Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Trans Like Me A Journey for All of Us by C.N. Lester a gentleman and a scholar. trans politics, too many books, a great deal of music, assorted ephemera. Trans Like Me: A Journey for All of Us. So, the reason posting here has been light of late is finally out in the open – my first book is set for publication November 2016, from Virago Books (Little, Brown). I’m incredibly excited (and somewhat overawed) to get this chance. Thank you all for your support for my writing over the years – I hope to do you proud. For total clarity: I’m (still!) not a woman – but Virago Books has always published a small number of works by male feminists in addition to their central aim of promoting works by all women (obv. including trans women). I’ve been bowled over by the team’s knowledge and support of trans issues and the need for real trans justice (including their very real acceptance of me as a genderqueer person). Feeling especially lucky to be working with my editor Ailah Ahmed from an intersectional feminist perspective. I’m still writing up, and I hope to have covered all the most pressing points – but if there are resources/points you want to send my way because IMPORTANT then I am very much all ears. Official press release below, and links to my publisher’s and my agent’s websites. Writing here will be light while the book is finished – but I think it’s going to be worth it. Thank you again. Virago Press has acquired an agenda-setting title by CN Lester, a leading British LGBT activist specialising in transgender issues. Commissioning Editor Ailah Ahmed acquired UK & Commonwealth rights to Trans Like Me: A Journey for All of Us by CN Lester from Laura Macdougall at Tibor Jones & Associates. CN Lester takes the reader through the most pressing questions in the transgender debate, combined with a charged personal narrative of what it means to be a transgender person today. TRANS LIKE ME shows us how we are all defined by ideas of gender, whether we live our lives as he, she or they, and how we can strive for authenticity in a world which often seeks to limit us by way of labels. It also covers hotly contested topics such as the rise in referrals for gender variant children, feminism’s treatment of the trans community, and the mainstream media’s ‘trans moment’, among much more. Virago nonfiction publishing has aimed to be at the forefront of discussions about gender identity and politics and so welcomes this title which expands our understanding of the new conversations around gender for a wider audience. Virago has always had a broad definition of what a feminist is and wants to ensure this book will reach a wide market. CN Lester is an academic and activist who has acted as a consultant on trans issues to a broad range of organisations such as Channel 4, the BBC and the Huffington Post. They have written for New Statesmen, New Internationalist and the Feminist Times . Lester co-founded the first ever national UK group for young LGBT people. TRANS LIKE ME: A JOURNEY FOR ALL OF US is scheduled for publication in November 2016. Ailah Ahmed says, ‘This book blew me away by answering all the most topical questions about the new gender debate. Time magazine declared 2014 the year of the ‘Transgender Tipping Point’, and the experiences of those affected by these issues have now entered the mainstream. Virago is delighted to welcome CN Lester to the list with this ground-breaking new exploration of trans lives. TRANS LIKE ME has all the power of Living Dolls by Natasha Walter in really engaging with the zeitgeist. It is also a very moving account of what it means to be a trans person today. ’ CN Lester says, ‘So many of my formative feminist moments came through reading Virago titles – I’m absolutely thrilled to be joining them as an author. As a trans feminist, it was vital for me to find a publisher and editor who understand the broader implications of the current trans movement: how gender affects us all, how the fight for trans rights fits into a feminist debate, and how important it is to take an intersectional approach. I’m proud to be working with a team who have (quite rightly) already included trans women in their remit, and who support authors such as myself – genderqueer people, cis and trans men – who are working on issues of gendered oppression and justice. TRANS LIKE ME is, quite genuinely, a book for all of us – I’m so grateful to both Ailah and my agent Laura for believing in it.’ Laura Macdougall says, ‘I’m delighted that Virago will be publishing CN Lester’s ground-breaking TRANS LIKE ME. It’s a combination of author and publisher which I’m sure will make this a landmark publication in 2016. In TRANS LIKE ME, CN Lester helps us navigate a rapidly changing field of gender identity and debate, delving into the historical, biological and psychological concepts that inform our sense of what sex and gender are and in doing so provides an exciting new way of looking at the world.’ 