JESS VALLANCE is the author of YA books Birdy and The Yellow Room. You Only Live Once, the first book in a new teen comedy series, was published in 2018. She lives near Brighton with her partner and a massive dog.

KRISTEN VAN DAM is a Seattle-based illustrator and writer. By day she is an art director in a casual game house, and by night she makes comics, illustrates and writes. Nowhere in there does she sleep. Her favourite things in the world are her mini-poodle Bug, Sailor Moon, and things that look like they might be enchanted.

KAMERON WHITE was born and raised in Houston, Texas. He is a lover of comics, superheroes, fashion and cats. Kam graduated with a BFA from Minneapolis College of Art and Design in spring of 2018. He now resides in Minneapolis as a comic artist and illustrator.

RESOURCES

There are many helpful charities that support

LGBTQ+ people in the UK. Here is a selection of them:

STONEWALL

Campaigns for the equality of LGBT people across Britain.

stonewall.org.uk

DIVERSITY ROLE MODELS

Tackling homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in schools.

diversityrolemodels.org

SCHOOLS OUT

A charity aiming to make schools safe and inclusive for everyone.

schools-out.org.uk

LGBT HISTORY MONTH

Learn about LGBT history.

lgbthistorymonth.org.uk

MERMAIDS

A support network for trans children and their families.

mermaidsuk.org.uk

ALBERT KENNEDY TRUST

National LGBTQ+ youth homelessness charity.

akt.org.uk

MIND

National mental health charity.

mind.org.uk

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Stripes Publishing would like to thank Uli Lenart from the independent bookshop Gay’s the Word for his generous and thoughtful help in selecting the new voices included in this anthology, Lucinda Tomlinson our editorial mentee for her guidance and enthusiasm, and everyone who has greeted this book – from announcement to publication – with joy and eagerness.

This anthology has been so much fun to work on, I couldn’t have asked for a more enjoyable experience. It has been so interesting to follow the journey from helping to choose from submissions right through to the final edits. I can’t wait for it to be read, especially by those who rarely see themselves reflected in stories.

Lucinda Tomlinson, Editorial Mentee

It was a real privilege to read such a various and richly talented selection of new work. YA is an incredibly innovative realm in publishing and we are really waking up to the boundlessness of that. Reading these submissions I’m assured that the future of LGBTQ+ publishing looks both bright and deliciously surprising. It’s wonderful to see publishers like Stripes nurturing emerging voices because implicit in that is the message that no matter how different we might feel, everyone has a voice, and that our uniqueness is a gift and a strength. That’s a powerful idea.

Uli Lenart, Gay’s the Word Bookshop Manager

COPYRIGHT

STRIPES PUBLISHING LIMITED
An imprint of the Little Tiger Group
1 Coda Studios, 189 Munster Road, London SW6 6AW

First published as an eBook by Stripes Publishing in 2019