SGN November 17, 2023 - Section 1

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SEATTLE SEES RESURGENCE OF MPOX CASES

by Teddy MacQuarrie SGN Contributing Writer Michael first knew something was off in the shower.

Overnight, he had developed an embarrassing rash. It didn’t hurt much at first, but by the end of the day, that changed.

“It was really a zero-to-sixty kind of emergence of those sores,” Michael (not his real name) told the SGN. “I immediately knew something was wrong.”

see MPOX page 4

Photo by Dado Ruvic / Reuters

Amplifying autistic voices

Director of Stanwood’s Autism Acceptance Library on Queer community and autistic joy The Ed Wiley Neurodiversity Library – Courtesy photo

by Teddy MacQuarrie SGN Contributing Writer In a tattoo shop in Stanwood is a big blue box. On this box are polka dots and cute cartoon narwhals. Inside this box is a true treasure.

Lei Wiley-Mydske, co-owner of Stanwood Tattoo Co., is responsible for curating and promoting the contents of this big blue box, the Ed Wiley Autism Acceptance Library. It contains books about autism,

Unforgettables: Cinematic milestones with Sara Michelle

Bell Book and Candle: Magic, romance, and happy memories make for a timeless wonder Bell Book and Candle – Photo courtesy of Columbia Pictures

written by autistic people.

by Sara Michelle Fetters “I put this together in about 2014, when SGN Staff Writer I was looking for resources for autism in my community and really couldn’t find Is 1958’s Bell Book and Candle the greatanything that was written by autistic peo- est Christmas-set supernatural rom-com ple. It was all by professionals and parents,” ever made? Probably, and that’s not because Wiley-Mydske said to the SGN. it’s one of the small handful that have ever “So I started my own library.” been made. No, its greatness has more to do She recounted the impact that this lit- with screenwriter Daniel Taradash’s suberature has on those seeking assistance: lime adaptation of John Van Druten’s play, the dexterous handling of the loopily inven-

see STANWOOD page 5

tive material by director Richard Quine, and the great James Wong Howe’s lush and visually vital Technicolor cinematography.

Most of all, it is thanks to the stellar performances by the all-star ensemble. James Stewart. Kim Novak. Jack Lemmon. Ernie Kovacs. Elsa Lanchester. Janice Rule.

Hermione Gingold — they’re all perfect, each slipping so easily into their roles that it’s (forgive me for saying this) magical.

see UNFORGETTABLES page 17

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SEATTLE NEWS 4 REGIONAL NEWS 5 NATIONAL NEWS 7 INTERNATIONAL NEWS 8 OP-ED 13 A&E 15 FILM 17 BOOKS 18

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Seattle News

“I was kind of left out to dry a little bit there,” he said. “My symptoms were getting pretty bad pretty quickly. … I feel like I was given some inaccurate information by my primary care doctors, which felt pretty bad, and my labs took way longer than they should have, which stymied me getting early treatment.”

Eventually he contacted Harborview Sexual Health Clinic through the University of Washington, which provided him the experimental drug tecovirimat (Tpoxx) through an emergency-use authorization — meaning he wouldn’t have to undergo experimental trial protocols or risk receiving a placebo. Once he was on it, his symptoms improved dramatically within only 1-2 days.

Preventing mpox

Mpox is largely preventable through a two-dose course of vaccinations taken one month apart. The vaccine, called JYNNEOS, is available at most public health departments, medical providers, and sexual health clinics, including Harborview.

Johnson said that the efforts to roll out the vaccine during the outbreak in 2022 likely helped prevent this resurgence from being worse so far.

He cautioned, though, that “while the mpox vaccine is highly effective, it may not Image courtesy of Washington State Department of Health always prevent infection. It can, however, seems chiefly to affect men who have sex in the Gay male and Queer communities, reduce painful symptoms and hospital viswith men and their sexual networks. we must stress that mpox does not exclu- its relating to mpox,” and that getting the Health officials in California and Ore- sively affect members of this community,” vaccine is worth the time it takes to find it. continued from cover Michael reported that he and all the gon have already issued alerts, though no he said.

He knew right away that this was the health department in Washington is yet to Crucially, “If someone notices any new people in his chain of infection are vaccifirst symptom of mpox, having been raise an alarm. symptoms that may be mpox, even after nated, and that he’s grateful the infection exposed before the symptom appeared.

On why these infection rates are ris- receiving one or two doses of vaccine, folks wasn’t more severe.

Nonetheless, he and public health offiMpox has impacted Michael’s life in ing, Johnson said that public health and are encouraged to see a medical provider,” cials have the same message to anyone at every way imaginable. Now, in home- community members are still trying to Johnson added. risk of mpox and its impact on their lives: based isolation, his social, romantic, understand the problem, but he pointed to in the words of Johnson, “The mpox outand family lives have all been on hold. large, nationally known events such as FolSeeking treatment “If I didn’t work remotely, I know that it som Street Fair, Southern Decadence, and Michael met a number of challenges break is not over. Please get vaccinated, get tested, talk to those around you about mpox would affect my job life,” he said. “You’d Mates Leather weekend, as well as private when seeking healthcare and treatment. and sexual health, and stay safe!” have to disclose to your employer, and that sex parties here in Washington.

“I had a very mixed experience with would be an awkward thing.”

Importantly, Johnson lauded the way my medical provider,” he said. While his For more information about mpox, Queer communities have taken care of family care doctor got him in right away Facts about mpox each other, explaining that “people that — giving him an exam, sending off labs, including facts about transmission, Mpox, formerly called monkeypox, have hosted parties have done a great job at and doing basic STI tests — they didn’t symptoms, vaccines, and treatment, visit caused by a highly contagious virus, first notifying guests about possible exposures give him much reassurance. His provider the Centers for Disease Control’s website broke out in the US in May of 2022, affect- and providing resources on where people knew very little about mpox, as they are not at https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/mpox.

To find vaccines and treatment here in ing mostly sexually active Queer men. can get tested and vaccinated.” focused on Queer male sexual health.

King County, contact Harborview Sexual Once rare, it has since become a significant Johnson wants to remind people that His provider didn’t know how or where to public health concern. mpox is not a “Gay” virus. “While this has obtain antiviral drugs, and it took a stagger- Health Clinic at 206-744-3590.

