Hello my friends, and happy Sunday.

Due to the content of this newsletter, I wanted to give a brief warning before we get started that we will be discussing National Suicide Prevention Month, including LGBTQIA+ statistics, books, and in addition, some resources should you or your loved one(s) ever need additional support. With that being said, I hope you take care of yourself if you decide to continue reading this newsletter, as it is my hope to raise awareness and destigmatize the discussions around suicide, and how it directly affects the LGTQIA+ community in particular. I will post a banner below this disclaimer as a way to break up this disclosure before we get started. Please proceed with an abundance of caution, and remember, at the end of the day, your mental health is most important. The goal of this newsletter is to raise awareness, however, I also know not everyone is in the mental space to hold these statistics. Please take care.

National Suicide Awareness Month is important to me for a myriad of reasons - my profession, my life, my queerness - it's all correlated. I wanted to break down some key dates, the theme of 2026, and a little bit of how it started so you have a little bit of a background knowledge before we jump into anything else.

Key dates for this month are September 8th, also, 9/8, known as "988 Day". Another important date is September 10th, which is World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD). The theme for 2026 is, "Changing The Narrative On Suicide: Start The Convo" which is what my goal is here, through this newsletter - to create that conversation, yes, but also to explain why it's crucial to not only have the convo through sharing statistics, but books to further your reading - both nonfiction and fiction. The history of National Suicide Prevention Month is that it was established in 2003 by The International Association For Suicide Prevention (IASP) and The World Health Organization (WHO).

The above banner says that "We all have a role to play in suicide prevention." And I 10000% agree. As I share these statistics next, I would encourage you to think about your own experiences with your queerness (if applicable) and your own mental health, or if you're an accomplice and do not identify as queer, how you have shown up for your queer friends/family/community members and how you have impacted their mental health. It takes a village to care for one another, but all it takes is ONE PERSON to change someone else's day for the good. With that said, here are some breakdowns of the LGBTQIA+ community:

• LGBTQIA+ teens are 4x the national rate to attempt suicide

• 36% of LGBTQIA+ youth endorsed suicidal ideation, while 1-% attempted in the last year

• over 50% of LGBTQIA+ youth have been bullied, and 21% have been physically harmed or threatened due to their identity, in addition to 19% missing school for safety concerns

• 84% wanted mental healthcare, and out of that 84%, 44% were unable to receive help

• 32% endorses having a plan to end their life

• Using the correct pronouns = a 50% decrease in attempts in trans and nonbinary households

• Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for 10-14 year olds

• Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death for 15-24 year olds

• 1.8 million LGBTQIA+ 13-24 year olds consider suicide each year and there is at least 1 attempt every 45 seconds in the United States

• Trans and nonbinary youth are 2-2.5x more likely to endorse anxiety and depression and highly consider or attempt suicide

• Intersectionality: 11% white, 22% Indigenous, 18% Middle Eastern/North African, 16% Black, 17% Multi-racial, 15% Latinx, 10% Asian/Pacific Islander has attempted suicide

• 23% Indigenous LGBTQIA+ attempted suicide versus 14% other LGBTQIA+ community

• 58% of Black trans and nonbinary have considered suicide, while 25% have attempted

• Only 38% of LGBTQIA+ people say their home is safe for them

And the one statistic that I want you to walk away with:

• ONE ACCEPTING ADULT DECREASES SUICIDE BY 50%

Please be that one adult. We have just read so many statistics that are heartbreaking, earth shattering, and also? Completely avoidable. How we show up for our community matters - each other, our families, our friends, our co-workers, our neighbors - and yes, even those strangers and passers-by on the street. We all deserve compassion and a community and SOMEONE that cares.

I could write a novel on the value of human decency and respect and how showing up for others is suicide prevention. But let's get into some resources, because that was heavy, and I want you to know that YOU matter, too.

