Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Earley.
Hi Elizabeth, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My first novel, A Map of Everything, which I’m recording the audiobook for only now, was published in 2014 and was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for Debut Fiction. My second novel, Like Wings, Your Hands, was selected by Aimee Bender as the winner of the 2017 Red Hen Press Women’s Prose Prize. It also won the 2019 American Fiction Prize for best LGBTQ novel, was a finalist for the Ferro-Grumley Award for LGBTQ Fiction by the Publishing Triangle, and was a 2019 Foreword INDIES Finalist.
In 2016, I took over Jaded Ibis Press from its founder and changed it into a nonprofit, feminist press publishing socially engaged literature by marginalized voices. Since then, we’ve grown and published many beautiful, award-winning books. For years, I have dreamed of opening a book store that featured Jaded Ibis Press titles alongside other amazing feminist works. This year, I realized that dream when I opened The Feminist Bookstore in Mission Hills. Not only do we have all of Jaded Ibis Press’s books for sale at the store, but hundreds of other feminist books of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry alongside striking original artwork and empowering gifts.
Last year, I started <i>Queering Reality, a series of interviews and writings that went viral with roughly 100,000 subscribers and growing. Twice each month, we dive into a wide array of topics, from the deeply personal to the broadly cultural. Whether we’re interviewing influential authors, activists, artists, and thinkers, or engaging in candid discussions about philosophy, science, politics, media, mental health, and everyday life, our goal is to foster conversations that are thought-provoking, informative, and, above all, transformative.
Later this year, in September, I’ll publish my first nonfiction book: <i>Little Deaths All in a Row, Essays on Sex and Death. In this book, I write about the near-fatal motorcycle accident I survived that brought me to interrogate my fear of death, only to end up reckoning instead with my fear of love. Through the lenses of my lived experiences, feminism, history, and science, I explore the myriad connections (scientific, philosophical, emotional, spiritual) between sex and death. I also write about my experiences with intimacy, ranging from romantic, sometimes toxic relationships with women—and dealing with the resulting heartbreak—to encounters while attending people’s deaths through my service as a hospice volunteer.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Definitely not! When my first novel came out in 2014, I was pregnant. That first book tour was unforgettable with my baby bump and me nipping-out, because I couldn’t stand to ever wear a bra while pregnant. In all the photos of my readings, all I can see is my nipples showing proud and prominent through whatever shirt I am wearing. Giving birth without drugs was only the second most painful thing that happened to me though; a few years later, before my second novel came out, I was in a near-fatal motorcycle accident. The pains and rewards of that life-altering event are partly what I write about in my forthcoming essay collection.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about The Feminist Bookstore?
The Feminist Bookstore, a subsidiary of Jaded Ibis Press, is a vibrant new space in San Diego dedicated to feminist voices, bold art, and socially engaged literature. As a nonprofit, we champion historically marginalized perspectives through books, gifts, and community events. We have a monthly reading series with an open mic, a monthly literary soiree, several monthly book clubs, and are soon to start a monthly writer’s workshop. Join us in celebrating empowerment, creativity, and activism in a welcoming space designed to inspire and connect!
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
Once, when I was small and my mom was bathing me and the time came for her to drain the bath, I wept. Standing to climb out from the tub, dripping with bath water and tears, she asked me why I was crying. “I don’t know!” I moaned, and I didn’t. She opened her arms then and I collapsed into them like a slippery pale seal returning to sea.
“You’re just tired,” she said, and held me. She wrapped me in a towel and squeezed me tight for what felt to my small body like a beautiful eternity.
Pricing:
- 19.99 for Little Deaths All in a Row, Essays on Sex and Death (available for Preorder)
Contact Info:
- Website: www.elearley.com
- Instagram: @therealelizabethearley
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRealElizabethEarley
- Other: https://www.queeringreality.com
Image Credits
Headshot portrait by Nicole Roberts