Mpox features clusters of painful, blis- been disproportionately affecting people ing ten days for his lab results to come back. tering sores and skin rash, usually on the genitals or anus. It can affect anywhere that has come into contact with an active infection. The blisters and rash produce a burning, needle-like sensation that can cause moderate to severe pain and interfere with daily functions, like bathroom use. Mpox sometimes also comes with flu-like symptoms and swollen lymph nodes.

The illness is rarely fatal, but deaths do occur — especially among children, older adults, and those with serious long-term health issues.

Mpox has an incubation period of about 1-3 weeks and sometimes longer before the start of symptoms, which usually last for 2-4 weeks, or longer for those with compromised immune systems.

Mpox is spread by close, skin-to-skin contact, which does not have to be sexual. It is not prevented by barrier methods of safer sex protection such as condoms, but there is a vaccine available.

MPOX

A resurgence of cases Michael may be in isolation, but he is not alone. According to the tracking data on the Washington State Department of Health’s website, mpox infections in the state are up to 717 active cases as of November 6, an over 700% increase since the beginning of September. Those include 21 hospitalizations and, thankfully so far, zero deaths. Of these new infections, 76.6% of them are located in King County.

In an email to the SGN, Mark Johnson, a public information officer with the WSDOH, explained that “new cases could be increasing for a variety of reasons,” noting that the current outbreak

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Regional News

STANWOOD continued from cover

“A few years ago, I was at a vendor event and I had a [teenager] come up to me… and there was a book in my library called The Obsessive Joy of Autism by Julia Bascom… and this was the first time — they, as an autistic person — saw a resource that talked about autism that way. They saw they could be proud of themselves as an autistic person.”

Amplifying the voices of autistic people Wiley-Mydske said that her library is meant to amplify the voices of autistic people.

As a “late-identified autistic person” and the parent of an autistic child, she described much of what she found in the past (and still does) as “disrespectful, and not at all accurate,” referring to literature coming from a “tragedy” or “medical model.”

“I was finding books on autism that just were like, how to put your kids in therapy for 40 hours a week to change who they are.”

She explained that most professionals write about autism from the perspective of behaviors neurotypical people find challenging. This makes it difficult for autistic people to understand and accept themselves on their own terms.

“Your child doesn’t have a childhood if they’re constantly in therapy. I’m not (above) Some of the library’s Queer resources for Neurodivergent people, against therapy at all… there’s good ther(below) Lei-Mydske, founder and director of the Ed Wiley Neurodiversity Library – Photos by Teddy MacQuarrie apies for autistic people… but when you have an autistic person in behavioral therIntersecting with the Stanwood-Camano PFLAG… and we When asked what the one thing is that apy trying to change who they are… not Queer community work with a lot of LGBTQ organizations,” she would like people to take away from only is that not going to happen, but it’s In addition to autism acceptance, Wiley- she said. her efforts, Wiley-Mydske told the SGN, going to damage that person.”

Mydske works alongside the LGBTQ+ Wiley-Mydske has advocated for the “Being autistic isn’t the only thing about Wiley-Mydske was referring to applied Resource Center in Stanwood to organize needs of neurodivergent people at Stan- you, but it’s a big and important part of who behavioral therapy (ABA), the dominant on behalf of the Queer community. These wood-Camano Pride. “Even a little Pride you are, and it’s okay to be proud of who treatment for autism. While educators and issues are not entirely separate for her. on Camano Island can be overwhelming,” you are, even when it’s hard.” professionals widely accept ABA as the “I think there’s a lot of intersection,” she said. she said.

She concluded, “There’s a really big and default treatment for difficult behaviors Pointing to research published by the UniAt the first Stanwood-Camano Pride in thriving autistic community out there and in autistic kids, it’s controversial among versity of Cambridge and in journals such as 2021, she brought the library, fidget toys, we’re all pretty cool people.” autism self-advocates, who describe some Autism Research and The International Jour- and soft surfaces to provide a safe space for forms of it as abusive, forcing autistic kids nal for Transgender Health, Wiley-Mydske neurodivergent people.

The Ed Wiley Autism Acceptance to fit neurotypical expectations. noted that “a large portion of autistic people Though Stanwood is not known for Library is located inside Stanwood Instead, Wiley-Mydske promotes lan- are also members of the LGBT community… being a Queer-friendly, liberal environ- Tattoo Co. at 10003 270th St. NW, Ste. A. guage, speech, and occupational therapies. There is some research that shows that autis- ment, Wiley-Mydske said it is changing, For more information, visit http://www.

“Autism is a disability, but… autistic people tic people are more likely to be LGBT.” “just much slower than I’d like,” adding, neurodiversitylibrary.org. can have meaningful and joyful lives no matThis intersection brings out much of “There is a community here, and we just ter how much help we need.” her passion. “We work with groups like kinda need to organize.”

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Regional News

Talapus Lake provides a lesson in winter hiking

My little dog Benji and I ventured an hour outside Seattle to explore another famed alpine lagoon, Talapus Lake. The drive there was just as gorgeous as the hike itself and took us through Preston and past North Bend, where the colors of fall have held on just a little longer than the rest of the state.

My anticipation for our trek grew as we drove past groves of golden trees, but at the turnoff point, the colors seemed to fade into a menagerie of greens.

The hardest part of the terrain was the mile and a half of unpaved road leading to the parking lot and trailhead. I had to take the final leg of the drive in my ancient Honda Civic as slowly as possible. At one point, we bounced over a pothole and made eye contact with Jesus before the car landed back on the ground with a thud. I’m sure the Subaru Lesbians wouldn’t have the same experience.

When we finally made it to the trail, I was immediately struck by how green everything was. The air was thinner that far up the mountain, and whatever autumn beauty may have befallen Talapus Lake had since faded away.

Still, the greenery was breathtaking. Moss grew on everything. The trail was framed by ferns and a smattering of mushrooms.

This hike was a forager’s paradise: mushrooms of all sizes and colors dotted logs, rocks, and shady spots under the tall trees.

Having skipped lunch, I considered snacking on a few myself, but the lack of Wi-Fi on the trail, combined with my terrible foraging skills, led me to abandon this idea.

My grumbling stomach did, however, keep the bears away.

Though we made it to the trail on a rare sunny day, it was still dark and damp.

The thick tree canopy blocked most of the sunshine from hitting the path, making it feel much murkier than it was. I noted the eerie darkness and made sure not to delay, as I would not recommend getting stuck on the path at night.

Despite not encountering rain on our hike, the trail was still muddy and slick.

I was careful to watch my footing, espe-

cially when getting close to the rushing river and magnificent falls just off the path.

