killing the Children by James Tynion IV et al 

The Pomegranate Gate by Ariel Kaplan

Something More by Jackie Khalilieh

The Tent Generations: Poems edited by Mohammad Sawaie

Domestic Work by Natasha Trethewey

Hijabi Butch Blues by Lamya H

Old Enough by Haley Jakobson

Prom and Other Hazards by Jamie Sullivan

Poems on Friendship by various authors

Freedom is a Constant Struggle: Palestine, Ferguson, and the Foundations of a Movement by Angela Y. Davis

Before the Next Bomb Drops by Remi Kanazi

A Shot in the Dark by Victoria Lee

Rosewater by Liv Little

Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

Unraveller by Frances Harding

Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty

OKPsyche by Anya Johanna DeNiro

The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue

Lesbian Love Story: A Memoir in Archives by Amelia Possanza

The Narrow by Kate Alice Marshall

Arden Grey by Ray Stoeve

The Best American Poetry edited by Matthew Zapruder and David Lehman

The House in Poplar Wood by K.E. Ormsbee

How We Do It: Black Writers on Craft, Practice, and Skill edited by Jericho Brown

The Adam of Two Edens by Mahmoud Darwish

The Feast Makers by H.A. Clarke

Dear Wendy by Ann Zhao

Gay Club! by Simon James Green

Beating Heart Baby by Lio Min

The King’s Assassin: the Secret Plot to Murder King James I by Benjamin Woolley

All Systems Red by Martha Wells*

Judas & Suicide by Maya Williams

You Let Me In by Camilla Bruce

I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me by Jamison Shea

Currently reading

Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire edited by Jehad Abusalim, Jennifer Bing, and Mike Merryman-Lotze

Salt Houses by Hala Alyan

Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens by Tanya Boteju

The Secret Life of Albert Entwhistle by Matt Cain

[mischievousblade]

Short Story: Naomi Kanakia “Everquest”

If you are a trans gamer, it’s practically a guarantee that some of your first experiments with gender were digital. I absolutely created more than a few female Night Elves on my friend’s World of Warcraft account when I was a deep-in-the-closet preteen. Naomi Kanakia’s “Everquest” dives deep into this relationship between avatar and self. By literalizing the fantasy of this transformation, Kanakia captures a uniquely trans feeling of escape that gaming allows and ends in a space that is both melancholy but also undeniably hopeful and at peace.

The short story is available for free in the Lightspeed Magazine.

This short story is also available in the book:

We’re Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2020 by C.L. Clark

Book Genre: Fantasy, LGBT, Short Stories ISBN # 9781952086274 Edition Language: English Date of Publication: 2021-8-

We’re Here 2020 includes the following stories from 2020: “If You Take My Meaning” by Charlie Jane Anders (Tordotcom, February 26, 2020) “A Voyage to Queensthroat” by Anya Johanna DeNiro (Strange Horizons, August 2020) “Rat and Finch are Friends” by Innocent Chizaram Ilo (Strange Horizons, March 2020) “Salt and Iron” by Gem Isherwood (Podcastle, May 2020) “The Currant Dumas” by L.D. Lewis (Glitter + Ashes, edited by dave ring) “Everquest” by Naomi Kanakia (Lightspeed, October 2020) “Portrait of Three Women with an Owl” by Gwen C. Katz (The Future Fire, February 2020) “The Ashes of Vivian Firestrike” by Kristen Koopman (Glittership, May 2020) “To Balance the Weight of Khalem” by RB Lemberg (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, March 2020) “Thin Red Jellies” by Lina Rather (Gigonotosaurus, February 2020) “Body, Remember” by Nicasio Andres Reed (Fireside, November 2020) “Escaping Dr. Markoff” by Gabriela Santiago (The Dark, March 2020) “The Last Good Time to Be Alive” by Waverly SM (Reckoning 4, edited by Danika Dinsmore and Arkady Martine) “Monsters Never Leave You” by Carlie St. George (Strange Horizons, June 2020) “The Wedding After The Bomb” by Brendan Williams-Childs (Catapult, April 2020) “8-Bit Free Will” by John Wiswell (Podcastle, November 2020) Our incredible cover is by Sajan Rai.

[lgbtqreads]

July 2022 Deal Announcements

July 2022 Deal Announcements

Adult Fiction Author of THE DUKE UNDONE Joanna Lowell‘s A SHORE THING, in which a transmasculine artist falls for a renowned cis woman botanist as they compete in a shoreside bicycle race in this beach-set Victorian romance, to Kate Seaver at Berkley, in a two-book deal, for publication in spring 2024, by Tara Gelsomino at One Track Literary Agency (world). Two-time Hugo Award finalist Chuck…

[haveyoureadthistransbook]

City of Thousand Feelings by Anya Johanna DeNiro

goodreads

The City of a Thousand Feelings doesn't let certain people inside its walls. It's a place where emotions can become visible, but it flees the approach of a makeshift army who want to enter. Two of the trans women in this army forge a deep, complicated, and at times contentious friendship spanning thirty years. They must come to terms with not only the City's literal and figurative gatekeeping, but also other, even more sinister forces that use necromancy against them. As the narrator and her friend's lives are sundered apart, they must come to terms with what it means to not have a home, and what it means to be queer and aching for such a home. A sword and sorcery tale with emotional resonance, City of a Thousand Feelings brims with both the visceral and the allegorical, allowing the two trans women at the center of the story to claim their own space.

Mod opinion: I haven't read this book yet, but having really loved OKPsyche by the same author I reaaally want to check this one out as well.

[markcampbells]

You think it might not be terrible, finding someone to love, but you have no idea how to go about it. Truly.

OKPsyche, Anya Johanna DeNiro.

[smallbeerpress]

"An unnamed trans woman is looking for a sense of belonging, a better relationship with her son, and friends that aren’t imaginary in this playful and aching short novel. As she navigates the many worlds she belongs to she wrestles with her many anxieties and fears about the world around her. Her son and ex live in another state. Companion robots are popping up. Environmental disasters are being outsourced from the coast to the Midwest. And at any time anyone anywhere might turn out to be a new friend or an enemy."

[twinegardening]

Solarium by Anya Johanna DeNiro [IFDB]

The year is 1954. One year after mutually assured destruction. And I am trying to find you, through memory and alchemy. Not many people know how the nuclear devastation really happened. But we do.

We were part of Solarium.