PROUD PINK SKY LAUNCHES TODAY! Plus reviews, public readings, and articles!

It’s finally here! The day Proud Pink Sky is finally unleashed upon the world, ushering in a thousand years of darkne…

I mean, buy my book! It’s set in the world’s first gay state, exploring a city divided between its gay, lesbian, bi, queer, trans, and nonbinary residents. Described as “gripping” by Publisher’s Weekly, the novel is already getting great reviews, and can be purchased from pretty much any bookstore. Here are some links:

AMAZON: https://a.co/d/c5ivSNy
BYWATER: https://www.bywaterbooks.com/product/proud-pink-sky-by-redfern-jon-barrett/
GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/60392869
BARNES & NOBLE: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/proud-pink-sky-redfern-jon-barrett/1141092302
BOOK DESPOSITORY: https://www.bookdepository.com/Proud-Pink-Sky-Redfern-Jon-Barrett/9781612942537

The novel looks great in both print and e-book forms, though I have a soft spot for the beautiful matte purple cover of the paperback. And with that we’re…

ONTO THE REVIEWS!

MyGayToronto.com has an incredible review from Drew Rowsome, with an incredibly positive account of the novel, its characters, and its messages. My favourite passage has to be:

”As astute and frightening as Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, yet reads with the pace and energy of a modern action thriller.”

You can read the full review here. I’m still smiling after reading it!

Another wonderful review comes from YouTube channel CloudCuckooCountry. I loved seeing the animations from the characters, and you can watch the full review here.

‘THE NESTING DOLLS OF HATE’

My article for Camp Rehobeth has been published. Titled ‘The Nesting Dolls of Hate’, the article talks about the tendency for marginalised people to ‘punch down’, and how this relates to Proud Pink Sky. Here’s a snippet:

“In 2020 I came out again: this time as nonbinary. The truth was they were right: I didn’t really fit, not even into the neat categories of ‘man’ or ‘woman.’ ... It was that way ever since I was a child, spending time with groups of boys and girls and never fitting in with either. There was only ever myself. My curiosity, and my questions.”

You can read the whole piece here.

READINGS!

A few public readings and events for Proud Pink Sky are lined up for the next couple months, including a reading at the Berlin Book Nook this Saturday! Located in northern Neukölln, it’s a beautiful independent bookstore and well worth a visit.

April 1 will see another reading, introduced by my wonderful partner Ismar Hačam, at Berlin’s Lettretage. Details for the event can be viewed here. Entry is €5, and I’m more than a little excited for it!

Well, that’s all for now. Be sure to recommend Proud Pink Sky to your friends, neighbours, strangers, especially that stranger over there, the one who’s running away! Don’t let him get away, he needs to hear about the book! HURRY, CATCH HIM.

– Redfern

Andromeda Spaceways and the Upcoming Book Launch!

Just a short post this week, as I appear to have angered ChatGPT. Now it’s churning out slanderous content and posting it everywhere like I’m (a much more glamorous) Sandra Bullock in a shoddy 21st-century remake of The Net.

So, onto the news!

Andromeda Spaceways

I’m delighted to announce that my speculative story ‘The Very Many Princes’ is being published in Andromeda Spaceways issue #89! This one’s a pretty dark story, based in some difficult experiences, yet it’s one that’s also filled with a lot of love.

More details are available on Andromeda Spaceways’ website.

Proud Pink Sky is almost here!

We’ve less than two weeks to go until the release of everyone’s favourite novel set in an alternate Berlin that’s the world’s first gay city state. There’s already been some mentions of the launch, not least by Lambda Literary, who’ve included it in their list of ‘March’s most anticipated LGBTQIA+ books’.

I’m also honoured that Proud Pink Sky has been included in Sci-Fi X Fantasy’s list ‘12 of the Best New Sci-Fi Books in March’, alongside mentions on other sites and blogs. I’m incredibly proud seeing how much love the book has gathered so far, and there’s even more to come, because I have readings lined up both here in Berlin and on some remote island called Britain. More info on those to come!

Proud Pink Sky releases 14 March, and is available for preorder on all your favourite and most despised book buying websites.

