The book aims to focus on the stories that LGBT anthologies often avoid: abandoning one sexual identity and trying on another, finding the love of your life isn’t the sex you thought (s)he would be, navigating sexuality as a transgender person (or dating someone transgender), dealing with a gay community that often feels “betrayed” by bisexuals… Anything That Loves asks you to put aside the labels, categories, and boxes and explore human sexuality with no roadmap.

Pledges to fund the book will net supporters a print or digital copy of the anthology when it’s released, copies of one or more (or all) of the existing Northwest Press catalog, as well as copies of other books to be released this year. The limited-supply top tier rewards include a dinner with Northwest Press publisher Charles “Zan” Christensen as he tours North America doing conventions, and lunch in New York City with Christensen and artist Dylan Edwards, followed by a trip to the Lambda Literary Awards ceremony and VIP afterparty. (Edwards’ book “Transposes” is nominated for Best Transgender Nonfiction.)

For complete information about the book, visit the Kickstarter page at anythingthatloves.com.

Transposes is an amazing window into the lives of these men, both the major events in their lives and the day-to-day ones, and paints a wonderfully human portrait. The book features a foreword by New York Times bestselling author Alison Bechdel, who was also nominated for a Lambda for her memoir Are You My Mother? A Comic Drama.

“Back when I first started making comics in 2000,” said Edwards, “I sent a few of my creations to Alison Bechdel. I was a big fan of her work, and was seeking advice on how to advance my comics career. She did me the honor of writing me back, said she enjoyed my work, and told me to get a blurb from the most famous person I knew. ‘Ahem,’ I said.”

“Fast forward a few years, and Alison’s book Fun Home had become a huge success,” Edwards continued. “Beacon Press contacted Alison for recommendations of cartoonists who might be interested in creating original non-fiction graphic works, and she pointed them to me. Together, Beacon’s editors and I came up with the idea for a book about queer-identified female-to-male transgender men. Although Beacon unfortunately had to close their graphic book department, I still benefited greatly from the insights offered by their editors, and their work unquestionably made Transposes a stronger book. I approached Zan Christensen of Northwest Press to see if he’d be interested in picking up the book. He agreed, and here we are.”

“The Lambda nomination is definitely very exciting,” said Edwards. “It’s the first time my comics have been nominated for an award, and for my first one to be as prestigious as the Lambda Literary Awards is very thrilling. I think they make us fight in a pit to determine the winner? Or maybe I’m thinking of something else. I’ll be sure to wear my spiky armor to the ceremony just in case.”

“Transposes took me four years to create, but it won’t take you four years to read,” Edwards jokes. “You can probably finish it in one sitting. You’ll get to meet seven real men who generously shared their life stories with me so I could share them with you in the form of cartoon vignettes. The comics medium allows you to watch as their physical appearance changes, and allows a certain freedom from the burden that pronouns can impose on the life stories of transpeople. Whether you’re reading to learn about this specific topic, or looking for reflections of yourself in the culture, I hope you enjoy what you find in Transposes.”

In addition to Transposes and Are You My Mother?, Justin Hall’s No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics was nominated for a Lambda Award. The book also features work by Edwards, as well as excerpts from Northwest Press books Teleny and Camille and A Waste of Time. The full list of nominees is available on the Lambda Literary Foundation website.

The old site really excelled at being a blog and not a whole lot else; the new site has been redesigned from the ground up to showcase all the terrific books that we publish, and to offer them to you the way you want them.

• When you buy a print book with a digital counterpart, you’ll be offered the digital formats for free!
• All the books now have their own product pages, and they link to their GoodReads and Facebook pages if they have them.
• You’ll get great suggestions on similar titles when you shop and check out!
• Digital books come in iPad EPUB and super-flexible PDF, so everyone can go digital
• It’s now super-easy to see what’s new and what’s on sale!
• Retailers can now easily buy books at wholesale discount and get free shipping with coupon codes

There’s a lot more, including a cleaner way to look at reviews (and submit your own), a brand-new events calendar, retailer resources, and submissions guidelines.

We’ve just launched, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some dust to blow out here and there. If you see something amiss, post a comment or drop me a message!

UPDATE! Both books are now available for the iPad/iPod touch/iPhone! Check out Positive and Why Do You Cry When I’m on Top on iTunes!

Positive is a “graphic novelette” by cartoonist Tom Bouden (Max and Sven, The Importance of Being Earnest) in which he invites you to meet Sarah, a young woman whose life is about to be turned inside out when she discovers that’s she’s HIV positive. Sarah and her partner, Tim, go on a harrowing journey through shock and uncertainty, pre-dawn pill schedules, side-effects, well-meaning friends, tasteless jokes, medical missteps, and ultimately, hope.

“Positive is a story with the universal message of how to live life without being afraid,” writes GayLeague.com‘s Joe Palmer in the introduction to the book. “This is the story I wish I’d been able to read after my diagnosis years ago. It is the story I hope everyone regardless of his or her sero-status will have the opportunity to read and by which to be inspired.”

Also debuting is Sam Saturday’s Why Do You Cry When I’m on Top?, a collection of hilarious and probably NSFW comics from his series “Load”. Sam’s delightfully blunt and hormonal take on omni-sexual goings on is funny, sexy, and just plain wrong in all the right ways.

