The first time Autostraddle interviewed Melissa King was approximately a decade ago. She’d just come incredibly close to winning Top Chef Season 12 but she’d already gamely secured the prized hearts of the series’ queer fandom. She has remained, you could say, “top-of-mind” around here ever since. Christina has delivered a consistent series of thirsty No Filter headlines about Melissa King and, at a Gentleman Jack party, Melissa King made us the best soup I’ve ever tasted in my life.

And now she’s on the cover of our magazine, in a profile by prolific food culture writer Jaya Saxena. And hot damn, you know?

cover of autostraddle magazine with melissa king on it

This is the Autostraddle print magazine, Issue #02. 220 ad-free pages of queer writing, art and photography running the full gamut of what we as a people are capable of. A monumental achievement, some might say, perhaps evidence of exceptional effort by the two (2) editors who put this issue together (me and kayla) while also regularly publishing some content on this website, because two editors is really not a lot of editors, you know? And yet, somehow, we did it!!!! Also, our Creative Director Em did all the visual parts (design, photoessays, article imagery). So it was a lot of work but I think if you had the chance to hold it in your hands (by purchasing the magazine) you would say, “wow, this is a masterpiece.”

In issue #02 of the Autostraddle Insider:

  • Jaya Saxena talks to Melissa King about third-culture cuisine, her upcoming memoir and, of course, her relationship with Padma
  • Pretty Gay’s Catherine McCafferty delivers 10 Tips for a Killer First Date (it’s very important that you do clean out your car, but don’t compare the death of a dog to the death of a sibling)!
  • Danny Lavery gets locked out of his own home by his disobedient baby, who by the way has committed myriad crimes in her short 9 months of life
  • Substack icon Femcel attempts to live her dream of “having sex like a gay man” by using TIkTok as a lesbain grindr and does in fact have a lot of sex
  • Anuhea Nihipali suggests we find the beauty in a little emotional labor between friends
  • T Kira Madden thinks a lot about what will happen to her recipes when she dies, and of her father’s famous Caeser Salad
  • Kristen Arnett shows you the Orlando they know and love, no mouses to be found
  • In an excerpt from their first romance novel, your favorite live musician Be Steadwell lays out some elite erotica for you (illustrated by gggrimes)
  • Timi Sotire digs into lesbians taking testosterone and who gets to “own” masculinity
  • Mia Arias Tsang crushes ten cloves of garlic and tries not to think about all the drunken sob-shouting from last night and other good reasons to break up
  • Giovanni “Gio” Luciano welcomes you into his kitchen as he makes breakfast for two hungry bisexuals (actress/motorcyclist Jordan Rand and “Gaydar” host Anania Williams)
  • Ever wondered how Zhané Stimpson throws the best lesbian events ever? Well, Malavika Kannan lays out her playbook for you
  • Sara Elise meditates on queer food pleasure
  • Paramita makes Salmon Coconut Curry from the riverbeds of Connecticut and Bangladesh
  • Our new “lit” section brings you poetry by Gabrielle Grace Hogan, Grace Kwan and K-Ming Chang and a short story from Diamond Braxton

That’s truly not all. This issue has a full-sized brand-new gay crossword. It has the annotated lyrics of Um, Jennifer? and the Stud Aunties’ favorite movies, the results of a reader food survey and astrology and advice and a literal poster of Melissa King to put on the wall next to your bed (or wherever).

zine collage

We want every issue of The Autostraddle Insider to feel like its brimming with active queer life across the country and beyond, like it’s bigger than anything you could hold in your hands but fits there just perfectly, all the same. In this issue we take you to Anchorage, Copenhagen and the opening of a Black bookstore in Brooklyn and on a whirlwind tour through the kitchens of the queer chefs of New York City.

Honestly, we did too much with this issue. It’s literally twice the size of last quarter’s magazine!

You can buy the magazine as a single issue, but the absolute best way to get it (and to ensure that we stick around) is by subscribing as an AF+ All-Access member, paying quarterly or annually. Over 65 artists, writers, editors and designers were paid to bring this magazine to life. It’s a collector’s item, it’s a great gift, it’s a time capsule, it’s an art piece, it’s everything. I think you’ll love it. I really, really do.

Get yours now with images of the Autostraddle print magazine