We encountered a small footbridge as we neared the lake, which Benji crossed with much more confidence than I could muster.

Unless hiking Talapus Lake Trail in the summertime, good traction hiking shoes are a must.

Aside from the lake, the best part of this hike was the breathtaking views of the mountain peaks in the distance. For the first time this season, we were surprised to see snow coating them like a fresh sprinkling of powdered sugar. (Did I mention I skipped lunch to do this hike? I would not recommend doing that.)

After a mile and a half, we finally reached Talapus Lake. The clear water reflected the light blue sky and snow-capped hills above and provided a calm serenity even my hunger couldn’t dissipate. There’s something uniquely peaceful about a lake in the wintertime — no fish or bugs jumped about, and even the birds seemed to take a moment of silence.

Ever the swimmer, Benji took one step in the water and decided it was far too cold.

The whole hike was a bit chilly in fact.

Though I layered, I hadn’t prepared for the temperature drop from the increased elevation. Benji was warm in his sweatshirt, but I would have preferred thicker pants and socks.

The cold didn’t really get to me until the trek back, though. As the sun set, the temperatures plummeted. Even though we picked a sunny day to head to the mountains, the trail was still soggy, and cold mud seeped through my socks. There were a few instances where we could not avoid stepping into a shallow patch of water or two, and the dry air combined with an alpine breeze only seemed to exaggerate the frigidity.

Despite the cold, this hike was a great introduction to the winter hiking season.

Snow-capped peaks in the distance, a smattering of toadstools, and one gorgeous reflective lake made this mossy wonderland feel enchanted. The chilly mountain air was a great reminder that winter is just around the corner.

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by Lindsey Anderson SGN Staff Writer

SGN

Photos by Lindsey Anderson

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 9 Y E A R S!

National News

National news highlights

Danica Roem – Photo by Steve Helber / AP

by Teddy MacQuarrie SGN Contributing Writer Election night brings high-profile Queer wins November 7’s election night brought several high-profile wins for Queer candidates running for office across the US. The LGBTQ+ Victory Fund lists 148 openly LGBTQ+ candidates who won across the country Tuesday.

Notable among these is Danica Roem, the first Transgender member of the Virginia House of Delegates, who will become the first Transgender member of the Virginia Senate.

Roem’s election is part of a Democratic takeover of the Virginia legislature, dashing Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s hopes for greater control over the state government.

The LGBTQ+ Victory Fund’s president and former Houston mayor, Annalise Parker, told AP that Roem “faced an unprecedented deluge of anti-Trans hate on the campaign trail, but she was not fazed nor distracted.”

Another high-profile win for a Queer candidate was Fabian Nelson, who was elected the first openly Gay member of the Mississippi state legislature.

Nelson, who is Black, represents the state’s 66th Congressional District, which includes parts of the state capital, Jackson.

A real estate professional, Nelson has said his priorities will include better funding for education, supporting small businesses, and expanding Medicaid. He plans to be a voice for marginalized people in the deeply conservative state.

Mississippi also elected its first out county supervisor, Democrat Justin Lofton. He won the August primary runoff for the Board of Supervisors in Pike County, and he had no opponent in the general election.

His election to the county board is now official.

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In addition to these wins, Kentucky Gov. Andy Bashear, a noted ally of the Queer community, won reelection in his state.

Trevor Project closes its account on social media platform X The Trevor Project has announced it will no longer be active on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

The organization said it was due to persistent concerns regarding the increase of hate speech and the company’s rollback of protective measures for Transgender users.

The decision reflects deep-seated worries about the mental well-being of Queer youth, particularly in light of recent anti-Queer legislation and social media policies.

The context of the Trevor Project’s departure from X is marked by earlier criticism from GLAAD back in April, the platform removed specific protections against targeted misgendering and deadnaming of Transgender people from its Hateful Conduct Policy. Despite the elapsed months since that change, concerns about the safety of Queer users on X remain pressing.

Image courtesy of The Trevor Project

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Renowned for its suicide prevention efforts within the Queer community, the Trevor Project told The Advocate, “LGBTQ young people — and in particular, trans and nonbinary young people — have been unfairly targeted in recent years, and that can negatively impact their mental health.”

“The content we share on social media is intended to uplift and affirm LGBTQ young people, shedding light on stories to deepen the public understanding of their experiences,” the Trevor Project said.

It also noted the detrimental impact of hate speech on its efforts: “We’ve seen anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and commentary on our posts that can negatively impact LGBTQ young people.”

The Trevor Project underscored the critical need for social media platforms to have “sufficient moderation capabilities” to ensure the safety of marginalized communities. It cited alarming statistics as a call to action, noting that “41% of LGBTQ young people seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year.”

The Trevor Project is guiding young people toward TrevorSpace.org and is active on other social media platforms, like Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Facebook, in order to continue its advocacy work in a safer digital environment.

One year after Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, many Queer people say the once-hospitable home for community building has turned toxic.

Since Musk took over the platform, Queer people running some of the mostfollowed X accounts have abandoned it.

Elton John, who has over a million followers, announced he was leaving in December, and Ellen DeGeneres, who has 75 million followers, hasn’t tweeted since April.

The Trevor Project is not the only Queer nonprofit to leave. The San Francisco LGBT Center, LGBTQ Youth Scotland and the UK-based Mermaids, a Transgender charity, have also left the platform, just to name a few.

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International News

International news highlights

Photo by Eduardo Verdugo / AP

by Teddy MacQuarrie SGN Contributing Writer Mexico’s first openly Nonbinary magistrate found dead Mexico’s first openly Nonbinary magistrate and prominent Queer activist, Ociel Baena, was found dead at home in the central state of Aguascalientes, Mexican authorities said on Monday.

Baena, who used they/them pronouns, was celebrated across Latin America for their work to advance the rights of the Queer community. In October 2022, Baena was sworn in as a magistrate on the Aguascalientes state electoral tribunal in front of the rainbow flag, according to a photo they shared on X under the caption “Making history.”

Mexico’s Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez said authorities are investigating the cause of death. “We don’t know yet ... if it was a homicide or if it was some kind of accident,” she said during the president’s regular morning press conference.

The Aguascalientes state prosecutor’s office said in a statement that Baena’s body was found along with that of another person, whom local media identified as Baena’s partner.

Preliminary findings showed no evidence of a third party at the scene and that the deaths could have been a “personal matter,” the statement said.

