In Detachable Penis: A Queer Legal Saga, Elkin relates his bumpy journey from lesbian to transgender lawyer in the aftermath of the 2017 Australian marriage equality postal survey, which resulted in an amendment to the Marriage Act to enable same-sex marriage. As the inaugural lawyer of Victoria’s queer law service, Elkin is quickly immersed in thorny debates around trans inclusion in sport, children’s access to puberty blockers, birth certificate law reform, and the Christian right’s demand for enhanced religious freedoms. Set against the backdrop of a growing moral panic about the "trans agenda," Elkin reflects on the double-edged sword of visibility post the "transgender tipping point." Elkin offers an honest, unflinching account of chest surgery, phalloplasty, the emotional impact of cross-sex hormones and the perils of airport body scanners. Refreshingly open-minded, Elkin explores his ambivalence about aspects of his own transition, masculinity, and fears of lesbian erasure as he encounters a new world of gender-affirming psychologists, surgeons, and speech pathologists. Through an examination of Elkin’s legal casework and law reform efforts, Detachable Penis offers a kaleidoscopic view of LGBTIQA+ communities living on the margins and a nuanced account of the lateral violence, poor mental health, and activist burnout that besets the contemporary LGBTIQA+ rights movement. Part love letter and part cautionary tale, Detachable Penis offers a darkly humorous glimpse into Elkin’s unique life in the law.

A darkly humorous and groundbreaking memoir from a new voice in queer literature 'A work of great heart and brain. Elkin is compulsory reading, always.' —Chloe Hooper In Detachable Penis: A Queer Legal Saga, Elkin relates his bumpy journey from lesbian to transgender lawyer in the aftermath of the 2017 marriage equality postal survey. As the inaugural lawyer of Victoria's queer law service, Elkin is quickly immersed in thorny debates around trans inclusion in sport, children's access to puberty blockers, birth certificate law reform and the Christian right's demand for enhanced religious freedoms. Set against the backdrop of a growing moral panic about the 'trans agenda', Elkin reflects on the double-edged sword of visibility post the 'transgender tipping point'. Elkin offers an honest, unflinching account of chest surgery, phalloplasty, the emotional impact of cross-sex hormones and the perils of airport body scanners. Undogmatic and refreshingly open-minded, Elkin explores his ambivalence about aspects of his own transition, masculinity and fears of lesbian erasure as he encounters a new world of gender-affirming psychologists, surgeons and speech pathologists. Through an examination of Elkin's legal casework and law reform efforts, Detachable Penis offers a kaleidoscopic view of LGBTIQA+ communities living on the margins. This politically sharp narrative offers a nuanced account of the lateral violence, poor mental health and activist burn out that besets the contemporary LGBTIQA+ rights movement. Part love letter and part cautionary tale, Detachable Penis offers a darkly humorous glimpse into Elkin's unique life in the law that will undoubtedly spark many prickly conversations. 'Sam Elkin has a sharp eye and a wit that crackles. Detachable Penis is searching in its honesty and possesses a streetwise kindness. Elkin makes us feel as if we, too, are at the shoreline of an old life, contemplating the wide expanse of the one to begin. He knows that the body of the law and the human body are similar. They contain so much; they contain us. Here, Elkin creates a new body of work that grapples with both and never settles for the narrow wisdoms of the past.' —Rick Morton

In this midyear 2021 edition of Bent Street, guest editors Sam Elkin and Yves Rees from the Spilling the T Collective bring a special trans and gender diverse community focus: essays, poetry, polemic, memoir, fiction, and imagery that explores and celebrates gender diversity. In this edition, trans creatives bring an acute understanding of how embodied subjects construct and perform gendered selves - an understanding that though sometimes borne of pain and trauma, and sometimes met in joyful euphoria - creates memorable art ... foregrounding nuances often eluding the cis gaze. A distinctive trans lens dissecting how gender works - for all people, cis and trans - shines through in this special issue.

Adrift in a failing marriage, Maya Wise is alone in a strange world far from home in this work of fiction. Intrigued by an elderly Chinese man carrying a caged nightingale, she begins to follow him through the streets and alleys of Hong Kong. Drawn to Ken Tiger and his painful tale of lost love in wartime Shanghai, Maya begins to piece together other stories, other histories from the world around her, and so comes to imagine a different future for herself, resulting in a moving meditation on exile, memory, and the ways in which we reconcile ourselves with loss.This revised edition is for book clubs and provides discussion notes at the end.

A queer minister, politician and staunch activist for LGBTQ rights, Cheri DiNovo went from living on the streets as a teenager to performing the first legalized same-sex marriage registered in Canada in 2001. From rights for queer parents to banning conversion therapy, her story will inspire people (queer or ally) to not only resist the system—but change it. In The Queer Evangelist, Rev. Dr. Cheri DiNovo (CM) shares her origins as a young socialist activist in the 1960s, and her rise to ordained minister in the ‘90s and New Democratic member of provincial parliament. During her tenure representing Parkdale-High Park in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2006 to 2017, DiNovo passed more LGBTQ bills than anyone in Canadian history. She describes the behind-the-scenes details of major changes to Canadian law, including Toby’s Law: the first Transgender Rights legislation in North America. She also passed bills banning conversion therapy, proclaiming parent equality for LGBTQ parents, and for enshrining Trans Day of Remembrance into Ontario law. Every year on November 20th in the legislature, the provincial government is mandated to observe a minute of silence while Trans murders and suicides are detailed. Interspersed with her political work, DiNovo describes her conversion to religious life with radical intimacy, including her theological work and her ongoing struggle with the Christian Right. Cheri DiNovo's story shows how queer people can be both people of faith and critics of religion, illustrating how one can resist and change repressive systems from within. “Living on the street, using drugs, abandoned by the adults in her life, all while identifying as ‘queer’ in a hostile world—any one of these things could have unravelled many of us. Cheri hauled herself up and not only survived but thrived. I love that this strong, brilliant, competent woman has told her story so honestly.” —Kathleen Wynne, former premier of Ontario

A stimulating combination of memoir, essay, poetry, confession and critique, Blueberries is a powerful and revealing collection from a rising star in Australian creative non-fiction.

In this kaleidoscope view of Cold War persecution, Karen Throsssell documents three generations of an extraordinary family struggling to clear their names.