Trans narrators: First-person form and the gendered body in contemporary literature

Demonstrates how contemporary trans narrators reshape current understandings of narrative form and gender identity
- Proposes a new methodology that combines trans studies and narratives studies
- Defines and describes a canon of contemporary trans-authored prose
- Enhances studies of first-person voice by expanding their corpus of texts
- Offers readings of popular trans authors (Emezi) as well as lesser-known ones (Gimpelevich)
- Discusses Anglophone trans narratives in a UK context as well as transnationally
- Centres gender in arguing for the political importance of narrative form
Trans Narrators examines a range of trans-authored novels, short stories and autobiographical narratives published after 2015 and develops a new methodology at the intersection of trans studies and narrative studies. The book identifies temporality, embodiment and reliability as key areas of investment for trans authors, and focuses specifically on the first-person narrator, showing how its formal characteristics impact how we understand gender and the body, the act of narrating the self, and the ability of marginalised subjects to speak and be visible. By creating a framework for reading trans narratives, this book responds to the urgency of promoting trans voices in a transnational context in which trans rights are at risk, as well as to a growing understanding of the role of narrative forms in shaping collective thought, politics and material conditions.