A look into what moved Andy Warhol’s greatest muse Located at 33 Union Square West in the heart of New York City’s pulsing downtown scene, Andy Warhol’s Factory was an artistic anomaly. Not simply a painter’s studio, it was the center of Warhol’s assembly-line production of films, books, art, and the groundbreaking Interview magazine. Although Warhol’s first Factory on East 47th Street was known for its space-age silver interior, the Union Square Factory became the heart, brain, eyes, and soul of all things Warhol—and was, famously, the site of the assassination attempt that nearly took his life. It also produced a subculture of Factory denizens known as superstars, a collection of talented and ambitious misfits, the most glamorous and provocative of whom was the transgender pioneer Candy Darling. Born James Slattery in Queens in 1944 and raised on Long Island, the author began developing a female identity as a young child. Carefully imitating the sirens of Hollywood’s golden age, young Jimmy had, by his early twenties, transformed into Candy, embodying the essence of silver-screen femininity, and in the process became her true self. Warhol, who found the whole dizzying package irresistible, cast Candy in his films Flesh and Women in Revolt and turned her into the superstar she was born to be. In her writing, Darling provides an illuminating look at what it was like to be transgender at a time when the gay rights movement was coming into its own. Blessed with a candor, wit, and style that inspired not only Warhol, but Tennessee Williams, Lou Reed, and Robert Mapplethorpe, Darling made an indelible mark on American culture during one of its most revolutionary eras. These memoirs depict a talented and tragic heroine who was taken away from us far too soon.

A Must-Read: The New York Times Book Review and Nylon From the acclaimed biographer Cynthia Carr, the first full portrait of the queer icon and Warhol superstar Candy Darling. You must always be yourself no matter what the price . . . Don’t dare destroy your passion for the sake of others. The Warhol superstar and transgender icon Candy Darling was glamour personified, but she was without a real place in the world. Growing up on Long Island, lonely and quiet and queer, she was enchanted by Hollywood starlets like Kim Novak. She found her turn in New York’s early Off-Off-Broadway theater scene, in Warhol’s films Flesh and Women in Revolt, and at the famed nightclub Max’s Kansas City. She inspired songs by Lou Reed and the Rolling Stones. She became friends with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, borrowed a dress from Lauren Hutton, posed for Richard Avedon, and performed alongside Tennessee Williams in his own play. Yet Candy lived on the edge, relying on the kindness of strangers, friends, and her quietly devoted mother, sleeping on couches and in cheap hotel rooms, keeping a part of herself hidden. She wanted to be a star, but mostly she wanted to be loved. Her last diary entry was: “I shall try to be grateful for life . . . Cannot imagine who would want me.” Candy died at twenty-nine in 1974, just as conversations about gender and identity were beginning to enter the broader culture. She never knew it, but she changed the world. Brimming with all the fizz and wildness of New York in the 1960s and ’70s, this is the first biography of this extraordinary figure—an unintentional pioneer who became an icon. Cynthia Carr’s Candy Darling is packed with tales of luminaries, gossip, and meticulous research, laced with Candy’s words and her friends’ recollections, and signals Candy’s long-overdue return to the spotlight. Includes 16 pages of color photographs

Born Juanita Slusher in Edna, Texas, in 1935, the entertainer who became Candy Barr was perhaps the last great dancer in burlesque, a stripper who insisted on live, improvisational music and who at one time commanded $2,000 a week in 1950s Las Vegas. But as Juanita she had started life as a prematurely well-developed thirteen-year-old runaway victimized by a Dallas ritual known as "the capture" that enslaved her into prostitution, for a time turning over 4,000 tricks a year before she was able to escape. A lover of Mickey Cohen's and friend to Jack Ruby, Barr's tumultuous life included a period of imprisonment on trumped-up drug charges, an appearance in a crude, 20-minute stag film, and unlikely role in the investigation into the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Based on over 100 hours of exclusive interviews with Barr, this book is not just the story of Juanita and Candy, but also paints an unflattering picture of all those who sought to exploit her.

A celebration of the transversal community from the iconic magazine. The Candy Book of Transversal Creativity showcases the best content from the groundbreaking style magazine's twelve issues, with photography by icons such as Nan Goldin, Ryan McGinley, Jack Pierson, and Ellen von Unwerth; such muses as Hari Nef, Divine, and Laverne Cox; and thoughtful and insightful writing by influential cultural trans figures such as Amos Mac and Geena Rocero. Founded a decade ago by Luis Venegas, C*NDY is the first and only style magazine to focus on the transversal community, or transgender and gender-nonconforming/nonbinary people, transvestism, cross-dressing, drag, and androgyny. C*NDY has a devoted fan base and respect from industry leaders for showcasing the most creative and important names and talent in transversal fashion, art, and culture. This book brings together for readers the most timeless, inspirational, and aspirational pages of fashion, art, culture, makeup, glamour, icons, amazing transformations, and fun. This is an inspiring celebration of the many levels of transversal creativity and people, all facing an exciting future.

Finalist for the 2021 Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Nonfiction "Talusan sails past the conventions of trans and immigrant memoirs." --The New York Times Book Review "A ball of light hurled into the dark undertow of migration and survival." --Ocean Vuong, author of On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous A singular, beautifully written coming-of-age memoir of a Filipino boy with albinism whose story travels from an immigrant childhood to Harvard to a gender transition and illuminates the illusions of race, disability, and gender Fairest is a memoir about a precocious boy with albinism, a "sun child" from a rural Philippine village, who would grow up to become a woman in America. Coping with the strain of parental neglect and the elusive promise of U.S. citizenship, Talusan found childhood comfort from her devoted grandmother, a grounding force as she was treated by others with special preference or public curiosity. As an immigrant to the United States, Talusan came to be perceived as white. An academic scholarship to Harvard provided access to elite circles of privilege but required Talusan to navigate through the complex spheres of race, class, sexuality, and her place within the gay community. She emerged as an artist and an activist questioning the boundaries of gender. Talusan realized she did not want to be confined to a prescribed role as a man, and transitioned to become a woman, despite the risk of losing a man she deeply loved. Throughout her journey, Talusan shares poignant and powerful episodes of desirability and love that will remind readers of works such as Call Me By Your Name and Giovanni's Room. Her evocative reflections will shift our own perceptions of love, identity, gender, and the fairness of life.

A vivacious, rollicking tribute to one-of-a-kind Warhol superstar Jackie Curtis Based on author Craig Highberger’s documentary of the same name, Superstar in a Housedress is a striking oral biography of avant-garde, cross-dressing performer Jackie Curtis. Even among Andy Warhol’s orbit of dramatic personas and colorful characters in the sixties and seventies, Curtis stood out. Whether done up in drag or portraying James Dean—to whom he bore an uncanny resemblance—he dazzled in films, plays, and cabarets. Friends fondly recall how he brought his onstage eccentricities to everyday life, holding court in the backroom of the iconic nightclub Max’s Kansas City wearing tattered thirties housedresses, torn stockings, fabulous wigs, and glittering makeup. Curtis died of a drug overdose in 1985, but not before leaving an indelible mark on New York City’s underground art scene. More than just a performer, Curtis translated his fixation on fame and its trappings into his own poetry and outrageous plays, such as Glamour, Glory and Gold and Vain Victory. With snippets of his work alongside colorful recollections from his friends and acquaintances—including Lily Tomlin, Michael Musto, Holly Woodlawn, Harvey Fierstein, and Paul Morrissey—this is a fitting and touching tribute that evokes the spirited, creative energy that radiated from Jackie Curtis.