we’re emilia & lillian, the creators of sapphink. our literary collective is inspired by the creation of our book club, sapphink paris, that we started in October 2023 when we both moved to France. we’re both big readers in fact, we met writing book reviews for our college newspaper, The Michigan Daily and we’re both queer. basically we are unstoppable. we thought starting a book club would be a great way to meet other queer people in Paris... like a literary Bottoms (shout out Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri).
creating the sapphink collective
since that seminal October, our book club has continued to grow, which has left us both befuddled and grateful considering not a single person showed up to the first meeting! the later success of sapphink paris has motivated us to start a broader sapphink collective, composed of different sapphink book club chapters around the world (perhaps a bit ambitious of us... but we have gay audacity on our side).
we’re calling on queer readers to join our collective and start new chapters of sapphink. you know in the final episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer when Willow casts the spell that “awakens all slayer potentital”? well safe to say we are following in the footsteps of that sapphic witch. we are awakening sapphink potential with this zine, by the power of Sappho. she likes us.
I tell you someone will remember us in the future
“I attempt to inhabit a queer practice, a mode of being in the world that is also inventing the world. ”
—Jose Esteban Muñoz, “Cruising Utopia”
theorizing the sapphink collective
sapphink is an affective, world-building collective: affective because of how our emotional interactions and impressions shape us and form the collective, and world-building for how we envision and cast alternative queer futures.
sapphink is more than a constellation of book clubs—it’s a growing literary collective where queer readers everywhere connect with, inspire and empower one another (in addition to devouring queer lit, obv). whether these relations and connections take place in person or online (shameless plug to follow @sapphinkhq on Instagram and TikTok), they help to form and strengthen the wider collective.
sapphink parismembers share their experiences
“sapphink
Paris is a safe space. I like the vibe. It’s nice to talk to so many people. It’s a discovery in itself. I would say sapphink is a discovery of people in general and [their] opinion[s].”
—Eolia M., member of sapphink paris
I desire
And
I crave.
“I can exist in this space without having to explain anything. Being in a queer community [means] I can express and be myself and talk about [queerness] with people and they’re going to understand me, and I’m going to understand them.”
—Roxane F., member of sapphink paris
calling on queer readers
we love queer people, and we love queer literature. we want to continue to uplift queer voices & stories and encourage intellectual discussions.
this is why we need you oh, sweet gay grasshopper how we need you. as much as we would love to run chapters of sapphink all over the world ourselves, we’re limited by the rules and regulations of space and time. plus, we don’t think we should be in charge of every chapter. gasp!
what makes sapphink paris work is the ever-changing composition of the collective. it is not fixed or rigid; each meeting and social event has new faces, perspectives and opinions that shape the collective.
But come, dear companions, For day is near.
“sapphink paris is nice because it’s an intellectual output, like it requires some degree of intellect… going to book club and actually thinking has given me perspective (like better perspectives on the books we read) and made me more critical, in general, about the things I consume.”
—Kia F., member of sapphink paris
tips for establishing & running a chapter of sapphink
running a book club is harder than it looks! a lot of work goes into arranging the meetings, running the discussions, and ensuring we uplift our values and principles. hosts of sapphink chapters will undertake administrative tasks like community outreach and social media management in addition to preparing for the book club meetings themselves with regard to the intellectual literary discussion.
we find that sapphink book club meetings are most successful when held in a queer space (LGBTQ+ orgs, queer bars/cafés, etc) with no more than 25 attendees total.
attendees RSVP for the meeting & are privately emailed the meeting’s address for safety reasons. the meetings begin with small introductions name & pronouns, if desired—and an ice-breaker (sometimes the ice-breakers relate to the book, other times, they’re random... speaking of which, we recommend asking people what their drag walk-out song would be.)
we move into discussing the book by asking readers to share their impressions of the book and/or their favorite passages. the meetings should not be prescriptive or strict, but fluid and invitational. while the hosts should prepare questions beforehand,
it is best to delve into the readers’ opinions and interpretations by asking follow-up questions or adding relevant comments to encourage a natural and dynamic discussion.
in lieu of creating a uniform, fixed collective, chapters of sapphink are encouraged to make their own queer book selection for their monthly meetings to suit the needs and desires of their distinct chapter. while it is up to each chapter to make their own book selection, it is essential for these selections to uplift a variety of voices and perspectives. for instance, at sapphink paris, we try to avoid selecting back-to-back fantasy books or English authors to promote a variety of queer works & voices. check out sapphinkparis.org to find out more about our previous selections along with sample discussion questions.
sapphink Paris past selections
january - Orlando by Virginia Woolf (historical fiction; UK)
february - All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Mathews (literary fiction; USA)
march - The Queens of Sarmiento Park by Camila Sosa Villada (magical realism; Argentina)
april - You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat (literary fiction; USA)
may - Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo (young adult fiction; USA)
june - We All Loved Cowboys by Carol Bensimon (literary fiction; Brazil)
july - Mrs. S by K. Patrick (literary fiction; UK)
august - House of Hunger by Alexis Hendersen (fantasy; USA)
september - Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H. (memoir; USA)
october - Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth (literary fiction; Ireland)
november - Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson (semiautobiographical; UK)
december - She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan (fantasy; Australia)
All that my heart longs for, fulfill.
The reference images of Sappho are either under public domain or the creative commons license cover .
.“In the Days of Sappho” - John William Godward
page 4.
page 6.
“Sappho” - Carl Agricola
“Death of Sappho” - Miquel Carbonell Selva page 7.
.poem from Sappho translated by Julia Dubnoff, University of Houston
page 9. .
.cover art for “The Queens of Sarmiento Park” by Camila Sosa Villada is owned by Virago pages 10-11 .
. scenes from the film “Portrait of a Lady on Fire”
page 13. .
. cover art for “Hijab Butch Blues” by Lamya H. is owned by Icon Books
page 14.
. .poem from Sappho translated by Julia Dubnoff, University of Houston
page 15. . .
page 16. . .
.“Sappho” - Andrea Gastaldi
. .cover art for “Mrs. S” by K. Patrick owned by Fourth Estate Ltd
page 19. . . .
. . .sapphink logo; School of Ferrara - Mary at the Annunciation - Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister Dresden
page 20.
“Sappho” - Étienne Adolphe Piot
page 21. . . . . . . . .poem from Sappho translated by Julia Dubnoff, University of Houston page 23. . .
. .cover art for “Sunburn” is owned by Verve Books
page 30. .
. .poem from Sappho translated by Julia Dubnoff, University of Houston