DATES is an anthology of queer historical fiction that focuses on positive and hopeful representations of queer folks throughout history and across the world. In 2015, Margins Publishing successfully Kickstarted Volume 1; and now, they launched the campaign for Volume 2.
The campaign for DATES 2, which raised more than a quarter of its $22,000 goal in the first 9 hours, will last until March 25th.
Following funding, Margins intends to release the book for
general sale in July or August of 2017.
Margins Publishing launched DATES 1 as a response to the Tragic Queer trope, in which queer characters in media all too often end their stories dead or destitute. With DATES, Margins is working towards evening the score, bringing to life stories about characters in settings before the 1960s and located on five different continents. Most importantly: none of the stories have tragic endings.
DATES 2 is 260+ pages long, including 218 pages of comics, 16 full-color illustrations, and 2 short prose stories. The stories take place throughout time and across the world, and are brought to life by a wide array of spectacular creators.
- Watch a young trans woman grow into herself in 19th Century Bengal in “Kantha,” by Effie Lee, or
- Follow a young queer woman from the 1920s Dominican Republic as she studies to become a doctor in “La Estudiante,” by Kelly Fernandez.
- If you’re interested in a raucous good time, you can even join two innkeepers as they stand their ground in Mesopotamia during Hammurabi’s reign in “Lex Talonius” by Val Wise.
- Other creators include Kate Kasenow (An Elegy for Amelia Johnson) & Pat Shand (Robyn Hood), millionfish (Home Beings), and Fyodor Pavlov (Queerotica) & Megan McFerren (Bespoke).
All the stories in DATES 2 are safe for work, and though they don’t shy away from complex themes, everything in the book is appropriate for readers ages 10 and up.
For more previews, contributor features, and more, check out
datesanthology.com. For more information about the project—and to get a hold of the book—go to kickstarter.datesanthology.com.