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It Gets Even Better: Stories of Queer Possibility
These stories are about identity, relationships, and community. They're about hope, acceptance, affirmation, and joy. And most of all, in a time when uncertainty feels inescapable and overwhelming, they're about taking one another by the hand and choosing together to embrace the unknown.
The possibilities are endless.
This anthology is full of uplifting, affirming short stories about queer possibility by an outstanding lineup of speculative fiction authors including Charlie Jane Anders, Zen Cho, Amy Griswold, Nibedita Sen, Merc Fenn Wolfmoor, and S.L. Huang.
The possibilities are endless.
This anthology is full of uplifting, affirming short stories about queer possibility by an outstanding lineup of speculative fiction authors including Charlie Jane Anders, Zen Cho, Amy Griswold, Nibedita Sen, Merc Fenn Wolfmoor, and S.L. Huang.
252 pages, Paperback
Published September 17, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 5, 2021
This anthology was created with the goal of curating speculative fiction that celebrates queer characters finding joy and affirmation. It succeeds wonderfully, presenting a wide variety of clever, inventive, and well-written stories. Even the selections that were less to my taste in style or subject matter often affected me emotionally, and among the stories I liked best, it's hard to narrow down my favorites:
- "The Ghosts of Liberty Street" by Phoebe Barton starts the anthology off strong and thematic with a beautiful story that's all about possibilities.
- "Custom Options Available" by Amy Griswold features an excellent robot narrator who's on a carefully considered quest to explore sexuality, identity, and the parameters of a free life.
- "The Invisible Bisexual" by S.L. Huang takes the phrase literally, in a way that complicates the main character's love life.
- "Frequently Asked Questions About the Portals at Frank's Late-Night Starlite Drive-In" by Kristen Koopman is as weird and fun as that title suggests, with a really sweet story of a character coming into herself.
- "Midnight Confetti" by D.K. Marlowe uses delicious-to-read sentences to tell a reluctant love story with a light touch of magic.
- "The After Party" by Ben Francisco is a lovely imagining of an afterlife that offers a chance to grow and heal.
The book is available in multiple formats directly from the publisher, and through independent bookstores and libraries.
- "The Ghosts of Liberty Street" by Phoebe Barton starts the anthology off strong and thematic with a beautiful story that's all about possibilities.
- "Custom Options Available" by Amy Griswold features an excellent robot narrator who's on a carefully considered quest to explore sexuality, identity, and the parameters of a free life.
- "The Invisible Bisexual" by S.L. Huang takes the phrase literally, in a way that complicates the main character's love life.
- "Frequently Asked Questions About the Portals at Frank's Late-Night Starlite Drive-In" by Kristen Koopman is as weird and fun as that title suggests, with a really sweet story of a character coming into herself.
- "Midnight Confetti" by D.K. Marlowe uses delicious-to-read sentences to tell a reluctant love story with a light touch of magic.
- "The After Party" by Ben Francisco is a lovely imagining of an afterlife that offers a chance to grow and heal.
The book is available in multiple formats directly from the publisher, and through independent bookstores and libraries.
August 16, 2021
(This review originally appeared at HistoryThatNeverWas.com.)
It Gets Even Better: Stories of Queer Possibility, edited by Isabela Oliveira and Jed Sabin , is a lovely collection of 22 affirming stories of queer possibility. The stories range between science fiction and fantasy, worlds you can easily recognize and those you can’t, and always filled to the brim with queer characters making their way through their world.
This anthology was chock full of stories that I enjoyed, and some that I really loved. “The Invisible Bisexual” by S. L. Huang was a sweet twist on the joke about bisexuals being invisible. Kristen Koopman’s “Frequently Asked Questions About the Portals at Frank’s Late-Night Starlite Drive-In” took a FAQ format and made it into a delightful humorous story. “Sea Glass at Dawn” was a lovely tale of found family by Leora Spitzer. Lauren Ring’s “Gold Medal, Scrap Metal” was a cute tale of a young woman finally allowing herself to admit her love for her best friend. Aimee Ogden and Ziggy Schutz each told brief coffee shop stories, with two very different angles. And the final story in the anthology, “The Mountain Will Move If You Ask,” by Jaxton Kimble, was a powerful story of believing in yourself and your own worth.
There are plenty more stories that I didn’t mention specifically, but I didn’t dislike a single story in the anthology, which is a wonderful accomplishment for the editors to put together such a strong collection of stories. The anthology also presents content notes for the stories to let readers know if there are any stories they might prefer to skip over due to the content, which is a wonderful feature.
