The Bi+ Book Gang Bulletin
your monthly dose of bi+ writing community: Jul/Aug 2025
Your Favorite Bi+ Writers with the July Newsletter!
Member Spotlight: A.J. Shirley
Greetings, y’all! I’m A.J. Shirley (she/her), and I have the privilege of bringing you July’s news from your favorite Gang. Before I tell you about all the good stuff the bi+ book gang is up to, let me tell you a bit about me! I write romance and romantasy that is unapologetically inclusive and unashamedly spicy. My grandmother, and pen-namesake, is one of my biggest supporters. Despite being an octogenarian, she reads my smuttiest content without batting an eyelash, and accepts my queernormative worlds without question, which gives me hope for the older generations (and the world in general TBH).
I’ve been in education since I joined the workforce, and so one of my favorite things about writing is how I get to teach and learn through storytelling. For example, in one omegaverse romance, my journalist FMC writes about alarming statistics for omega health and safety, but all the stats I used actually apply to Black women in the United States. In another vein entirely, later in that same book, I got to write a rope play scene that required lots of fun research. Thank the gods for the internet, and the detailed videos rope play practitioners are willing to share with the rest of us!
I’d say that research probably made the FBI agent monitoring my computer blush, but since I’d already searched “human composting” prior to that, they might just be extremely concerned about my intentions at this point. (In my defense, it was just because I wanted to explore the feasibility of a world where the dead aren’t buried. The concept of burial freaks me out.)
I was very tempted to provide some information on the environmental and financial benefits of human composting, but luckily for you, I’m only allowed so much space. Instead, in honor of Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, I’ll leave you with some of the stats I mentioned researching earlier. These are a bit heavy, so if you’re not in a place to think about mental and physical health for marginalized folks in the United States, skip ahead to the news!
Black women have higher rates of maternal mortality than our white counterparts and are 3 to 4 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women. For example, Black women are at twice the risk of peripartum cardiomyopathy as white women, take twice as long to recover, are twice as likely to worsen before getting better after diagnosis, and twice as likely to fail to recover altogether.
Black women are at higher risk for chronic diseases, less likely to have access to quality care, and are less likely to receive appropriate diagnoses and treatment for reported ailments. Doctors often don’t believe our pain (studies show that half of medical trainees believe Black people have thicker skin and/or less sensitive nerve endings), and are more likely to label Black women as drug seeking than white women.
Black women are six times more likely to be killed than white women. In some states, that number is as high as twenty times more likely. Last year, Black women faced the highest rates of victimization of any race: 27.2 violent crimes per 1,000 women.
So, what do stats like this have to do with mental health? Well, physical and mental health go hand-in-hand. Studies show that Black women often experience anxiety and depression with more physical symptoms like headaches, gastrointestinal issues, and chronic pain.
And, though Black women are more likely to experience symptoms of depression than white women, we’re less likely to seek treatment, probably because of the aforementioned negative experiences with medical professionals.
Unsurprisingly, queer Black women, and queer women of color as a whole, experience higher levels of stress and mental health issues than our white counterparts.
So, this is your reminder to be gentle with yourself. You’re doing your best, and your best is enough. Take care of yourself and each other.
And, now, the news!
News & Upcoming Events
Our founder, Bailey Merlin, attended and survived 14 Pride events in and around the Boston area this year!
Bailey and Jace’s podcast, Bisexual Killjoy, wrapped on season 3 and is gearing up for season 4. If you’re a bi+ person looking to understand yourself better, get to listening while they’re in the off-season!
Two of Christian Pan’s books are finalists in this year´s Passionate Plume contest! “Reunion” is 1 of 4 finalists in "Erotic Fiction (Short)" and Wilding is 1 of 4 finalists in "Erotic Fiction (Long)".
Anne Willoughby's short story "Eras & Echoes" was accepted into the Spellbound Anthology by the Red Herring Society. The anthology is set to publish on September 16th!
ARC requests are open for both books in G.B. Bancroft's queer romantic fantasy duet, completing September 25, 2025. The Sins & Virtues duet is a tale of female rage, revenge, and love, where Peaky Blinders meets the fae courts and the seven deadly sins.
Julie Morgenlender’s anthology about living with chronic illness, The Things We Don't Say: An Anthology of Chronic Illness Truths, received 100 mysterious orders!
Lizzie B. Brown’s Friendsgiving with Benefits is going to be stocked at Lost The Plot!
Briar Belmont, Cassandra Medcalf, and Cozy Dubois did the Gang proud at the Book Fair for Grown-Ups in the Twin Cities (and Sophia-Rose Johnson was good enough to say hello to everyone)!
Recent & Upcoming Releases
Lyrical defiance that traces home, inheritance, and belonging. We Had Mansions: Poems released on July 1st. Blending archival research with lived experience, queer Palestinian Appalachian poet and journalist Mandy Shunnarah composes poems that bear witness to the fractured geographies of diaspora, the disinformation campaigns that erase Palestinian humanity, and the personal and collective grief that is carried across generations.
"If being trapped on a deserted island and bartering my womb to an ancient fertility goddess in exchange for my friends’ freedom and a month of orgasms has taught me anything, it’s that life is too short to stan purity culture."
If you need more than that quote to want to buy this book, we are not the same. Bride of the Kraken is a polyamorous paranormal romance that I need poured directly into my eyeballs immediately. Luckily, it was released on July 1st, so I know what I’ll be doing immediately after I finish this newsletter.
Two feet can become many under the right guidance. This dystopian short story follows a man and the teenage boy he takes in as they navigate a war-torn Height City. “Diploda Dawn” released on July 10th.
One night to explore. Two monsters to change everything.
Um, yeah. So, I may have a type, dear reader. July 19th cannot come soon enough, as that is the day this monster romance releases. Their Sunflower Girl follows a human invited to a fae pleasure house and I am SAT.
J. Manfred Weichsel presents Jungle Scandals, an anthology of NSFW jungle adventures featuring twelve delightfully scandalous stories (including one by our very own Lauren Taylor Bak) with NSFW illustrations by Elena Ominetti. At this point, I’m just handing over my credit card and waiting for this erotic adventure to be released on July 28th!
Well, hello there! My why choose, omegaverse, royal romance is coming to audio on July 29th! Knot Their Cup of Tea is the story of a sassy pop princess and the royal pack of roguish princes she finds herself snowed in with for the holidays. It’s brought to life by a full cast of talented narrators, so give it a listen and celebrate Christmas in July with the pack!
We’re heading back to sea with Briar Belmont’s Demon of the Deep prequel, Undefined Tides! Save the date now, because this swashbuckling fantasy romance is out August 16.
Nonbinary Book Recs
In honor of Nonbinary Awareness Week, we asked social media for some book recommendations either by or about nonbinary people. Here’s what the internet had to say:
Tempting Tara by our very own Cozy Dubois
How to Survive a Slasher by Justine Pucella Winans
Mallory in Full Color by Elisa Stone Leahy
Never To Suffer by Jordyn Barnes
Glowrot by Beatrice Lebrun
Honorbound by Avery Carter
The Fool by Laura J Fitzwilson
Aurethia Rising by Atlas Laika
Demon Engine by Marten Norr
The Magician and the Mechanical Doll by Gaius J. Augustus
In the Care of Magic by Robin Jo Margaret
Waking Pan by Nico Silver
Tea Minus Death by Delliom Ellidom
The Heartbreak Bakery by A.R. Capetta
Man O’War by Cory McCarthy
See Ya!
That’s all for now, folks. Stay safe out there and take good care of yourselves. Maybe drink some water today.
Until Next Time,
A.J. Shirley