Like the above graphic, 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 via chat/text/phone at both 988 and 988lifeline.org. Here are some additional resources specifically for the LGBTQIA+ community:

• The Trans Lifeline at: 1-877-565-8860

• The Trevor Project (TheTrevorProject.org) at 1-866-488-7382

• LGBT National Hotline at 1-888-843-4564

• SAGE Elder Hotline at 1-877-360-5428

• Coming Out Support at 1-888-688-5428

There are several, several additional resources out there, so this is by no means an exhaustive list I have given you. I have gathered a couple LGBTQIA+ books with the topic of suicide, both nonfiction and fiction, and is also not an exhaustive list - merely a starting point for you to utilize if you so choose:

• Suicide Notes by Michael Thomas Ford

• More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

• Prayers For Bobby by Leroy Aarons

• If Tomorrow Doesn't Come by Jen St. Jude

• The LGBTQ+ Mental Health Workbook by Dr. Kiki Fehling

• The Bridge by Bill Konigsberg

• Darius The Great (duology) by Adib Khorram

• Jerkbait by Mia Siegert

• Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austen

Like I said, there are so many more books on this topic, these books I found at a quick glance. I encourage you to do your own research and read what feels right for you.

I hope you have walked away with more knowledge surrounding National Suicide Prevention Month, yes, but also a better understanding of how suicide is not only very much preventable, but, how we can work together to not only destigmatize it, but come together and stop it. It truly takes a village to take care of our own. And like the last statistic says, it takes ONE to decrease suicide by 50%. Just one. Please be that one to the people you come in contact with every day.

I hope you all have a great Sunday and you find small and big ways to take care of yourselves and be gentle today. I will see you Thursday for Trans Joy Thursday. I will also share the zoom link for our Beyond The Rainbow chat with Anita Kelly happening Friday, September 11th, from 6-7pm CST. Can't wait to see you all then!

With all my trans joy,

Sawyer Cole

Happy Sunday folks!

I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's RAINING here in Southern California! We woke to a small downpour thanks to Hurricane Marie, and I am SO excited to curl up with a book for the rest of the day with the windows open and the sound of the rain in the background.

This week's update feels a little light, but it was a fun reading week. I started the week working on my final August read: The Pirate Queen. And in case you haven't seen my Youtube review, l absolutely loved it. It's exactly what I hoped it would be and SO much more. Honestly, you cannot go wrong with this book, especially if you've read and loved her other work. I shared a lot of thoughts and feelings about this one, including my 2 cents on whether you should read the book as published or if you should read the chapters chronologically, so be sure and check out that video if you're curious. ♾️⭐️s

I promptly moved on to Femme Feral, a book COMPLETELY outside my norm but which totally worked! This was one of my last few unread NetGalley books, and, boy, was it fun. Definitely not for everyone, but any of my perimenopausal or menopausal friends looking to escape into a hilarious story about a perimenopausal werewoman raging across London will probably enjoy it! 3.5⭐️s

As part of an upcoming campaign I am re-reading The Story Keeper by Kelly Rimmer. See, I read this book over a year ago when I thought it was going to be published under the title The Midnight Estate. But for some reason the publication date and the title changed. I have been invited to share a paid review, so I thought I would give it a re-read. I am enjoying it a bit more this go-round, and not just because it's a paid campaign. I think I rushed through it last time, so I've been trying to take my time with it a bit more this go-round. There are lots of fun Easter Eggs in this book-within-a-book story, and fans of Kate Morton will appreciate the tone and the mystery. Final review to come soon! 😜

I've started Tenderness, the latest from Rowan Beaird which promises to be cinematic and somewhat dark. At least that's the vibe I'm getting so far, and that's exactly why I loved her last book, The Divorcees. It read like an old Classic film noir, and Tenderness is feeling a bit like a 1970s neo-noir. More to come!

I also started MY MOST ANTICIPATED Winter release and already I've fallen completely in love. Stations by Louise Kennedy is going to be excellent, but I knew that already. I'm so excited to have been selected as an early reader for this November release. Beginning in 1980s Ireland, it follows two teens who find solace in each other; it follows them over decades and promises to be a tear-jerker just like Trespasses, one of my all time favorite reads. Stay tuned for my final thoughts!