– Redfern

The Proudest, Pinkest Sky

It’s been a busy time here at Redfern Enterprises, where our employees don’t/won’t/can’t leave until every last potential scrap of work is definitively finished forever. In the meantime there’s plenty of exciting news, from print copies of Proud Pink Sky, to excerpts from the novel, to book recommendations. Follow me as we take you through our latest exciting updates, and please try not to make eye contact with our industrious workforce. Reminders of human interaction will only upset them, thus harming productivity.

Print Copies of Proud Pink Sky!

The print copies have arrived, and they’re absolutely stunning! I love the matte cover, how well the map was reproduced, and the imaginative use of formatting — with different sections of the novel using different layouts and fonts.

It made this colourful giant extremely happy.

Read an excerpt from the novel at Stadtsprechen

Following the reading of Proud Pink Sky at the Brotfabrik, the fantastic Berlin-based magazine Stadtsprechen has published an excerpt from the novel — in both English and German! The German translation is extremely well-done, and you can take a look for yourself here.

The Bay Area Reporter

Proud Pink Sky has made the Winter Books Picks from the Bay Area Reporter! Here’s an extract:

This is a wild, colorfully imaginative tale of unrest and coalition in a city with its own vocabulary and secret historical gay slang (Polari), all meant for paradise, but only for a conforming citizenry.

People really seem to be connecting with the novel! You can pre-order a copy for yourself at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and many other places.

I also write a list of recommendations for Shepherd.com, a really great website where authors recommend their favourite books. I really like that this is curated rather than algorithm-based, which we need much, much more of to counter the absolute clinical dystopia which is the internet in 2023. You can read my recommendations — titled ‘The best sci-fi and speculative stories depicting queer lives’ — at this link.

Hold it right there, we’ve received reports that one of you has been illegally sneaking potable water to one of our interns, and that this basic display of human dignity has led to them trying to unionise. Please hold while we usher them back safely into their corner using the hose.

-Redfern

New Year Newsings

At this blessed time of changing of an arbitrary date format based on a single religious figure, I can’t help but look to the year ahead. What exciting wars or plagues will we see this year? Will the plucky cave-dwelling apes continue to destroy the planet? And most importantly, will this finally be the year I’m installed as benevolent emprix* after a bloodless coup?

Proud Pink Sky

That’s right! This is the release year for everyone’s favourite novel about the world’s first gay state. Comes complete with map of this alternate Berlin, a glossary for the gay slang Polari, and real words covering almost every page.

Publisher’s Weekly recently reviewed the novel, calling it “gripping” and a “remarkable alternate history”. Proud Pink Sky is currently available for preorder on all your favourite (and least favourite) book sites, and buying it will make a certain queer giant very happy indeed.

That’s a good thing. You want that.

Ambitopian Adventures

Proud Pink Sky is an ambitopian novel — a term I came up with to describe works exploring human extremes outside of the restrictive binary of utopia and dystopia. The concept has been talked about a fair bit, and I was delighted to see that the artist and composer Yann Novak has created an excellent radio show called Sounds Toward a Queer Ambitopia.

It’s wonderfully atmospheric, and I’ve been listening to it while writing my horrifying stories. You can listen to it here. Do it. Do it now. But also, keep reading.

Stories stories stories!

I’m pleased to announce that I have upcoming short story publications!

First up we have ‘The Past Made Flesh’, which is being published in the British Science Fiction Association’s Fission anthology, alongside a host of great writers. I’m absolutely thrilled to be included, and am particularly proud of this story, which follows the adventures of nursing home resident Barbara.

Fission 2.2 can be ordered from this exciting dystopian website. And other websites.

Meanwhile, I have another exciting story announcement, which will be coming soon…

Hear my beautiful voice

I’ve been interviewed a couple more times, and will post links as soon as they’re available — some of which will coincide with the launch of Proud Pink Sky, including the Queer Words Podcast with the absolutely lovely Wayne Goodman.

I will also be doing readings in person at various locations, so if you wish to gaze upon me while quietly whispering my name, this will be the perfect opportunity. More details will be announced here, on my Goodreads page, and, gods willing, projected onto the night sky for all to see, whether they like it or not.

I’m sure I’ve forgotten something and it’ll come to me precisely three minutes after I upload this post, but for that’s all for now!

Join me next time for more exciting ambitopian adventures!

- Proud Pinkfern

*This is the nonbinary term for emperor/empress which I invented. You are most welcome.

Events Events Events!

This is a very quick I-finally-seem-to-have-that-annual-autumn-cold post, taking a break between feeling guilty about not working to, well, work. Only briefly though, so this still counts as ‘resting’. Sort of.

