Hazel Jane Plante - writer

I have an event NEXT WEEK in SEATTLE with the wonderful, whipsmart writer CORINNE MANNING at Elliott Bay Book Company! It's on Friday, June 23rd at 7pm (i.e., a week from today). If you live nearby, I'd LOVE to see you there! 💗

I'm thrilled to be going on a seven city book tour with Casey Plett, starting in a few days! These events are going to be great. So much love and gratitude to Arsenal Pulp for arranging, as well as the venues, hosts, and guest readers. I cannot wait to see some of you! 💖

You can find more details and get tickets here: https://arsenalpulp.com/News/2023/Casey-Plett-Hazel-Jane-Plante-Book-Tour

My novel Any Other City comes out with Arsenal Pulp Press today. 💗🌸💗

I have a band called Certain Women, which feels apt because three of us are trans women. "All the Pretty Ghosts" is the first song we’re releasing, and it feels fitting to put it out on Trans Day of Remembrance, Resistance and Resilience.

The song is here, if you want to hear it, download it, etc.: https://certainwomen.bandcamp.com/track/all-the-pretty-ghosts

Music has often kept me afloat when I’ve felt adrift, and this song is a sonic hug, an ode to t4t kinship and trying to keep each other alive. I’m so grateful to make music every week with my beloved bandmates: Gwen Haworth (vocals), Carolynn Dimmer (drums), and Jay Pottle (bass guitar). (I play guitar and sing backing vocals.)

I remember bringing this song to practice a few days after I wrote it, wondering how it would be received, wondering if the repeated refrain of "I love you, my friend" at the end was too open hearted. When we played the song together, it felt like a healing spell. There was such a sense of love and fierce friendship in the room that I almost started sobbing. This recording is from the first day we played it in our old practice space, with some mixing magic from Gwen.

If you like it, I’d invite you to share it with anyone who might need a reminder that they are loved, that we’ll all be pretty ghosts some day, but not today.

I love you, my friends. 💗

This week, I released four new episodes of my podcast, which include conversations with Kai Cheng Thom, Megan Milks, Jeanne Thornton, and Ryka Aoki. I adore + admire all of these writers and loved every one of these chats. 💗

You can find the episodes where podcasts typically live, as well as on the t4t site: https://t4t.simplecast.com/

I have a newsletter called "Whatever happened to Hazel Jane?" First piece is a talk I gave to MFA summer residency students at UBC about Yoko Ono's ongoing influence on my work. 💗

You can read it (and subscribe if you want) here:

“Yes, I’m a Witch”: Lessons on Writing (and Living) from Yoko Ono A talk given on July 8, 2022 to UBC Creative Writing's MFA Summer Residency students

https://arsenalpulp.com/Books/A/Any-Other-City

I’m thrilled to say that my next novel ANY OTHER CITY — out in spring 2023 with (my soon-to-be-requited publishing house crush) Arsenal Pulp — is now available for pre-order and has a gorgeous cover (oh, thank you, Jaz!).

On Arsenal's page, you can find a description, a link to pre-order (if you’d like), and all-too-generous blurbs by four writers I deeply admire: jiaqing wilson-yang, Bishakh Som, Megan Milks, and Andrea Warner.

I’m really, Really, REALLY looking forward to this novel coming into the world next year! 💖

Dear potential reviewers: I’ll let you know when ARCs are ready.

Any Other City By the author of Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian): the fictional memoir of a trans indie rock musician that reveals how the act of creation can heal trauma and even change the past.Any Other City ...

I'm thrilled to say that I'm going to be interviewed by Nairne Holtz and Casey Plett at GritLIT on April 16th at 11am (PT) / 2pm (ET). ✨

I'm so damn excited for this event and am so honoured and delighted to be chatting about my work with two amazing q***r writers. 💖

Tickets are $6 CDN. (I never said I wasn't cheap, friends.) ✨

As a bonus: I think we're going to coordinate outfits. 🤩

Link to the event: https://www.gritlit.ca/festival-2021/
Link to get tickets: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/2021-gritlit-readers-writers-festival-tickets-144693138071

I've started a podcast called t4t, which is about writing while trans. The first episode is me talking about what to expect from the podcast.

Tomorrow, I'm going to release the first full episode, which is a conversation with Casey Plett.

