The New Lesbian Pulp

Praise for The New Lesbian Pulp

“Sizzles hotter than this summer’s climate-change sun…gritty, gutsy, bloody, and lusty.“ —Electric Literature

“Obscenely good.” —The Rumpus

“Pulp for the modern day… . Edgy, sexy, and above all: GAY GAY GAY.” —Autostraddle

“Rebellious, subversive, and sexy, reading any of the stories in this collection is like taking a refreshing breath of air. Packed full of revenge, drama, and so much lesbian love, these new and vintage tales are the perfect escape.” —Ms. magazine

“The New Lesbian Pulp is the brash new girl on the block… . Bringing together the high and the low, the suited and the skirted, the high-heeled and the sneakered; the raucous, humorous, profane and melancholic in turn and all tangled together spill from these pages.” —The Lesbrary

“A heady mix of 1950s-era lesbian pulp and newer material that turns up a notch or two the classic tropes of romantic peril, unbridled passion, and revenge.” —The Millions

“How badly do we need to escape into worlds of lesbian hijinks, outlaw sex, evil man murder, thievery and subterfuge?? This collection is a gift of angst and longing, of thrill and delight across the ages that comes at exactly the right time.” —Sam Cohen, author of Sarahland

“What do you get when you pair the subversive spirit of vintage lesbian pulp with the in-your-face sass and sexuality of contemporary sapphic stories? You get this thrill-ride of an anthology. Its tangy edges and savory depths are the perfect antidote to the bitter political realities of the present day.” —Susan Stryker, author of Queer Pulp: Perverted Passions from the Golden Age of the Paperback

“The New Lesbian Pulp delights in its benders and its sprees, its littery glittery streets and its sapphic power play, and all of the adjacencies of pleasure and pain that make lesbian pulp so irresistible. Reading this collection was like being witness to the dirtiest, sexiest, grittiest, gayest game of truth or dare, where there are only dares, and no one is remotely afraid to take them. This book is the sauciest kind of treasure trove and we are so lucky to have it.” —Temim Fruchter, author of City of Laughter

“The New Lesbian Pulp is one of the hottest and daring-est anthologies of sapphic stories I’ve read (and I’ve read a lot). These new and vintage tales deliver all the tension, plenty of torment, and a perfect excess of steam and surprise. Did I say hot? I’ll say it again: This book is hot, dangerously hot! When not in use, it should probably be stored in a cool space with the rest of your queer pulp canon.” —Megan Milks, author of Margaret and the Mystery of the Missing Body

“The New Lesbian Pulp perfectly balances literary and pulpy sensibilities to create an unforgettable collection. At turns wild, tender, shocking, creepy, romantic, sexy, and strange, each story grabbed me by the throat, held me down, and left me wanting more. Long-loved authors and emerging talent both shine in this instant classic.” —Jen St. Jude, author of If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come

“The New Lesbian Pulp channels the illicit thrill of 1950s dyke-noir. This is a world of deserts and dive bars and back alleys, where women are willing to risk everything for a glance held too long. These stories of danger and defiance hone pulp fiction to its sharpest edge.” —Naomi Kanakia, author of The Default World

“The New Lesbian Pulp brings together such a range of outstanding stories—classic and new, aching and daring, subtle and sensational, and all of them drumming with a shared pulse. Truly a collection for the ages.” —L. T. Thompson, author of Devils Like Us

“I had chills reading The New Lesbian Pulp. Not just because of the book’s sexy, sweet, and scintillating adventures, but because literary history is hot, and queer desire is resistance, and every story in these pages is a love letter that burns very urgently in the present. Get ready to feel this book’s thumping heartbeat in your body and your brain.” —Marisa Crawford, editor of The Weird Sister Collection

Sarah Fonseca is a writer, editor, and film programmer based in New York City who has dispatched from Cannes, New York Film Festival, and Sundance. With one eye on queer cinema history and the other on its future potential, Sarah has contributed a volume of interviews, reviews, and critical essays to LGBT and mainstream film publications including Conde Nast’s them, The Advocate, Film Comment, and Museum of the Moving Image’s Reverse Shot. She has also published short fiction with Evergreen Review, Bosie Magazine, Cleis Press, and Math Magazine. Currently, Sarah is pursuing graduate studies in history at The City College of New York and printed matter studies at UCLA’s California Rare Book School.

Octavia Saenz (she/they) is an editor and cartoonist based in El Paso, TX. She creates speculative fiction and visual narratives about queer life and temporality. Octavia grew up in Puerto Rico and has a BFA in Creative Writing and Illustration from Ringling College, as well as a Lambda Fellowship.

Trish Bendix is a GLAAD-nominated writer and regular contributor to the New York Times. Her book Sappho Was a Pop Star is forthcoming from St. Martin’s Press in 2027.