Anyway, last week’s PARATAXE event at the Literarisches Colloquium Berlin was an absolutely wonderful experience. Each of the three panels (covering past, present, and future in Berlin’s English-language writing) was fascinating, and it was fantastic to meet so many great writers, poets, and artists in person.

It was especially pleasing to share a panel with Ambika Thompson and Arielle Cottingham, where we spent much time talking about the city’s gentrification and what it means for queer artists of all kinds — moderated by the lovely Florian Duijsens. The event’s panels can be viewed online here.

The next event takes place October 14 at Berlin’s Brotfabrik, where I’ll be doing a reading with Man­ca Klun for PARATAXE. Details are available here.

That’s all for now! Join me next time when I’ll still be pretending to rest while secretly doing work! While still sick! Gotta live that 21st-century millennial dream!

— Redfern

More on Proud Pink Sky... And a Short Story in Fission

This will be a short post, seeing as my body has betrayed me and my well-deserved immortality by “getting sick” — but I do have some exciting news relating to everyone’s favourite speculative novel about the world’s first gay country…

WROTE podcast

It was delightful to be back on the WROTE podcast with hosts SA Collins and Vance Bastion, where we talked about ambitopia, my coming out as nonbinary, and how each relates to Proud Pink Sky. You can listen to the episode here, while in a few days the video version will be released on YouTube — complete with Proud Pink Sky poster in the background.

Panel discussion at Berlin’s LCB

I’m very much excited for the upcoming PARATAXE symposium at Berlin’s beautiful LCB grounds later this month. I’ll be on the ‘Idealism and Dystopia’ panel with Ambika Thompson and Arielle Cottingham, with the full programme available here. I’m especially pleased to see that Ben Ferguson, one of my favourite queer authors, will also be speaking at the event, which takes place September 23rd. Attendance is free of charge, but you need to register with the LCB for a ticket: mail@lcb.de.

Proud Pink Sky reading and discussion at Brotfabrik

Finally, I’ve been invited to do a reading from Proud Pink Sky at the Brotfabrik, again as part of PARATAXE’s programme. I’ll be speaking alongside the poet Manca Klun, with the novel reading taking place in both English and German. Tickets are €5 regular or €3 reduced, with more information available here.

Story in Fission

But it doesn’t end there — I’m extremely pleased to announce that my short story ‘The Past Made Flesh’ is appearing in the Fission anthology, published by the British Science Fiction Association. I’m honoured to be included among some great names, and will update with more information as it’s available.

That’s all for today! Until next time, when I shall finally be well and never ever get sick ever again.

— Redfern

Busy Busy Months

Many things have happened since the last update, partly because I am a frantically busy person perfectly willing to sacrifice their long-term wellbeing at the altar of productivity, and partly because… well, maybe it’s just that first thing. Anyway, onto the news!

Give Me Prizes!

First up, I have some exciting news on prizes —my short story collection was a semi-finalist for The Journal Non/Fiction Collection Prize, while the manuscript for my novel Small People was also a semi-finalist, this time for The Big Moose Prize by Black Lawrence Press, as well as being longlisted for the First Pages Prize. Obviously this has been exciting, but if the winners mysteriously go missing do I get to take their place? Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s how it works.

Not only that, but this Septemer I’ll also be on a panel at Berlin’s LCB (Literarisches Colloquium Berlin) as part of the Parataxe series. I’ll be discussing the themes in the novel alongside the real-life issues which inspired the work, and I’m extremely grateful for this opportunity.

Britain Trip

After five and a half years I finally managed to make it back to my home country of… what’s it called again? Burton? Britpop? Brexitmeansbrexit? Anyway, I went to that place and ate the good junk food and hopefully didn’t get the covid.

I also had chance to meet with two amazing author friends of mine — first I met up with Jennifer Steil in London, where we spent hours chatting at a lovely local cafe (pictured). I first met Jennifer at the Bi Book Awards in New York, and it was truly wonderful to see her and catch up in person.

