Representation – May Peterson Books

8 03, 2022

Breaking the Trans Bubble (And How You Can Help Do It)

By May|2022-03-08T22:13:31+00:00March 8th, 2022|Narrative, Publishing, Representation|1 Comment

CW: discussions of homelessness, transmisogyny, anti-trans racism, transphobia, persecution of sex workers, suicide, violence, trauma

The past several months have forced me to rethink my life. A major curveball has been the introduction of a spicy new fact to that life—

I am a homeless trans woman.

This is That Thing I’ve spent most of my life afraid of becoming. There’s a link between the two sides of this thing, like between an anchor and the ankle it’s tied to. How’s that for an on-the-nose image? And it does feel—always has felt—like sinking. Don’t come out because you might be disowned. Don’t […]

6 06, 2020

Update on Platform and Schedule, Summer 2020

By May|2021-11-23T22:28:50+00:00June 6th, 2020|Editorial, Publishing, Representation, Writing|Comments Off on Update on Platform and Schedule, Summer 2020

One of my goals is to provide a library of free content for writers, including tools I have found useful as an author, as an editor, and as a sensitivity and artistic ethics consultant. This will include resources for writers who are trying to learn to navigate the publishing industry and career life as an author, trying to manage difficulty with the writing process, and trying to improve their writing skills.

I want these resources to be something they can turn to before paying an editor. Marginalized authors in particular often have to count every penny when […]

6 01, 2020

The Judgmental Spectator Theory

By May|2020-01-06T14:07:23+00:00January 6th, 2020|Publishing, Representation|Comments Off on The Judgmental Spectator Theory

Content warning: non-graphic discussion of racism and transmisogyny

Romance Writers of America, or RWA, is a writer’s organization that throughout its existence has been a source of much good as well as much harm. It was the harm that primarily concerned Courtney Milan, a best-selling romance author and seasoned advocate of the needs of underserved populations, when she was a board member on RWA.

In December of 2019, RWA delivered a censure of Courtney Milan for the charge of injurious behavior to the cause of RWA during her pursuit of justice for people of color against racist norms and practices that […]

15 11, 2019

The Effeminacy Double Bind (Transfem Coding In Fiction)

By May|2019-11-15T06:22:18+00:00November 15th, 2019|Narrative, Representation|Comments Off on The Effeminacy Double Bind (Transfem Coding In Fiction)

Content warning for frank discussion of transmisogyny

Let’s talk about coding. Not every message is spelled out unambiguously. Fiction in particular tends to deeply integrate the implied, messages expressed behind the text. You may already be very familiar with a common form of this: queer coding.

Queer coding is when a character isn’t explicitly queer, but seems queer, with characteristics that suggest it through cultural association. A typical form of queer coding is for a character to have no sexual or romantic relationships on screen but to be gender non-conforming. Queer identity is largely predicated on variation from sexual and gender […]

2 10, 2018

Art Has an Effect (Make Sure It’s the Effect You Want)

By May|2019-10-23T13:28:14+00:00October 2nd, 2018|Editorial, Representation, Writing|1 Comment

If I had to name the part of my role as an editor I find the most daunting, I’d probably say sensitivity editing. But I’d also name that among the most important.

For those not familiar with the term, sensitivity editing is editorial focused on making sure a work is written with care toward its audience. Particularly, making sure the work is sensitive about the dynamics of race, sex, class, and disability that might impact that audience.

Some may wonder how this could be as important as I’m saying it is—and it’s true, some authors struggle with receiving sensitivity edits. This […]

The Sacred Dark Trilogy

Romantic Fantasy with ghosts, gays, and grandeur.