The authorities are carrying out a forensic analysis to determine the cause of death, the office said.

In Baena’s honor, Queer activists are planning vigils and demonstrations on Monday night in Aguascalientes, as well as Mexico City, Monterrey, and other major cities.

Human rights organizations are calling for an investigation into whether Baena’s death was related to their gender identity.

The former chief justice of Mexico’s Supreme Court, Arturo Zaldivar, said he deeply lamented Baena’s death.

“We lost a strong voice for equality and the rights of LGBTI+ people,” he said in a social media post.

Latvian parliament legalizes same-sex partnerships On Thursday, Latvia’s parliament voted to allow same-sex couples to establish civil unions, providing them with legal recognition but fewer rights than married couples.

Homosexuality remains a divisive topic in Latvia, where legislators in 2005 changed the constitution to define marriage as only allowed between a man and a woman.

The new legislation, which is due to come into force in the middle of next year, allows same-sex couples to register their partnership with a notary. It allows such partners hospital visitation rights, as well as some tax and social security benefits.

But Kaspars Zalitis, a Gay rights activist, noted that same-sex couples would

still not be able to adopt children and would continue to face inheritance issues.

“This is a great beginning... Latvia is not one of the six countries in the European Union that have no recognition for same-sex couples,” he told Reuters.

Latvia’s parliament elected President Edgars Rinkevics as the first openly Gay head of state in the European Union in May, despite 45% of Latvians telling a 2019 Eurobarometer poll they would be uncomfortable with having a Gay or Bisexual high-ranking official.

The 2019 poll found 54% of Latvians uncomfortable with having a Gay or Bisexual colleague, while according to a 2023 Globsec poll, only 40% of the country supports legalizing same-sex rights such as marriage.

Justice Minister Inese Libina-Egnere said the parliament did not intend to provide civil union partners with similar rights to married couples.

“We are acknowledging that we have families which are not married, and this is the way they can register their relationship,” she told Reuters. “The political will is to have a really specific kind of registered partnership.”

The top Latvian court ruled in 2020 that the country must recognize nonmarried families, and 46 same-sex couples successfully petitioned the courts to get recognized as family units, public broadcaster LSM said.

Latvia’s neighbor Estonia legalized same-sex marriage in June.

Latvia's President Edgars Rinkevics – Photo by Bebeto Matthews / AP

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Op-Ed

Combating burnout by focusing on ambitions outside the workplace

by Isabel Mata SGN Staff Writer Ask Izzy is an advice column about relationships, mental health, and sexuality. Written by Isabel Mata — a Seattle-based lifestyle writer, podcast host, and mental health advocate — Ask Izzy offers tangible expert advice so all readers can have stronger relationships, better sex, and healthier mindsets. Submit your question today by scanning the QR code below.

Dear Izzy, I’ve spent my adult life putting other people’s needs ahead of mine, because I felt it was the right thing to do. In my current job, I’ve worked with company ownership to increase product quality and upgrade their social media outreach, and increased profit and customer relations to the point where they’ve offered me the only upper management position.

The catch? They don’t want to change my schedule or offer a pay raise. I’m already working long, late hours without breaks, and I’m on call for various side projects, so this feels like a lateral move.

I’m working at a longtime neighborhood staple that’s been on the rocks for a while, and I’d hate to see it close down, but I feel like my usefulness/burnout cycle is starting up again.

Is it right to leave and find another job with better management and better hours if it means this beloved neighborhood business won’t make it another year? I know it’s not all on my shoulders, but if I can carry the extra weight, shouldn’t I try? If I keep getting punished for doing the right thing, at what point should I give up entirely?

— Puget Sound Paladin Dear Paladin, Your letter hits very close to home.

Like you, I too have spent a majority of my life putting other people’s needs before my own, because I either thought it was the right thing to do or I was too scared to potentially disrupt the peace and make others uncomfortable.

While people-pleasing, which you describe in your letter, is a behavior that can lead to burnout, it’s actually just one of many. Surprisingly, my advice to you is not related to this behavior, although I do recommend finding a therapist with whom you can work through some of these internal narratives that you need to people-please.

In her recent Substack Culture Study, Anne Helen Petersen makes the argument that burnout is caused by three things: (1) problems on the societal level (lack of a social safety net, precarity, dealing with being a person in your particular body with your particular identity in the world); (2) problems at the level of the workplace (policies, norms, work culture, productivity expectations); and (3) problems on the level of the individual (self-value derived exclusively through work,

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inability to adhere to guardrails against overwork set by yourself and others, obsession with micromanagement).

While it’s important to recognize your tendency to people-please and the importance of setting healthy boundaries, in this case, I believe your burnout is because of number 2, that is, exploitation in the workplace.

Like you mentioned, you could leave this job and find another, one that pays you more for the work you are doing and doesn’t expect you to always go above and beyond. I think that is definitely a great place to start.

But the truth is, this is a temporary solution. Unless you change your mindset when it comes to work in general, it is unlikely you will find yourself in this same situation over and over again.

As Petersen writes, “We can try to change society to make it less burnout-inducing. We can and absolutely should vote and advocate and agitate for it. We can also do all of those

things when it comes to our workplaces, whether through collective action or management training to make it less of a burnout factory. (You can also, of course, look for a workplace that’s less of a burnout factory).

But for people like me, with the sort of attitude towards work that I had — we have to do some personal work as well.”

This personal work looks different for everyone, but usually includes a mix of therapy, prioritizing personal relationships outside of the home, and homing in on your ambitions outside of work, which some people call hobbies. The sooner you begin to live a life that doesn’t center work and other people’s needs, the sooner you will feel fulfilled in a way that takes the attention off of the workplace.

To learn more about how burnout is more systemic than personal, check out the article “How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation” on Buzzfeed News, and journal how it makes you feel.

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Remember, it is absolutely okay to put your needs before anyone else’s. I have said this many times and I will continue to say it forever: you cannot fill others’ glasses from an empty cup.

SGN

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Op-Ed

Making a dream a reality

In late October, the Capitol Hill community celebrated the long-awaited opening of Pride Place and the GenPride Center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. This development, built by Community Roots Housing (formerly Capitol Hill Housing), is the Pacific Northwest’s first LGBTQIA+affirming affordable housing complex, featuring 118 studio and one-bedroom apartments owned and operated by Pride Place Project. The nonprofit GenPride will own and operate the 4,500-square-foot groundfloor community center, specifically designed for LGBTQIA+ elders.

