What is Trans* Literature? Are you interested in bringing (trans*) gender into your own writing but not sure how to start? Or maybe you are already exploring trans* themes and would welcome a weekend spent delving deeper?

Over the course of this two-day workshop, we will reflect on our own commitments and motivations in dealing with gender in writing and the consequences our gendered experiences can have on our work. We will ask questions such as, what does gender mean to you, and how do you relate to it in your own writing? We will undertake self-reflective and generative writing exercises as well as discussion and analyze examples of transgender literature (highlights include excerpts from speculative fiction works such as The Road and The Valley and the Beasts by Keffy R. M. Kehrli,  and non-fiction from Blood, Marriage, Wine, and Glitter by S. Bear Bergman) in order to understand some of the common tropes and think about how we might engage with gender themes in authentic and creative ways.

Finally, there will be time set aside for writing so you can play around with what we’ve learned and apply it to your own projects (for this, you will have the opportunity to leave the space for a bit, so please bring the material you will need to work outside). The workshop will be based on an intersectional feminist and embodied approach.

This workshop is meant not only as an introduction to Trans* Literature, but also as a platform to explore your relationship with gender in your own writing so you can engage with it in more creative ways. Writers of all levels and genres welcome, both LGBTQ+ and allies.

In preparation for the workshop, participants will be asked to read two texts (reading time approx. 30 mins)

Lukas Kofoed Reimann is a trans* scholar, writer and outdoor enthusiast who lives in Berlin. In 2019 he wrote his thesis in Gender Studies at The Humboldt Universität on the topic of trans* autobiography and kinship. Currently, he is working on an anthology  of essays about trans* in Danish and is the editor of a forthcoming Danish language anthology of queer fiction. Both his teaching and writing has been situated in the intersection between academic and creative writing and he is continually curious about the way we can interact with and shape our worlds through writing and reading. Besides this he has a love for reading queer young adult fiction and a soft spot for a good romance.