Category Archives: Inside an Anthology

Inside an Anthology

Inside an Anthology: Living, Together ed. by Samantha Paige Rosen

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Today on the site I’m delighted to welcome a number of the queer contributors of Living, Together: Reimagining Community in the Age of Disconnection ed. by Samantha Paige Rosen, a brand-new nonfiction anthology from Beacon Press! Before we get to the insider peek from the contributors, here’s a little more about the book:

21 writers and organizers on chosen family, hacking adulthood, and other lessons communal living can teach us about the future of housing in America

At age 29, when Samantha Paige Rosen made an unexpected move back home, she was surprised to find how much she loved living with her parents again. Inspired and curious, she began searching for others who had redefined home and community.

The essays and Q&As in Living, Together are about carving out spaces of communal connection and joy in our 3-bed, 2-bath starter home culture. Although they recount life at different stages and in different regions, these stories showcase the delights and tradeoffs of more dynamic shapes of “home.” Across sections on family, intentional community, and what lies beyond housing, readers will hear from voices like:

  • Kristen Arnett, whose found family kept her afloat, from weddings to hurricane season and everything in between
  • Kim Stanley Robinson, who describes the magic of communities that are led by everyone
  • Sarah Thankam Mathews, who founded a pandemic mutual aid group and discovered, like so many of us, how essential connection and care are in times of crisis
  • Rodney M. Bordeaux, who explores how strength and unity are inextricably tied to life on First Nations reservations

Communal living isn’t just for cults or millennials with a pipe dream. Amidst the climate crisis, a hostile housing market, and the loneliness epidemic, Living, Together opens a window into how people in the US are thriving through collective care. This book invites us to imagine what new opportunities for connection exist when we push through the walls society has built for us.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

And here’s a selection of the contributors to talk about their essays!

Continue reading Inside an Anthology: Living, Together ed. by Samantha Paige Rosen →

Inside an Anthology

Inside an Anthology: Common Bonds 2, ed. by Claudie Arseneault

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Today on the site, I’m delighted to welcome contributors to the speculative aromantic anthology Common Bonds 2 to take us inside the collection and get a glimpse of their stories! Before we get to that, I’ll take this opportunity to mention that the editors are hard at work on Common Bonds 3 (the cover of which was recently revealed on the site), and you can still support their Kickstarter here!

Now, let’s get to the collection:

 Two friends knitting a sweater within a frame of autumnal leaves. They are painted in blue, and a blue wool thread passes through the bold white title, Common Bonds 2. A subtitle at the bottom says “a speculative aromantic anthology”. The editors are Claudie Arseneault, RoAnna Sylver, and Em Ishii

Common Bonds returns in this second volume of speculative short stories and poetry featuring aromantic characters.

Housed within this anthology are a scientist who makes a terrifying discovery at the bottom of the ocean, a baker who must fulfill a prophecy, a priest and a witch who must form a family to escape a war, and a woman whose survival might just unravel time itself.

Through nineteen stories and poems, Common Bonds 2 explores the bonds that impact our lives from beginning to end: platonic relationships. From friends with benefits to mentors to life partners, this collection explores platonic relationships strong enough to overcome barriers of species, alien invasions, and the power of the gods themselves.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

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Inside an Anthology

Inside an Anthology: Being Aro ed. by Madeline Dyer and Rosiee Thor

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Today on the site I’m delighted to give a peek into Being Aro, the brand-new YA anthology edited by Madeline Dyer and Rosiee Thor containing stories featuring aromantic rep across a variety of genres! Here’s the gist:

Explore expansive aromantic love and connection in stories across genres

These twelve stories showcase aromantic people breaking generational curses, finding acceptance, and protecting the vulnerable while highlighting the infinite ways people find connection and love without romance.

A high school matchmaker learns a lesson about love. A rebellious spaceship pilot defies his culture’s compulsory coupling. A boy magically transforms banned romance novels into living dragons. A teen immune to romance, and the zombie virus, fights to survive the apocalypse. Being Aro is full of stories throughout real and imagined worlds that cross genres and disrupt the status quo.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

And here’s some insight into some of the stories, given by the authors themselves!

Continue reading Inside an Anthology: Being Aro ed. by Madeline Dyer and Rosiee Thor →

Inside an Anthology

Inside an Anthology: As the Earth Dreams ed. by Terese Mason Pierre

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Today on the site I’m delighted to offer a peek inside As the Earth Dreams ed. by Terese Mason Pierre, a speculative anthology out this week with House of Anansi Press! Here’s the gist:

A ground-breaking anthology of haunting speculative stories by contemporary Black Canadian writers that explore growth, futurity, and joy.

This bold and innovative anthology of speculative short fiction reveals and uplifts the spectacular imaginings, reveries, reflections, experiments, and hopes of Black writers in Canada. A woman attends her mother’s latest resurrection, only to encounter family she’s never met. A postdoc instructor navigates an almost-life in an Elsewhere realm of safety and comfort. After social collapse, a former sex worker leaves her precarious station, and her memories, behind. A woman isolating from a new virus starts hallucinating. In lyrical fragments, a young nanny accepts a job with a peculiar employer. A medium is tasked with summoning a spirit that hits too close to home. And two teenagers test a friendship over magic carpet flying practice. These breathtaking stories explore natural and urban landscapes, living and dead relationships, economic catastrophe, love, and desire—all while celebrating the persistent and ever-changing self, and envisioning beautiful Black futures.