While I was unable to attend the ribbon cutting, I first became aware of the project a decade or so ago. As a former director of the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce and a resident of the Hill, I had an intimate knowledge of the community’s dreams for the future. I remember attending a meeting where Capitol Hill Housing announced plans to build 12th Avenue Arts, affordable housing for artists with performance and community meeting spaces, which opened in late 2014.

During the same time, plans for housing LGBTQIA+ elders were also percolating. GenPride was founded in response to the 2015 University of Washington Aging with Pride Report, which highlighted “pronounced disparities in housing, healthcare, and social support among King County’s LGBTQIA+ elders.”

Nationwide, many Queer people entering their fifties, sixties, and seventies discover that, when they seek extra care or elder housing, they are met with hostility and forced to go back into the closet. As

the report pointed out, many of these elders have experienced distinct, for some harrowing, life experiences, such as survivor’s guilt and the trauma of losing friends during the height of the AIDS epidemic.

A need existed to honor our Queer elders with affordable living spaces where they could feel safe and accepted and age in a healthy environment, where they could share their joy, life, and creativity.

Thus, Pride Place was born, one of the few Queer elder living spaces in the US outside San Francisco and Los Angeles.

I met the executive director of GenPride, Judy Kinney, at the 85th birthday party of my friend Trudy. At the time, Judy offered to give Trudy and me a tour of GenPride Center and Pride Place. So we visited her on a sunny afternoon in early November to learn what all the fuss was about.

Pride Place is a bright violet building with colorful accents sitting on Broadway between Pike and Pine Streets, looming above one of Capitol Hill’s oldest haunts, Neighbours nightclub.

We discovered a sparkling, brand-new complex with a large kitchen, open dining, and meeting area, and small rooms for reading, visiting, meditation, medical care, group consultation, and one-on-one meetings. We met program staff and volunteers, many of whom I happily discovered I knew from my involvement in the community.

Everything and everyone seemed to shine.

Judy shared that anyone 55 or older and who satisfies income and household criteria, based on the funding restrictions of the property, can live in Pride Place. (For couples, only one of the pair must meet the age requirement.) The current residents include people from Florida, Everett, Renton, New Hampshire, North Capitol Hill, and Spokane.

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by Jack Hilovsky SGN Contributing Writer

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GenPride Center opening day – Courtesy photos

As it continues to fundraise, GenPride is getting closer to meeting its capital campaign goal but still welcomes the financial and emotional support of the community.

Donations of restaurant-quality dinner plates, silverware, and pots and pans for the brandnew kitchen facility are needed. Funding for furniture, tables, chairs, and couches for the various social areas also would be appreciated. There is a need for volunteers, especially community members who might enjoy cooking a monthly or weekly meal for the GenPride community center.

As Judy shared this beautiful space and talked about its potential, I felt a great deal of pride that Seattle saw a need and stepped up to make the dream a reality. We’ve created a one-of-a-kind place for our city, where our LGBTQIA+ elders can gather without fear of discrimination or stigma and can feel deeply valued and receive the kind of health and wellness support needed to thrive.

Thanksgiving is a time for giving back

and expressing our gratitude. As a kid growing up in Cleveland, I remember how my mom would take me and neighborhood kids door-to-door with a wagon to collect cans of food for the less fortunate during this time of year. We would knock at each house and let our neighbors know about our food drive for the needy. I encourage you to put Pride Place and GenPride Center on your list for giving of your time, treasure, or talent this holiday season. And stop by to see Judy and get a tour of this wonderful new amenity on Capitol Hill!

Jack Hilovsky is an author, actor, and blogger who has made his home in Seattle since 1986. His first book RJ, Farrah and Me: A Young Man’s Gay Odyssey from the Inside Out, was published in June 2022. It can be found at Elliott Bay Book Co., Madison Books, Nook & Cranny, and University Bookstore, among other local booksellers.

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Arts & Entertainment

Engaged brings theater and thought to WA prisons and stuff like that. But… it was so lovely to meet everyone and see the programs that they have.”

Despite the long hours, Fukushima and the people who have viewed the show have been deeply impacted by the experience in a positive way.

“The people that we were performing for are some of the most thoughtful, considerate, reflective, intelligent people that I have ever met,” Fukushima said. “Just from briefly speaking with them, after we have performed and [done] a quick Q&A, the way that they are so intensely engaged with art and the work is almost overwhelming… Because as an actor in Seattle, you don’t get that kind of audience engagement pretty much anywhere else…

“And the things that they had to say about the scenes and the stories that they were telling us were just so beautiful and poetic… The things that they say and the things that they have to think about are the exact same things that we have… It’s very humanizing for both parties, and I think that that’s what was especially impactful … being able to be the person who could show them that I that I saw them as a human — to be able to humanize each other — I think was incredibly important.”

by Cameron Martinez SGN Contributing Writer When most people think of a venue for a play, the first thing that comes to mind likely isn’t a prison.

But the folks at Freehold’s Engaged Theatre is Seattle aren’t like most people.

According 2021 data from the Prison Policy Initiative, 455 per 100,000 people in Washington are incarcerated, which is a higher percentage than most other democracies on earth.

A press release by Freehold says, “For 20 years the Engaged Theatre program, unique to Freehold, has connected with extraordinary audiences across the Northwest. This fall, our tour will reach over 500 persons who are incarcerated, and inpatient men and women struggling with mental health issues.

We have heard from past audiences that watching the struggles of characters on stage makes them feel less alone. They feel seen as nuanced, complex human beings, and less the sum of their past mistakes.”

The play Engaged Theatre performed this fall was Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, which is rooted in themes of forgiveness and human nature.

“We were very intentional with the production of this show and the way that we cut the script, because we knew we were taking it into the prisons and performing it for the incarcerated populations,” said Freehold Theatre actor Lola Fukushima.

“And it was really important for us to find a story that not only showcases a wide range of different morals and ethics and ways of thinking and being moral, but also

Measure for Measure – Photo courtesy of Freehold

to showcase a story about humans. Every single person that is alive has the capacity to do something bad. And that can never mean that they are wholesale a bad person.”

Because of the location of the performances, the cast and crew endure extralong days during which they are only

allowed the clothes on their back and the materials needed for the show.

“It is a lot of work and it’s pretty intense, but not in the ways you might think when entering a prison,” Fukushima said.