Lastly, I think it's the perfect day to curl up with The Hacienda, the September BBFL book club book. I have read and enjoyed Isabel Canas' work in the past, so I have high expectations. Are you reading with us?

ICYMI

• September historical fiction books worth reading

• a WWII novel set in Italy that you might enjoy

• Madeline Martin wrote a witchy novel!

• The Pirate Queen reading guide and review

• The Pirate Queen giveaway for you and your boo

• I'm having a Labor Day sale over on Pango! (help me clear my shelves)

Hear It Here First

Paid subscribers will get early access to the November historical fiction look ahead sometime this week, so be sure to upgrade if you want the secret password!

I filmed a fun weekend vlog focused on productivity while my phone was on lockdown; look for that to premier this week on Youtube.

The August reading wrap-up will likely also premier this week on Youtube, and you'll have to tune in to see what book I ranked my favorite read of the month. It might surprise you!

Happy reading friends 😘

xoxo

c

Happy Sunday, my friends!

I am caught up in the weeds of it all, trying to prepare for a huge move (look for 300 books to hit Pango soon. I wish this was an exaggeration) trying to prepare for an upcoming trip to NYC and trying to prepare content for the end of the year and already trying to think about community goals for next year? Anything you want to see more of here? Let me know below!

I wanted to pop in and thank all of you who have already read and reviewed Cracks, by Stoker Award winning author, Kristy Park Kulski, the second release from our imprint! We are already up to 50 Netgalley reviews and it’s so fulfilling to see people feel the same way that I do about this gorgeous and haunting book. (Check out quotes below!)

One thing about this imprint is that you can expect our books to all haunt and heal in completely different ways. Cracks is for you if you LOVE literary horror. Think Stephen Graham Jones, Han Kang, Catriona Ward. If you love language and haunting pasts, you’re going to devour this book.

If you haven’t requested yet, please do! Early reviews really help a book get traction! We saw this for What Feeds Below and now it’s time to start really getting the word out about Cracks (the earlier, the better!)

You can request here (but I have no control over who gets approved) https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/880103

The fact that we already have 50 Netgalley reviews is really a testament to the work we do in this community for our authors. Some trad pubbed books don’t see numbers like this so early! (Much like 1,000 preorders is unheard of for many trad authors! Let’s get Kristy there, too!) I love that we work together to change author’s lives and I am holding onto a few secrets I hope to tell you soon!

Thank you for being part of this community! Have a great rest of your weekend. Tell me what you’re reading

We’ve been waiting for this one, and the The Lost Spectacular by Zoé Duhaime book club collection is officially READY! 🎪📖✨

If you’re getting ready to read this beautifully imaginative story about books, love, loss, grief, memory, second chances, and letting go, we’ve created four different ways to experience it whether you're gathering your whole book club, reading with a buddy, or settling in for a solo reading adventure.

At the heart of The Lost Spectacular are Noon Bonaventure and Munro Forrest, childhood loves turned rivals who find themselves connected to a mysterious, ever-changing festival filled with everything lost. Their story invites readers to think about what we hold onto, what we leave behind, and whether some things are worth finding again.

And now you can explore all of those themes with your own reading group or on your own!

🎟️ DOWNLOAD YOUR BOOK CLUB KITS

📚 BOOK CLUB KIT

Planning a The Lost Spectacular book club?

Our Book Club Kit is designed to help you turn your meeting into its own little Spectacular!

Inside, you'll find:

✨ Themed discussion questions
✨ Book club conversation prompts
✨ A themed menu
✨ Recipes
✨ Bookish activities
✨ In-person meeting ideas
✨ Virtual book club ideas
✨ Door prize inspiration
✨ A final reflection activity

👉 TAP HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE BOOK CLUB KIT

📖 INDIVIDUAL BOOK CLUB MEMBER'S READER KIT

Want something everyone in your book club can use while reading?

The Individual Book Club Member's Reader Kit gives each reader their own space to record thoughts, predictions, favorite moments, character observations, and reflections as they make their way through The Lost Spectacular.

