Happy October everyone! 🎃🍂🍁 I am so excited to announce our October book picks that won the polls.

Our fantasy bookclub read will be The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

Our Horror/thriller read will be Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker

In this episode, Jordy discusses one of her favorite books of the year – Morfran, Dark Lord Reformed by S.B. West. Tune in to hear why this once villainous leader and his little hoard of goats has captured Jordy’s heart, as well as for some humorous feminist fantasy recommendations.

Listen on Apple Podcasts // Spotify // Deezer // Pocket Casts

Books/Resources Mentioned:

Morfran, Dark Lord Reformed by S.B. West 

Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer 

This Princess Kills Monsters by Ry Herman 

The Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming

[MINI POD] Fairytales in Their Queer Era 

[MINI POD] The Monsters Were Never the Problem

[MINI POD] Damsel? Never Heard of Her. 

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Follow Jordy: Instagram // Pagebound.co

This episode was edited and produced by Renee Powers on the ancestral land of the Dakota people.

Original music by Amarissa

Hello my friends, and welcome to Trans Joy Thursday! My sincerest apologies in the radio silence last week. Last week was a bit of a mess for me. BUT, I feel rejuvenated, refreshed, and ready.

Why do I feel that way? Because this past weekend, I got to lead, or be part of, 6 total panels/workshops for Green Bay's UntitledTown's Book And Author Festival return. (They stopped hosting this when the pandemic hit, so this was the first year it was brought back.) I spent the weekend listening to new to me authors share their work, from literally all over the U.S., meet new readers, be in community with likeminded individuals who just get it. I met Danez Smith, the keynote speaker, and their first poem was from their book Homie - a poem dedicated to their late grandmother, who, come to find out, was also named Barbara (my grandmother's name.) I wept. Hard. And they were so gracious and kind. I have been following Danez since they wrote Black Movie for Button Poetry. It was so wonderful to be in the same room as their brilliance. I got to roam around the book fair for two days prior to my own panels/workshops. I got to hear personal stories of others and received so many hugs from audience members. It was a much needed time, no matter how busy I felt leading up to it. Thoughts and ideas can change the world, be it in books, in community, in advocacy.. What a beautiful, beautiful weekend. Here is a collage of some of the very few photos I took over the course of the 3 day event:

I hit the ground running Monday with chores, and grocery shopping, and work, but what remained was the word of the year for 2026, "Intentional." I kept coming back to that word over the weekend. What am I creating? What kind of content am I putting out? Is it to feed the algorithm? Is what I'm creating intentional for me as the creator, or you, friend, as the reader? My desire for this community is to be authentic, to be safe around one another, but also, on a much deeper level, to walk away nourished - whether that's from our books we read as a book club (I'll speak to that in a minute) or our Beyond The Rainbow chats, or how we communicate with one another here or on Discord. My dream, of course, by being here is to become an imprint that is able to bring our LGBTQIA+ stories to the forefront, yes, but also to celebrate our wins along the way and grow together as a community.

Speaking of book club, it is October 1st! Which not only means that it is the start of a new quarter (Hello Quarter 4) but it also means a new Quarterly Book Club Pick - To Our Untamed Core by Sonido Reyes (Released September 22) is our Q4 pick! We will also be speaking with Sonido in November! I'm so stoked to reread this book with you all for Q4. I love it so much!

I also want to take a minute to tell you that if you're not already on Discord, I would highly encourage you join in. I will be more active on there, and will share a lot more there than through social media. You can join Not A Phase Books Discord on either tier - paid or free.

I hope you all have such an amazing week, and I look forward to seeing you all on Discord. Take care of yourselves.

With all my trans joy,

Sawyer Cole