“It really is more just the work that as actors… and crew have to [do], like setup

For more information about Freehold’s Engaged Theatre, visit https://freeholdtheatre.org or follow @ freeholdtheatre on Instagram or Freehold Theatre on Facebook. While the theatre is done with this current tour, it still offers a variety of classes and space rentals throughout the year.

Queens of the Cosmos beams celestial realness at Seattle Space Needle

by JayAre Quezada SGN Contributing Writer Supernova-strength energy filled up the observation deck of the Seattle Space Needle on November 3, as local drag queens performed there for the first time ever in the building’s 61 years of existence.

The “Queens of the Cosmos” event brought out well-known performers — including Irene (the Alien) Dubois, MyAikõ, Miss Texas 1988, and Arrietty — and their interstellar realness to entertain the enthusiastic crowd about 520 feet above Seattle Center.

A blend of attendees’ voices, both cheerful and social, anticipated the arrival of Dubois, the host of the evening, who soon announced the start of the performances.

The diverse crowd of all ages included some who just happened to have bought general admission tickets at exactly the right time. Regardless of those coincidentally showing up, there came a wave of applause and cheers as each queen swept their way through their performances, including a few by Dubois herself.

A private employee-only event a month prior, at Chihuly Garden and Glass, also hosted by Dubois, inspired the marketing team to capture the same excitement for visitors to the Space Needle.

“It was just a matter of, well, we know great queens in Seattle. We know that our guests and our team members would love to see it happen, [so] we said, ‘Let’s go for it,’” said Randy Coté, CMO of the Space Needle and Chihuly Garden and Glass.

Bringing Dubois back was a no-brainer for the team. She left strong a impression on those who had attended her shows in Capitol Hill, and has become more well known as a contestant on season 15 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, which has propelled certain aspects of drag culture into the mainstream.

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Irene (The Alien) DuBois

Arrietty

MyAikõ

Miss Texas 1988

As Coté said, this “brings in the sort of casual, non-LGBTQ+ people who know about drag or [enjoy it]. So I think [Dubois] also brings in some notoriety. [Having] queens from across the Seattle scene is important to us, to highlight everyone.”

Event tickets and drinks benefited the Gender Justice League, a Washingtonbased nonprofit whose goal is to fight for human rights, especially those of Trans and

gender-nonconforming people. The organizers felt that it was an important cause that needed to be highlighted.

The team at the Space Needle hope to keep the support going when it comes to LGBTQ+-oriented events.

“This is the [way] we show our pride year round, not just during the month of June.

We’ll keep listening to our guests, our visitors, our locals, our employees on how they

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want to celebrate and see the community reflected in the Space Needle,” Coté said, beaming.

He also shared how this is “such a reflection of people who work inside and the visitors who … really reflect the Seattle community. And so … we’d love to see more [events like this].”

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Arts & Entertainment

Gorgeous Alan Wake 2 a survival horror game with a fascinating premise

by Daniel Lindsley SGN Staff Writer Alan Wake 2 is making waves as Remedy Entertainment’s latest paranormal thriller experience. It follows famed horror writer Alan Wake and FBI agent Saga Anderson as they search for the truth and rewrite reality to battle a malevolent entity known as the Dark Presence.

The first Alan Wake was released in 2010.

I revisited the game as a point of comparison to its sequel, which is set in the present — 13 years after the events of the first game. In other words, fans of the franchise have been waiting for Alan Wake 2 about as long as the titular character himself.

Thirteen years is a long time in the world of video games. Remedy Entertainment has since released Quantum Break and Control, which both featured protagonists with “paranatural” powers, such as telekinesis, time manipulation, and the like. But in many ways, Alan Wake 2 is a departure from both its prequel and its other predecessors, playing much more like a traditional, over-theshoulder survival horror game.

It has a tile-based inventory system, limited resources scattered through the levels, main characters with a glacial land speed, and short puzzles to solve to either progress further or get extra goodies. Anyone familiar with survival horror will feel right at home here, but home isn’t always the most exciting place.

Some of the prequel’s mechanical ideas are still present in some form. Most human-shaped enemies are invulnerable until the player uses a flashlight, flare, or other bright light to burn away the shadows protecting them.

The first game’s dodging mechanics are also back, though they are far less reliable; the direction of a dodge seems to be more important, as I often found myself ducking straight into a flying hatchet by accident.

(This could be a skill issue, of course, but I’m not the only one.)

In particular, the teleporting foes were some of the most frustrating to face. They were more tolerable in the prequel, because of

the generous window for a well-timed dodge, and because of the wide camera angle, which made it easier to spot flanking foes and react in time. Alan Wake 2’s camera feels terribly cramped by comparison, and there’s no option to widen the player’s field of view.

Some might argue that a cramped camera is necessary to create tension while fighting off the shadow-possessed Taken and exploring, and that’s a good point: these encounters do have more weight to them.

Whereas the prequel had the player gunning down the Taken in droves, now just a few missed shots or a premature reload while facing even one of them can send the player back to a checkpoint.

Still, as far as shooting and scooting go, Alan Wake 2 has little novelty to offer the survival horror genre as a whole. Instead, the game has been universally praised for

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Images courtesy of Remedy Entertainment

its visuals, which depict the “Dark Place,” a benighted, otherworldly version of New York, and the rural Washington town of Bright Falls and the surrounding area.

In both cases, the world is rendered gorgeously, with sound design to match. During a storm in Bright Falls, the wind can be heard blowing through the treetops and rustling in nearby undergrowth. In the Dark Place, the rain on the rooftops makes a distinct, hollow sound against the AC units and chimney cowls. Scenes that take place at dusk are particularly pretty.

As for the game’s story, it’s a wild ride.

It’s metatextual to an absurd degree, and one’s enjoyment of the game likely depends on how tolerant of that sort of thing one is.

One of the main puzzle gimmicks on Alan’s end plays into this metatextual quality.

As he navigates the Dark Place, he can find

inspiration for new plot beats, and then write those into a given scene, changing it in the process. This is usually done to open up new areas, or find new sources of inspiration.

FBI agent Saga Anderson, meanwhile, has a mental corkboard for parsing out all the clues she encounters during her investigation.

The player is tasked with connecting these clues to the right questions — a process that does help keep track of all the story’s threads but frequently overstays its welcome, especially when a given conclusion is already fairly obvious.

My favorite section of all, in the end, was the live-action musical, when the developers seemed to throw aside all pretense and revel in the silliness of their own creation.

