Need some bite-sized pieces of queer fiction? Try a short story collection! Take this quiz and it will match you with a book of short stories: an anthology featuring various contributors or a single author collection! Whether your interests are queer horror, Indigenous futurism, or realist stories about queer Black church ladies, there’s a book here you will love!
Known in some internet circles as Casey the Canadian Lesbrarian, Casey Stepaniuk is a writer, librarian, and new parent. She writes for Book Riot and Autostraddle about queer and/or bookish stuff. Ask her about cats, bisexuality, libraries, queer books, drinking tea, and her baby. Her website is Casey the Canadian Lesbrarian. Find her on Twitter, Litsy, Storygraph Goodreads and Instagram.
Casey has written 125 articles for us.
I got: Buffalo is the New Buffalo Chelsea Vowel
Chelsea Vowel ā who also writes as Ć¢pihtawikosisĆ¢n ā published this collection of MĆ©tis futurism to acclaim in 2022. The science fiction stories here tackle themes of ancestral traditions, colonization and its impacts on Indigenous peoples, Indigenous resistance, and more. Looking back in order to imagine a future, the work references a common contemporary saying among Indigenous people: āeducation is the new buffalo.ā In other words, education is the backbone of survival as buffalo historically was for Plains nations. But what, Vowel asks, if Indigenous people ensured that ancestral ways ā like dependance on the buffalo ā continue into the future instead of relegating them to the past? Vowel investigates this question in the bookās eight stories. In one, a Two-Spirit rougarou shapeshifts in the 19th century and becomes involved in an organization that successfully changes the future and stops Canadian colonial expansion. In others, foxes transform into humans and entangle themselves in human romance and a MĆ©tis man is gored by a radioactive bison and gains superpowers.
I got Buffalo Is The New Buffalo by Chelsea Vowel too and it looks really good!
the secret lives of church ladies!
i read Buffalo is the New Buffalo earlier this year and was absolutely blown away, totally worth the read
Perfect, thank you! ā”
“Xenocultivars: Stories of Queer Growth edited by Isabela Oliveira and Jed Seb
This Lambda Award nominated anthology of speculative short fiction focuses on the theme of growth: āemerging and developing to flourishing and cultivating.ā If youāre looking for an intense dose of queer joy, Xenocultivars is just the thing. Highlights include āFolded Into Tendril and Leafā by Bogi TakĆ”cs, an own voices story which features an intersex protagonist in love and also investigates themes of language, body types, and immigration. āHow to Make a Spell Jarā by EA Crawley is a witchy fantasy story about a āuseful, sugary, and slightly dangerousā brew prepared just for a special someone. Another story, āThe Mandrake Loves the Oliveā by Sonia Suleman, is inspired by Palestinian folklore. In Julian Stuartās āThe Aloeās Bargain,ā a trans girl can talk to her aloe plant, from whom she learns unconditional love. The book includes an admirable mix of author identities and styles, as well as diverse genres and subgenres.”
Secret Lives of Church Ladies here! This looks lovely, thank you.
Any chance we could get a full list of the books? (Or a full list of the pretty rocks in the third question?)
The full list is:
Slug and Other Stories by Megan Milks
Fruiting Bodies by Kathryn Harlan
Gods of Want by K-Ming Chang
Xenocultivars: Stories of Queer Growth edited by Isabela Oliveira and Jed Seb
Buffalo Is The New Buffalo by Chelsea Vowel
A Safe Girl to Love by Casey Plett
Queer Little Nightmares by edited by David Ly and Daniel Zomparelli
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw
Enjoy!!
Buffalo is the New Buffalo looks so cool! Definitely checking it out!
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies! Id vaguely heard of it before but now iām moving it up the list!
I got A Safe Girl to Love, which is probably my favorite Casey Plett writing ever!
I also didn’t know The Secret Lives of Church Ladies was queer? It’s been in TBR pile for years, but now it’s definitely moving up the pile!
Fruiting Bodies. Definitely sounds interesting.
i read fruiting bodies about a year ago and STILL shudder when i think about the title story.
ty for this warning!
i regret to say i cant continue w this quiz. i need an all of the above option for the breakfast question plsssssss.
well i caved and picked what i would START my all day breakfast with and got secret lives of church ladies. but i am just gonna try all of story collections except fruiting bodies which i dont * cough* have the stomach for. oooh maybe i will match the (other) books w the bfasts and eat a bfast with each book! yes yes i love this plan. thank you casey you are a genius librarian.
Hahaha! Thank you š
I love these quizzes but it would be great if the last page listed all the possible books, not just the one that gets picked!
I got:
Xenocultivars: Stories of Queer Growth, edited by Isabela Oliveira and Jed Seb
This Lambda Award nominated anthology of speculative short fiction focuses on the theme of growth: āemerging and developing to flourishing and cultivating.ā If youāre looking for an intense dose of queer joy, Xenocultivars is just the thing. Highlights include āFolded Into Tendril and Leafā by Bogi TakĆ”cs, an own voices story which features an intersex protagonist in love and also investigates themes of language, body types, and immigration. āHow to Make a Spell Jarā by EA Crawley is a witchy fantasy story about a āuseful, sugary, and slightly dangerousā brew prepared just for a special someone. Another story, āThe Mandrake Loves the Oliveā by Sonia Suleman, is inspired by Palestinian folklore. In Julian Stuartās āThe Aloeās Bargain,ā a trans girl can talk to her aloe plant, from whom she learns unconditional love. The book includes an admirable mix of author identities and styles, as well as diverse genres and subgenres.
“a trans girl can talk to her aloe plant, from whom she learns unconditional love.”
OMG. As a plant queer, I pretty much have to read that now.
I got The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, which I have read and loved. All of these look great. I donāt think Iāve heard of the rest, but Iām adding them to my list
Coming back to report that I’m reading Xenocultivars: Stories of Queer Growth, edited by Isabela Oliveira and Jed Seb and it. Is. So. Good!!
I requested it from my library based solely on this line from the blurb: āa trans girl can talk to her aloe plant, from whom she learns unconditional love.ā and I am happy to report that I loved that story and I’m loving all of the stories so far.
Yay!!
aww i love this quiz and i love that you included xenocultivars as a result! just a note, jed’s last name is sabin (source: i am their girlfriend)
Coming back to report that Iām finally reading the book the quiz recommended for me – Buffalo is the New Buffalo. I requested that my library buy it and 3+ months later, Iām reading it. Yay libraries.
Iām halfway through and Iām so glad Iām reading it, even though itās challenging on multiple levels.