Protect trans stories.
When almost 40% of banned and challenged books in the United States are targeted because of LGBTQ+ content, it is our duty and our responsibility to protect access to these materials for those who need them most. Read Trans Books is dedicated to trans literature, making it easier to find representation and diversity through crowd sourced book reviews and evaluations.
A resource for library staff and readers fighting to keep trans stories front and center.
Founded by trans librarians, Read Trans Books is a resource for library staff, readers, and anyone passionate about trans literature. With trans and queer lives constantly under attack, we highlight and celebrate the wide range of trans stories that exist in YA literature. Inspired by research conducted at the graduate level, our tools help collection development staff and readers identify gaps in their existing collections and quickly evaluate prospective titles. We are also available for speaking engagements and professional development, explaining our resources and evaluation framework in depth and with guided practical exercises to help libraries and advocacy organizations understand this complex topic more clearly.
our tools
The five pillars framework for evaluating trans representation in fiction was developed through graduate research by our two founders. By breaking down trans representation into five primary categories (genre, identity, community acceptance, gender dysphoria/euphoria, and social/medical transition), you can quickly ensure a wide variety of trans experiences in your collection.
The Read Trans Books database is a crowd-sourced resource of previously published and upcoming fiction featuring trans representation. In addition to collection development, this tool is great for planning displays, highlighting additional types of representation such as disability and ethnicity of both the characters and the authors (when known).