#OwnVoices

[interactyouth]

Tips for Writing an Intersex Character with Grace

I’m an intersex person—and a novelist myself—who’s had the blessing of growing up in intersex support and activism communities. After 15 years immersed in these topics, I’ve built up a great deal of knowledge about what is and isn’t anatomically possible, politics and inter-community dynamics, which pop culture depictions go down smooth, and which leave a pit in the stomach. -Hans Lindahl, 2022

This resource webpage serves as a very informative starting point for those who wish to involve intersex characters or intersex themes in their storytelling! To emphasize their knowledge on the topic, Hans is expecting their intersex-focused debut graphic novel, I'm Going Through Something, to release in 2027! <3

[malcolmschmitz]

I VANT TO READ YOUR BOOKS

Hey, fellow authors - particularly queer/trans authors- I need your help!

I'm looking for queer indie books to liveblog and review on this blog, and would love to read your stuff! Tragically, I am heinously broke and cannot pay for books right now- but I'd be willing to swap ARCs, leave an Amazon/Smashwords/Goodreads review, or anything else you're okay with.

Already on my list:

@thebibliosphere's Hunger Pangs: True Love Bites, which I started reading and loved but had to stop at the very well drawn depiction of a migraine

@plaguedocboi 's Quest for the Sea's Revenge.

[pangurbanthewhite]

Hey gang you probably thought you heard the last of me and my upcoming debut novel, huh?

WELL GUESS WHAT.

WE'RE BACK AND CHAPTER 1 IS FREE TO READ IN ADVANCE!

And when I say "Chapter 1", I mean "roughly 12k words because I'm very bad at dividing up chapters".

I hope you'll give it a read and I hope you enjoy it! If you enjoy it, I hope you'll stay tuned until 2.28.2025 when the full book releases!

********

Follow it on Itch! | Preorder it on Kobo | Track it on Storygraph

Victor Etoile is a deserter thrown in prison for the crime of trying to investigate his sister’s disappearance. Gideon is a fiend summoned from the seven hells to be his jailor. Both of them agree that there’s a lot more they’d rather be doing than sitting on either side of prison bars and break out to travel across the kingdom. Their destination - the Vetshana Magic Academy, which recently closed its doors with students still trapped inside.

[qbdatabase]

Dear Bi Men by J. R. Yussuf: An unapologetic guide for readers who are Black, masc, and bi—unlearning biphobia, coming out, combatting erasure, and embodying your whole self. Rich with personal narratives, insightful analysis, and practical advice, Yussuf offers a resource for Black bi+ men—and to all readers looking to fight back against the erasure and dehumanization wrought by patriarchy. ..... View the full summary and rep info on wordpress!

[beauvandalen]

There's a huge pressure for queer authors to out themselves & use their identity to market their book.

So many calls for books/events ask for ownvoices books, but what they're really asking for is books by openly out authors.

Please ask for books with queer MCs instead!🙏🌈❤️

Ownvoices was meant to be about uplifting marginalized voices, but this isn't what we're doing anymore: we're prying into authors' personal lives just to make sure we're reading/featuring a book with 'good rep'. This needs to stop, it's so harmful.

This can't be the standard.

Since when did we start caring about rep in fictional books more than the real people behind those books? If we want to uplift marginalized voices, those voices shouldn't have to owe us anything in exchange, not their history, not their identity.

Authors shouldn't have to out themselves for us to read their books, let's make this a safe space for everyone.❤️🌈

[yvesdot]

SOMETHING'S NOT RIGHT IS OUT!

“Comedic, witty and chilling by turns.” — A. R. Thompson, author of When Dealing with Wolves

The debut collection returns in a special fifth anniversary edition, repackaged with three new short stories, a new cover, and additional bonus content! A vampire is forced into a compromising situation; a father fears his child's growing plant collection; the undead go to high school; a butcher contemplates whether or not she can be loved. In a captivating debut, yves. opens the door to our world, slightly askew—where the crows work for witches and telephone booths serve as secret channels for prophecy; where a diverse cast of monsters and humans alike are forced to contend with what the world believes is right.

Thank you to everyone who made my weird uncategorizable "Lemony Snicket meets Carmen Maria Machado" speculative fiction an instant bestseller! If you’ve ever felt like a monster, this book is for you.

PRESS: KZSC interview | Santa Cruz Sentinel interview

EXCERPTED SHORT STORIES

BUY NOW!

signed paperback | paperback & ebook (amazon) | ebook (itch.io)

& at all major retailers!

Thank you so much for reading this post about my book. I hope you will share it, and this image of my beautiful black cat, Andy, widely. To queer weird fiction and indie pub! To you, Dear Reader, with love.

[incognitopolls]

Anon works in a thrift shop. They are the curator of donated books. A number of these books are either written by or feature non-white people. What began as a collection for holidays (e.g. Lunar New Year, MLK Jr. Day) grew into a stack of any book featuring a non-white person (e.g. a novel about a Chicano living in the inner-city, bilingual baby books, a short story about an indigenous girl surviving a hurricane, a collection of African myths).

