In April 2015, B.K. Stevens debuted the blog series “The First Two Pages,” hosting craft essays by short story writers and novelists analyzing the openings of their own work. The series continued until just after her death in August 2017, and the full archive of those essays can be found at Bonnie’s website. In November 2017, the blog series relocated to my website, and the archive of this second stage of the series can be found here.
Today is pub day for Crime Ink: Iconic: An Anthology of Crime Fiction Inspired by Queer Icons, co-edited by John Copenhaver and Salem West, publisher of Bywater Books. I was pleased to receive an advance copy of the book from John, a good friend and fellow alum of George Mason University’s MFA Program in Creative Writing—and pleased too to provide a blurb for the published book too, which is fantastic! John has established a tremendous career as a crime writer, with novels which have collectively won the Macavity Award, the Lambda Literary Award, the Lefty Award, and a shout-out from the New York Times as one of the Crime Novels of the Year, and he’s become a force in the literary community as well, including being a founding member of Queer Crime Writers. As introduction and context for the anthology he and Salem West organized, here’s the book description below:
In 2023, crime fiction anthologies featured 517 stories across 30 titles—but shockingly, fewer than 1 percent were penned by LGBTQ+ writers. Crime Ink: Iconic (An Anthology of Crime Fiction Inspired by Famous Queer Icons) is a resounding response to this glaring disparity, offering a vibrant collection of stories by and about queer authors and characters.
Drawing inspiration from queer icons—James Baldwin, Oscar Wilde, Candy Darling, Radclyffe Hall, Babadook, Megan Rapinoe, Laverne Cox, Dolly Parton, Vita Sackville-West, and many more—these tales span the rich spectrum of crime fiction, from cozy mysteries and whodunits to noir, psychological thrillers, and police procedurals. Each story is a testament to the depth, ingenuity, and thrilling originality of queer voices in the genre.
This anthology showcases an incredible array of talent, including New York Times Best Crime Novels of 2024 honorees Margot Douaihy, Robyn Gigl, John Copenhaver, and Katrina Carrasco; Lambda Literary winners Ann Aptaker, Greg Herren, Ann McMan, and J.M. Redmann; and other celebrated writers like Cheryl Head, Penny Mickelbury, Christa Faust, Jeffrey Marks, and Kelly J. Ford. But that’s not all—this collection also includes many more decorated and emerging voices, ensuring a dynamic reading experience that is as inclusive as it is entertaining.
To celebrate the new collection, I’m pleased to welcome Anne Laughlin this week with the first of First Two Pages essays about stories from Crime Ink. Anne is the the author of seven crime novels, mostly set in her native Chicago; her latest, 2024’s Clean Kill, features Nicki Sullivan, the resident manager of a sober living home in Chicago. Anne has won four Goldie (Golden Crown Literary) Awards, recognizing “excellence in sapphic and women-loving-women literature,” and she’s been nominated three times for Lambda Literary Awards. In 2022, she was awarded the Alice B Medal for excellence in lesbian fiction. She currently serves on the national board of the Mystery Writers of America and reviews books for the Gay & Lesbian Review.
Anne is writing on her story, “Swan Club,” inspired by English author Vita Sackville-West, as she explains in the essay below. And stay tuned next week for an essay by Margot Douaihy on her story, “High Hit Area.”
Please use the arrows and controls at the bottom of the embedded PDF to navigate through the essay. You can also download the essay to read off-line.
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