10 Important Transgender Books (by Trans Authors) Join our Patreon Community for exclusive content and bonuses. It’s difficult to know where to start with talking about trans rights, gender dysphoria, and the politics behind transgender stories, other than to simply say that trans people need all the help and support that they can get. That’s where transgender books and trans authors come in. Understanding your own dysphoria and deciding on the next step can be confusing, frightening, and lonely. And something that can help is reading transgender stories by trans authors, or the biographies of people and their real-life experiences with coming out as trans and then going through their own transition. We all like to know that we’re not alone, and that our experiences have been shared by others (if in their own way). Vital Transgender Books by Trans Authors. And so, to that end, here are a few of the best trans books by trans authors. Some are transgender fiction (Also known as tg fiction); others are transgender stories of real-life experiences. One is a wonderful comic book by an even more wonderful trans writer. We hope that these trans books by trans authors will help you, if you’re looking for a little support, knowledge, or comfort. Disclaimer: I, the writer, am an AMAB non-binary person. I am not transgender, but I am an ally who wants to do their part in supporting trans writers and all transgender people. But I do not and cannot speak for trans people. If you want to support vulnerable trans people in the UK , consider donating to Mermaids . Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters. Detransition, Baby made history when it became the first book written by a trans woman to appear on the longlist for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. Beyond this, Detransition, Baby also happens to be a bold and human novel that explores the dark and the light sides of being a trans woman in the twenty-first century, written by one of the foremost trans authors of our time. The novel’s story, set in Brooklyn, centres around Reese and Ames (formerly Amy). Reese is a trans woman in her mid-thirties who desperately longs to be a mother. Ames is now living as a man but lived for six years as a trans woman named Amy, and much of that time was spent in a lesbian relationship with Reese. Now, however, Ames has knocked up his boss, Katrina, having believed himself infertile after so many years on estrogen. Ames and Katrina do not feel equipped to be parents, and so Ames takes the leap of reaching out to Reese and asking her if she wants to be a third parent to this soon- to-be-baby. Detransition, Baby shifts from the past to the present, exploring the complicated lives and journeys taken by trans women. It doesn’t shy away from difficult topics like suicide, assault, and detransitioning. But it is also, at times, a laugh-out-loud funny novel, told with biting wit and genuine wisdom. Incredibly well plotted, Detransition, Baby is like a perfectly carved statue. Every minute detail has been so meticulously considered as to make for an engaging, educational, raw, funny, and fine-tuned novel about trans lives by one of the great trans authors. Yes, You Are Trans Enough by Mia Violet. Mia Violet is a wonderful writer and blogger, and a vital voice in the transgender community. Her book, Yes, You Are Trans Enough , is a vindication of the rights of trans people, cementing her as one of the great trans authors of the decade. It has been cherished and praised by members of the trans community as one of the most valuable and empathetic tg stories in print right now. In her book, Mia recounts, with honest and in detail, her own personal experiences with coming out as trans and growing to understand and love herself. It also widens its scope to tackle misinformation, as well as the narratives that trans people are often left to suffer at the hands of biased and lazy media bodies. Uplifting and scathing in equal measure, Yes, You Are Trans Enough is ultimately a validating celebration of trans people and transgender stories, peppered with grounding and sobering warnings about the dangers of toxic narratives in the media. Uncomfortable Labels by Laura Kate Dale. The full title of Laura Kate Dale’s book is Uncomfortable Labels: My Life as a Gay Autistic Trans Woman . It’s a small book that covers a broad range of issues and experiences, proving her weight and importance as one of the UK’s vital voices amongst trans authors. Laura Kate Dale is a UK-based video game critic, enormously successful and beloved within her community. She is also a trans woman who has lived her life with autism and the struggles and discomforts that come with it. In this incredible memoir – one which toes the line between being personal and being factual – Dale calls on her own personal experiences with coming out as trans. Dale also explores a wealth of facts and data regarding gender dysphoria, mental health issues, autistic spectrum disorder, and more in order to provide readers with an informed, comforting, enlightening, narrative. For readers who are not trans, there is so much to learn here. And for those who are, I hope that you find a connection with this most personal and informative of tg stories and your own personal story. Whipping Girl by Julia Serano. This is perhaps one of the most famous and most celebrated transgender stories around. A lot of the trans fiction and non-fiction we mention here has been published within the last year or two. Whipping Girl , however, has had a little more time to sink into the public discourse. Published more than five years ago, this book has been repeatedly hailed as the definitive book on trans people, their experiences and their shared narrative. Whipping Girl is a transgender manifesto that comes at transgender issues from a personal, social, and biological angle (author Julia Serano being both an activist and a biologist in her ordinary life). It’s a treatise that stands for intersectional feminism and rights for trans people. It’s