Happy Friday, everyone! I come bearing big, exciting news!

🎉 Fat Forward Book Club launches next month! 🎉

Meeting on the third Friday of every month at 8 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT via Discord, Fat Forward Book Club will read and discuss a variety of books by fat authors, about fat experiences, and/or featuring fat characters as determined by Fat Forward Pillars ($5 Bindery subscribers). We'll explore books across multiple genres and target audiences/age groups to discuss depictions of fatness in fiction and nonfiction, as well as how perceptions of fatness in the book world have changed or stayed the same in recent years.

Our June book is Black. Fat. Femme: Revealing the Power of Visibly Queer Voices (in Media) and Learning to Love Yourself by Jonathan P. Higgins, Ed.D, with a foreword by Latrice Royale!

A celebration of (and how to find your own) queer intersectional identity through the lens of media In Black. Fat. Femme: Revealing the Power of Visibly Queer Voices (in Media) and Learning to Love Yourself, educator and media critic Dr. Jonathan P. Higgins—aka Doctor Jon Paul—delivers an honest and extraordinary new take on how the author, and other Black Fat Femmes like them, have come to find and understand their identity. You'll learn about how standing at the intersection of multiple identities, communities, and causes shapes people and how they see the world. You'll also discover how public figures like Andre Leon Talley and Latrice Royale have helped people learn who they are and what is possible in life. Inside the book:

• An examination of the importance of real representation in the media for marginalized people

• Discussions of the pioneers who fought so hard to be authentically who they are, both onscreen and off

• Explorations of how and why Black Fat Femme people have been left out and erased from LGBTQ+ conversations

Perfect for anyone with an interest in unique voices and truly singular perspectives, Black. Fat. Femme. is a one-of-a-kind book that will help you see the world with entirely new eyes.

Jonathan P. Higgins, Ed.D., is an award-winning educator, professor, national speaker, freelance journalist, and media critic who focuses on the intersections of identity, gender, and race in entertainment. They are the creator, executive producer, and host of the Black Fat Femme Podcast and have worked on inclusion projects with Fox, the NFL, Apple, Disney, Instagram, BuzzFeed, and GLAAD.

Fat Forward Book Club will meet Friday, June 20 at 8 p.m. ET/6p.m. PT to discuss Black. Fat. Femme. in the community Discord!

All subscribers are invited to participate in monthly book club discussions! Fat Forward Pillars ($5 subscribers) have the opportunity to vote on each month's book club pick and to suggest future titles for consideration, among other additional perks. Please see the membership tab for details!

If you're not already following this Bindery Page, please click the link in the top right corner to sign up! It's free, easy, and takes just a few seconds. Every community member helps us reach our goal of creating a fat-focused publishing imprint.

And don't forget to register for the Fat Forward Books Discord server for bookish discussion all day, every day, and for our monthly book club meetings!