The following week I met with Meg-John Barker in Brighton, and we had an absolutely fantastic time together, time which flew by all too quickly. (And again we got to be in an amazing cafe — Berlin really could take notes when it comes to coffee places.) I hope to see them again soon, especially if I manage to arrange a British book tour for Proud Pink Sky. Speaking of which…

Advance Praise for Proud Pink Sky

Oh look, it’s my upcoming novel! And I’ve been receiving some wonderful advanced praise from authors I really admire, including the aforementioned MJ Barker, author of Queer: A Graphic History, Calder Szewczak, co-authors of The Offset, Christian Baines, Brett Josef Grubisic, and Gayathri Prabhu — who remains one of the most thoughtful and inspiring people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.

You can read the quotes on the Proud Pink Sky page on this site. So far the novel has been extremely well received by everyone who’s had chance to read it, and it gives me warm glowy feelings whenever someone has given feedback (and not a small amount of imposter syndrome…).

Upcoming Events

I’ve been very fortunate in being approached to do a bilingual reading of Proud Pink Sky at the Brotfabrik this October (an actor will be reading the German parts so I don’t completely embarrass myself). This will be the first reading of the novel to a live audience — as well as my first live reading since the pandemic began — and I’m more than a little excited about it.

Image from @genderfreeworld

Gender Free World

I forgot to mention a very fun part of my Britain trip — going with my friend Lindsey to Brighton’s incredible gender-neutral clothing store, Gender Free World. It was a wonderfully affirming place after coming out as nonbinary, and thanks to their sizing scheme that’s based in body shape rather than actual gender, I actually found a shirt that fits! (I promise this is not a sponsored post, I’m just an absolute fanperson for this place). They even took a picture of us in our fancy new clothes to put on their Instagram (left).

Beyond the Hallowed Sky review

Among all the time spent frantically running after strangers and begging them to read my novel, I also found chance to write a review of Ken Macleod’s excellent new novel for Strange Horizons. I loved its take on speculative geopolitics, seeing a global cold war between the Union, the Alliance, and the Co-Ord, alongside its intriguing future concepts. You can read my thoughts on the novel and its fascinating worldbuilding here.

Marching in Berlin

Last Friday I went to Berlin’s fabulous Dyke* March, which was a huge amount of fun, filled with people in colourful outfits and a lot of gender nonconformity. I took the opportunity to make my face all kinds of pink for the occassion, and even though my introverted, covid-shocked self can’t be in crowds for long periods of time, it was still an amazing event (pictured: pink me, in the shirt from Gender Free World).

SECRETS

Well that’s enough from this photo album of a post — aside from me pointlessly teasing you with a non-announcement that I’m not allowed to make yet…

I’ll end on a skincare tip: If you never go outside, you’ll never get sun damage!

- Redfern



Story in The Colored Lens and Proud Pink Sky Available for Preorder!

PROUD PINK SKY STUFF!

I’m absolutely in love with Amble/Bywater’s fantastic design for the Proud Pink Sky cover, so much so that I ordered it as a poster for my bedroom wall, and it looks great. (It was also early in the morning, so feel free to ignore my shocking lack of makeup in this picture!)

The poster was custom-made, but you can get your very own smaller version — bound to hundreds of pages — by pre-ordering a copy of Proud Pink Sky. It’s now available in several locations, including:

This list is far from exhaustive, and you can pre-order a copy from your local bookstore by giving them the ISBN: 9781612942537.

THE COLORED LENS

I’m delighted to announce that my short story ‘Everkittens’ has been published in the Spring 2022 edition of The Colored Lens, a fantastic speculative fiction magazine which you can order here. I have my copy, and don’t you want to be just like me?

Anyway, that’s all for now. Join us next time when we’ll be tarnishing Berlin with PROUD PINK SKY billboards and skyvertisements.

Until then!

- Redfern

Proud Pink Sky cover reveal and release date!

I’m thrilled to have received Proud Pink Sky’s final cover design from my editor! Rendered in cyberpunk neon tones reminiscent of the bi and trans pride flags, I’m truly delighted with the design – especially the intricate and energetic detail of the gay megacity.

And we now have a release date: March 2023. Meanwhile, the novel’s page on Amble’s site has been updated. You’ll see plenty of news on Proud Pink Sky before then, so be sure to check back in!

That’s not even all! My short story ‘More’ was featured in issue 9 of Orca, available both as an ebook and in print. Orca publish some fantastic literary and speculative fiction, and I’m honoured to have been included.

Well, I best re-chain myself to my desk, in case I get any funny ideas about “escaping” or “freedom”. There are always more words to rearrange!

Until next time!

-Redfern