It's perfect for readers who love to annotate, journal, predict, reflect, and come to book club ready to talk!

👉 TAP HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE INDIVIDUAL READER KIT

👯 BUDDY READER KIT

Reading The Lost Spectacular with your favorite bookish buddy?

We've got you covered!

The Buddy Reader Kit gives you built-in checkpoints and conversation starters so you don't have to wait until the final page to start talking.

Inside you'll find:

🎪 Reading checkpoints
💬 Spoiler-friendly discussion prompts
🔮 Prediction questions
📚 Bookish conversation starters
❤️ Character discussions
🌙 End-of-book questions
🎟️ Buddy reading activities

Whether you're reading together in person or texting your thoughts from completely different locations, this kit gives you plenty to talk about along the way.

👉 TAP HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE BUDDY READER KIT

🌙 SOLO READER KIT

Not reading with a group?

No problem!

The Solo Reader Kit was created for those wonderfully independent readers who love turning their reading time into a whole experience.

Use it to pause throughout the book, record your reactions, explore the themes of grief, memory, love, books, and letting go, and reflect on what The Lost Spectacular means to you.

Because sometimes the best book club conversation is the one you have with yourself. 💭📖

👉 TAP HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE SOLO READER KIT

✨ WHICH ONE WILL YOU USE?

📚 Book Club Kit → For your next book club meeting
📖 Individual Reader Kit → For every member of your reading group
👯 Buddy Reader Kit → For your next buddy read
🌙 Solo Reader Kit → For a cozy independent reading experience

So grab your copy, gather your fellow book lovers, and get ready to step into the Spectacular. 🎪✨

And remember:

Everything you love must leave you.

But thankfully, some stories stay with us long after we turn the final page. 💕

💭 BOOKISH QUESTION

If you could step into the Spectacular and recover ONE thing you've lost, what would you hope to find?

Tell us in the comments we want to know! 👀📚

#TheLostSpectacular #ZoéDuhaime #BookClubKit #BookClubReads #BookishCommunity

✨ WHAT IF THE BOOKS THAT SHAPED YOU COULD LEAD YOU STRAIGHT TO THE THING YOU’VE BEEN RUNNING FROM?

There are books that tell a story, and then there are books that make you think about why we tell stories in the first place. The Lost Spectacular by Zoé Duhaime is very much the latter.

Blending the literary wonder of The Night Circus with the introspective magic of The Midnight Library, this whimsical and tender story follows childhood loves Noon Bonaventure and Munro Forrest two people who once shared books, stories, and dreams before becoming rivals shaped by very different relationships with loss.

At the center of their story is the Spectacular: a mysterious, ever-changing festival filled with impossible and beautiful things. It can be discovered through invitations or even the pages of misprints, and wherever it goes, stories settle. For Noon, the Spectacular becomes something to protect. For Munro, it becomes something to capture.

And that difference says so much about them.

✨ A Love Letter to Books and the Stories We Carry

What immediately intrigued me about The Lost Spectacular is how deeply books are woven into the characters’ lives.

Noon and Munro didn't simply grow up reading stories they grew up living through them together. Their shared childhood memories, arguments over favorite books, and the stories passed down by Munro’s grandmother create a foundation for their relationship that feels especially meaningful for anyone who has ever connected with another person over a book.

I loved the idea that literature can become part of our personal history.

A favorite book can remind us of a particular person. A sentence can transport us back to a childhood bedroom. A character can become someone we carry with us for years. Sometimes we don't even realize how much of our identity has been shaped by the stories we've loved until something comes along and makes us look back.

The Lost Spectacular seems to understand that beautifully.

🎪 The Spectacular: Wonder With a Little Bit of Heartbreak

The Spectacular itself is such a fascinating concept.

A constantly changing festival filled with things both recognizable and impossible pearls, apple orchards, abandoned drafts, shipwrecks, umbrellas filling the sky feels like stepping directly into the imagination of someone who believes that everything has a story.