It Gets Even Better: Stories of Queer Possibility, edited by Isabela Oliveira and Jed Sabin , is a lovely collection of 22 affirming stories of queer possibility. The stories range between science fiction and fantasy, worlds you can easily recognize and those you can’t, and always filled to the brim with queer characters making their way through their world.
This anthology was chock full of stories that I enjoyed, and some that I really loved. “The Invisible Bisexual” by S. L. Huang was a sweet twist on the joke about bisexuals being invisible. Kristen Koopman’s “Frequently Asked Questions About the Portals at Frank’s Late-Night Starlite Drive-In” took a FAQ format and made it into a delightful humorous story. “Sea Glass at Dawn” was a lovely tale of found family by Leora Spitzer. Lauren Ring’s “Gold Medal, Scrap Metal” was a cute tale of a young woman finally allowing herself to admit her love for her best friend. Aimee Ogden and Ziggy Schutz each told brief coffee shop stories, with two very different angles. And the final story in the anthology, “The Mountain Will Move If You Ask,” by Jaxton Kimble, was a powerful story of believing in yourself and your own worth.
There are plenty more stories that I didn’t mention specifically, but I didn’t dislike a single story in the anthology, which is a wonderful accomplishment for the editors to put together such a strong collection of stories. The anthology also presents content notes for the stories to let readers know if there are any stories they might prefer to skip over due to the content, which is a wonderful feature.
October 23, 2021
Wonderful anthology of imaginative and hopeful queer speculative short stories! I enjoyed every single story in the book, but a few of my favorites were...
"Weave Us a Way" by Nemma Wollenfang - moving magic realism-style story about how we shape and re-shape our traditions and our destinies.
"Frequently Asked Questions About the Portals at Frank's Late-Night Starlite Drive-In" by Kristen Koopman - combines clever world-building with fun humor and the innovative structure of unfolding a story thru a series of FAQs!
"I'll Have You Know" by Charlie Jane Anders, fun story of a future where a 100-year-old makes a long-deferred gender transition with support from her cryptocurrency-goat roommate.
"The Cafe Under the Hill" by Ziggy Schutz - creative and emotionally impactful story that turns the fae magic of naming on its head, revealing some very human magic.
Full disclosure: my own story, "The After Party," is in this anthology too. It was an honor for the story to be published alongside such an amazing set of stories!
"Weave Us a Way" by Nemma Wollenfang - moving magic realism-style story about how we shape and re-shape our traditions and our destinies.
"Frequently Asked Questions About the Portals at Frank's Late-Night Starlite Drive-In" by Kristen Koopman - combines clever world-building with fun humor and the innovative structure of unfolding a story thru a series of FAQs!
"I'll Have You Know" by Charlie Jane Anders, fun story of a future where a 100-year-old makes a long-deferred gender transition with support from her cryptocurrency-goat roommate.
"The Cafe Under the Hill" by Ziggy Schutz - creative and emotionally impactful story that turns the fae magic of naming on its head, revealing some very human magic.
Full disclosure: my own story, "The After Party," is in this anthology too. It was an honor for the story to be published alongside such an amazing set of stories!
April 30, 2024
This anthology of sci-fi and fantasy short stories features queer stories in a great swath of what LGBTQIA+ can mean, and all these short stories have some kind of happy ending. All the stories were good, and a handful were great.
My favorites:
“Custom Options Available” by Amy Griswold — This opens with “The hardware specialist does not want to sell me genitals,” and that kicks off a story about a retired robot trying to figure out what they will do with the rest of their life. It harbors a beautiful message about how we are more than our labor and a tinge of a sad note that we all should have more time to discover ourselves. But the happy ending is that it’s never too late to figure out who you are.
“The Invisible Bisexual” by S.L. Huang — Plays literally with invisibility as the main character disappears when experiencing sexual and romantic attraction.
“black is a flower” by R.J. Mustafa — I love a weird monster story where desiring the monster and transforming into a monster are the end goals.
“since we’re here tonight” by Xu Ran — A found family leaves Earth for a better life for each other and prepares for their future on a train to a space colony.
“I’ll Have You Know” by Charlie Jane Anders — A wild and vividly imaginative future story about El who decides on her 100th birthday to finally transition to womanhood. There are some wonderful ideas about future technology, but Anders also sharply bites back about scams and schemes that defraud elders as El takes aim at them. Or just has to put up with her roommate.
