Queens in Wonderland (February 2024, No Bad Books Press), available as ebook and paperback:
Publisher’s website – paperback – Publisher’s website – ebook
Amazon US – Amazon Deutschland – Barnes & Noble – The Storygraph – Goodreads
This anthology from No Bad Books Press contains 19 new short stories with LGBTQIA+ characters and themes. All of these stories are inspired by Lewis Carroll’s iconic books Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass.
It includes my story “Good-Natured Anxiety for the Queer Creature”, about the White and Red Queen who are chasing the same moth—for very different reasons. The style is closely based on Lewis Carroll’s own whimsy, and under all the absurdity, the story winds into the journey of allowing yourself to take up space as a trans and/or non-binary person, and the role community plays in that. I particularly loved playing with the White Queen’s memory, as that works in the opposite direction from most people’s memories, which makes her one of my favourite characters from the original books.
The title of my story is a direct quote from a scene of Through the Looking-Glass in which Alice is anxious that Humpty Dumpty might fall off the wall.
My friend and (in other projects) co-writer LS Reinholt also has a story in this book: “Oosh Lea in 1D Land”. The anthology was edited by Theresa Halvorsen and Chris Bannor.
To promote the anthology, editor Theresa interviewed many of the anthology’s authors on the Semi-Sages of the Pages YouTube channel – enter “Queens in Wonderland” in this page’s search bar to find them all. The interview with LS Reinholt and me was posted on March 7, 2024, and you can watch it via this link.
Are you ready to take a trip down the rabbit hole?
Embark on an enchanting journey through a Wonderland where queens reign supreme and the tapestry of love, identity, and self-discovery is woven with threads of LGBTQIA+ brilliance. Queens in Wonderland beckons you down the glittering landscape of diverse tales inspired by Lewis Carroll’s iconic books.
In this daring anthology, a young transgender man and an Indian princess teach each other their true worth, the Queen of Hearts’ executioner defies the Queen to protect the man he loves, and Alice, seeking a return to Wonderland, finds her Wendy. Every page is filled with delightful interpretations of your favorite characters, celebrating the strength, resilience, and beauty found within the LGBTQIA+ community.
This anthology is a testament to the power of storytelling, illustrating the magic that happens when queens, imagined lands, and queerness intersect in the most unexpected places. So don a crown, a top hat, or a tiara and step through the looking glass, to revel in these curious tales from Queens in Wonderland.
Graphic by Chris Bannor, cover by Jacob Brooks.
Minerva Cerridwen 