This bonus episode features the virtual book launch of author Addie Tsai’s book, Unwieldy Creatures. This special event was livestreamed on August 30, 2022, Mary Shelley’s 225th Birthday as Unwieldy Creatures is a biracial, queer, gender-swapped retelling of Mary Shelley's classic novel, Frankenstein.
Joining me for this special event to co-host was horror writer, Tracy Cross. Black Writers Read supporters will remember her as she was our featured guest on Season Two, Episode Four.
Tracy’s forthcoming debut novel, Rootwork, is scheduled for release on November 14 later this year and will be published by MotherHorror’s Dark Heart Publishing. Her book is now available for pre-order.
Based in Washington DC, Tracy is a widely published author. Tracy’s works have appeared in Don’t Break the Oath by Kandisha Press, 99 Tiny Terrors, and anthologies and magazines including Big Book of Bootleg Horror, Things That Go Bump, D’Evolution Z Horror Magazine, Tales of the Lost Vol. 2, and websites midnight & indigo and New American Legends. In 2016, Tracy was awarded the Boston Accent Literary Journal Prize. You can find out more about her at tracycrossonline.com or on Instagram at tracycrosswrites.
Addie, our guest for this episode, is a queer nonbinary artist and writer of color who teaches courses in literature, creative writing, dance, and humanities. They are currently a Lecturer of Creative Writing at the College of William & Mary. They taught in Goddard College's MFA Program in Interdisciplinary Arts and Regis University’s Mile High MFA Program in Creative Writing. They collaborated with Dominic Walsh Dance Theater on Victor Frankenstein and Camille Claudel, among others. They hold an MFA from Warren Wilson College and a Ph.D. in Dance from Texas Woman’s University. Addie is the author of the young adult novel Dear Twin. Their writing has been published in Foglifter, VIDA Lit, Banango Street, The Offing, The Collagist, The Feminist Wire, Nat. Brut., and elsewhere. Addie is the Assistant Fiction Editor at Anomaly, Associate Editor at Raising Mothers, and Founding Editor & Editor in Chief at just femme & dandy. Find Addie online at addietsai.com.
This episode is presented in collaboration with BookWoman and Levee Break Lit. BookWoman is a feminist independent bookstore, BookWoman based in Austin, Texas. Addie Tsai has ties to this region as they grew up in Houston and visited BookWoman often. They also hosted a book launch for Tsai’s previous book, Dear Twin. Celebrating 45 years, BookWoman is based on Tonkawa, Comanche and Apache land in Austin, Texas. Founded by a collective, BookWoman hosts a myriad of events including book launches, like this one, book groups, and in-person events. Visit their website at ebookwoman.com.
Special thanks to Lisa Pegram and her literary publicity company, Levee Break Lit, for introducing us to both Addie and BookWoman.
Find Addie on Instagram: @bluejuniper
Purchase your copy of Unwieldy Creatures TODAY!
