Topside Press was an independent publisher of trans and feminist literature based in Brooklyn, New York that operated from 2011 to 2017. The press published

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

, memoirs, short story collections, poetry, and

non-fiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or content (media), media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real life, real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to pre ...

(under the imprint, Topside Signature) by trans authors, for trans readers, and about trans characters. It is often credited as an important contributor to the "trans literary renaissance." Topside Press’s list included novels such as ''

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

'' by

Imogen Binnie Imogen Binnie (born 1978 or 1979) is an American novelist and screenwriter. She is best known for her debut novel, ''Nevada'', which was published in 2013. Early life Binnie was born and raised in rural New Jersey. She attended Rutgers Universit ...

, which was a finalist for the

Lambda Literary Award for transgender literature The Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Literature is an annual literary award, presented by the Lambda Literary Foundation, that awards books with transgender content. Awards are granted based on literary merit and transgender content, and the ...

and was rereleased by

Farrar, Straus and Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer P ...

in 2022, and '' A Safe Girl to Love'' by

Casey Plett Casey Plett (born June 20, 1987) is a Canadian writer, best known for her novel '' Little Fish,'' her Lambda Literary Award winning short story collection, ''A Safe Girl to Love'', and her Giller Prize-nominated short story collection, ''A Dream o ...

, which won a Lambda Literary Award.

Overview

Topside Press was founded by Tom Léger, Riley Macleod, Julie Blair, and Red Durkin after they were turned away by larger publishing companies that claimed that the market for trans literature was too limited. The four had previously overseen the trans writing blog ''PrettyQueer.com''. In line with the message for their blog, Topside Press worked to promote “authentic transgender narratives” through publishing works by, for, and about trans people. Topside's first publication was a collection of short stories titled ''The Collection: Short Fiction from the Transgender Vanguard'' (October 2012), edited by Léger and Macleod, featuring stories by Imogen Binnie, Carter Sickels, Ryka Aoki, and Casey Plett, among others. ''The Collection'' went on to win a Lambda Literary Award and has become a teaching text in college courses dealing with trans literature. In March 2013, Topside published the first edition of Binnie’s ''Nevada'', a “cult classic” of trans literature rereleased by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in 2022 and credited with contributing to the "golden age of trans literature." In the summer of 2016, Topside hosted its inaugural Trans Women’s Writing Workshop, taught by writer and activist

Sarah Schulman Sarah Miriam Schulman (born July 28, 1958) is an American novelist, playwright, nonfiction writer, screenwriter, gay activist, and AIDS historian. She holds an endowed chair in nonfiction at Northwestern University and is a fellow of the New York ...

and Plett, at

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...

. The press released its last book in August 2017, a collection of speculative fiction short stories titled ''Meanwhile, Elsewhere: Science Fiction & Fantasy from Transgender Writers'' and edited by Plett and Cat Fitzpatrick. The anthology was reprinted in 2021 by the independent feminist publisher LittlePuss Press, which was founded by the anthology's two editors. By 2017, the press had expanded to include two additional imprints: Topside Heliotrope, which focused on trans poetry, and Topside Signature, which focused on trans nonfiction. Shortly after the release of the last book, the press disbanded due to “internal disputes between founders.” Since then, the press has been criticized for dominating the trans literary fiction scene, for acting as a gatekeeper for trans literature, and for publishing more well-educated white trans authors than trans authors of color. At the same time, the press is credited with contributing to the “trans literary renaissance." During its five-year run, the press was awarded four Lambda awards and nominated for two more.

Topside Test

Similar to the

Bechdel test The Bechdel test ( ), also known as the Bechdel-Wallace test, is a measure of the representation of women in film and other fiction. The test asks whether a work features at least two women who have a conversation about something other than a m ...

the owners of Topside came up with a set of criteria to establish if a story was transgender or just featured a trans character.

Does the book include more than one trans character? Do they know each other? Do they talk to each other about something besides a transition-related medical procedure?

Notable Titles and Awards

* ''The Collection: Short Fiction from the Transgender Vanguard'', eds. Tom Léger and Riley Macleod (2012), winner of the Lambda Literary Award in the category of Transgender Fiction * ''My Awesome Place: The Autobiography of Cheryl B'',

Cheryl Burke Cheryl Burke (born May 3, 1984) is an American dancer, model, and television host. She is best known for being a professional dancer on ABC's ''Dancing with the Stars''. She was the first female professional to win the show and the first prof ...

(2012), winner of the Lambda Literary Award in the category of Bisexual * ''

'', Imogen Binnie (2013), finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in Transgender Fiction * '' A Safe Girl to Love'', Casey Plett (2014), winner of the Lambda Literary Award in Transgender Fiction * '' Reacquainted with Life'', Kokumo (2016), winner of the Lambda Literary Award in Transgender Poetry * ''Meanwhile, Elsewhere: Science Fiction & Fantasy from Transgender Writers'', eds. Casey Plett and Cat Fitzpatrick (2017), finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in the category of Anthology, winner of the Barbara Gittings Literature Award

References

{{reflist Defunct publishing companies of the United States Small press publishing companies Transgender literature Transgender organizations in the United States 2011 establishments in New York City 2017 disestablishments in New York (state) LGBTQ culture in New York City Transgender history in the United States LGBTQ history in New York City Defunct LGBTQ organizations based in New York City 2010s in LGBTQ history