{"id":311021,"date":"2026-05-19T07:05:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T11:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/electricliterature.com\/?p=311021"},"modified":"2026-07-21T15:14:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T19:14:02","slug":"7-books-about-queer-and-trans-lives-on-the-prairies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/electricliterature.com\/7-books-about-queer-and-trans-lives-on-the-prairies\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Books About Queer and Trans Lives on the Prairies\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Queer and trans people have always existed on the prairies, among First Nations prior to European colonization and among the tapestry of nations that call the prairies home today. In Canada, the prairies stretch from east of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta, through the grasslands of Saskatchewan, and past the rivers and lakes of Manitoba. The land where we reside is mostly flat, our winters harsh and summers sometimes harsher as forest fires and floods become an increasing danger. It can feel as though there is nowhere to hide amidst the terrain that surrounds us, and yet many of us hide out of necessity, out of survival. In doing so, we rely on each other.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The characters in my book, The Body Riddle<\/em><\/a>, grapple with isolation and connection, and what it means to build a chosen family in Winnipeg, a prairie city of over 850,000 residents situated in the longitudinal middle of Canada. The protagonist, Lex, changes in tandem with Winnipeg\u2019s weather. The story opens in winter, when everything feels unbearable, only to move through spring and summer, where Lex begins to hope, and eventually savor, the world around them. I wove specific Winnipeg experiences like the Winnipeg Folk Festival through Lex\u2019s story, where, for Lex, the mind-bend of heat and music and throngs of people leads to dizzy experiences and questionable decisions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The below books examine what it means for queer and trans people to weather coming of age, falling in love, finding and losing family and community, all on the Canadian prairies. They challenge the notion that community can only be found in cities, they search for hope amidst hardship, and they celebrate the magic of queer joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n