An instant classic and underground favorite from the moment it appeared on tabletops worldwide, Hand of Doom puts players into the boots of hardened criminal adventurers, escaping from the dungeons of Brüttelburg into a deranged, demented, dark-fantasy world of swords, sausages & sorcery. Players attempt to make their way through a series of interconnected weird, nasty & mysterious adventures as the world of the Würstreich gets progressively more dangerous & the Hand of Doom descends—distorting the land with evil sorcery. Over the course of multiple sessions, players will make morally questionable decisions that affect the game narrative, all while fighting ghouls, cops, bog monsters, and other unimaginable horrors. Think of it as a role-playing game in a box, dungeon master included.
Our latest publication is a huge, fun coloring book showcasing the wonderous queerness of the natural world: Queer Animals and Plants Coloring Bookby Kes Otter Lieffe and illustrated by Anja Van Geert. The finished product just came back from the printer, and it’s gorgeous—and probably going to immediately get banned in 20 states. We’re sure your state congressional leaders would be horrified to learn that beings from bison to herons to lichen are out their living their best lives far outside the gender binary and with sexualities humans can hardly conceive of. All the more reason to learn this science yourself … and color your rage away while you’re at it.
Kes and Anja kindly sent us replies to some questions about how this book came to be and what other queer ecological liberation projects they are up to—safely outside the US for now. Thanks, you two, we need your work now more than ever!
What inspired you to write your book?
We’re both ecologists and have been thinking about the subject of queer ecology for decades. In Kes’s first novel, Margins and Murmurations, there is a scene about a same sex couple of Kestrels (called Bert and Ernie), and a long romantic walk between two characters who are geeking out together about queerness in more-than-human community. That scene inspired several zines, workshops, articles and… Queer Animals and Plants Coloring Book!
Researching, writing (Kes) and illustrating (Anja) for the book has been a huge adventure. We knew there was a lot to learn, but even we were surprised by the sheer beauty of the stories we discovered along the way.
What else have you written?
Kes is a speculative fiction writer and the author of Margins, a trilogy of novels in which marginalised characters take centre stage in powerful resistance movements. She also has a new novel on the way. She has written several short stories and articles and writes from a working-class, chronically ill, transfeminine perspective.
Anja has published some articles on their medium blog on several topics concerning their work as a breathwork practitioner and herbalist.
What’s the best book you read in the last year?
Kes really enjoyed Embassytown, a beautiful and linguistically rich sci fi novel by China Miéville. And of course, Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, which she can’t recommend enough.
Anja loved exploring the years of experience of no-dig gardener Charles Dowding who shares so abundantly in his books and especially enjoyed Skills for Growing.
What’s next for you?
We are currently deep in the process of writing an accessible science book about queer ecology together. It’s nerdy, political and very exciting! We’re also getting to do some proper science research which is fun.
Kes is putting together a queer ecology podcast, releasing a new novel and a translation of her first one. She also has a lot of seeds to plant before summer arrives.
Anja is setting up a smallholding in the Scottish countryside with their partner Emma, and exploring ways to hold space for queer people as a herbalist and breathwork practitioner.
A Tight Squeeze showcases the hot sex magick of queer t4t connection. Balancing the weird, fun, and exciting with the vulnerable and bewildering, laura q explores the complex and sometimes painful realities of transfem identity, desire, and erotic experiences. Share in the intimacy of two genderqueer lovers’ playful first time together, witness the ultimate spell cast by a fiery mathemagician, and journey with the first trans astronaut toward a whole new kind of first contact. From after-hours surprises that lurk within the closets of a Swedish furniture store to the hustle of navigating life and love in post-condopocalypse Toronto, the queer women, enbies, and bois featured in these twelve tantalizing tales serve up a tender erotic banquet—sometimes with a side of consensual violence and always finished with a sweet course of connection and community.
Lesbian gulls, intersex grizzly bears, gay orgies of manatees, trans clownfish, binary-smashing lichens, sex-changing willow trees, and asexual naked mole rats! Queerness is everywhere in the natural world. This coloring book celebrates the diversity of animals, plants, fungi, lichen, and coral and the way our beautiful queer communities exist far beyond the realms of human culture. So many of us grew up with wildlife programs and school biology classes that showed only monogamous, heterosexual pairings with the goal of making little baby animals. Bring your brightest colors to learn about and befriend some of the most colorful characters in nature and challenge society’s cis-het norms.
Spend a month manifesting your greatest desires and potential. This planner and workbook gives you 31 days’ worth of exercises for rewiring your brain to create new patterns of thoughts and actualizing your intentions and dreams. Perfect for when you’re stuck at work or in love, out of touch with your emotions, angry, anxious, afraid, or depressed, or feel like you’re hurtling down the wrong path in life too fast. Each day, fill out a check-in form and embark on a special exercises designed to hone your focus, channel your intent, dream bigger, and love yourself harder. Jessica Mullen and Kelly Cree’s dreamy designs and potent exercises are tested and true methods for getting yourself back on the path to living the life you want.
Learn key communication skills for succeeding in a neurologically mixed relationship, gain a better understanding of your partner’s mental processes, troubleshoot your sex life, and level up your appreciation for your partner’s relationship strengths. Autistic-allistic relationships, as well as relationships between two neurodivergent people, can work out splendidly, but there are a few consistent and predictable areas where they can get in trouble, which you can work through together once you know how to spot them. Dr. Faith G. Harper, author of Unf*ck Your Brain and Unf*ck Your Intimacy, joins Joe Biel (an autistic publisher and author) and Elly Blue (a partner of an autistic person), to offer hard-won guidance on a wide range of relationship topics.
Today on the People’s Guide to Publishing podcast, we are joined by guest Guy LeCharles Gonzalez to talk about a topic near to all our hearts: How publishers can better work with and support libraries! Guy works in this exact field and has a lot of great advice and perspective on the joys, challenges, and practical logistics of nurturing a mutually fruitful relationship with library buyers.
Want to make a living as a freelance writer? Here are the resources, answers, and real talk you need about what it takes to make a living as a writer for hire. Drawing on her own varied and successful years of freelance copywriting experience, Jessie Kwak (author of From Chaos to Creativity and From Big Idea to Book) offers valuable insights on how to figure out if this fast-paced, ever-evolving career is for you—and how to make it work if you decide to go for it.
