Literature & Fiction

Sigrid hates working at the Dollar Pal, but having always resisted the idea of growing up into the trappings of adulthood, she did not graduate high school, preferring to roam the streets of her small town with her best friend Greta, the only person in the world who ever understood her. Her older sister Margit is baffled and frustrated by Sigrid’s inability to conform to the expectations of polite society.

“If you’re reading this, you’ve likely thought that the world would be a better place without you.” A single line of text, glowing in the darkness of the internet. Written by Ashley Lutin, who has often thought the same—and worse—in the years since his wife died and his young son disappeared. But the peace of the grave is not for him—it’s for those he can help. Ashley has constructed a peculiar ritual for those whose desire to die is at war with their yearning to live a better life.

Scarlet Day, the magnetic lead singer of the all-female alt-rock band The Scarlet Begonias, is on the cusp of fame. Their first album just launched and they’ve landed a dream gig – performing on a luxury sapphic cruise to the Galapagos. To top it all off, during their first set on deck, she makes a connection with a mesmerizing woman in the crowd. Robin Barry is a solo traveler on a couples cruise, which has the potential to be painfully awkward. A veterinary researcher intent on focusing on the wildlife rather than the women, her plans change abruptly when she meets the sultry starlet.

The strangest thing about Annie's new reality isn't that she's now in the body of a seven-year-old child, the beloved Lillith, feared dead by her family after a particularly nasty bout of pneumonia. It's that she's constantly having to conceal her adult intellect, which is not only advanced but otherworldly. Sure, being a young woman and a grad student in twenty-first-century America had its challenges, but this life as Lillith presents even tougher obstacles. She must tread carefully to conceal her vast knowledge of biology, math, physics, and . . . being an adult.

On the surface, Jensy Willett appears to have it all: a supportive family, good friends, and an outstanding high school and college basketball career. But beneath that surface she hides a situation that has destroyed every meaningful romantic relationship she's had. As a result she has vowed to keep that secret locked deep within her. So when she begins graduate school, Jensy decides to shun possible romance to focus on her studies, and in that way, prevent any further relationship failures.

Up-and-coming stage actress Margaret Shoard has just taken a bow as Lady Macbeth, the role she has always believed was destined for her. At home, she plays wife to her best friend Wesley, even if she doesn’t hold his sole attention romantically. After a public breakdown threatens all she holds dear, Margaret’s doctor prescribes her uppers—just a little help to get through the days.

Nico isn’t at all pleased his family moving to the dinky little town of Verona, Indiana. He’s also none too happy about being forced to join the football team and do community service, but that is the crap fest his life has become. If having to endure ignorant jocks isn’t bad enough, something strange is going on in his very own room. No matter how many times Nico tries to get rid of it, the 1957 autographed photo of the Indiana University football team keeps returning to his wall.

Kerryn Whitsig is at the end of her rope. In an act of desperation, she takes the last of her money and gambles it all away. Unskilled at cards, the casino she goes to sees people like her all the time. The house always wins. Tonight, though, Celia Harrison walks onto the casino floor and sees the woman, her desperation, determination, and possibilities. Kerryn’s luck changes in an instant.

Landon Griffin has everything going for him. He's a high school senior on the brink of receiving a football scholarship, his dad is running for mayor of Madison, Texas, and his future with his girlfriend looks bright. But his simple life shatters when feelings spark for a guy he's never met. Giving the stranger the codename Mystery Boy, Landon hesitates to step out of his comfort zone to solve the mystery. Living in a conservative town, he struggles to hide his new obsession while trying to figure out where he fits within the spectrum of sexuality.

Book 1 of the Maritime Monsters adult spicy MM Monster romance series.

In the not too distant future Darcy Loras and Milah Johaness have been in a bi-coastal relationship for the last two years. Their relationship is perfect. They were friends for years before they started dating, they communicate so well because they talk all the time, and they can’t imagine their lives without each other. The only thing in their way is the distance. Now that’s a thing of the past! Instant teleportation has finally been unlocked and there is nothing standing in their way of being together. Or so they thought.

A meteorite fragment cures a teenaged trans girl’s schizophrenia, but leaves her with visions of ancient warring gods annihilating each other in space. As the Earth hurtles toward the cloud that is the shattered bodies of those eternal enemies, their eons-old conflict is rekindled on Earth to divide and destroy humanity.

Pearl is a trans woman writer on the cusp of literary greatness... or so she thought until her agent informs her that her first book has sunken like a stone for its failure to "connect with normal people". Normal people. Heterosexual people. Cisgender people. Jaded from the knowledge that this industry rarely lets in people like her, Pearl comes up with a plan: write a commercial male/male romance. Except the market's all about authenticity these days, isn't it?

These piercing, surprising poems look to familial history, rituals of faith, and the natural world to explore how the intersecting cultures of Blackness and queerness relate to each other. As the collection evolves, the listener is challenged and empowered to seek expansiveness in spaces that have not previously been excavated, reckon with the complexities of interpersonal relationships, and explore memory as a catalyst for self-determination.

From John Elizabeth Stintzi, the mind that created the daringly bizarre novel My Volcano, comes an electrifying collection of strange and dark tales. In the surreal, often precarious realities of Bad Houses, a doctor discovers a double-edged cure for the Ebola virus, a college student loses a different body part each time they return home for the summer, Midas's hairdresser strives to keep his secrets, and a young girl develops a fascination with the trolls who harvest her father's pumpkin patch. At once humourous and horrifying, these stories will inevitably take residence in your mind.