I especially love that the Spectacular isn't simply a magical setting. It represents something much more emotional: the things we desperately want to preserve.

Because isn't that what we do with stories?

We try to hold onto people. Memories. Places. Versions of ourselves. Moments we aren't ready to lose.

And that brings us directly to the heart of this book.

💔 Grief, Letting Go, and the Fear of Losing What We Love

The line “Everything you love must leave you” sets the emotional tone for this story perfectly.

Noon and Munro have responded to loss in completely different ways.

Noon has learned to move forward. She embraces change and has become the next captain of the Spectacular.

Munro, meanwhile, has built his life around refusing to let go. As a museum curator, he wants to create an exhibit capable of capturing the Spectacular and returning its lost treasures.

Their opposing philosophies make their rivalry so compelling because neither approach is entirely simple.

Is moving on the same thing as forgetting?

Is holding on an act of love or a refusal to heal?

And can you truly preserve something without changing it in the process?

Those are the kinds of questions that make The Lost Spectacular feel like a wonderful book-club pick. There is so much here to discuss beyond the romance and fantasy.

❤️ A Love Story About More Than Romance

At its core, this is a love story, but what makes it interesting is that Noon and Munro aren't simply trying to fall in love.

They're trying to figure out whether they can stop running from the story they've already written together.

Their estrangement, rivalry, and lingering connection give their relationship an emotional history. They aren't strangers who meet and fall for each other. They're people who already know each other deeply and who have spent years becoming different versions of themselves.

That creates a deliciously complicated question:

Can two people who have spent years moving in opposite directions find their way back to the same place?

As Munro's exhibition approaches and Noon prepares for her role as captain, they're forced to confront not only the Spectacular but everything that happened between them.

And perhaps the biggest challenge isn't deciding how their story ends.

Maybe it's deciding whether they're brave enough to begin again.

📖 Why I Think Book Clubs Will Have So Much to Talk About

There is so much discussion potential packed into The Lost Spectacular.

This is the kind of book that can take a book-club conversation in several different directions:

• Books & identity: How do the stories we love influence who we become?

• Grief: Is letting go necessary for healing, or can holding onto memories also be an act of love?

• Preservation: Why do we feel the need to preserve certain people, places, and moments?

• Love & second chances: Can people reconnect after years of hurt and separation?

• Rivalry: How much of Noon and Munro's rivalry comes from their different philosophies about loss?

• Change: Is moving forward always the same thing as moving on?

• The Spectacular: What would your own version of this magical festival contain?

• Literary escape: Why do books sometimes become places we retreat to when real life becomes too painful?

And perhaps my favorite question of all:

If you could step inside one story that shaped your life, which one would you choose and would you really want to know what happens beyond the ending?

🌙 Final Thoughts

The Lost Spectacular feels like the kind of literary fantasy that asks you to slow down and look at the stories you've carried with you.

It's whimsical and imaginative, but underneath all that magic is something deeply human: the fear of losing the things we love and the courage it takes to accept that some things cannot stay exactly as they were.

Noon and Munro's journey through books, art, memories, family, love, and grief creates a story that feels like a celebration of storytelling itself.

Because sometimes the hardest part isn't finding the perfect ending.

Sometimes it's realizing that an ending doesn't have to mean the story is over.

And maybe, just maybe, the most beautiful stories are the ones where we're brave enough to turn the page.

📚 BOOK CLUB QUESTION: If you could enter the magical Spectacular and add one treasured book, memory, person, or place to it, what would you choose and why?

💌 A Special Thank You

Erewhon Books and Zoé Duhaime, thank you for sharing The Lost Spectacular with us! We loved having the opportunity to explore this magical, literary, and emotionally resonant story with our bookish community.

📖 Want to Bring The Lost Spectacular to Your Next Reading?

We've created free mini book-club resources to help you dive deeper into the story!

✨ Tap to download your free mini reader Kits.