You should be able to get it on most platforms, including
- Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/t4t/id1550541969
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4KP2xGtU5xcN1w8Fh5NLve
- Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/t4t

The rad logo was designed by my lovely and talented friend Rojina Farrokhnejad at HandMadeDesign: https://www.handmadedesign.ca/.

The opening and closing music is "Tall Girl" by Wares from the album Survival, which is literally my favourite song from my favourite album of 2020: https://wares.bandcamp.com/album/survival

I'm not on Twitter (and plan to resist that tug for the time being), so feel free to share it there and elsewhere. Thanks, friends. ✨💖✨

I hope you're as okay as humanly possible, wherever you are. ✨💙✨

https://t4t.simplecast.com/

t4t t4t is a podcast about writing while trans. Hosted by Hazel Jane Plante.

Recently, I was delighted to be invited to discuss my novel on a podcast and to unpack my sense of style for an Instagram account.

Here's a link to my chat with Megan Cole on Writing the Coast, a podcast for BC + Yukon Book Prize nominees: https://soundcloud.com/bcyukonbookprizes/s2-episode-14-hazel-jane-plante-talks-about-her-love-letter-to-art-pop-culture-and-trans-femmes

And here's a link to my mini-essay on style (with four images) on the Apparel for Authors IG page: https://www.instagram.com/p/CD1TZTaBCTA/

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S2 Episode 14: Hazel Jane Plante talks about her love letter to art, pop culture and trans femmes. ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, Megan Cole talks to Hazel Jane Plante about her book Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian). In the conversation they talk about navigating the elements of the real

I've done a few recent events that are now available online. In the midst of the pandemic, I'm appreciative that I've been invited to share digital space with some pretty phenomenal folks. ✨💙✨

New Face of Q***r Lit (August 13, 2020) - with K**a La Mackerel, Helen Chau Bradley and Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch: https://youtu.be/OGIzp4MBAEc

2020 Writers Showcase (July 28, 2020) - with Rabbit Richards, Aaron Chan, David Ly, Eddy Boudel Tan, and Betsy Warland: https://youtu.be/t-8_8tOtmAY

2020 Lambda Literary Awards Fiction Winners (June 29, 2020) - with Nicole Dennis-Benn, Bryan Washington, and Fiona Alison Duncan: https://youtu.be/GIBaO-o2iCw

2020 Lambda Literary Awards Fiction Winners Reading Featuring Nicole Dennis-Benn, Fiona Alison Duncan, Hazel Jane Plante, and Bryan Washington. Presented by The Center for Fiction via Zoom on June 29, 2020.

In Book Riot's "Best Books We Read April-June 2020" article, Louise Johnson wrote a lovely little description of my novel that ends with the following: "I can tell you about how utterly endlessly gorgeous and subtle and clever it is, and how much it’s going to make you smile, cry and remember how beautiful love can be."
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https://bookriot.com/riot-roundup-the-best-books-we-read-april-june-2020/

Riot Roundup: The Best Books We Read April–June 2020 Find your next great read on this list of Rioters favorite recent reads, including backlist, new releases, and future releases.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about six recent books I adore by q***r and trans writers for All Lit Up. (There were so many spectacular works that I wanted to include. Lists are hard, friends!)✨💖✨🌈✨📚✨

https://alllitup.ca/Blog/2020/Six-Books-for-Pride

Six Books for Pride Librarian and Lambda Literary award winner ( Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian), Metonymy Press) Hazel Jane Plante shares six choice titles by...

I won a Lammy. This is the very brief speech I filmed a month ago, in case I won. ✨💖✨

Yes, that's a stack of books by trans writers over my shoulder. Deeply thankful my book is out in the world and has landed for so many people, especially other trans femmes. ✨💘✨

https://youtu.be/Sd8gqs-eF8U

Hazel Jane Plante accepts the 2020 Lambda Literary Award in Transgender Fiction Hazel Jane Plante accepts the 2020 Lambda Literary Award in Transgender Fiction for LITTLE BLUE ENCYCLOPEDIA (FOR VIVIAN)

I'm thankful to Alanna Why for spending so much time and energy writing such a thoughtful, engaging, and enthusiastic review of my book for the /tƐmz/ Review. ✨💖✨

"Published at the end of 2019 by Montreal’s Metonymy Press, Little Blue Encyclopedia (For Vivian) is a one-of-a-kind debut novel by Vancouver-based writer Hazel Jane Plante. Written in the form of an encyclopedia about Little Blue, a fictional season-long television series that aired in 2001, the novel is a powerful meta-work about the relationships between fandom, grief and love."

