Be Gay, Do Crime Sixteen Stories of Queer Chaos

"Beneath the chaos is something tender. Most of the characters aren't chasing revenge. They just want to exist without having to shrink. The crimes they commit don't feel evil. They feel like survival. Like honesty. Like a middle finger to the rules that were never made for them anyway...This book doesn't care about being palatable. It doesn't care about respectability. That's its power. It lets its characters be messy and angry and deeply human without apology."-Maudlin House

"I longed to be friends with every character in these hilarious, charming, honest stories. Whenever I thought I had a story figured out, it suddenly opened into a moment of queer beauty. Crime has never been so sexy and gay." -Marie-Helene Bertino, author of Beautyland

"Funny, sharp,surprising, and bizarrely relatable, readers can't go wrong with this entertaining and moving collection. Gay is good, and bad gays are even better."-Marissa Higgins, author of A Good Happy Girl

"The newest addition to the dyke aching genre, this is a desperately needed unhinged collection for the gays and theys."-Chloé Caldwell, author of Women

"Chaotic, sexy, and binge-worthy as hell, Be Gay, Do Crime is an EVENT."-Ruth Madievsky, author of All Night Pharmacy

"A collection that is truly firing on all cylinders. The stories are propulsive, compelling, and incredibly enthralling. Immensely enjoyable. I couldn't put it down!"-Kristen Arnett, NYT bestselling author of Mostly Dead Things

"This irrepressible, riotous, and very gay collection of stories from some of our best emerging writers charms and entertains, leaving the reader veering in a getaway car between laugh-out-loud and gasp-out-loud."-Sarah Thankam Matthews, author of All This Could Be Different

"Audacious, outrageous, alternately tender-hearted and razor-sharp- a celebration of the edgy intersection of resilience and revolution. With fearless exuberance, the authors of these stories lean hard into all that is messy and magical about queer existence, honoring the joy of defiance and the legacy of communities who must defy both social norms and the long arm of the law to survive. Fans of Dorothy Allison, Joey Comeau, and Amber Dawn will find many treasures in this dazzling collection." -Kai Cheng Thom, author of Fierce Femmes & Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl's Confabulous Memoir

"Be Gay Do Crime is an anthology of stories about gay people being chaotic, breaking the law, and generally wreaking havoc in the best way possible. It's no shocker I adored this collection considering it was packed full of some of my favorite authors. That being said, every author I hadn't yet read in this collection has been added to my TBR because I enjoyed every single one of these stories. Amongst my generally heavier reading taste this was the perfect little escape of fun and mayhem."-Lyss, White Whale Bookstore, Pittsburgh, PA

"A follow-up to Peach Pit--one of my favorite anthologies ever--Be Gay Do Crime contains sixteen delicious reasons why not following the rules is sometimes the essential stand for autonomy, survival, and resistance."-Johanna Hynes, Carmichael's Bookstore, Louisville, KY

"The stories in this anthology are perfect. They are gorgeously queer. They are tender, campy, absurd and heartfelt. But the most crucial part is this: there are gays, and they are doing crimes. What more could a reader ask for?"-Ryan Kelly, Quail Ridge Bookstore, Raleigh, NC

"Be Gay, Do Crime offers exactly what it markets: lots of queerness, lots of crime! This short story anthology fights against the moralization of queer people, allowing them a space to examine their less-than-righteous traits through a variety of transgressions, from trespassing and identity theft to robbery and assassinations. These stories are light-hearted, quirky, and vibrant, but they also study themes of resistance, survival, longing, and grief. I also appreciated the focus on identities that are less represented in the media, specifically trans women and butch lesbians. Not to mention: this anthology is stacked! Mac Crane, Emily Austin, francesca ekwuyasi, Aurora Mattia, and more? The editors of Be Gay, Do Crime spared no expense to find some of the most unique and brilliant queer authors in the community!"-CB Palate, Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews, Chapel Hill, NC