Alan Wake 2 had me laughing as much as holding my breath, and at times it seemed to be laughing along with me.

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Film

and fellow enchantress, Queenie. Kovacs is drunken author Sidney Redlitch, mysteriously drawn to New York for reasons he continued from cover cannot quite explain. Together, these three I could watch them deal, each in their own — both intentionally and by unknowing acciway, with all of this bewitching romantic dent — are the primary catalysts that fuel skullduggery for weeks on end without ever Gillian’s spell-casting on Shep, which sets the tiring, and there’s not a single moment I’d witch down a path that could eventually lead ask the filmmakers to change — if I could to the loss of her powers, probably for good. go back in time and do so.

It’s all pretty silly, and Quine isn’t the Gillian Holroyd (Novak) is a modern- subtlest of filmmakers. But with a cast this day witch who runs a high-end curio and outstanding and subject this richly layantique shop in a quaint New York neigh- ered and exquisitely character-driven, his borhood. Shepherd “Shep” Henderson straightforward approach suits the mate(Stewart) runs a publishing house and has rial wonderfully. Quine plays up Novak’s recently moved into a swanky apartment in otherworldly beauty whenever he can, and the same building. Gillian has her eye on signature scenes of her staring straight into Shepherd, but initially decides she won’t the camera — while holding her devilishly use her mysterious powers to get him to feel lithe black cat Pyewacket as the audience amorously toward her. Then she learns his becomes Stewart’s stand-in — are sublime. fiancée is Merle Kittridge (Rule), a snooty This also means the director lets his cast former classmate from her university days, cut loose in ways that play to each of their and all bets are immediately off. comedic abilities. Lanchester adds an aura Lemmon gleefully hams it up as Gillian’s of lethally dotty charm, her whimsical theatmusically curious warlock brother Nicky, ricality a divine counterpoint to Novak’s far while Lanchester is their daffy best friend more grounded performance. Lemmon never

UNFORGETTABLES

holds back. It’s clear Nicky has a lust for life and adores being a warlock, and whether it’s playing bongos at the Zodiac Club, turning frost-covered street lights on and off at will, or cowriting a tell-all book about the mystical arts with Sidney, his mischievous joy is continually infectious.

Surprisingly, I came to Bell Book and Candle through my great-grandmother on my father’s side. They resided in Lebam, Washington, a small logging community a few hours outside of Seattle, on the way to the Pacific coast. When I was little, each time I went over for a visit, we’d stand backto-back to see how much I’d grown since the last time we’d seen one another. She lived directly across the street from my grandparents in the middle of backwoods nowhere, and it was the cutest little place you’d ever hope to see. Inside, you’d swear you’d stepped back in time.

Even from a quite young age, my love of cinema was clear. While I can’t say this was ever something my great-grandmother particularly understood (or even supported, for that matter), she’d still listen to me

Celebrating its 65th anniversary, Bell Book and Candle is available on DVD and Blu-ray. It is not currently streaming.

Bell Book and Candle – Photos courtesy of Columbia Pictures

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speak about Star Wars or The Black Stallion or Raiders of the Lost Ark or even The Wizard of Oz for hours on end without ever appearing to grow bored or tired, which I imagine wasn’t easy, considering the typical stream-of-consciousness ramblings of your average seven-year-old.

I barely remember how or when we watched this one together; I can only say with absolute certainty that we did. It was the Christmas holiday, and I’d just trotted across the street to hopefully get a chocolate or a piece of taffy from her not-so-carefully hidden candy drawer in the kitchen.

Somehow this movie was on the television, and I was immediately spellbound.

We ended up watching the entire thing together, sharing a comforting hug right near the end, just as my father rumbled through the door, wondering what the heck had happened to me and stating that I shouldn’t be bothering great-grandma so near my bedtime.

In the years since, I’ve grown to adore Bell Book and Candle for reasons that go far beyond this treasured memory. Stewart and Novak’s chemistry is off the charts, and Wong Howe’s use of color — especially a seemingly never-ending series of captivating blues and mesmerizing greens — is breathtaking. I’m also constantly amazed by how Taradash takes the inherent theatricality of Van Druten’s source material and makes it feel so spontaneous and electrically alive. It’s all incredible.

But as preternaturally superb as Novak’s eyebrows may be, and while I will always lust over each of designer Jean Louis’ glorious gowns, I cannot watch this film without recollecting my great-grandmother. I smell her snow-white hair. I hear the faint shuffle of her feet sliding across the carpet. I see the steam rising off the wood-fire boiler resting in the corner of her tiny living room.

I even shed a happy, silent tear while diving back into our shared past right here as I write these words.

This is the power great cinema can have.

It sparks something inside of us, a primordial sense of togetherness that can transcend space and time, reducing us back into our childhood selves instantaneously. Bell Book and Candle does this for me. It casts a powerful spell, one that enchants new viewers across generations whenever — like magic! — it is conjured up for viewing.

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Books

Of U-Hauls and cottagecore

1960s Lesbian separatist fantasies in Patience and Sarah

by Clar Hart SGN Contributing Writer PATIENCE AND SARAH ISABEL MILLER © 1969 Isabel Miller $19.95 225 pages Content warning: Physical abuse, domestic violence, attempted sexual assault, racism, incest, animal abuse Patience and Sarah is a 1969 historical novel created by Isabel Miller (real name Alma Routsong) after she’d consulted a Ouija board for a year, with her girlfriend acting as a medium. You can stop now, because that’s the most interesting part of this entire milquetoast novel.

It’s slow. There’s casual racism, jarring perspective shifts, and unlikeable characters. There’s an excessive amount of incest: the main character’s biological sister offers to sleep with her to prevent her from leaving, while the other main character’s sister-in-law says sex with a woman is only appropriate if it’s “in the family.”

In short, I recommend this book with a side of eye bleach.

This also arguably started off the historical Lesbian craze. So if you loved Portrait of Woman on Fire or hated Ammonite, you have Routsong to thank. And like many frustrating Queer historical stories, it focuses so much on what’s keeping the couple apart that there’s little left over for what brought them together, other than the fact that they’re Queer.

To summarize, Patience lives with her brother, Edward, and his wife, Martha.

Their parents are dead and have split their meager possessions 50/50, much to the disappointment of Edward. True to Queer stereotype, Patience starts the story by contemplating suicide, thinking that it would make Edward and Martha’s lives easier.