“The After Party” by Ben Fransisco — A beautiful reflection on healing in a possible afterlife.
My favorites:
“Custom Options Available” by Amy Griswold — This opens with “The hardware specialist does not want to sell me genitals,” and that kicks off a story about a retired robot trying to figure out what they will do with the rest of their life. It harbors a beautiful message about how we are more than our labor and a tinge of a sad note that we all should have more time to discover ourselves. But the happy ending is that it’s never too late to figure out who you are.
“The Invisible Bisexual” by S.L. Huang — Plays literally with invisibility as the main character disappears when experiencing sexual and romantic attraction.
“black is a flower” by R.J. Mustafa — I love a weird monster story where desiring the monster and transforming into a monster are the end goals.
“since we’re here tonight” by Xu Ran — A found family leaves Earth for a better life for each other and prepares for their future on a train to a space colony.
“I’ll Have You Know” by Charlie Jane Anders — A wild and vividly imaginative future story about El who decides on her 100th birthday to finally transition to womanhood. There are some wonderful ideas about future technology, but Anders also sharply bites back about scams and schemes that defraud elders as El takes aim at them. Or just has to put up with her roommate.
“The After Party” by Ben Fransisco — A beautiful reflection on healing in a possible afterlife.
July 9, 2021
This anthology lives up to its title for all sorts of LGBTQIA+ characters who deserve their happy endings. The twenty-two stories stretch from physically exploring the never completed Cincinnati subway system (“The Ghosts of Liberty Street” by Phoebe Barton) to considering who should be heard and believed (“FAQ About the Portals at Frank’s Late-Night Starlight Drive-In” by Kristen Koopman). If your concepts of gender and sex positivity are expansive enough to include robots, I strongly recommend “Custom Options Available” by Amy Griswold, which made my top ten list for 2020 when I first read it in Fireside Magazine. Finally, nothing I can say would do justice to Goaty, but they’re a success on their own terms in Charlie Jane Anders’ “I’ll Have You Know.”
November 18, 2021
Excellent anthology of positive queer stories.
I particularly loved how there were several different stories set in and around coffee shops that somehow managed to be completely different from each other! And all equally good!
I particularly loved how there were several different stories set in and around coffee shops that somehow managed to be completely different from each other! And all equally good!
October 13, 2021
Beautiful!!!
August 26, 2022
Stand outs: Frequently Asked Questions by Kristen Koopman, (don’t you) love a singer by TS Porter
May 8, 2022
SPECULATIVE STORIES OF QUEER POSSIBILITY
I avidly read almost any collection of LGBTQ+ literature that crosses my path. I relish the variety of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction that may be included in one of these collections. I’ve recently read several collections of queer speculative fiction and have not been disappointed at all. Each collection, each author and each story in these collections, has taken me to places far beyond my wildest imagination and has enriched my life. It’s wonderful that so many talented queer authors are creating these fantastic stories. They keep me eagerly turning the pages.
It Gets Even Better: Stories of Queer Possibility is the second collection from Speculatively Queer in Seattle in which I have recently immersed myself. The first one I read was Xenocultivars: Stories of Queer Growth, published in January 2022. I gave this magnificent collection of stories a five-star review on Goodreads. After reading Xenocultivars, I discovered It Gets Even Better, published in April 2021, which is just as fascinating as its successor. It Gets Even Better includes stories by twenty-two authors. I had previously read stories by a couple of these writers, but everyone else was new to me. I really enjoyed making their acquaintance. And, oh, the places these writers took me!
It Gets Even Better is “Dedicated to those who paved the way to make our possibilities possible.” As can be assumed by the subtitle of this collection, Stories of Queer Possibility, the stories in this collection have upbeat endings. No unhappy or tragic endings are allowed. From a collection of twenty-two stories, none of which is a clunker by any means, some will jump out at you and resonate more than others. Each reader will have their own favorites. I will mention below four of mine.
In Amy Griswold’s “Custom Options Available,” the narrator is a recently retired mining bot, who has spent the last thirty years on Mars. The first sentence is as follows: “The hardware specialist does not want to sell me genitals.” I was mesmerized by this story. The story ends with the narrator, who does acquire genitals and has once had sex, trying to decide whether to acquire a name to replace the number assigned by the manufacturer: “Now that I am retired, I have all the time I want to decide, and all of that time belongs to me.” Although I am a human, many of the issues, or, I should say, possibilities, facing this retired bot resonated with me. I love this story.
