"Close to Spider Man" marks the debut of an exciting new literary talent: a collection of connected stories whose female narrators seek out lives for themselves amidst the lonely, breathtaking landscape of the Yukon. The young women in Ivan Coyote's deeply personal stories are looking to make a break from their circumstances, but the North is in their bones: so is their connections to family, friends, and other women. Like the protagonist in the title story, a waitress whose attempts to help a young co-worker saddled with a lunatic father finds her running across rooftops and climbing ladders; by getting close to Spider Man, she gets closer to freedom.

Startling in their intimacy, the stories in "Close to Spider Man" make up a moving scrapbook of what it's like to be a young queer woman in the North, journeys imbued with the colours of a prescient sexuality and an honest heart.

Runner-up, Danuta Gleed Award for Short-Fiction

Now in its third printing.

"Being a girl was something that never really happened for me."--Rae Spoon

Ivan E. Coyote and Rae Spoon are accomplished, award-winning writers, musicians, and performers; they are also both admitted "gender failures." In their first collaborative book, Ivan and Rae explore and expose their failed attempts at fitting into the gender binary, and how ultimately our expectations and assumptions around traditional gender roles fail us all.

Based on their acclaimed 2012 live show that toured across the United States and in Europe, "Gender Failure" is a poignant collection of autobiographical essays, lyrics, and images documenting Ivan and Rae's personal journeys from gender failure to gender enlightenment. Equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, it's a book that will touch LGBTQ readers and others, revealing, with candor and insight, that gender comes in more than two sizes.

Ivan E. Coyote is the author of six story collections and the award-winning novel "Bow Grip," and is co-editor of "Persistence: All Ways Butch and Femme." Ivan frequently performs at high schools, universities, and festivals across North America.

Rae Spoon is a transgender indie musician whose most recent CD is "My Prairie Home," which is also the title of a new National Film Board of Canada documentary about them. Rae's first book, "First Spring Grass Fire," was a Lambda Literary Award finalist in 2013.

Ivan E. Coyote's wry, honest stories about gender and identity have captivated audiences everywhere. Ivan's eighth book is her first for LGBT youth, written for anyone who has ever felt different or alone in their struggles to be true to themselves. Included are stories about Ivan's tomboy youth and her adult life, where she experiences cruelty and kindness in unexpected places.

Funny, inspiring, and full of heart, "One in Every Crowd" is about embracing and celebrating difference and feeling comfortable in one's own skin.

Ivan E. Coyote was also featured in the anti-bullying anthology "It Gets Better."