We have always been here: Trans+ History Week
Trans+ History Week is a week to learn and celebrate the millennia-old history of transgender, non-binary, gender-diverse and Intersex people.
To honour the first Trans+ History week in 2024, Hackney Libraries are celebrating trans+ authors across the borough and beyond. We are celebrating Trans+ histories both real and fictional, figures who made it and those who are making it right now!
None of the Above:
Reflections on Life
Beyond the Binary
Travis Alabanza
Through seven phrases, which include some of their most transformative experiences as a Black, mixed race, non binary person, Travis Alabanza turns a mirror back on society.
A Natural History of Transition
Callum Angus
A Natural History of Transition is a collection of short stories that disrupts the notion that trans people can only have one transformation.
Outrageous! The Story of Section 28 and Britain’s Battle for LGBT Education
Paul Baker
Based on detailed research, this book is an impassioned, warm, moving account of unthinkable prejudice enshrined within the law and of the power of community to overcome it.
Life Isn’t Binary: On Being Both, Beyond, and
In-Between
Meg-John Barker & Alex Iantaffi
Life Isn’t Binary shows the impact that binary thinking has on our relationships, wellbeing, sense of identity, and more.
Kisses for Jet: A Coming-of-Gender Story
Joris Bas Backer
A striking and emotive graphic novel from trans creator, Joris Bas Backer about coming to terms with who you are in a world which is utterly confusing and overwhelming.
Nevada
Imogen Binnie
One of the most beloved cult novels of our time – and a landmark of trans literature – Imogen Binnie’s Nevada is a blistering, heartfelt, and evergreen coming-of-age story.
Trans Britain: Our Journey from the Shadows
Christine Burns
In the words of those who were there, Trans Britain gives the account of a marginalised community as it grows into the visible phenomenon we recognise today.
Gender Euphoria: Stories of joy from trans, non-binary and intersex writers
Laura Kate Dale
In this groundbreaking anthology, 19 trans, non-binary, agender, gender-fluid and intersex writers share their experiences of gender euphoria.
Never Was
H. Gareth Gavin
Never Was is a beautifully strange novel about grief, addiction, transmasculinity and class.
Histories of the Transgender Child
Jules Gill-Peterson
This is a groundbreaking exploration of transgender childhood in the United States throughout the twentieth century.
Transgender Marxism
Jules Joanne Gleeson & Elle O’Rourke
Transgender Marxism collects reflections on the relations between gender and labour, showing how these linked structures cause antagonism.
Tiny Pieces of Skull
Roz Kaveney
Tiny Pieces of Skull is about trans street life and bar life in London and Chicago in the late 1970s. Funny and terrifying by turns, and full of glimpses of other lives.
Gender Queer
Maia Kobabe
Gender Queer is more than a personal story: it is a useful and touching guide to gender identity – what it means and how to think about it – for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere.
Truth & Dare
So Mayer
Truth & Dare is a deeply personal and fantastical ride through gender, trauma, queerness, science, history and religion.
Redefining Realness: My path to womanhood, identity, love & so much more
Janet Mock
In her profound and courageous memoir, Janet Mock establishes herself as a resounding and inspirational voice for the transgender community - and anyone fighting to define themselves on their own terms.
A Trans Man Walks Into a Gay Bar: A journey of self (and sexual) discovery
Harry Nicholas
In this raw and unflinchingly honest book, we follow Harry as he navigates the fraught worlds of contemporary gay culture as a trans gay man.
Whipping Girl: A transsexual woman on sexism and the scapegoating of femininity
Julia Serano
Julia Serano shares her experiences and insights – both pre- and post-transition – to reveal the ways in which fear, suspicion, and dismissiveness toward femininity shape our societal attitudes towards trans women, gender and sexuality as a whole.
Black on Both Sides: A racial history of trans identity
C. Riley Snorton
C. Riley Snorton identifies multiple intersections between blackness and transness from the mid-nineteenth century to present-day anti-black and anti-trans legislation and violence.