Observing Transgender Awareness Week
Transgender Awareness Week takes place on November 13–19 each year, with Transgender Day of Remembrance being held on November 20. AWP is committed to supporting writers and members of all life experiences and backgrounds. We recognize this week as a time to support and uplift transgender people, while also calling attention to the challenges their communities face. Below, find articles from The Writer’s Chronicle, events from past and future AWP conferences, online resources, and upcoming virtual events.
Be sure to also check out AWP’s Picks For Transgender Awareness Week on Bookshop.org.
From The Writer’s Chronicle
States of Being by Jarek Steele, February 2024
Queering and Disrupting Appalachian Narratives by Neema Avashia, W. David Hall, Mesha Maren, Carter Sickels, and Jamie Lyn Smith, February 2024
Rewatch AWP Events
#AWP25 Queering Form, or Weird Fiction, Sponsored by the Center for Fiction
#AWP24 Meredith Talusan & Kai Cheng Thom in Conversation with Maya Shanbhag Lang
#AWP26 Conference Events
The events below will take place at the 2026 AWP Conference & Bookfair in Baltimore, Maryland, on March 4–7, 2026. Check out the full conference schedule for more information.
Trans Publishers, Then & Now
Thursday, March 5, 2026, 10:35 a.m.–11:50 a.m. ET
Casey Plett, Luke Sutherland, Emily Zhou, Oliver Fugler
Recent years have seen a trans literary renaissance. What’s it like to be an indie trans publisher working behind the scenes to make that renaissance? This panel will speak to the literary and logistical trials and joys of trans publishing, with representatives from trans publishers new and old from the US, UK, and Canada. We will share wisdom, horror stories, triumph stories, and strategies for successfully publishing trans books in 2026 and beyond.
Say My Name, Say My Name: Reclaiming Identity in the Face of Violence
Thursday, March 5, 2026, 3:20 p.m.–4:35 p.m. ET
Jenny Molberg, Jameelah Lang, Courtney Faye Taylor, Felicia Zamora, Meg Day
Five writers across genres explore the power and problem of naming as an act of craft—how names inform identity, claim space, and carry histories. Panelists will explore nuances of choosing whether and how to name. They confront and complicate the power structures of familial naming, indigenous naming, multilingual naming, queer naming, trans naming, and the empowerment of naming perpetrators of violence. They navigate how naming, as artistic tool and cultural terrain, can resist erasure.
Crafting Trans Horror: Authors on Crossing Gender & Genre
Thursday, March 5, 2026, 3:20 p.m.–4:35 p.m. ET
Cavar Sarah, CD Eskilson, Luna Rey Hall, Nic Anstett, Zefyr Lisowski
This event will feature trans authors of horror fiction discussing common themes, craft advice, and political stakes of writing trans horror in an increasingly anti-trans social milieu. Authors will get the opportunity to read excerpts of current and recent projects, discussing their relationships to conventional horror tropes (many of which rely on the specter of transness without regard for trans personhood) and how our work challenges, destabilizes, and reinvents them.
Ink Under Siege: Writing for Queer & Trans Teens in the Era of Book Bans
Friday, March 6, 2026, 12:10 p.m.– 1:25 p.m. ET
JD Scott, Naomi Kanakia, Jen St. Jude, Tia Clark, Gloria Muñoz
Over half of the ALA’s most-challenged books are LGBTQ authored. Book bans soar, yet prohibition does not stop queer and trans teens from craving pages that name their presents and futures. How do we negotiate between honest storytelling and the reality of politicized classrooms, libraries, and locker rooms? Five queer and trans authors reveal how they smuggle first kisses, write the body, name gender euphoria, author messy truths, and navigate publishing in the era of outlawed YA literature.
LGBTQ Publishing Professionals on Queer Books
Friday, March 6, 2026, 3:20 p.m.–4:35 p.m. ET
Maggie Cooper, Ezra Kupor, Jules Wernersbach, Amelia Possanza, Alicia Kroell
In this panel, two editors, an agent, a publicist, and a bookstore owner will examine the state of queer and trans books in 2026. In the wake of the recent proliferation of LGBTQ books released by mainstream publishers—and the attendant rise of book bans targeting many of those same titles—panelists will discuss the market for queer books, explore the ecosystem of trade and independent presses publishing the work of LGBTQ writers, and offer takeaways for writers telling queer stories.
Online Resources
The Human Rights Campaign has an online library of videos, articles, and other resources for trans and gender nonconforming people and their allies.
GLAAD offers resources such as a Media Reference Guide and Tips for Allies of Transgender People.
The Stand with Trans Banned Books Club meets online and is “a safe and inclusive space dedicated to celebrating the voices and stories of the trans* community.”
Upcoming Online Events
All events are listed in ET.
Point of Pride is offering several events. Check out their website for details on these virtual sessions:
- Financial Literacy for Trans Folks: Rewriting Our Money Narratives
- Connection | Isolation: A Film Screening and Conversation
- Trans Voice 101: Finding and Building Your Authentic Voice
- Letters of Love & Solidarity: A Community Writing Event
- Building Confidence Through Fitness: A Transmasculine Approach
Thursday, November 13, 2025
6:30 p.m. “Trans Out, Bro”: The Story of Girl Island
Transgender media artist Sandy Stone will discuss her forthcoming animated documentary, Girl Island: The Sandy Stone Story, with director Marji Vecchio. This film features animation by award-winning graphic novel artist Bishakh Som.
6:30 p.m. Virtual Transcend Peer Support Circle
Join LGBT Network Community Centers for a virtual safe space of support and community with transgender, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary folks of all ages! They discuss trans-related topics and issues in a warm, welcoming environment.
Monday, November 17, 2025
2:00 pm. Training for Parents & Caregivers of LGBTQIA+ Youth: Transgender Youth
Parents and caregivers of transgender and gender nonconforming youth are invited to this free training facilitated by Our Space’s family engagement specialist, Tia Lâm (he/him).
8:00 p.m. Transgender Day of Rest - Black Trans Empowerment Week
The Mahogany Project encourages all Black transgender folks to adopt rest as an expression of self-love and fortitude. To assist community members in practicing rest, they will provide virtual guided meditation, meditation, and breath-work sessions on Zoom.
Thursday, November 20, 2025
3:00 p.m. Transgender Day of Remembrance Virtual Vigil and Lunch & Learn
This event from UC San Francisco Health will start with a reading of the names of all those we have lost to transphobia in the last year, including those lost to violence and suicide. Following that will be a lunch and learn session titled “Trans Exceptionalism and Healthcare Access,” then a Q&A period.