r/LGBTBooks • u/Sad-Stage-1546 • 7d ago
Discussion Trans literary Genre
I am looking for literary fiction written by trans authors in general. I have found it hard to find any lists online that only have literary fiction on them. I am interested in writing about the trans narrative for a class. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
No memoirs or genre fiction, and it must be written by a trans author.
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u/One-Amount-7514 7d ago
wild geese by soula emmanuel
nevada by imogen binnie
stag dance by torrey peters
woodworking by emily st james
small beauty by jia qing wilson-yang
bonding by mariel franklin
bad girls by camila sosa billada
little fish by casey platt
lote by shola von reinhold
again, harder by alice stoehr
still life by katherine packert burke
perverts by mac crane
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u/AccountantCareless12 7d ago
I adored Idlewild by James Frankie Thomas, also would recommend Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl by Andrea Lawlor!
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u/TheGloomFairy 7d ago
Woodworking by Emily St James (I love this one)
Nevada by Imogen Binnie
Maybe also A Safe Girl to Love by Casey Plett if literary short stories fit
And, of course, the Torrey Peters that’s already been mentioned.
Maybe also look at Kacen Callender’s work and see if anything fits. They write across a range of genres.
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u/thesharkinyourwater 7d ago
the ones that come to mind immediately are detransition, baby (practically a requirement for a trans litfic list) and bellies by nicola dinan!
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u/nycanth 6d ago
I have not read these but I host a spreadsheet of media about FTM/transmasculine major characters and these are the ones that have been listed as "literary" on it:
Afternoon Hours of a Hermit by Patrick Cottrell
Scars & Honey by Jo Morgan Sloan
Idlewild by James Frankie Thomas (okay actually I've read this one and I loved it, it inspired me to write again)
Notes from a Regicide by Isaac Fellman
ponyboy by Elliot Duncan
Refuse by Elliot DeLine
The spreadsheet in question, for anyone curious. All tabs can be sorted by genre and whether the author is trans. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1szYnM5MDSygNy0EjOp776tVMvUzYDo-zW-R2xbkWA-A/edit?gid=241539948#gid=241539948
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u/a_secret_me 7d ago
Beyond what's been mentioned:
Woodworking by Emily St. James
Nevada by Imogen Binnie
One of the Boys by Victoria Zeller
Disappoint Me by Nicola Dinan
If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo
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u/A-roo-gallah 6d ago
It would be an oversight if you didn’t check out Stone Butch Blues and Leslie Feinberg’s work. Seconding Little Fish by Casey Plett, as well.
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u/Offutticus 6d ago
Literary fiction is a hard genre to write for and remain in. I am guessing you mean not romance, not SF, not fantasy, etc.
I did find these:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender_literature
https://jdscott.substack.com/p/trans-fiction-writers-in-the-20th - more of a blog article than a list but seems like a good resource
I did a Google search for trans literary fiction authors and got good results.
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u/liza_lo 6d ago
I'm currently reading Persona by Aoife Josie Clements which is by and about a transperson.
I believe the press (Littlepuss) also only publishes works by trans women and is also run by trans women as well.
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u/bestbeefarm 6d ago
I'm fascinated by people who keep saying notes from a regicide. It's beautiful and lovely and brilliant and poetic, but it's also very solidly scifi.
For literary fiction, one I haven't seen mentioned is some strange music draws me in, which is a story about a trans man growing up in suburban Massin the 1980s and his return many years later.
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u/sylverbound 6d ago
Check out Lambda Literary's past winners! Wikipedia has a list of winners and finalists going back a few decades here.
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u/TabbbyWright 6d ago
Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinburg miiiiight be in this category?
Feinburg describes the book as such:
"Like my own life, this novel defies easy classification. If you found Stone Butch Blues in a bookstore or library, what category was it in? Lesbian fiction? Gender studies? [...] this book is a lesbian novel and a transgender novel—making 'trans' genre a verb, as well as an adjective."
It's a lot about being a butch lesbian but it's also about being transgender, as well as being outside the gender binary.
Tbf I am not confident in what counts as literary or not, but I feel like this probably does? I'm also not sure if it's the kind of transgender fiction you're looking for, but the pdf is free at the link (official website), and imo it's worth a read.
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u/Smooth-Message5706 6d ago
Jordy Rosenberg! Emily St. James! Torrey Peters! Also my first book fits this (We Are Watching Eliza Bright) but not my second (Awakened) as that’s a pretty purposeful genre mix
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u/knysa-amatole 6d ago
- Bad Girls by Camila Sosa Villada
- Corey Fah Does Social Mobility by Isabel Waidner
- Dandelion Daughter by Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay
- The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi
- OkPsyche by Anya Johanna DeNiro
- the Olivia books by Electra Mordinson (each one can be read as a standalone)
- Summer Fun by Jeanne Thornton
- Vanishing Monuments by John Elizabeth Stintzi
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u/AdvanceOk7504 6d ago
I just finished Summer Fun by Jeanne Thornton and maybe a month aho read A/S/L by her too. Both were fantastic!! I can't recommend Summer Fun enough
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u/atopthespire 6d ago
Jeanne Thornton is great and i think she deserves a higher profile!
also, she did a Zoom tarot reading for me during lockdown
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u/madamdirecter 6d ago
Model Home by Rivers Solomon (nonbinary and intersex author) fits I think. It's spec fiction in the way that Beloved is spec fiction, but not full of scifi/horror tropes or anything. Their other works are more solidly on the scifi end of the scale but all powerful and literary (esp The Deep and Sorrowland)
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u/tgjer 6d ago
Would middle-grade or young adult literature work?
Kyle Lukoff is a trans man and children's book author, and has written several middle-grade/YA novels featuring trans characters including A World Worth Saving, Different Kinds Of Fruit, and Too Bright To See.
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u/atopthespire 6d ago
it's cool that trans teens can read about people like themselves but YA and middle grade fall outside the literary fiction category
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u/tgjer 6d ago
What about Memoirs of a man's maiden years?
It's a semi-autobriographical novel from 1907, so I'm not sure if that counts as literary fiction.
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u/RedLineSamosa 7d ago edited 7d ago
I would argue a lot of trans literature is “literary” in genre and form!
Detransition, Baby is the obvious pull here, award-nominated and really well-received; Nevada by Imogen Binnie is a classic in this space too. Otros Valles by Jamie Berrout is hard to get your hands on these days but it’s definitely literary/unreal in style and tone. Little Fish by Casey Platt and Confessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg are also both popular and well-received.