"Plante’s great skill in Little Blue Encyclopedia (For Vivian) is her seamless blend of pop culture fact and fiction. Almost all of its references to musicians and songs in the novel are real – both Vivian and Zelda are music lovers and karaoke fiends. However, almost all of the novel’s references to visual art, books, movies and TV shows are fake, a fact I only noticed on my second reading of the novel. It is a testament to Plante’s writing ability that she is able to create multiple fictional works of art and have them appear to be totally believable – I, for one, was very disappointed to learn that works like An Illustrated History of My Pants by Maritime visual artist Chase Abernathy, and James B**g, a 'Seth Rogen-penned stoner spy comedy' starring James Franco, were not, in fact, real." (Oh, how I wish An Illustrated History of My Pants and James B**g existed outside my novel. For what it's worth, I'm def down to co-write James B**g with Seth Rogen.) ✨🤩✨

"Even though Zelda wasn’t ready to give a eulogy at Vivian’s funeral, in writing the encyclopedia, she is able to grieve her loss in an attempt to heal and move on. After all, a eulogy is often a testament to what a person loved in life and what their relationships to other people were. This is also how every character on Little Blue is described: by what and whom they loved. Little Blue Encyclopedia (For Vivian) is a testament not to the importance of how a person dies, but how they were, even for an all-too-brief-moment, very much alive."

https://www.thetemzreview.com/why-plante.html

Why Plante

An interview that I was thrilled to be invited to do with the trans writer Cooper Lee Bombardier has been published on the Lambda Literary site. (For context, it's worth noting that we chatted back in October last year, which now feels like a lifetime ago.) I hope you're all taking good care of yourselves and the folks around you. Sending love from where I am to wherever you are. ✨💙✨

And speaking of care, I'm really excited to get my hands on Cooper's forthcoming memoir Pass With Care, which comes out next month and is available for pre-order: https://www.dottirpress.com/pass-with-care-cooper-lee-bombardier.

https://www.lambdaliterary.org/2020/04/hazel-jane-plante-on-writing-a-weird-q***r-book/

Hazel Jane Plante on Writing a Weird Q***r Book -- Lambda Literary

Elliott Bay Book Co. in Seattle is one of my favourite bookstores, and I'm so thankful to Callie, who is a bookseller there, for writing a generous, gorgeous review of Little Blue Encyclopedia for their staff picks. ✨💙✨

This is seriously one of my fave descriptions of my novel ever: "Smart, soft, sad, and s*xy." ❤️

(And I'm glad she clarifies that my book making her cry "on the train, at home, in the breakroom (four times), and at the laundromat where I finished it" is "a positive endorsement (obvs)" cuz I never know how to feel about making readers cry.)

https://www.elliottbaybook.com/book/9780994047199

Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian) (Paperback) | The Elliott Bay Book Company Ostensibly a charmingly personal encyclopedia about the fictional television show Little Blue, Hazel Jane Plante's debut novel is an incandescent love letter to trans friendship. A tender TV-and-karaoke-soaked heartbreaker that delights in pop culture. By the end I was as smitten with Little Blue an...

I've been kind of astonished as Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian) continues to provide ballast for my life, which has been particularly stressful in the past month. (I've literally said a few times in the past week or two that I'm so grateful to my past self for writing this book, which has been the best distraction my present self could hope to have.)

A few recent and upcoming things related to my novel:

Burnaby Public Library discussion groups** for Little Blue:
- Sat Jan 25th (i.e., TOMORROW!!!) at 10.30am at Metrotown: https://www.bpl.bc.ca/events/metrotown-book-discussion-little-blue-encyclopedia-for-vivian
- Wed April 22nd at 7pm at the McGill branch: https://www.bpl.bc.ca/events/mcgill-book-discussion-little-blue-encyclopedia-for-vivian

(**A reminder again that I won't be there, but they will be led by rad public librarians.)