a guidebook, a friend, and a teacher for all people, trans or not, which highlights the power of Julia Serano as one of our most vital trans authors. Not Just a Tomboy by Caspar J. Baldwin. This is a narrative that explores coming out as trans across decades, from the 90s to now. Not Just a Tomboy examines how the social discourse, conversation, and media coverage surrounding transgender visibility has evolved over the years, all the while remaining entirely intimate and introspective. Most tg stories have the effect of being comforting and supportive, whether that’s intentional or not (though it usually is), and Baldwin’s tale is no different. Tracing his life experiences from childhood, through his teen years, and into adulthood, it goes a long way in supporting the vital understanding that gender dysphoria and being trans has no age limit. Lumberjanes: The Infernal Compass by Lilah Sturges. So, Lumberjanes was originally the invention of the delightful writer and editor Shannon Watters. It’s a comic book series about a group of campers who go on adventures little and big, dealing all the while with strange and supernatural happenings. It’s a delight, always. But Lumberjanes: The Infernal Compass is something special, carrying the title of being the first full-length graphic novel of the Lumberjanes canon. And this particular book is written by beloved trans writer Lilah Sturges, a woman who positively and jovially supports her fellow members of the trans community constantly and with so much pure love. While this isn’t, strictly speaking, transgender fiction, it is fiction written by a trans writer. And we need to see more and more of that, especially in the world of comic books. Trans Like Me by CN Lester. CN Lester is a genderqueer writer, journalist, and classical music singer/songwriter. In short, they are a powerhouse of artistic talent, activist strength, and a vital voice in the transgender and non-binary communities. Trans Like Me ’s subtitle, A Journey for All of Us , is vital in espousing their message that this is a book for everyone: trans people, non-binary and genderqueer people, allies, supporters, family members, and those who simply want to understand. In Trans Like Me , Lester is opening up the transgender discourse, pulling it apart and looking at it from all angles. They discuss activism and the media, provide personal and detail tg stories, and educate readers with vital facts and unbiased information. This is the book that can perhaps most help those who want to understand the conversation surrounding trans rights and the very existence of trans and genderqueer people, especially if they are not trans themselves. Tranny by Laura Jane Grace. If I might speak personally for a moment, it was Laura Jane Grace’s story which first brought to light, for me, the modern experiences of transgender people. It was one of the first transgender stories I personally paid attention to. I had been a huge fan of her punk band Against Me! for years before Grace came out as trans. When she did, her band and her fans showered her with love and support, as did her wife. Grace’s hidden truth about her gender dysphoria had been tucked into lyrics in her songs for years. Once she was out, though, she wrote the band’s magnum opus: Transgender Dysphoria Blues . The word ‘tranny’ is certainly not a favourite one these days, but perhaps you can chalk this up to a minority member of society (a punk rock star, no less) turning a slur back on the world. The book itself is a pacey, raw, energetic, engaging thrill-ride. Trans Mission by Alex Bertie. First things first: we have to pause for a second to admire this fantastic pun of a title. All right. Now to what this book is. Trans Mission: My Quest to a Beard is the personal biography of a ftm transgender person who understood what he was at the age of 15 and would then set out on a trans mission to become in the public eye what he always was inside. Alex’s story is full of sardonic wit and real laugh-out-loud moments. Even its cover lets you know that Alex is coming at his story from a positive angle, which is a colossal breath of fresh air. Of course, nobody could be confused by why so many transgender stories are serious and often sorrowful – trans people fight simply for their right to exist and be seen right across the globe – but still, having a more happy, positive, jovial tone really encourages Alex’s trans readers to celebrate being trans. If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo. There’s an uplifting amount of transgender fiction being published right now, but so much of it is written by non-trans writers. And while this writer doesn’t see a problem with that, it does mean that the author isn’t necessarily speaking from a place of personal experience. And so, we have chosen to include a piece of tg fiction specifically written by a transgender writer. Meredith Russo’s novel, If I Was Your Girl , is a joyous narrative piece of transgender fiction that puts the focus on not being a tragedy. So much trans representation in fiction brings the trans character’s story to a tragic ending, which is not the kind of narrative we want to be engrained in the public discourse. That’s why this particular piece of tg fiction is so important. It’s a TA trans novel written by a trans author that is full of hope. It’s detailed, full of highs and lows, but it reminds its trans readers that their own ending can and should be a happy one, making this one of the most vital pieces of transgender fiction, and will go down as one of the great transgender stories. Trans Like Me : A Journey for All of Us Paperback / softback. What does it mean to be transgender? How do we discuss the subject?'Lester makes the most complex of subjects easy to digest. I finished with more insight and knowledge than I ever expected' StylistIn this eye-opening book, CN Lester, academic and activist, takes us on a journey through some of the most pressing issues concerning the trans debate: from pronouns to Caitlyn Jenner; from feminist and LGBTQ activists, to the rise in referrals for gender variant children - all by way of insightful and moving passages about the author's own experience. Trans Like Me shows us how to strive for authenticity in a world which often seeks to limit us by way of labels. 