Hi!!! I currently have two fundraisers happening involving my books.

From now until Feb. 12, you can buy the audiobook of my novel Lessons in Magic and Disaster from LibroFM, and 100 percent of the proceeds will go to the BINC Foundation, which supports booksellers in need. Details here.

And there’s still a Humble Bundle containing everything Annalee Newitz and I have published with Tor Publishing Group — 18 titles! Some of the proceeds go to the utterly essential TGI Justice Project and Miss Major/Alexander Lee Black Trans Cultural Center. Details here.(Please click “Adjust Donation,” then select “Extra to Charity”.)

Okay then…

“Queer” as in our struggles are all interconnected

Last week, I wrote a piece about the rebirth of queer bookstores. Everyone mourned the death of the queer bookstore back in 2010-2012, when many beloved stores were going out of business. (I’ve since been told that Giovanni’s Room in Philadelphia has actually reopened, which is amazing!)

Anyway, one store that people mentioned as an inspiration was Under the Umbrella in Salt Lake City. I had reached out to owner Kaitlyn Mahoney, but hadn’t heard back. Mahoney sent me some amazing responses to my questions after my piece was already published, and I’m sharing them here with permission.

What made you want to open a queer bookstore, rather than just an all-purpose bookstore?

Books were a huge part of how I figured out my own queer identity. I didn't have access to them when I was growing up, and I had to intentionally seek them out later in life. Finding stories that featured people like me—and people unlike me but also queer—was transformative. It made me feel powerful and seen. But it shouldn’t have taken so long to find that.

Because the publishing industry does not prioritize the stories of queer folks or other marginalized identities, finding these stories was—and continues to be—more difficult than it should be, even for me with my level of access and privilege. (I am white, college educated, middle class, previously able-bodied...)

While I’m proud of my journey, I don’t want anyone else to have to wait to find a space to experience and create queer stories and queer community. Our stories deserve to be shared and celebrated year round. I know how powerful seeing yourself reflected in media can be, because access to queer books saved my life.

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I founded Under the Umbrella Bookstore in direct response to the lack of safe, sober, and accessible queer spaces in Salt Lake City. Although Salt Lake City has a thriving queer community, there are only a handful of queer-focused spaces, and even fewer that are accessible to folks of all ages and abilities.

What makes a bookstore queer? Is it book selection, the booksellers, the vibe, or something else? Or all of the above?

All of the above! 

To me, "queer" is also a political identity. We are queer as in free Palestine, queer as in ACAB, queer as in mask up, queer as in our struggles are all interconnected. I wouldn't be able to consider us a "queer" bookstore if we weren't also actively advocating for and uplifting other marginalized voices in addition to (exclusively) selling items that are queer in content and made by other queer folks. 

In what ways is your bookstore also a community space and a refuge for people? What kinds of services or activities do you offer to the LGBTQIA+ community that go beyond awesome books? 

Under the Umbrella is first and foremost a safe space for queer folks. Our visitors look to us not only for books, but for educational resources and community organizing as well.

We provide resources for connecting with other queer community members. We host a variety of community events most days of the week, including art nights and book clubs, educational workshops, and author readings. Monthly queer book clubs at Under the Umbrella create space to discuss queer stories and queer realities with others and have been a healing and transformative journey for many members. We host a monthly Always Queer Art Market to provide space for small local queer artists to sell their work. We organize local mutual aid work such as support drives for our unhoused community. Our meeting rooms are also available on a sliding scale for local groups to host their own community events. 

In a time when queer folks are actively fighting against anti-LGTBQIA+ ideology and legislation, Under the Umbrella provides a place where we can find comfort by seeing ourselves in literature, art, and each other.