Transgender Awareness Week occurs yearly from November 13th-19th. It culminates in Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20th, which commemorates the hundreds of lives lost each year to anti-transgender violence. Spokane Pride and Trans Spokane will be hosting a special event in honor of Transgender Day of Remembrance at Central Library on Saturday, November 22 from 2-4pm.
“Transgender Awareness Week,” GLAAD states on their website, “is a week when transgender people and their allies take action…by educating the public about who transgender people are, sharing stories and experiences, and advancing advocacy around issues of prejudice, discrimination, and violence that affect the transgender community.”
This is especially important now, as a rash of recent executive orders has further jeopardized the safety and freedom of our nation’s transgender people.
Spokane Public Library, now and always, remains an ally to our transgender colleagues, family members, friends, and neighbors. Please find below helpful resources for transgender people and their allies, along with a booklist of recently published titles written by trans authors.
Highlighted organizations:
GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) on Transgender Awareness Week
GLAAD on Transgender Day of Remembrance
Odyssey Youth Movement, supporting queer and trans youth here in Spokane
Washington State LGBTQ Commission
ACLU of WA State on transgender rights
Book Recommendations
The In-Between Bookstore: A Novel by Edward Underhill
A whimsical and healing novel about a trans man in New York who-almost 30, laid off, broke-moves back to his small Illinois hometown, walks into the bookstore he worked at in high school…and slips through time to come face-to-face with his pre-transition, teenage self.
Paper Doll: Notes from a Late Bloomer by Dylan Mulvaney, illustrations by Deborah Szpilman
In her memoir, Paper Doll, Dylan pulls back the curtain of her “it girl” lifestyle with an honest, witty, and intimate reflection of her life post-transitioning.
Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson by Tourmaline
A queen’s legacy. Drawing on interviews and archival sources, Tourmaline, an artist, Black transgender activist, and Guggenheim Fellow, celebrates trans icon, sex worker, and activist Marsha P. Johnson (1945-92).
The Lilac People: A Novel by Milo Todd
A moving and deeply humane story about a trans man who must relinquish the freedoms of pre-war Berlin to survive first the Nazis then the Allies, all while protecting the ones he loves.
Amplitudes: Stories of Queer and Trans Futurity edited by Lee Mandelo
A speculative fiction anthology exploring queer and trans lives across imaginative futures—from dystopian cities to galactic nightclubs. Blending protest, desire, and whimsy, the collection reclaims sci-fi as a space for queer liberation, resilience, and radical possibility.
I Was an Abomination: A Story of Trans Survival in Conservative America by Sheryl Weikal
In her memoir, Sheryl tells the story of growing up trans in a conservative homeschooling family, surviving conversion therapy, fighting the state for the right to be a lawyer, and finally meeting the love of her life and realizing her dream of being the woman she always was.
Woodworking by Emily St. James
An unforgettable and heartwarming book-club debut following a trans high school teacher from a small town in South Dakota who befriends the only other trans woman she knows: one of her students.
Let Us Play: Winning the Battle for Gender Diverse Athletes by Harrison Browne and Rachel Browne
A crucial subversion of the misconceptions around the participation of gender diverse athletes—advocating for the inclusion of trans and nonbinary athletes across all levels of sport.
Some Strange Music Draws Me In: A Novel by Griffin Hansbury
From an award-winning author, this provocative novel tells an emotionally gripping story about friendship, family, and transgender awakening in a working-class American town.