'CN Lester breaks down the myths and misconceptions about trans people and politics with clarity and calm. An important, timely book' Juliet Jacques'CN Lester is a writer for our times - a moving, learned and essential voice at the razor edge of gender politics' Laurie Penny'One of the year's most important books on transgender identity' Gay Times. Virago to publish 'agenda-setting' Trans Like Me. Virago Press has bought a book tackling "burning questions about transgender identity". Virago Press has bought a book tackling "burning questions about transgender identity". Commissioning editor Ailah Ahmed acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to the "agenda-setting" title by CN Lester, a British LGBT activist specialising in transgender issues, from Laura Macdougall at Tibor Jones & Associates. Trans Like Me takes the reader through a host of "pressing questions in the transgender debate", combined with a personal narrative of what it means to be a transgender person today. It is said it will show readers "how we are all defined by ideas of gender, whether we live our lives as he, she or they, and how we can strive for authenticity in a world which often seeks to limit us by way of labels". It also covers topics such as the rise in referrals for gender variant children, feminism’s treatment of the trans community, and "the mainstream media’s ‘trans moment’", among others. Activist Lester co-founded the first ever national UK group for young LGBT people and has acted as a consultant on trans issues to a broad range of organisations, such as Channel 4, the BBC and the Huffington Post; as well as writing for New Statesmen, New Internationalist and the Feminist Times. Ahmed said: "This book blew me away by answering all the most topical questions about the new gender debate. Time magazine declared 2014 the year of the ‘Transgender Tipping Point’, and the experiences of those affected by these issues have now entered the mainstream. Virago is delighted to welcome CN Lester to the list with this ground-breaking new exploration of trans lives. Trans Like Me has all the power of Living Dolls by Natasha Walter in really engaging with the zeitgeist. It is also a very moving account of what it means to be a trans person today." Lester said: "So many of my formative feminist moments came through reading Virago titles - I'm absolutely thrilled to be joining them as an author. As a trans feminist, it was vital for me to find a publisher and editor who understand the broader implications of the current trans movement: how gender affects us all, how the fight for trans rights fits into a feminist debate, and how important it is to take an intersectional approach. I'm proud to be working with a team who have (quite rightly) already included trans women in their remit, and who support authors such as myself – genderqueer people, cis and trans men – who are working on issues of gendered oppression and justice. Trans Like Me is, quite genuinely, a book for all of us – I'm so grateful to both Ailah and my agent Laura for believing in it." Trans Like Me: A Journey For All Of Us is scheduled for publication in November 2016. Read an excerpt from Trans Like Me , CN Lester's new book of essays about the trans experience. One of the best ways to be an ally is to educate yourself on LGBT issues and experiences. And what better time to do so than Pride Month? On Tuesday, June 19th, CN Lester published Trans Like Me: Conversations for All of Us , a collection of essays about the trans experience. They write openly about everything from a history of trans celebrities to the importance of inclusive feminism. And you can read an excerpt from the new book below. While the heightened awareness and advocacy for trans rights in recent years is a good thing, in some cases, the increased media attention has also led to the spread of misinformation. Lester gets right to the point in Chapter 1, “The Production of Ignorance,” discussing the fear-mongering about trans people. They argue that in order to truly learn about trans people, we first have to unlearn what we think we already know. And Trans Like Me is a great place to start the relearning process. Lester is a leading LGBTI activist, a musician, and a writer. They co-founded the first national queer youth organization in the U.K. and work as a classical singer, a composer, and a feminist musicology researcher. The following excerpt from Trans Like Me offers a glimpse into the trans experience and starts an important conversation about gender identity. Excerpted from Trans Like Me: Conversations for All of Us by CN Lester. Copyright © 2017. Available from Seal Press, an imprint of Perseus Books, LLC, a subsidiary of Hachette Book Group, Inc.