ray stoeve (they/them)

Gonna go even further: don't refer to it as "consuming media" when doing this. You aren't a consumer - it's not a product. You read books. You look at art. You watch movies and/or videos. Be careful about word choice.

Reject "consume" and REJECT "CONTENT."
IT IS ART.
YOU ARE ENGAGING WITH ART.

Ray Stoeve’s Newsletter YA author Ray Stoeve shares monthly spotlights of trans YA & MG books, updates on their own books and writer life, culture recommendations and advocacy opportunities.

🩷💜💙 I’m doing a #BiWeek giveaway in honor of Talia, a bi autistic trans girl and bestie to Hayley in my YA romcom THE SUMMER LOVE STRATEGY! One winner gets a signed personalized HC copy of TSLS.

TO ENTER:
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US only, open til 11:59pm 9/23. More deets on my IG 👀

You started with saying you’re “genuinely curious” but the rest of your reply indicates you actually aren’t, so I won’t be engaging further. Have a nice day!

The “first trans YA” I talked abt last time actually WASN’T the first! How do we decide who is “first” in trans YA, anyway? Today I’m talking abt those elusive milestones, how we decide what qualifies, and what we learn when we ask that question.

Oooh haven’t heard of this one! Sounds perfect, thank you! The environmental Easter eggs is something I love abt BG3.

Also…now what lmfao?! I followed BG3 with E33 and the bar is SO high for what my third ever video game will be 😂 taking recommendations! Story & world-building is most important to me, followed by exploration & accessible combat. And there’s gotta be an easy mode (I played E33 on story mode).

I finished Expedition 33 two days ago and I’m still thinking about that final choice. Absolutely brilliant writing and follow through on a theme until the very end. I’ve been learning a lot about what makes a meaningful choice in a video game and that one was a perfect example.

AGENTS YOU BETTER BE LINING UP TO REP THIS!!!!!!!

The Fetch Speaks by western hemlock Your friend has something to tell you.

If you like interactive fiction I just published this short piece based on the fetch (no relation to Mean Girls), a figure in Irish folklore, with a trans spin on it. I’ve been getting into video game writing & narrative design and this is the first attempt I’m sharing. I’m quite proud of it!

AI industry horrified to face largest copyright class action ever certified Copyright class actions could financially ruin AI industry, trade groups say.

Good. Bury these fucking robber barons.

arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...

Wow SO weird!!

For the entire time of knowing who he is, I have thought Gavin Newsom was gay, and I just learned he isn’t.

Was it just me?? Is this some kind of Mandela effect?? I stg I remember reading that he was gay years and years ago and that was why he started marrying people before it was legal.

I’m a new gamer, BG3 was my first game and E33 is my second - so the bar has been set VERY high 😂 I think my only critique so far is the combat feels tedious at times but could be that I’m underleveled.

So uhhhhh who else went from a BG3 obsession to a Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 obsession bc this game is GORGEOUS

Chappell Roan was definitely listening to a lot of Cocteau Twins while she was writing and recording “The Subway” and I’m LOVING it

Ray Stoeve’s Newsletter YA author Ray Stoeve shares monthly spotlights of trans YA & MG books, updates on their own books and writer life, culture recommendations and advocacy opportunities.

I started this in 2024, spotlighting one book a month from my database of YA & MG books with trans characters written by trans authors. If you want to start getting the current editions in your inbox (which also include author life updates, culture recs, and advocacy recs), subscribe here:

Who Wrote The First Trans YA Novel? According to my research, the first YA novel ever traditionally published about a trans character by a trans author came out only 12 years ago, in 2012. That book is BEING EMILY, by Rachel Gold, pu…

If you want a crash course on the history of trans YA and middle grade books, I’m posting my newsletter archive one essay at a time on my blog starting TODAY with the first (or is it…?) trans YA book and what it says about where trans representation started!

And it’s never surprising to me when it’s the white cis gay men who do this. They consistently throw others under the bus to preserve their rights (to assimilate).

LET’S GO LESBIANS you have until tomorrow 7/31 to bid on my latest super-gay YA novel AND help Queer Liberation Network fund their programs for queer and trans financial empowerment in Texas and beyond!

Tomorrow 7/31 is your LAST DAY to shoot your shot for an author visit from me AND help Queer Liberation Network fund their programs for queer and trans financial empowerment in Texas and beyond!

Calling all sapphic YA romcom lovers! You can now bid on a signed & personalized copy of THE SUMMER LOVE STRATEGY! Hayley and Talia are BFFs who team up on a very neurodivergent Plan™️ to find their first girlfriends…but is love actually right in front of them??

www.32auctions.com/organization...

And I do mean anywhere - for a different auction I once got up very early to visit a student group in South Korea! It was really fun. So don’t hesitate. And if you’re not a teacher or librarian you can still bid on this if you know someone you wanna gift it to!

Hey high school teachers and librarians!! I am auctioning off an author visit from me ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD! In-person for Seattle-Tacoma; virtually elsewhere.

Proceeds benefit Queer Liberation Network’s programs! 💜

www.32auctions.com/organization...

My friend Garrett & I organized a bookish auction that benefits the LGBTQ charity Queer Liberation Network where we both serve on the board. There are so many great items so please check it out & buy yourself sumn nice for a good cause:

www.32auctions.com/LitforQueerL...

(& please boost!)

Thank you so much! So do I!

I’m also so glad I’m not 17 anymore!! (With much tenderness and love for that teen!!)

One of those is my debut, BETWEEN PERFECT AND REAL, about a closeted trans boy cast as Romeo in the school play. The past week, I’ve been researching where my books have been banned or challenged and I’m grateful to reporters like @heykellyjensen.bsky.social who cover the release of lists like this!

The other day I was typing the one-sentence pitch of Between Perfect and Real for the millionth time and I noticed that autofill was completing the sentence. So that’s a milestone I guess 😂

(The pitch: “Between Perfect and Real is about a closeted trans boy cast as Romeo in the school play.”)

Um this sounds INCREDIBLE. Best of luck!

Hey that’s my book! 🥰