Have You Heard of the Trans Rights Readathon? Here’s How We Do It!
Trans Rights Readathon 2025 (March 21–31)
Read, share, and celebrate books by and about trans people. That’s the goal! The Trans Rights Readathon calls itself “an act of both joy and resistance.” It’s decentralized, so participate any way you like.
An annual event since 2023, it’s going on right now through the end of March.
What counts as a trans book?
A trans book has a trans author, trans characters, trans topic, or all of the above.
Remember that not all trans people want to be publicly labeled as trans. It’s fair to assume they’re comfortable with you repeating whatever they wrote in their author bio. However, if the information about their transness is in some hard-to-find place or under another name, they may not want it to be brought up in connection with their books. Remember also that fictional characters’ identity and experiences don’t imply anything about the author’s identity or experiences.
One readathon organizer helpfully explains:
…please be respectful of the personal information authors divulge and how they self-identify. If an author doesn’t include the personal information you’re looking for, please don’t contact them to ask for an explanation of their identity, orientation, or background. If information isn’t available in an author’s bio, social media, or on their website, they don’t owe it to you. In an era when people’s identities are being used to target them, please be mindful that we want to CELEBRATE these stories and support authors while keeping each other safe.
By the way, you’re welcome to cite me, Tucker Lieberman, as a trans author. My novel, Most Famous Short Film of All Time, has a trans narrator, and my memoir, Bad Fire, will make you trans.
Read
Ways to find trans books:
- Search the readathon’s hashtag on your social media platform of choice (e.g., on Bluesky or Mastodon or here on Medium).
- Consult the readathon’s database of books.
- Make it easy and just pick up something from tRaum Books. All tRaum ebooks are $1 on Itch for the rest of March!
- Check out the past 37 years of Lambda Literary’s award winners and finalists.
- Some magazines publish curated lists of books by trans authors.
- Try a book review site like Independent Book Review and search the reviews for “transgender.”
- Your local library or independent bookstore may have a trans or nonbinary book list or shelving section, and your librarian or bookseller would probably be psyched to help you with this.
Write a book review
Even if you only have a tiny comment to make, post it! A single adjective that compliments the book will make the author’s day. Though they probably won’t respond, they’ll see it. Besides, ratings and reviews feed algorithms and therefore help more readers find the book you liked. Post to Storygraph or Goodreads or to a retail site like Kobo.
Fundraise
Trans people face unprecedented legal assaults in the United States right now as well as around the world. I’ll suggest a U.S. national org: Donate to Advocates for Trans Equality.
In Colombia, La Red Comunitaria Trans needs funds. If you’re outside Colombia, the easiest way for you to give to them is probably their GoFundMe or PayPal.
Social media ideas
📖 Post what you’re reading.
💵 If you’re fundraising, share that info too.
🎨 Use the Readathon’s social media graphics.
📢 Tag the Readathon on Instagram and TikTok.
#️⃣ Hashtag #TRR25 and #TransRightsReadathon
Participate in the Storygraph reading challenge!
On Storygraph, the Trans Rights Readathon 2025 will last all year. They’ve given 5 core prompts and 25 optional prompts. As of right now, nearly 1,700 participants have signed up.
That’s enough chatting. Start reading!
Go and do it. The next trans book you read will change your life.
— Tucker Lieberman
tuckerlieberman.com