Looking for something more personal? We've also created individual kits for every kind of reader:

📚 Reader Kit — for reading and reflecting on your own
👯 Buddy Reader Kit — perfect for reading with a friend
☕ Solo Reader Kit — for a cozy individual reading experience

Want the full book-club experience? Join The First Editions to unlock the complete book club kits, with expanded discussion resources and everything you need to turn your reading into a full book-club experience.

Because every great story deserves to be talked about. 💕📚

#TheLostSpectacular #ZoéDuhaime #BookClubReview #LiteraryFantasy #BookClubReads

It’s been almost two weeks since my last update, and I actually have a pretty big one.

The first draft of Werewolf Summer is DONE! I rewarded myself with my first iced PSL with a pumpkin snowcap from Woods Coffee. No more Starbucks for me for over a year now because they're just horrible.

It is absolutely a word-vomit draft right now, but I don’t even care. There is no better high than the feeling I get after finishing a book, even when it’s only the first draft.

It has bones now.

Next I get to go back in and fill in the blood and guts.

I’m really proud of myself for getting this one finished, especially because writing is never a neat, consistent process for me. I can go days without touching a draft and then suddenly write thousands of words when something clicks. This one clicked, and now I have an entire book to work with. All I'll say for now the story went in a different direction and has more witchy, nostalgia, cozy horror vibes than I thought it would with some gruesome kills! I'm not following the rules. Cozy vibes of cozy fantasy and mysteries blended with the gruesomeness of horror.

Outside of writing, I’ve continued filling my little lair with pieces of the late ’90s and early ’00s.

I’ve been finding old magazines I actually read back then, which has been such a weird little time capsule. Not reproductions or things made to look nostalgic. The actual issues I remember seeing on shelves when I was younger.

And I found a CRT TV at Goodwill.

It was a STEAL.

So now I have this whole setup where I can watch old DVDs and VHS tapes the way I remember watching them, flip through old magazines, and generally escape into a time before everything lived on the same little screen in our hands.

I’ve been sharing more of it online too because I know I’m not the only person craving that feeling lately. If I can give someone else a few minutes of the same nostalgic joy I’ve been getting from all of this, I want to.

That’s also part of why I made my September and October watchlist.

I put it together one night this week when I was having a rough time, and working on it genuinely helped. I wanted something fun to look forward to and something that might give other people the same thing.

It has movies and TV episodes for fall in September and Halloween in October, with some things placed on specific dates for a reason.

It’s up on my Instagram if you want to watch along with me.

And finally, my I Wish I Was a Vampire book release event is in 13 days!

I’m getting really excited about this one. They also ordered a few copies of Twisted Tales to Tell in the Night, so now it’s starting to feel like I’m getting my own tiny spooky book fair, which is basically perfect.

So that’s where I’m at right now.

One first draft finished. One spooky book event getting very close. A house slowly filling with old magazines, VHS tapes, DVDs, and CRT televisions.

September is off to a pretty good start.

Join me this October for the Never Whistle at Night Readathon taking place in our community Discord!

Starting 10-1, we will be reading one story from the Part II Back For Blood Anthology!

Each story will have its own channel, so if you fell behind, don’t worry, you’ll still be able to participate!

Perhaps there will be some giveaways or special guests?

Let’s Get Spooky! (Indigenously!)

We’re reading Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff in September! I was so excited counting the votes—I feel like this book perfectly kick off fall reading. I hope it’s more of a hit than last month’s book was 😅 ALSO, this is the first book in a completed trilogy, which bodes well if anyone loves it and wants to continue on with the series!

Per usual, don’t forget to check the Discord for this month’s giveaway winner. I hope you all are having a wonderful start to September 🍁

I don’t know if you’ve been on Threads recently, but the old discourse has come up once again:

Influencer Bad! Arcs should go to me instead! me: Good!

