Last Call! ... for overlooked trans/queer book recs

Welcome to What’s Helping Today, a newsletter about the everyday work of staying alive on earth — written by author and journalist Sandy Ernest Allen.

Hi subscribers,

Quick bit of housekeeping mostly:

As I’ve mentioned but wanted to repeat as our deadline approaches: I’m editing a fun special project in conjunction with Maris Kreizman for Lit Hub. This is an idea I’d had in my head a long time and I was excited when Maris and then Lit Hub both said hell yeah.

For an upcoming book reviews series: We’re interested in receiving recommendations of books written by a trans and queer people that were overlooked by the NYT book review between ~2013 - 2022 (under Pamela Paul’s leadership), as well as pitches from book reviewers.

Our submissions deadline is September 1 — so I wanted to send around a last-call reminder newsletter, in case anyone else wants to circulate any of this or send anything in …

For readers / authors: If you are an author and your own book was overlooked, feel free to write me (you can let me know via my website’s contact form or on Bluesky). If you are a reader and you want to recommend a queer- or trans-authored book you adore that again the NYT did not review when it was released during this time-frame, again please feel free to let me know (best way is my contact form here but you can also say so on bsky if you’d rather).

Book reviewers: If you want, you can pitch a book for you to potentially review for the aforementioned series. Again, we’re focused on books authored by trans and queer people that were published between 2013 - 2022 weren’t reviewed by the NYT under Paul (and conceivably should have been, a subjective standard, for sure, which we’ll … figure out). Please don’t pitch books that don’t meet these criteria. Please don’t pitch more than one book ideally. In your pitch: Send a paragraph or two explaining why you’d want to review this book in particular (please don’t send much shorter nor much longer). Please share a brief bio for yourself and a website, if you have one. Please also include one or two of your best clips, ideally previously published book reviews. Again: Pitch via my contact form. For reviewers, this is a paid opportunity. (I’m just coordinating on behalf of the publication; which has said $250 per ~800 - 1000 word review. We may have some flexibility there, depending on what we all ultimately decide.) We will discuss further specifics with those we follow up with. Figure you most likely won’t hear from us under at least a few weeks into September at the soonest.

Again, deadline to send anything in is September 1.

If you don’t understand why we’d be doing this project … here are some links:

Also, here’s a new IBCK Patreon-only episode about her ex-husband … (who is, yikes, worse than I imagined):

Speaking of, here’s some good analysis re: language and liberals:

I also mentioned my own contexts and biases re: the NYT towards the top of this one:

If you haven’t already, I recommend listening to my episode of Cancel Me, Daddy about the NYT’s general commitment to transphobia …

Perhaps worth checking out my response to a fellow trans person recommending other better ways to get the news …

As well as my general purpose advice for cis allies (who feel despair):

And my accompanying post for trans folks (who feel despair; in truth both posts are for everybody):

Here’s my piece for Lit Hub from years ago about coming out (as nonbinary at first) as my first book also did:

Here’s an interview Maris did with me when AKOMP first published for The Los Angeles Times (it’s old and misgenders/deadnames me, but is still great).

Listen to Maris on the new Culture Study (and buy her new debut book):

What’s Helping Today: Thanks to all who’ve said lovely comments about my appearance on the new Proxy. In case you missed it, it’s a pretty fantastic episode all about like cis allyship and cis indiscernible silence — and what my viral thread taught me about breaking it:

Again: Thanks for listening and maybe sharing with your friends too (cis and trans alike), if you feel so moved.

Take care,
Sandy

p.s. Just repeating but consider taking my fall online nonfiction writing workshop for The Workroom! It’s enrolling now and starts towards the end of September. Here’s a graphic you’re encouraged to post wherever you post things, if you’d be so kind as to help us spread word:

Thanks for reading What’s Helping Today, a newsletter by author and journalist Sandy Ernest Allen. If you were forwarded this message, WHT is totally free; you can subscribe here.

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