New in December: T Cooper, Tony Fletcher, Jim Elledge, David Groff, and Hilary Sloin

Author: Edit Team

December 2, 2012

December brings with it an assortment of fantastic books!

Sullen Smiths fans have reason to rejoice this month, Crown Archetype is releasing a comprehensive overview of the legendary alternative rock group. A Light That Never Goes Out, by writer Tony Fletcher, provides an in-depth look at both the history and cultural impact of the iconic band.

From the publisher:

They were, their fans believe, the best band in the world. Hailing from Manchester, England, The Smiths–Morrissey, Johnny Marr, Andy Rourke, and Mike Joyce–were critical and popular favorites throughout their mid-1980s heyday and beyond. To this day, due to their unforgettable songs and lyrics, they are considered one of the greatest British rock groups of all time–up there with the Beatles, the Stones, the Who, and the Clash.

Tony Fletcher paints a vivid portrait of the fascinating personalities within the group: Morrissey, the witty, literate lead singer whose loner personality and complex lyrics made him an icon for teenagers who felt forlorn and forgotten; his songwriting partner Marr, the gregarious guitarist who became a rock god for a generation of indie kids; and the talented, good-looking rhythm section duo of bassist Rourke and drummer Joyce. Despite the band’s tragic breakup at the height of their success, A Light That Never Goes Out is a celebration: the saga of four working-class kids from a northern English city who come together despite contrasting personalities, find a musical bond, inspire a fanatical following, and leave a legacy that changed the music world–and the lives of their fans.

McSweeny’s is publishing a new book by novelist T Cooper. Real Man Adventures is a wry and thought provoking exploration of the concept of masculinity.

From McSweeny’s,

A few years ago, the novelist T Cooper wrote his parents a letter telling them he “wasn’t their daughter anymore.” And that was the “good news.”

Real Man Adventures is Cooper’s brash, wildly inventive, and often comic exploration of the paradoxes and pleasures of masculinity. He takes us through his transition into identifying as male, and how he went on to marry his wife and become an adoring stepfather of two children. Alternately bemused and exasperated when he feels compelled to explain all this, Cooper never loses his sense of humor. “Ten Things People Assume I Understand About Women But Actually Don’t,” reads one chapter title, while another proffers: “Sometimes I Think the Whole of Modern History Can Be Explained by Testosterone.”

A brilliant collage of letters, essays, interviews (with his brother, with his wife, with the parents of other transgender children), artwork, and sharp evocations of difficult conversations with old friends and puzzled bureaucrats, Real Man Adventures will forever change what you think about what it means to be a man.

This month, Bywater Books is releasing Art on Fire by writer Hilary Sloin. The novel is “the latest winner of the Bywater Prize for Fiction and was a finalist for the Heekin Foundation Award, the Dana Awards, and The Story Oaks Prize.”

Also this month expect new releases from novelist James Earl Hardy, author Jeanne Winer, Ayana Mathis, and a new edited collection by Jim Elledge and David Groff.

As always, if we missed an author or book, or if you have a book coming out next month, please email us.

Fiction

Art on Fire by Hilary Sloin, Bywater Books
The Aversive Clause by B.C. Edwards, Black Lawrence Press
The Furthest City Light by Jeanne Winer, Bella Books
The Twelve Tribes Of Hattie by Ayana Mathis, Knopf

Nonfiction

A Light That Never Goes Out: The Enduring Saga of the Smiths by Tony Fletcher, Crown Archetype
Frequently Asked Questions About Same-sex Marriage and When a Parent Is Gay (Faq: Teen Life) by Tracy Brown, Rosen Pub Group
Martin Luther King Jr., Homosexuality, and the Early Gay Rights Movement: Keeping the Dream Straight? by Michael G. Long, Macmillan
The Portable Queer: The Complete Series by Erin McHugh, Vantage Point
Real Man Adventures by T Cooper, McSweeny’s
Same Sex Legal Kit For Dummies by Carrie Stone and John G. Culhane, For Dummies
Who’s Yer Daddy?: Gay Writers Celebrate Their Mentors and Forerunners edited by Jim Elledge and David Groff, University of Wisconsin Press

LGBT Studies

AIDS Routledge Literature and Gay Identity: The Literature of Loss by Monica B. Pearl, Routledge
Black Genders and Sexualities edited by Dána-Ain Davis and Shaka McGlotten, Routledge
The Challenges of Being a Rural Gay Man: Coping with Stigma by Deborah Bray Preston and Anthony R. D’Augelli, Routledge
Documenting Intimate Matters: Primary Sources for a History of Sexuality in America by Thomas A. Foster, University of Chicago Press
Homoeroticism in Imperial China: A Sourcebook edited by Mark Stevenson and Cuncun Wu, Routledge
Homoerotic Sensibilities in Late Imperial China edited by Cuncun Wu, Routledge
Orgasmology (Next Wave: New Directions in Women’s Studies) by Annamarie Jagose, Duke University Press
LGBT-Parent Families: Innovations in Research and Implications for Practice edited by Abbie E. Goldberg and Katherine R. Allen, Springer
Queer Tracks: Subversive Strategies in Rock and Pop Music by Doris Leibetseder, Ashgate Publishing Company
Queer Visibility in Post-socialist Cultures edited by Narcisz Fejes and Andrea P. Balogh, Intellect Ltd
Sapphire’s Literary Breakthrough: Erotic Literacies, Feminist Pedagogies, Environmental Justice Perspectives edited Elizabeth McNeil, Lynette D. Myles, Neal A. Lester, and DoVeanna S. Fulton, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Transgender China edited by Howard Chiang, Palgrave Macmillan
Voices of LGBTQ Students and Teachers: Problematizing the Culture of Schooling edited by Anna V. Wilson and Veronica Bloomfield, Paradigm Publishers

Romance

Certain Dark Things (C.J. St. Clair) by Erica Abbott, Bella Books
The Dragon Tree Legacy by Ali Vali, Bold Strokes Books
Dirty Sex by Ashley Bartlett, Bold Strokes Books
Forever in One Second by Finn Marlowe, Samhain Publishing
Listen to Her Heart by Trin Denise and Claire Chilton (Illustrator), Ragz Books
The Midnight Room by Ronica Black, Bold Strokes Books
Pursued by Joel Gomez-Dossi, Bold Strokes Books
Skybound by Aleksandr Voinov, Riptide Publishing
Snow Falls by Gerri Hill, Bella Books
Wyatt: Doc Holliday’s Account of an Intimate Friendship by Dale Chase, Bold Strokes Books