Anyway, I have a lot of thoughts that might be unpopular? Check out my video on Yourube and let me know if you agree or not?

https://youtu.be/dZE-ndCLBjk?is=br5WG_kr21MjHBbs

What: An Evening of Bourdieu

When: Sept 28, 7pm ET

Where: Online (no recording, live attendance only)

Cost: The price of my book

Tickets here

The king of TASTE

Pierre Bourdieu has been my fixation since I started to work on my novel about taste, DOES THIS MAKE ME LOOK RICH? He is a French sociologist who provides a scholarly approach to a subject that is typically very hand wavy and "you know it when you see it"--so I appreciate that he legitimizes a lot of "takes" that are otherwise, how should I put it, loosey goosey.

Bring me your cynics, your skeptics

My live chat will appeal to anyone who raises an eyebrow in skepticism every time they see a shortform video that "cites" Bourdieu. I'm confident that most of these TikTok scholars are getting their Bourdieu from 1) other Tiktokers 2) Wikipedia 3) AI. That's fine--it works for their purposes (making slop). I'm not here to castigate content creators for insufficient rigor in their research🙃 I know a losing battle when I see one.

If you're genuinely interested in Bourdieu,

so am I. That's why I'm reading Distinction even though it's not a walk in the park. My friend Neeha and I have been assigning reading every week and then meeting up to discuss it. Our conversations sound a lot like my Salons so I had the idea that we could broadcast our next one.

It's not a true Salon

I'm staying true to my tirade that Salon would never move online. This is a live podcast, if you will. We are going to have a conversation and stream it. POV: you're a fly on the wall while my friend and I chat about something that is interesting to us. Neeha is wonderful and smart (me, likewise) so I have no doubt it'll be a thoughtful dialogue and entertaining to boot. If it goes well, maybe we'll do it again.

I hope you can join us🥰

Hi Everyone!

It's been a long time since I've updated this, and for that, I apologize. Life has been LIFE-ing, but I'm excited to get back into updating this more frequently and showing you all what I am reading!

For those of you who follow me on Instagram@asreadbymerisha, you'll know that I have been supporting debut authors with my Margins to the Middle book club. It's been so great providing book tours for authors and hopefully providing more reach for their book babies. With that being said, I want to bring that community to Bindery. I'm rebranding Unbound Narratives to Margins to the Middle so that I can share the books we are reading with this community as well. To date, we've supported:

• Adrienne Thurman - Don't Tell Me How It Ends

• Heather Eng - Double Happiness

• Haili Blassingame - They All Fall In Love at the End

• Natalie Messier - Every Version of You

• Jasmine Smith - Death Card

But don't worry! We have other debut authors lined up for this year and next, including a Bindery author that I will introduce for this month's book club!

So continue to follow along as I build this community. I'm so happy you all are here and can't wait to see how this grows!

Hello my friends!

I wanted to drop in a bonus newsletter to give everyone the link to view the playback of our most recent Beyond The Rainbow chat with Dr. Kiki Fehling (They/She). We truly had a blast discussing everything from mental health to nonfiction book recommendations.

As always, please don't give out this link, as it's just for you as subscribers. Curious for the books we discussed? Here are the one's Dr. Kiki Fehling dropped:

1. A Queer Dharma by Jacoby Ballard

2. The Wisdom Of Your Body by Hillary L. McBride

3. Seahorses by Simon Knaphus

4. Every Step She Takes by Alison Cochrun

When you watch the playback, forgive my rapid speech, I was truly geeked to be in discussion with them and had a blast nerding out about mental health, books and the queer community as a whole.

While I have you, remember we will be in discussion with Anita Kelly (they/them) for our reschedule July Beyond The Rainbow chat, Friday, September 11th from 6-7pm CST.

I will drop the zoom link in here next Thursday in our Trans Joy Thursday newsletter. There is also an event created with the zoom link information on our Discord if you haven't made your way over there yet, in addition to a channel dedication to eat chat where you can suggest questions for me to ask every author I interview.

I hope you all have an amazing extended holiday weekend. I will catch you on Sunday for our September Shenanigans, Week 2 newsletter. Until then friends, happy Friday!

With all my trans joy,

Sawyer Cole

Beyond The Rainbow w/ Dr. Kiki Fehling Playback Link Click Here