Little Blue is included in Broken Pencil's Winter 2020 Indie Book Picks: https://brokenpencil.com/features/winter-2020-indie-book-picks/

Amanda Earl had really lovely things to say about Trish Salah's Lyric Sexology Vol 1, Metonymy Press, and Little Blue Encyclopedia in this recent interview: https://www.patreon.com/posts/interview-1-earl-33344174

Having Little Blue gently ripple its way into the world and hearing how it's landed for people has been truly been one of the best things that's happened in my life. Thank you.
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Winter 2020 Indie Book Picks – Broken Pencil Magazine Winter 2020 Indie Book PicksBroken PencilJanuary 21, 2020Featuresindiebookpics 0 Here are our picks of the top 9 indie books of this winter! NOVELS Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian) Hazel Jane Plante, Metonymy Press There may not be one right way to grieve, but reading Hazel Jane Plante’s debu...

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http://robmclennan.blogspot.com/2020/01/12-or-20-second-series-questions-with_17.html

12 or 20 (second series) questions with Hazel Jane Plante Hazel Jane Plante is a q***r trans librarian, cat photographer, and writer. In a previous life, she co-founded a micropress, co-edited a ...

Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian) was mentioned in the weekend edition of the Globe + Mail as a book to "crawl under the covers with" 📘🧐💙

If you wanna talk about Little Blue with other folks, registration is open for this book discussion at Burnaby Public Library on Jan 25th. I won't be there, but it's going to be led by a rad trans librarian. 💙📚🗣✨❤️

https://www.bpl.bc.ca/events/metrotown-book-discussion-little-blue-encyclopedia-for-vivian

Metrotown Book Discussion: Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian) | Burnaby Public Library “The playful and poignant novel Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian) sifts through a q***r trans woman's unrequited love for her straight trans friend who died. A q***r love letter steeped in desire, grief, and delight, the story is interspersed with encyclopedia entries about a fictional TV show...

This Globe + Mail piece has 1-2 sentence descriptions of some beloved books by independent presses. Here’s what it says about my lil book (behind its paywall): “Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian), Hazel Jane Plante (Metonymy Press): Plante makes it look easy, inventing an entire TV show as a device to talk about grief and unrequited love, but that is not easy at all. Super smart, and her debut to boot.“ 📚👢🐣🦄

For the Walrus, Casey Plett chooses Kai Cheng Thom's awesome essay collection I Hope We Choose Love as her fave book of 2019. You should read it! (And you should really read all of Kai Cheng's books because she is one of the smartest and most exciting/thoughtful/adventurous writers we have right now.) 💖

Later, Casey Plett says "In a time of extraordinary trans books sweeping the world (Hazel Jane Plante’s Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian) being one of the latest), Thom’s is a beautiful and urgent thing." 💙

Oh, how I wish trans books were sweeping the world. Can we make this happen? Please! (Someone hand me a broom!) 😻

https://thewalrus.ca/ten-canadian-authors-on-the-best-books-of-2019/

Ten Canadian Authors on the Best Books of 2019 | The Walrus We asked some of our leading contemporary writers to pick their favourite reads of the year

I'm really moved that Casey Plett and Trish Salah (two writers I admire and adore!) both mentioned my novel as one of their favourite books of the year. I'm pleased as punch to be alongside books by Kai Cheng Thom, Arielle Twist, Billy-Ray Belcourt, Jeanne Thornton, Ian Williams, and the rad anthology Hustling Verse. 💙💙

https://www.writerstrust.com/recommended-reading/2019-best-books-of-the-year

What Writers Read: Best Books of 2019 See what books your favourite Canadian writer loved this year.

Another Story Bookshop has a great holiday gift list. There are so many books here I’ve read and loved and others that I can’t wait to read. (I was also chuffed to see they included Little Blue.💙) 📚🧐💖

https://mailchi.mp/58acbb3b41c6/another-story-bookshop-2019-holiday-gift-list?fbclid=IwAR2JR0PS3P2nGtkiIGjjMo2aHi4PajvEIVAYbLOmI5nM-yOJUpD33KCTpG0

Another Story Bookshop 2019 Holiday Gift List Check out our annual holiday gift list! Full of suggestions in the areas of adult fiction, politics and cultural studies, memoir, poetry, children's books, young adult books, graphic books for adults and children and more!

