In Book News & Events

In The Silences – Book Launch Events

By Rachel Gold

You can buy my new novel starting today! The official publication date is May 21, but my publisher, Bella Books, has made copies available early on their site (click here!). The launch party will be June 1 at the Roseville Barnes & Noble, HarMar Mall, 2100 Snelling Ave N, Roseville, MN 55113. You can RSVP to the Facebook event here or just show up! I'll read from the new book and have special guests with me to talk about the beta reading process, plus we'll take audience questions. I will sign books and happily geek out about comic books and gaming with anyone who wants to. I will also have copies available at the Reclaim booth at Twin Cities Pride on Saturday, June 22. (There might still be copies on Sunday, June 23 also, but I won't be there to sign them for you.) You can get a copy with a donation of $15 or more to Reclaim, which is a great organization that connects queer and trans you to therapy and other services (check them out).  Wondering what people are saying about my new novel? My publisher posted it to NetGalley and here are some of the early reviews it's received: goodreads Lex Kent’s Reviews

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May 16, 2019
In Book News & Events

Pre-Order My New Novel!

By Rachel Gold

In three weeks, my new novel will be shipping. This one's targeted for slightly younger ages, like Being Emily, focusing on ages 14-15 for the main characters. What's it about? Fourteen-year-old Kaz Adams just wants to read comic books and spend every day with Aisha Warren. And maybe get up the nerve to ask her out, if Kaz turns out to be a gender that Aisha’s into. Kaz had always expected to be targeted for gender nonconformity, but loving Aisha opens Kaz’s eyes to the prevalence of racism in their town. Trouble is, none of the other white people are seeing it, even when Kaz points it out. By the time they reach sophomore year, Aisha is fighting on all fronts and their school system is crushing her. Kaz’s gender expression was something the two of them could tackle together in private. The issues Aisha is up against are different and there’s no place they can hide. Kaz can’t magically undo centuries of systemic racism—but must find a way to change minds at school and among their friends before Kaz loses the sweetest, smartest, comic-book-reading girl in the world. You can pre-order it from my publisher, other online bookstores, or your local brick-and-mortar store. 

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May 1, 2019
In Book News & Events

Spring Events 2019

By Rachel Gold

This spring and summer I'll be at three conventions: ClexaCon in April, WisCon in May and GCLS in July. I'm very excited to be on two panels for ClexaCon: Breaking into Book Publishing for Aspiring Writers, with Catherine Lundoff,  Andi Marquette, and Kim Turrisi. Creating Diverse Stories Without Tokenism, with Victoria Stagg Elliott, Karen Shoffner, and CB Lee. For more info check out the panels list on the ClexaCon site: https://clexa-con.com/programming/2019-panels-workshops/ Warning: you might end up buying a ticket if you don't already have one. And while you're clicking links, check out feminist science fiction/fantasy convention WisCon, whose guests of honor this year are G. Willow Wilson and Charlie Jane Anders. In July, Malinda Lo is keynoting at the Golden Crown Literary Society conference. I'm on a couple of panels there and will update soon! Stay tuned for info about my new book that will be out in May, launch events, and more!      

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March 11, 2019
In Book News & Events

October & November Events!

By Rachel Gold

I'm excited to be participating in three great events in the Twin Cities area for October and November: Oct. 24: The Evolution of LGBTQ+ Young Adult Lit: From Sad-Eyed Loners to Superheroes 7 - 9 PM Quatrefoil Library 1220 East Lake Street Minneapolis, MN, 55407 Discover exciting trends in young adult literature, expand your reading list, and play a trivia game with prizes! Christine Jenkins, co-author of Representing the Rainbow in Young Adult Literature, will take you on a whirlwind tour of five decades of this exciting and now booming genre. Author Rachel Gold will read from the new edition of her groundbreaking novel, Being Emily, and explore the future of YA literature with queer and trans content. Reception to follow. Books will be for sale and authors will be available for signing! More info or to RSVP via Facebook: https://thelspot.lgbt/upcoming/2018/10/5/talking-lgbtq-ya-literature-rachel-gold-amp-christine-jenkins https://www.facebook.com/events/1043243145836634/   Oct. 30: Save the date! Details on this event will be posted later this week, but if you love talking about trans rep in all sorts of media, then block out your calendar this evening from 6-8 p.m.   Nov. 4: Get a Grip! Minding Your Mind in Teen Literature 3 – 6 PM Trinity Episcopal Church 322 2nd St, Excelsior, Minnesota 55331 Mental health is more than mental illness. Mental health is important to everyone. It’s finding constructive

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October 9, 2018
In Book News & Events

The Boston Globe & Harvard Book Store

By Rachel Gold

The week before I read at Harvard Book Store, the Boston Globe ran a great profile focused on the new edition of Being Emily, which you can find on their site. Here's my favorite quote: Echoing [Stephanie] Burt’s introduction, Gold added, she intends the new edition to be a book "where trans girls really see themselves, see themselves being loved, see themselves in a positive light, overcoming problems. I think there’s still not enough of that in the world in terms of trans identity

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September 19, 2018
In Book News & Events

Exciting September events!

