by Kes Otter Lieffe, Illustrated by Anja Van Geert
Microcosm Publishing
4/4/2023, paperback
SKU: 9781648411939
Lesbian gulls, intersex grizzly bears, gay orgies of manatees, trans clownfish, binary-smashing lichens, sex-changing willow trees, and asexual naked mole rats! Queerness is everywhere in the natural world. This coloring book celebrates the diversity of animals, plants, fungi, lichen, and coral and the way our beautiful queer communities exist far beyond the realms of human culture. So many of us grew up with wildlife programs and school biology classes that showed only monogamous, heterosexual pairings with the goal of making little baby animals. Bring your brightest colors to learn about and befriend some of the most colorful characters in nature and challenge society's cis-het norms. This entertaining and educational resource, created by trans woman and ecologist Kes Otter Lieffe, and richly illustrated by Anja Van Geert, builds on the success of their popular Queer Animals Coloring Book zine to liberate our understanding of ourselves and the natural world we belong to.
About the Contributors:
Kes Otter Lieffe is a working class, chronically ill, femme, trans woman. She is an author, facilitator and community organiser currently based in Berlin. Kes is the author of a trilogy of trans speculative fiction novels. Her first short story was published in Our Entangled Future, an anthology on social change and the climate crisis. Her short story 'Soft' was published in the queer resilience anthology Glitter + Ashes. Kes writes articles about class, gender, and queerness. Most recently, her article 'Surviving Utopia' was published on Strange Horizons. Kes is also the author of the colouring zine Queer Animals that has been featured in the Bern Natural History Museum. A grassroots community organiser for over two decades, Kes has worked and organised in Europe, the Middle-East and Latin America. Her work focuses particularly on the intersection of gender, queerness and environmental struggles and creating radical alternatives to the trash-fire of capitalism. She has spoken as a panelist, keynote speaker and facilitator in various contexts, from protest camps to university institutions. Kes is a community organiser with aequa in Berlin and currently facilitates workshops on subjects including trans-competency, queer ecology, consensus and story-telling.
Anja Van Geert completed their a PhD in Plant Ecology and has been part of many ecological projects and adventures including growing herbs at an urban farm in their home town of Brussels. They currently live in Brighton, UK organising queer tea ceremonies and herb meditations. Anja is a breathwork facilitator by trade and is starting out on a new artistic journey. Anja drew the images for Queer Animals and Plants while curled up with their cat Moisey, with Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the background.