Kai Cheng Thom

Lilah Sturges

Izzy Wasserstein

Gwynception

Kylie Ariel Bemis

Audrey Vest

Alexa Fae McDaniel

Maiden, Mother, and Crone: Fantastical Trans Femmes is a Bedside Press anthology of new fantastical short fiction by trans women and trans feminine writers curated by celebrated poet and author Gwen Benaway. Drawing on high fantasy and other genres of fantasy writing, Maiden, Mother, and Crone is the first anthology by trans femme authors to explore the realms of magic, supernatural beings, and alternate universes. Enter a universe of wonder where trans femmes are powerful heroines, sorceresses, and warriors fighting against dark forces in vivid magical worlds. Created by celebrated trans femme writers this anthology will transform the landscape of fantasy fiction and offer radical portals into excitement, danger, and transformation.

Fantastical Trans Femmes

Maiden, Mother, and Crone

Geneviève Rouleau

Bedside Press publishes books written by diverse authors (LGBTQ+, Indigenous voices, women, etc.), which is why I HAD to accept their offer to send me some of their books for a review. Thank you for reaching out to me through IG! 

I was really looking forward to reading this anthology written by trans femmes / featuring trans femmes characters. However, I almost DNFed this book a couple of times. Some of the eleven stories where unmemorable, while some were so badly written (lack/wrong punctuation, missing words, double sentences, too many repetitions, etc.) I chose to skip them and push through, hoping I'd stumble on a good story. And I finally did. 

*I don't know how to rate this book. Most stories were 1-2⭐ for me, while a few definitely deserve 5⭐.*

FOREST'S EDGE, by Audrey Vest : beautifully written, and fairytale-like. 

THE KNIGHTING, by Alexa Fae McDaniel : I loved this very short story. Well written and straight to the point. I appreciated how this book was about a trans woman receiving a knighthood. She was uncomfortable with being given the title "sir", because it goes against everything she's been battling to assert herself as a woman. It reminds us about the impact of gendered terms. 

UNDOING VAMPIRISM, by Lilah Sturges : WOW. I loved this story. I love how the author used the metaphor of how humans are vampires, and they managed to convince themselves that they are human. And how by being a trans person, the MC opened her eyes and realised the truth about her Vampirism. And now that she knows, she can help other people find this truth, and this will lead to humanity's acceptance of them. This is how everyone will change as a society, and stop destroying the Earth and living beings.

DREAMBORN, by Kylie Ariel Bemis : ok, definitely my favourite story. I loooove how trans people are seen as sacred beings, because they are fewer, and how this alien planet does not use gender labels at birth. This is also the metaphor of the story of so many Native American children who were forced into boarding schools, in order to "civilize the savage born". In this story, this planet is invaded by the Nahaka (who most likely come from Earth, because of their physical attributes). They destroyed their world as they used up all of their natural ressources. So instead of fixing their planet, they left in search of another world to call their own. They stole all of the "alien" children, forced them into schools to make them more "human". These children were terrorized and abused. Sound familiar? It was a poignant story, and very well written.

Maiden, Mother, and Crone Fantastical Trans Femmes

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