“since we’re here tonight” by Xiu Ran takes the reader on a journey with a group of five friends on a train in space. They have left Earth in search of new lives. The conversations between Ren, Asa, Levi, Song Jian, and Elliot are the core of the story. Ren says, “Space is vast.” Whatever challenges and possibilities they will encounter, individually and collectively, when they reach their destination, they know they have each other.
“I’ll Have You Know” by Charlie Jane Anders made me laugh out loud. El asks, “What do you get yourself on your hundredth birthday?” El wants to transition from male to female. El’s roommate is Goaty, who evolved from a cryptocurrency called Goatcash into a sentient being. After refusing to sign up for enhanced dreams as part of her transition, she observes, “I think I’m turning into the kind of old lady who makes trouble.” El faces various possibilities at the end of her story.
The first sentence of Ben Francisco’s beautiful “The After Party” is as follows: “The land of the dead is a party that never stops, and you can stay as long as you like.” The narrator says the DJ is an alchemist. The music is perfect. While the narrator dances and dances, people from his past come up to him and attempt to right old wrongs. He conclusively says, “I’ve got a lot of important dancing to do.” This story is absolutely magical.
I’ve only mentioned four of the twenty-two inspiring stories included in It Gets Even Better. Kudos to the editors, Isabela Oliveira and Jed Sabin, who are also the editors of Xenocultivars, for assembling such a fabulous collection of stories. Grab a copy and experience queer possibilities like you’ve never imagined them. I can’t wait for the next story collection from Speculatively Queer.
I avidly read almost any collection of LGBTQ+ literature that crosses my path. I relish the variety of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction that may be included in one of these collections. I’ve recently read several collections of queer speculative fiction and have not been disappointed at all. Each collection, each author and each story in these collections, has taken me to places far beyond my wildest imagination and has enriched my life. It’s wonderful that so many talented queer authors are creating these fantastic stories. They keep me eagerly turning the pages.
It Gets Even Better: Stories of Queer Possibility is the second collection from Speculatively Queer in Seattle in which I have recently immersed myself. The first one I read was Xenocultivars: Stories of Queer Growth, published in January 2022. I gave this magnificent collection of stories a five-star review on Goodreads. After reading Xenocultivars, I discovered It Gets Even Better, published in April 2021, which is just as fascinating as its successor. It Gets Even Better includes stories by twenty-two authors. I had previously read stories by a couple of these writers, but everyone else was new to me. I really enjoyed making their acquaintance. And, oh, the places these writers took me!
It Gets Even Better is “Dedicated to those who paved the way to make our possibilities possible.” As can be assumed by the subtitle of this collection, Stories of Queer Possibility, the stories in this collection have upbeat endings. No unhappy or tragic endings are allowed. From a collection of twenty-two stories, none of which is a clunker by any means, some will jump out at you and resonate more than others. Each reader will have their own favorites. I will mention below four of mine.
In Amy Griswold’s “Custom Options Available,” the narrator is a recently retired mining bot, who has spent the last thirty years on Mars. The first sentence is as follows: “The hardware specialist does not want to sell me genitals.” I was mesmerized by this story. The story ends with the narrator, who does acquire genitals and has once had sex, trying to decide whether to acquire a name to replace the number assigned by the manufacturer: “Now that I am retired, I have all the time I want to decide, and all of that time belongs to me.” Although I am a human, many of the issues, or, I should say, possibilities, facing this retired bot resonated with me. I love this story.
“since we’re here tonight” by Xiu Ran takes the reader on a journey with a group of five friends on a train in space. They have left Earth in search of new lives. The conversations between Ren, Asa, Levi, Song Jian, and Elliot are the core of the story. Ren says, “Space is vast.” Whatever challenges and possibilities they will encounter, individually and collectively, when they reach their destination, they know they have each other.
“I’ll Have You Know” by Charlie Jane Anders made me laugh out loud. El asks, “What do you get yourself on your hundredth birthday?” El wants to transition from male to female. El’s roommate is Goaty, who evolved from a cryptocurrency called Goatcash into a sentient being. After refusing to sign up for enhanced dreams as part of her transition, she observes, “I think I’m turning into the kind of old lady who makes trouble.” El faces various possibilities at the end of her story.
