us in words

tRaum Books is a tiny trans and queer press dedicated to seeking out works that play with, quietly challenge, or aggressively fuck with binaries and norms, especially regarding gender and sexuality. We’re drawn to stories that bleed through genres; writing that makes the writer nervous to publish; words that are too much, or too soft, uncontained, hard to pin down. Unsanitized.

Our aim is to bring our readers unusual narratives through novels, novellas, short story collections, poetry, art books, mixed media and graphic novels, and our press takes pride in careful edits and book design. We hate the groveling, scraping, anxiety, and unclarity that is too often the norm in publishing relationships, and seek equal, transparent collaborations with our authors, so that writers have freedom in their layouts and covers, as well as an opportunity to tailor how their particular project is brought to an audience. We believe in our network of writers, readers, and creatives who support each other’s projects, and work to eke out a space that sustains and encourages creative, queer, strange, and subversive fiction more than the current traditional publishing model has.

Our physical sizes (so far) range from A4 to palm-sized paperback and our books are published as locally printed small-print runs (page number permitting), but also available through more mainstream channels such as Ingram and Gardners, and indie channels such as ITCH-IO. We strive to make our titles as widely accessible and in as many formats (paper / electronic / audio) as possible.