Publishing is a weird business, and it’s true that no one travels the same road to publication. I have several friends who have been published, or will be soon, and every single person has come about it from a different path.

Including myself.

Last week, the TRANSMOGRIFY! anthology announcement went live on Publisher’s Weekly rights report, and I am honored to be among some of the most talented trans and non-binary authors of our current generation.

I met the editor of the anthology, gee davis, during a workshop for LGBTQ+ writers called Rainbow Weekend, in 2019. It was a life-changing weekend, not only for my craft, but for my community building. Before that weekend, I had very few queer friends since I came out later in life, and I never had the opportunity before this to build relationships with other queer folks. Now I don’t think I have a single cishet friend and it really is amazing to be surrounded by people who genuinely accept and love you.

It is also because of this community that I was invited to participate in the TRANSMOGRIFY! anthology. If you have read any entertainment news, a certain British children’s author has taken it upon herself to invalidate the lives and experiences of trans and non-binary people all over the world. TRANSMOGRIFY! seeks to prove otherwise. As an author myself, it struck me as not only cruel, but incredibly hypocritical for a children’s author to spew this kind of hate-filled nonsense. We create worlds for a living, so who are we to say that someone else can’t create their own identity, something far more personal and profound than words on a page, imo.

This, ultimately, became my inspiration when drafting, Verity, my submission in TRANSMOGRIFY! It’s about a magical mirror, called Verity, that reflects the truth in a person’s heart. Young student, Ari Bellweather, happens upon Verity one day, while researching magical artifacts. As they learn about Verity’s magical ability, they also discover that truth, much like legend, is never simple—even if it's a truth they’ve known all along.

I wrote so much of my own heart into this story. It’s my love letter to fantasy and magic and stories. To myself and every single trans and non-binary person who always knew they were magic. Ari is also my first agender protagonist, and I hope you love them, and Verity, as much as I do.

TRANSMOGRIFY! is slated to release Summer of 2023 from Harper Teen.

TRANSMOGRIFY! Annoucement