"Hazel Jane Plante’s lush debut novel plays with invented pop culture and art in a way that feels both fresh and totally authentic." (Bonus points for using the word "lush" because it's also the name of a Britpop band.) 😻

More bonus points for ending the review with a baseball metaphor: "In her debut novel, Hazel Jane Plante has knocked it out of the park." (Yeah, my book's got some baseball in it, which is a nod to my grandma, who LOVED baseball.) 🤩

https://theturnaroundblog.com/2019/11/25/little-blue-encyclopedia-for-vivian-review-a-lush-story-of-love-and-fandom/

Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian) review - a lush story of love and fandom | The Turnaround Blog Hazel Jane Plante's lush debut novel knocks it out of the park.

Two staff members at Turnaround chose my novel as one of their favourite books of the year. 🙈💙💙🙊

Jenn: “It’s completely unique as it explores the ways pop culture can help us heal, and it’s a wonderful addition to the growing canon of trans literature.“

Liam: “Little Blue Encyclopedia is an exact representation of pop culture fandom, and the way that different channels feed into one another. It’s also a tender story of love, loss and friendship – ‘tender’ here meaning both ‘showing affection’ and ‘sensitive to pain’.“

https://theturnaroundblog.com/2019/11/21/turnarounds-2019-staff-picks-fiction/

Turnaround's 2019 Staff Picks - Fiction | The Turnaround Blog Featuring s*x worker's poetry, modern Westerns, 18th century murders and more, the Turnaround team share their fiction favourites so far for 2019.

Here's an interview Emma Rhodes did with me recently about Little Blue for the q***r literary magazine Plenitude 📘✨🗣💙

http://plenitudemagazine.ca/little-blue-encyclopedia-an-interview-with-hazel-jane-plante/

Little Blue Encyclopedia: An Interview with Hazel Jane Plante

Little Blue got a starred review in the latest Quill + Quire! 💙🚀💙

I love this review by Jacob Wren of my novel in the latest issue of the Montreal Review of Books. 💙

I'm doing a book talk and reading tomorrow in Special Collections at SFU Burnaby with the book's illustrator, Onjana Yawnghwe, as special guest. 💙

12.30-1.30: Special Collections & Rare Books, Room 7100, W.A.C. Bennett Library (SFU Burnaby)

https://www.lib.sfu.ca/about/branches-depts/special-collections/hazel-jane-plante

Join us in Special Collections for a reading by Hazel Jane Plante | SFU Library Reading by writer Hazel Jane Plante We welcome you to join us in Special Collections on Wednesday, October 16th, 2019 at 12:30 p.m. for a reading by writer Hazel Jane Plante. About Hazel Jane Plante Hazel Jane Plante is a q***r trans librarian, cat photographer, and writer. In a previous life, she c...

My novel is featured today for All Lit Up's First Fiction Friday. 💙

https://alllitup.ca/Blog/2019/First-Fiction-Friday-Little-Blue-Encyclopedia-for-Vivian

First Fiction Friday: Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian) A playful and poignant novel Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian) (Metonymy Press) is a love letter narrated by a q***r trans woman whose working...

I did a lil interview about the story behind my novel with the amazing folks at Metonymy Press. 💙

https://metonymypress.com/interview-hazel-jane-plante/

‘We need delight to keep us going’: an interview with Metonymy’s latest author, Hazel Jane Plante In anticipation of the novel’s October publication, we sat down with Hazel to find out more about where the idea for the book came from, who she hopes will read it, and the power of art to distract, soothe, and mend us in tough times.

A little love for Little Blue's brilliant cover. They give credit to LOKI (the design company), but they didn't mention Onjana Yawnghwe, who did the awesome illustrations. 💙

https://alllitup.ca/Blog/2019/Cover-Collage-Cool-Covers-of-Fall-2019

Cover Collage: Cool Covers of Fall 2019 Whether "pumpkin spice and everything nice" is your fall motto, or if you're just looking for reasons to get pumped for the season, check out our roundup...

An extract from Little Blue Encyclopedia in the Town Crier. 💙

Excerpt from Little Blue Encyclopedia by Hazel Jane Plante | Town Crier Forthcoming from Metonymy Press in September 2019, check out this excerpt from Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian) by Hazel Jane Plante.

Q: Do you have a website?
A: Yep. 💙

https://www.hazeljaneplante.com/

Hazel Jane Plante The playful and poignant novel Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian) sifts through a q***r trans woman’s unrequited love for her straight trans friend who died. A q***r love letter steeped in desire, grief, and delight, the story is interspersed with encyclopedia entries about a fictional TV sho