The first sentence of Ben Francisco’s beautiful “The After Party” is as follows: “The land of the dead is a party that never stops, and you can stay as long as you like.” The narrator says the DJ is an alchemist. The music is perfect. While the narrator dances and dances, people from his past come up to him and attempt to right old wrongs. He conclusively says, “I’ve got a lot of important dancing to do.” This story is absolutely magical.
I’ve only mentioned four of the twenty-two inspiring stories included in It Gets Even Better. Kudos to the editors, Isabela Oliveira and Jed Sabin, who are also the editors of Xenocultivars, for assembling such a fabulous collection of stories. Grab a copy and experience queer possibilities like you’ve never imagined them. I can’t wait for the next story collection from Speculatively Queer.
July 5, 2022
I don't mind reading books where bad things happen. That's life and also a good plot device. But sometimes, or really, a lot of the time now, I want to read stories that aren't about bad things happening, or at least not ending badly. It's nice to feel confident that the characters you care about are going to be okay, in the end.
If you need some stories like that (and honestly, we all do sometimes), please read this book. Did I cry? Yeah okay maybe a little but they were usually happy tears because damn that was just so beautiful, so close to how I would love to create the world or walk through the world or be seen in the world.
These stories are for all adults. I know it has queer in the subtitle. And I do think they will be a particular breath of fresh, lavender-scented air to queer and trans folks who so often only get to see ourselves represented as two-dimensional plot devices easily traumatized for dramatic effect. But these stories are also important and necessary for straight and cis folks. Particularly if we want to achieve any of these wonderful possibilities.
If you need some stories like that (and honestly, we all do sometimes), please read this book. Did I cry? Yeah okay maybe a little but they were usually happy tears because damn that was just so beautiful, so close to how I would love to create the world or walk through the world or be seen in the world.
These stories are for all adults. I know it has queer in the subtitle. And I do think they will be a particular breath of fresh, lavender-scented air to queer and trans folks who so often only get to see ourselves represented as two-dimensional plot devices easily traumatized for dramatic effect. But these stories are also important and necessary for straight and cis folks. Particularly if we want to achieve any of these wonderful possibilities.
June 26, 2022
Like any anthology, different stories will appeal to different readers. I had a few favourites.
Custom Options Available by Amy Griswold: An adorable tale of a retired mining robot discovering themself.
The Frequency of Compassion by Merc Fenn Wolfmoor: Kaityn's an astronaut on a routine job in star-charting, when they accidentally make first contact with an alien race.
I’ll Have You Know by Charlie Jane Anders. On her hundredth birthday, El decides it's finally time to transition and live her life as the woman she knows she is.
Since We’re Here Tonight by Xu Ran: Ren and their four friends leave Earth behind. A warm and comforting tale.
Custom Options Available by Amy Griswold: An adorable tale of a retired mining robot discovering themself.
The Frequency of Compassion by Merc Fenn Wolfmoor: Kaityn's an astronaut on a routine job in star-charting, when they accidentally make first contact with an alien race.
I’ll Have You Know by Charlie Jane Anders. On her hundredth birthday, El decides it's finally time to transition and live her life as the woman she knows she is.
Since We’re Here Tonight by Xu Ran: Ren and their four friends leave Earth behind. A warm and comforting tale.
December 27, 2021
I really enjoyed this delightful, affirming book! There are lots of standout stories and they all support the theme in different ways. If you’re looking for a standout anthology, full of work by queer authors you should be paying attention to, this is definitely one to check out. As a sidebar note, from a fellow publisher, the book’s presentation and editing is impressive too - really well done! I’ll be looking for more books from Speculatively Queer and stories from these authors!
June 19, 2024
There were lots of really sweet stories in this collection! I was especially fond of "Sea Glass at Dawn," "The Frequency of Compassion," "Gold Medal, Scrap Metal," and (don't you) love a singer." There were plenty that weren't "sweet" per se, but something for everyone. In that category was "The Mountain Will Move if You Ask" which I liked, though it was difficult to wrap my brain around the world at first. Plenty of hope, pleasure, alternate relationship styles, queer joy, etc.
September 9, 2021
I can't believe my humble doodle gets to serve as the cover of a delightful collection of queer joy. Truly I feel blessed! Do you love genre fiction? Do you love queer happiness? Then this little literary ray of sunshine is just what you need.
October 10, 2022
A beautiful collection of SFF stories with queer edges, whether central to the story or just part of life. Highly recommended, even if like me, short stories aren't your cup of tea.
March 1, 2025
Phenomenal collection of short stories about queer joy and hope and possibility.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews