After the wave of #transrightsreadathon and in honor of International Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31, I have compiled a list of transgender authors and books. If you don’t know what #transrightsreadathon is, allow me to explain. Started by @sim_kern on Twitter and @sim_bookstagrams_badly on Instagram, it is an effort to read books by “trans authors and raising money for trans orgs.” The idea was born out of a frustration for the continued oppression that trans people face in the legal sense. You would pledge to read a certain amount of books, and you could donate money for however many books, pages, chapters, etc., that you read. You’re free to define it however you want! I donated to the Transgender Law Center for reading Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters.
This was the format for the read-a-thon:
- Fill out the sign up/exit form
- Choose a trans organization, fun or individual, to support
- Set up a fundraising page (optional)
- Make content using the hashtag #transrightsreadathon
- Support the readathon! Like, comment, repost any content that has the hashtag to increase visibility!
The read-a-thon lasted from March 20-27. I hope it will effect change and, at the very least, get trans authors well-deserved visibility and appreciation.
Here are some amazing books by trans authors or about trans people:
- Seeds for the Swarm by Sim Kern
- Real Sugar is Hard to Find by Sim Kern
- Depart, Depart! by Sim Kern
- Genderqueer by Maia Kobabe
- Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
- Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
- The Sunbearer Trials (duology) by Aiden Thomas
- Heartstopper (a series of comic books) by Alice Oseman
- I Keep my Exoskeletons to Myself by Marisa Crane
- Love and Other Disasters by Anita Kelly
- Always the Almost by Edward Underhill
- Summer Fun by Jeanne Thornton
- A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall
- Chef’s Kiss by TJ Alexander
- Mimosa by Archie Bongiovanni
- Who I Was With Her by Nita Tyndall
- Felix Ever After by Karen Callender
- Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl’s Confabulous Memoir by Kai Cheng Thom
- The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi
- Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More by Janet Mock
Do I dare suggest a trans rights binge-a-thon? Watch some movies that are by and about trans, and support trans organizations for each movie you watch! Here’s a list to get you started…
- Boys Don’t Cry, directed by Kimberly Peirce
- Cowboys, directed by Anna Kerrigan
- Feel Good, directed by Ally Pankiw
- Heartstopper, directed by Euros Lyn
- Disclosure, directed by Sam Feder