Martha and Patience had a bit of a thing, and Patience now feels bitter that Martha chose her brother, but is later cheered to hear that Edward and Martha have terrible sex, in addition to Martha’s difficult pregnancies. A few acres away, we have tall woodchopper Sarah, raised by her father to be a boy, since he had no son.

Patience meets Sarah; two days later, they kiss and decide to move in together.

Despite its other glaring flaws, there’s thankfully little of the slow Lesbian yearn here. These Lesbians were U-Hauling long before U-Hauls were invented. Stagecoach Lesbians.

Then Sarah’s father finds out. Patience, to protect herself, tells him and Edward that they never had a relationship. Sarah, rejected and crushed, runs away to dress as a boy on the road. She runs into Parson, a traveling preacher, and they travel together until he, thinking that she’s a young boy, hits on her, only to realize she’s a woman and lose interest. Sarah comes back and meets up with Patience again. They “embrace with their corsets open” and are kicked out, but together this time.

With the money Edward gives her for her property, Sarah takes Patience to Green County, and they get a nice little farm with a dog. And so Lesbian cottagecore dreams the world over were launched.

It’s interesting to wonder how Sarah’s character might have changed if offered the more diverse gender options of our times.

She goes between dressing as a woman and passing as a man with little thought about it other than the usefulness of it. When she and Patience live together on their farm, she once again offers to act as a man. It’s unclear how much of this gender play is motivated by an intrinsic longing versus pragmatism, or disguised as pragmatism.

The relationship between Patience and the younger Sarah is frustrating. The former manipulates the latter, both in terms of controlling her gender expression and setting the circumstances for them being forced out of their hometown. Other than both being interested in boob play, they have little in common and little to root for.

Sarah is a character in need of an adventure arc. As written, she didn’t seem meant to be the side piece of a rural painter. In the first arc, Sarah’s father forbids her from seeing Patience and beats her whenever she

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Photo courtesy of Abe Books

tries to, which she does every day. Patience never once checks on Sarah. When Sarah’s father brings her to Patience to “end the foolishness,” Patience says to Sarah (still blue from her daily beatings) that their relationship was a joke.

When Sarah — after attempting to have her own life — returns to her hometown, it’s not a triumph; it’s a failure. She can’t make it on her own, either as a boy or a woman.

So she goes back to the family she swore to never return to and the woman who could not bother to walk the few acres to her home.

I wish this would have instead been Sarah’s story of how she once fell in love with a woman in her hometown, ran away when it ended, lived her adventures as a man, explored some gender feelings, and finally met a lovely woman somewhere far from the depressing New England town she was born in. Which is progress, maybe — that we’ve gotten to a point where this, the wildest Lesbian fantasy of the 1960s, is my nightmare.

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Esme Symes-Smith helps young readers find the hero within

Esme Symes-Smith – Photo courtesy of the author

by Lindsey Anderson SGN Staff Writer It takes a special kind of person to write children’s novels, someone who can understand the emotions, struggles, and triumphs of young readers.

Author Esme Symes-Smith is just that person. One of the reasons they’re so good at writing literature for young people is that they fell in love with the craft in middle school.

“I decided I wanted to be a writer when I was 12 years old,” they said. “I remember reading fanfic and being utterly amazed that fiction could create a real, physical response in me. I was feeling exactly what the characters were feeling, and I decided at that moment that’s what I wanted to do with my life.”

Symes-Smith, like many LGBTQ+ kids, fell in love with reading. Stories transported them to other worlds, where they could be anybody they wanted. Now, as an adult, they write stories for other Queer kids looking to experience an adventure.

“I [don’t] just want to write stories.

I [want] to give my readers a full experience,” they said.

Their series, Sir Callie, provides readers of all ages an escape into a fantasy world, told through the lens of a 12-year-old Nonbinary knight. While the book is for middle-grade readers, Symes-Smith says the story is something all readers can relate to.

“Marketing says 8-12 years, but it is also very much for the Queer adults who didn’t get to see themselves on the page, for parents of Queer kids, and — apparently — Hot Topic teens,” they said.

While the book takes place in a fantasy world, the story leaves readers with a modern lesson. “There are as many ways to be brave as there are human beings,” SymesSmith said. “Sometimes brave looks like standing up to the bad guys. Sometimes it looks like protecting yourself. Sometimes it looks like taking care of the people you love. Heroes come in countless different shapes and sizes.”

Many aspects of the story come from Symes-Smith’s real life. The location is modeled after southwest England, where they grew up. They also drew from classic lore around King Arthur when creating their rules of magic. While many parts of the novel feel ancient, there is a sense of modernity young readers will also pick up on.

“For Helston’s society, I looked to the

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Images courtesy of Labyrinth Road

world we live in now,” Symes-Smith said.

“The treatment of persecuted minorities by those who benefit from the status quo, the way dictators manipulate and control the people around them, and how hatred stems from fear and influences everyone it touches.”

They affectionately refer to Sir Callie as their “2020 rage book set in medieval England,” because the conflict was lifted out of global politics of the year. “Living through the Trump era, I had so much rage and indignation built up inside me, and it reminded me of being a self-righteous kid living in an unfair world controlled by grownups,” they said. “I wanted to write a story about angry children who don’t want to forgive their abusers, and who demand to be heard no matter the circumstances. Sir Callie is a story for anyone who has ever felt helpless.”

Sir Callie doesn’t shy away from mature topics. The first novel in the series sees the titular knight-in-training vying for the world to see them as they are: Nonbinary.

As they worked on the novel, Symes-Smith decided they would include experiences of misgendering and deadnaming in the book, to keep the story accurate to the experiences of real Nonbinary kids. They admit the decision was hard to make.

“I love books that choose not to include the deadname or the gender assigned at birth, but as far as Callie is concerned, their past still affects their present,” Symes-Smith said.

“Callie’s deadname is wielded as a weapon by those seeking to deny them their identity, and it was important to me that Callie process [that] they are still themselves, even when they are disrespected. My favorite detail is

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that the first word of the book is [Callie’s dead name], and the last one is ‘Callie.’”

Following the success of the first Sir Callie book, Symes-Smith has secured a deal for three more. The second book is out this month, and the following two can be expected in the next few years.

“It will be a four-book series, and I’m thrilled that readers will be able to see the characters to their proper conclusions,” they said. “I have also been thinking about what I want to do next, and I have some really exciting projects in the works. I want to stay in the Queer middle-grade sphere.”

The second book in the series, Sir Callie and the Dragon’s Roost, came out on November 7.

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