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And here’s a peek at four of the stories, thanks to its contributors!

Continue reading Inside an Anthology: As the Earth Dreams ed. by Terese Mason Pierre →

Inside an Anthology

Inside an Anthology: This is How We Roll ed. by Rosiee Thor

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Today on the site I’m delighted to give a peek inside This is How We Roll ed. by Rosiee Thor, a YA anthology out today that features queer stories about tabletop games! Here’s the gist:

The magic of tabletop RPGs lives in the creativity of the players. Given the chance to explore gender, relationships, and queer existence across vast worlds with completely different sets of rules, queer players throughout the years have found acceptance, camaraderie, and joy by rolling the dice and kicking ass. This anthology celebrates that TTRPG rite of passage with a diverse lineup of queer authors who are just as mighty with their pens as with swords… and shields… and spells!

This collection of fourteen stories includes critically acclaimed authors such as New York Times Bestseller Marieke Nijkamp, New York Times Bestseller Andrew Joseph White, Pura Belpré Honor winner Jonny Garza Villa, LAMBDA Literary Award winner Rebecca Podos, LAMBDA Award finalist Linsey Miller, Indie Bestseller Margaret Owen, and Morris Award finalist Akemi Dawn Bowman.

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And now, let’s hear from the contributors!

 

Continue reading Inside an Anthology: This is How We Roll ed. by Rosiee Thor →

Inside an Anthology

Inside an Anthology: For the Rest of Us ed. by Dahlia Adler

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Yesterday I had the privilege of releasing an anthology that’s been near and dear to my heart for years, and like all my anthologies, there are a whole bunch of queer stories! Read on for a peek into three of them, but first, here’s a little more about the collection, which released yesterday from Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins!

Fourteen acclaimed authors showcase the beautiful and diverse ways holidays are observed in this festive anthology. Keep the celebrations going all year long with this captivating and joyful read!

From Lunar New Year to Solstice, Día de Los Muertos to Juneteenth, and all the incredible days in between, it’s clear that Americans don’t just have one holiday. Edited by the esteemed Dahlia Adler and authored by creators who have lived these festive experiences firsthand, this joyful collection of stories shows that there isn’t one way to experience a holiday.

With stories by:

  • Dahlia Adler, Sydney Taylor Honor winner of Going Bicoastal
  • Candace Buford, author of Good as Gold
  • A. R. Capetta and Cory McCarthy, authors of the Once & Future series
  • Preeti Chhibber, author of Payal Mehta’s Romance Revenge Plot
  • Natasha Díaz, award-winning author of Color Me In
  • Kelly Loy Gilbert, Stonewall Book Award winning author of Picture Us in the Light
  • Kosoko Jackson, USA Today bestselling author of The Forest Demands Its Due
  • Aditi Khorana, award-winning author of Mirror in the Sky
  • Katherine Locke, award-winning author of This Rebel Heart
  • Abdi Nazemian, Stonewall Book Award–winning author of Only This Beautiful Moment
  • Laura Pohl, New York Times bestselling author of The Grimrose Girls
  • Sonora Reyes, Pura Belpré Honor winner of The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School
  • Karuna Riazi, contributor to The Grimoire of Grim Fates

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | B&N

 

Continue reading Inside an Anthology: For the Rest of Us ed. by Dahlia Adler →

Inside an Anthology

Inside an Anthology: Crime Ink: Iconic ed. by John Copenhaver and Salem West

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Today on the site I’m delighted to be offering a peek inside the anthology Crime Ink: Iconic ed. by John Copenhaver and Salem West, a collection of crime fiction inspired by queer icons. How awesome does that sound?? Here’s the gist:

Crime Ink: Iconic is a bold and electrifying anthology that brings together a powerhouse lineup of some of the most compelling voices in queer mystery writing today. Within its pages, master storytellers like Ann Aptaker, Christopher Bollen, Marco Carocari, Katrina Carrasco, John Copenhaver, Meredith Doench, Diana DiGangi, Margot Douaihy, Christa Faust, Kelly J. Ford, Katherine V. Forrest, Stephanie Gayle, Robyn Gigl, Cheryl Head, Greg Herren, Renee James, Kristen Lepionka, Anne Laughlin, Mia P. Manansala, Jeffrey Marks, Ann McMan, Penny Mickelbury, David S. Pederson, J.M. Redmann, Jeffrey Round, and Baxter Clare Trautman deliver gripping, fearless tales that redefine the genre. This collection is not just a celebration—it’s a statement: queer voices are, and always have been, at the heart of crime fiction.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

Now peek inside, with a behind-the-scenes look brought to you by editors John Copenhaver and Salem West, and, of course, some of the illustrious contributors!