In anon's store the shelves are organized by size and genre, but they have one shelf in the center (albeit below eye-level) designated to be the Feature. They are trying to decide whether to put all the non-white books together on the feature shelf for those who may be looking for books about non-white people, or to stick to sorting everything unilaterally by size and genre.

We ask your questions so you don’t have to! Submit your questions to have them posted anonymously as polls.

[rosyfacedlovebird]

from my essay about being heartbroken, transgender, and listening to the Mountain Goats

read here!

[inclusivefuture]

Inclusive Future Magazine: Visions from a Gender-Inclusive Future is an anthology of speculative prose and art in the guise of a pop-culture magazine from the future. All of the creators involved are trans, nonbinary, and/or genderqueer, and it provides a collective vision for a gender-inclusive future by answering the question: What might gender look like fifty years from now?

We're open for preorders via Kickstarter right now! This Kickstarter is our sole method of taking orders for both the print ($12) and ebook ($5) versions of the zine, so if you want a copy, you have until June 21 to order one.

[emmasternerradley]

I did it! I finished the last few pages of this latest draft of my next novel about folklore, secret societies and queerness (with the help of Turkish coffee and a tasting tray of Turkish delight) Now the manuscript is off to my agent and I have the afternoon off until it all starts over on Monday!

[ecoevoexo]

NEW DEVELOPMENTS: Chapter 13: A Bolt from the Blue

the final chapter of book one is out! with this the whole first book of my tranarchist punk conspiracy horror novel New Developments is up and available for reading! thank you to everyone who's been with me on this!

the whole thing is available to read here on scribblehub: https://www.scribblehub.com/series/1111286/new-developments/

New Developments is an ongoing series about trans women, conspiracies, mind control, healing, and the evil cosmic horror at the heart of the American real estate market

[malcolmschmitz]

Let's play a game.

Reblog this post and tell me a few things you like, and I'll recommend you a book. It could be something I've written, it could be something one of my friends has written, it might be something I read in 2024 and loved, it might be something out of left field.

[pangurbanthewhite]

So if you've ever liked or enjoyed my fic and have been wondering why I haven't posted any in a good long while, that's because I have been writing a book! And that book is coming out on 2.28.2025!

Follow it on Itch! | Preorder it on Kobo | Track it on Storygraph

Victor Etoile is a deserter thrown in prison for the crime of trying to investigate his sister's disappearance. Gideon is a fiend summoned from the seven hells to be his jailor. Both of them agree that there's a lot more they'd rather be doing than sitting on either side of prison bars and break out to travel across the kingdom. Their destination - the Vetshana Magic Academy, which recently closed its doors with students still trapped inside.

If you're looking for another fantasy novel where queer and autistic people exist, I hope you'll give it a read and enjoy what you find!

[lilibetbombshell]

[winterlilyswwritings]

Emily is Saved by a Bird

Somewhere in the woods a corpse was lying on the ground.

It was wearing a torn blood soaked white t-shirt. There was a large hole in its chest where someone had left a branch embedded in its chest. Its head was hanging onto its neck by barely an inch of skin and its glassy eyes were staring at the night sky. One of its arms was bent backwards at an angle entirely incompatible with its bones and the other rested by its side.

There was a long golden needle with a golden flower at one end stabbed into the corpse's stomach.

The corpse lay there undisturbed by scavengers and wildlife for a long while. The needle glowed softly in the night, warning the animals the corpse was steeped in evil magic.

Near dusk a magpie flew by and spotted the shiny golden needle. He landed near the corpse and walked in circles around it, steeling itself to brave the scent of unnatural magic and death that still lingered in the area. He hopped up on the corpse and pecked at its stomach, and then pulled the needle out and proudly strut in a circle with the pretty thing in its beak.

Suddenly the corpse twitched, and the magpie immediately hopped back, the needle slipping out of his grasp and landing by the corpse's hand. It slowly raised that hand, and then gently waved at the bird. Then it picked up the needle and held it out for him to take. The magpie cautiously approached the corpse and grabbed the needle, quickly flying away.

Emily watched the magpie fly away and smiled. She wished it well. It was going to be a long night before she could get herself out of this ditch but she wasn't going to die.

She might not be alive, but she wasn't quite dead yet.

[firebird7479]

"The First Out" – A Gay Baseball Player’s Fight for Pride

This #PrideMonth, I’m celebrating stories that break barriers—like Brad Hawley’s. He’s a first-round #MLB draft pick. He’s in love with a man. And the second the world finds out? His career, his team, even his family turns against him. But when the #LGBTQ+ community rallies behind him, Brad realizes: his truth could change the game forever. 🏳️‍🌈 For fans of: "Heartstopper" (but grittier) "Friday Night Lights" (but gayer) "Brokeback Mountain" (but with baseball bats)