Both books are available now on Gumroad in mega-compatible PDF format, and will soon be available on iTunes/iBooks for your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch.

Check out all the Northwest Press books available in iTunes, and you can browse the full print selection (including t-shirts and other goodies) right here!

Dylan Edwards’ Transposes is a nonfiction graphic novel exploring six fascinating true stories of transgender men who also happen to be gay, bi, or otherwise queer. We first got acquainted with Dylan’s work through his dry and witty Politically InQueerect series, and Transposes keeps just enough of that humor while approaching the subject matter with grace, class, and honesty. It’s a perfect blend, in our opinion.

“Transposes will teach you something about what it means to have a body and to feel desire,” writes New York Times bestselling author Alison Bechdel (Fun Home, Dykes to Watch Out For) in the foreword. “About what it means, in short, to be human.”

How could you get a better endorsement than that?

Check out the Transposes giveaway on GoodReads here!

Having worked with LGBT teenagers at a youth center for many years, and being a writer and a fan of gender-bending characters, I found TRANSPOSES delightful and instructive.

…

 The stories frankly address such topics as coming out in a lesbian relationship (“Adam”), male role models and gay identities (“Avery”), as well as STIs (“Blake”) and recovery from childhood sexual abuse (“Aaron & James”). As such, I think TRANSPOSES is a trusty guidebook for young adults navigating the discovery of gender and sexual identity, and really for older adults too.

Check out the whole Transposes review on andrewjpeterswrites.com!

There was also a Transposes review that was posted on GayLeague.com by the wonderful Joe Palmer that we somehow missed the first time around. Joe has been a longtime LGBT comics activist, community leader and reviewer, and we’re glad to see that Tranposes succeeded both as a teaching tool and creative work, in his opinion.

In relating these struggles and accomplishments Transposes will be a source of hope, inspiration, and encouragement to any one questioning their gender. It is my humble opinion that cisgendered readers will be able to find motivation from these stories to live life on their own terms. As for me, I was drawn into each story, wincing at the slights and mistreatment, admiring everyone’s characteristic determination, and cheering their triumphs.

Check out Joe’s whole Transposes review on GayLeague.com!

The Bent-Con 2012 guest list reads like a wish list rather than an account of who’s actually coming, packed as it is with a who’s who of artists, writers, TV stars and more. I mean… Phil Jimenez, Jane Espenson, Amber Benson, Christopher Rice, Marc Andreyko, Wendy Pini, David Gerrold… and on and on and on! (That was just a quick skim and I even forgot to mention Tom Lenk and Patrick Fillion! This really is an incredible lineup.)

I even recorded this gushy video about how awesome Bent-Con is and how I think you ought to go:

A few weeks ago, Bent-Con launched an Indiegogo fundraiser (which ends Friday, Nov. 2nd) to defray the cost of putting on the show. (Since anyone who’s ever done a convention knows these things don’t just magically happen on their own.) As we enter the final week, we at Northwest Press have offered to jumpstart the campaign effort by matching all donations, up to $1500!

You put in a dollar, we put in a dollar. Your donation, large or small, will go twice as far toward helping Bent-Con reach the finish line! (And there’s a side benefit: Bent-Con is a registered nonprofit organization, so you can even write off your donation on your taxes. Go on, push yourself into a lower tax bracket.)

The Transposes book, a collection of non-fiction stories of gay transmen, has been in development for some time; it was exciting to see that it had found a publisher and was in production. If you know Dylan Edwards’ work from The Outfield or Politically Inqueerect you know to expect an cast of characters pleasing to the eye, and a quick glance through the book showed me this new offering wouldn’t disappoint.

Teleny and Camille piqued my interest for being based on the 19^th century novel Teleny which was published anonymously and is attributed in part to Oscar Wilde. Jon Macy has evidently re-imagined the erotic storyline as a graphic novel and it promises to be some of my best bedtime reading for the year.

Check out the whole article on Written in Body Language!

One part of the interview we particularly loved was this one:

Interesting. You address the privacy issues in your introduction, which I loved. I’ve heard trans friends talk about the inappropriate questions they get, and it’s amazing to me what people feel is okay to ask.

This is something that is actually broadly applicable to any minority group. If you don’t understand what their experience is like, it’s not their obligation to make you understand. They don’t instantly get put on display for your edification. If you want to understand, especially with the Internet, there are an enormous number of tools and resources for any kind of minority whose life doesn’t quite make sense to you. You have a lot of opportunities for educating yourself. And I’ve heard this not just from trans people or gay people, but from people of color who are at a party and someone corners them and says, “Let’s talk about the Black experience.” And it’s like, “Let’s not talk about the Black experience, I’m trying to have fun at a party here.” Jewish or Muslim or whatever—anyone who is kind of outside the “norm” is going to have people who say, “Hey, I need you to educate me.” You need to educate yourself and not necessarily put this person on the spot to be your teacher.

We’re really glad that Transposes can now be one of those resources to help people understand the experiences of trans men that much more clearly. It’s a fantastic book that really humanizes and demystifies trans identity.