Continue reading Inside an Anthology: Crime Ink: Iconic ed. by John Copenhaver and Salem West →

Inside an Anthology

Inside an Anthology: Blood, Sweat & Queers ed. by Margaret Hall and Jamie Ryu

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Today on the site I’m delighted to crack open the lid on the coffin of Blood, Sweat, & Queers ed. by Margaret Hall and Jamie Ryu, a collection of LGBTQ+ vampiric love stories releasing October 7, 2025 from Contrarian Publishing with a portion of proceeds going to the Trevor Project! Here’s the gist:

CRACK OPEN THE COFFIN AND UNLEASH THE VAMPIRE.

An ancient beast stirs in the shale beneath an oil rig. A dancer languish in a lakeside cottage. A man swipes right, hunting flesh with a predator’s patience. A woman reels from government-sanctioned body horrors.

All queer. All ravenous. All vampires.

Vampires have always been vessels of longing, craving not only blood, but sex, power, and the sanctity of the taboo. And what hunger is more righteously denied, more persistently policed, than queer love? Like the vampire, the queer spirit endures, unkillable and unashamed.

With a foreword by vampire scholar Margaret Hall, Blood, Sweat & Queers presents decadent tales of queer love from eight LGBTQ+ authors, all intertwined with the eternal allure of the vampire— stories of desire unbound, of passion unending, and hunger that threatens to consume everything in its path. Crack open the coffin, if you dare.

And here’s some insight into the stories from its illustrious contributors!

Continue reading Inside an Anthology: Blood, Sweat & Queers ed. by Margaret Hall and Jamie Ryu →

Inside an Anthology

Inside an Anthology: Be Gay, Do Crime, ed. by Molly Llewellyn and Kristel Buckley

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Today on the site I’m delighted to offer a peek inside one of the best-named queer anthologies of all time, Be Gay, Do Crime ed. by Molly Llewellyn and Kristel Buckley, which releases June 3rd from Dzanc Books! Here’s the gist:

A follow-up to their runaway success Peach Pit: Sixteen Stories of Unsavory Women, editors Molly Llewellyn and Kristel Buckley return with Be Gay, Do Crime, a celebration of queer chaos from an all-queer author lineup featuring Myriam Gurba, Emily Austin, Alissa Nutting, and Francesca Ekwuyasi

A trans woman makes increasingly frequent hoax calls to a business where she’s had a negative experience, watching the consequences with perverse joy. A group of aging queers turns to bank robbery to stop the sale of their bungalow complex to a development company. As the president prepares to give a speech, two women lurk among the journalists, ready to shoot him. And an aspiring author takes to stealing items from strangers’ homes in a kind of cosmic redistribution each time one of her relationships fail.

In sixteen brilliant, wild-eyed stories, Be Gay, Do Crime delivers a celebration and reckoning of why queer people turn to crime–unintentionally, as a means of survival, as protest, as rescue, or to right injustices big and small.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

And here’s a bit more about the stories, as presented by its fabulous contributors!

Continue reading Inside an Anthology: Be Gay, Do Crime, ed. by Molly Llewellyn and Kristel Buckley →

Inside an Anthology

Inside an Anthology: Amplitudes ed. by Lee Mandelo

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Today on the site I’m delighted to help offer a peek inside the upcoming trans SFF anthology Amplitudes: An Anthology of Trans and Queer Futurity, edited by Lee Mandelo and releasing May 27th from Erewhon Books! Here’s a little more about the collection:

Amplitudes: Stories of Queer and Trans Futurity, ed. by Lee Mandelo (May 27th)

From self-styled knights fighting in dystopian city streets to conservationists finding love in the Appalachian forests; from social media posts about domestic “bliss” in a lottery-based, state-housing skyscraper to herding feral cats off of one’s scientific equipment; from street drugs that create doppelgangers to dance-club cruising at the edge of the galaxy—Amplitudes: Stories of Queer and Trans Futurity interrogates the farthest borders of the sci-fi landscape to imagine how queer life will look centuries in the future—or ten years from now.

Filled with brutal honesty, raw emotions, sexual escapades, and delightful whimsy, Amplitudes speaks to the longstanding tradition of queer fiction as protest. This essential collection serves as an evolving map of our celebrations, anxieties, wishes, pitfalls, and—most of all—our rallying cry that we’re here, we’re queer—and the future is ours!

Featuring stories by Esther Alter • Bendi Barrett • Ta-wei Chi, trans. Ariel Chu • Colin Dean • Maya Deane • Dominique Dickey • Katharine Duckett • Meg Elison • Paul Evanby • Aysha U. Farah • Sarah Gailey • Ash Huang • Margaret Killjoy • Wen-yi Lee • Ewen Ma • Jamie McGhee • Sam J. Miller • Aiki Mira, trans. CD Covington • Sunny Moraine • Nat X. Ray • Neon Yang • Ramez Yoakeim

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

And here’s some insight into the contributions from their authors!

Continue reading Inside an Anthology: Amplitudes ed. by Lee Mandelo →