By Rachel Gold

Come see me in September if you're near Atlanta; Portsmouth, NH; Boston; or St. Cloud, MN! Sept. 1: AJC Decatur Book Festival "Who Even Am I?" panel, Saturday, 10:00-10:45 YA Stage — Adolescence is a time for figuring out big things, including who you are. But how do you do that when your whole world is turned upside down? Details here. Sept. 4: 3S Artspace, Portsmouth N.H. An evening with me, celebrating the new anniversary edition of Being Emily! In partnership with Seacoast Outright & RiverRun Bookstore. The event is at 6:30 p.m. and is free. Details here: http://www.3sarts.org/performances/performance/An-evening-with-author-Rachel-Gold-celebrating-her-book-%22Being-Emily%22?performanceid=3233 https://www.facebook.com/events/1668617923248774/ Sept. 7: Harvard Book Store Harvard Book Store welcomes award-winning author, marketing strategist, and public speaker Rachel Gold for a discussion of her novel, Being Emily. She will be joined in conversation by acclaimed poet, literary critic, and Harvard professor Stephanie Burt. Event starts at 7 p.m. and is free, details here: http://www.harvard.com/event/rachel_gold/ Sept. 14-15: St. Cloud, MN Catherine Lundoff & I will be reading and talking at the St. Cloud Public Library on Friday, Sept. 14: Time: 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM Location: Mississippi Community Room 106 Join award-winning Minnesota authors Rachel Gold and Catherine Lundoff for an author reading and short talk on writing queer and trans fiction. Q&A to follow. For teens and adults. Details here: https://griver.org/event/saint-cloud/author-talk-rachel-gold-and-catherine-lundoff/2018-09-14/43354 And on Saturday,

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August 9, 2018
In Book News & Events

My gender presentation

By Rachel Gold

Below you’ll find a PDF of the presentation “Gender in 50 Min or Less” that I delivered at the Golden Crown Literary Society annual convention in early July. I’ve also tried to list most of the papers, articles and books that I read while thinking about my gender presentation. I probably forgot some resources, so this list might expand later. At some point I hope to add my notes or a link to the video if it’s public (apologies to people who weren’t at the conference if the PDF doesn’t entirely make sense without the notes). Thanks to the Golden Crown board for inviting me to speak, and to my audience for laughing at all my jokes! The presentation Click here to download! Papers & Articles: Many papers by Dr. Charlotte Tate! She has many of her papers posted on the San Francisco State University site.  Scientific American: The New Science of Sex and Gender (This is many SciAm articles combined into a book.) “Update on the Biology of Transgender Identity” LAURA ERICKSON-SCHROTH, MD, MA, New York University, published in Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health, 2013 “BECOMING GENDERED IN EUROPEAN PREHISTORY: WAS NEOLITHIC GENDER FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT?” by John Robb and Oliver J. T. Harris “Gender

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July 18, 2018
In Book News & Events

Being Emily launch day!

By Rachel Gold

The new, anniversary edition of Being Emily is now available! Later today/this week I will answer some questions (lower in this post) and talk about the process of editing Being Emily. First here's some very important ordering info: on Amazon.com you can order the new paperback edition of Being Emily, but the current kindle edition is the old, 2012 version. If you want the new BE as an ebook, please order it from Bella Books. On the Bella site, you can get the new version, which I abbreviate as 2BE, as an epub, mobi or pdf file. It will work on all the major eReaders and tablet apps. The kindle format is .mobi.  Here are the links: Paperback 2BE from Bella (supporting independent publishers!) eBook 2BE from Bella Paperback 2BE from Amazon Pro tip: If you see a black spine, it's the old edition. If it has a red spine in the promotional images (even for an ebook), it's the new edition. If you are a reviewer or a professor and you want a copy for reviewing or possibly teaching from, I have some available. Email me at beingemily [at] gmail.com and let me know your preferred format(s) and how to get them to you. Questions & Answers There

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May 15, 2018
In Book News & Events

Previews from the New Being Emily

By Rachel Gold

We're less than two weeks to the launch of the new edition of Being Emily! I'm super excited. I got to add about 25% more content to the original story, plus there's a whole new epilogue (set 10 years after the original story), and there's a great intro. You can pre-order the new Being Emily from the Bella Books site: eBook (DRM-free, multiple formats): https://www.bellabooks.com/product/9781594935985e/ Paperback: https://www.bellabooks.com/product/9781594935985/ You can start to preview the new content now on these sites: The Seattle Lesbian is featuring an excerpt from Stephanie Burt's introduction: http://theseattlelesbian.com/harvard-professor-introduces-classic-trans-young-adult-novel/ Lesbian.com features part of one of the new scenes between Emily & Claire: http://www.lesbian.com/classic-trans-young-adult-novel-updated-for-2018/ Epochalips has another new scene of Emily & Claire that follows from the one above: http://www.epochalips.com/2018/04/trans-girl-classic-being-emily-gets-updated/ (Don't worry, you're not reading all the new stuff ahead of time if you read those, in total I added about six full scenes and extended more.) The Bella Books blog has a post I wrote about comic book characters, including why there's more Starfire and some Warlock in the new Being Emily: http://blog.bellabooks.com/2018/04/author-rachel-gold-on-queerness-and-transness-in-comic-books.html And Lesbian News printed an article I wrote in a lovely four-page spread, photos below: If you've got questions about the new edition that you're hoping I'll answer, please leave them in the comments below or on Facebook or Twitter.

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May 4, 2018
In Book News & Events

Being Emily Revised Edition out in May

By Rachel Gold

If you haven't read the great interview between me and Stephanie Burt on YA Pride, go read it! Editing and rewriting parts of a book that's already published was a lot harder than I expected. I wanted to keep everything that readers have loved and add new material in a way that didn't clash with the original. This new version is over 20,000 words (about 25%) longer than the original. Some of the changes were single words. For example, the first version has the word "transsexual" 59 times. In the revised edition, it's largely been replaced with transgender and trans; it only appears 5 times. Some changes were additional paragraphs or parts of scenes that I rewrote to update and make them more clear. And I've added entirely new scenes, mostly toward the end, to enhance the existing plot. As you can see from the YA Pride piece, we kept the front cover, adding the awards seals and the news that Stephanie wrote a new intro. (She also helped immensely with the edits and is a lot of fun to work with.) We designed a new back cover and added an image of Emily. I love the idea that after six years of the book being in print,

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January 26, 2018