You all know I have a small problem (read large addiction) with supporting publishing projects on Kickstarter and other crowdfunding websites and today's installment of book talk is a result of that. Also, at the end of the post I have a giveaway so stick around for a chance to win your own copy!
I'm very happy to finally be talking about F,M or Other: Quarrels with the Gender Binary. It's the debut publication from Knight Errant Press and is a collection of short stories in both written and graphic form, poetry, essays and other pieces about the spectrum of gender.
Gender is a complicated subject and one about which I am definitely still in the very early learning stages, and I'm grateful to this book for doing such an amazing job of introducing me to so many people's experiences and thoughts about it. Initially I wasn't sure if I was really the intended audience for this anthology, or whether it was really meant to be something in which people could find themselves (much as On Anxiety was for me, but more on that in a later post), but having read it I've come to the conclusion that this is absolutely a book for everyone.
The diversity of genres included in the anthology is something I'd really like to highlight and praise, because while they didn't all work perfectly for me, I think that having so many different styles of writing makes this collection so much more accessible. There's bound to be something you enjoy, and a plethora of great new writers to discover. Personal favourites of mine were Androgyny, a poem by George McDermid and Authentic(ated) Author- Writing and (Gender) Identity, a longer essay by James Bradfield and Ever Dundas, which explores some of the concerns around cultural appropriation and writing about things you have no first hand experience of. It's a really nuanced and thoughtful piece and I really enjoyed it, but there is so much to absorb, entertain and inform in this collection that it's really hard to pick favourites.
Whether gender is something you think about a lot, something you never think about, or somewhere in between, you should read this book, and if you'd like to win yourself a copy all you have to do is do what the Rafflecopter says! The giveaway runs until Friday 13th and is open internationally. Many thanks to Knight Errant for donating a copy for us to give away. Keep up with their work via their website.
If you're on a mobile or the rafflecopter is otherwise not displaying properly you can click here to enter.