A Revelation
I recently stumbled across the term “transgressive fiction” while researching my genre. I was baffled because my books were too far out to get into a mainstream genre like “Young Adult” or “Gay Coming of Age”. Coming of age locked up in jail and the mental hospital is too far out for that genre. Dying and having adventures in the afterlife is too far out for mere “Young Adult.”
Then on Goodreads, while typing ‘Burroughs’, I stumbled across a group called “Transgressive Fiction”. It all clicked when I read the definition: ‘Transgressive fiction is a genre of literature which focuses on characters who feel confined by the norms and expectations of society and who break free of those confines in unusual or illicit ways.’
The writers who pop up when searching ‘Transgressive Fiction,’ include Jean Genet, Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs, Chuck Pahlaniuk. In fact, “Fight Club” looms large as the paramount example of the genre. It tops the list of 747 Transgressive Fiction novels on Goodreads. The list reads like a who’s who of my favorite books growing up and in young adulthood.
An Argument in Favor of Subscribing
Sadly, there aren’t a lot of people tuned into this genre, so I’m having trouble finding my tribe. I have a mailing list with zero subscribers (apart from me and my fantastic web designer). The thing is, if you subscribe to the list, you get an e-copy of my Naked-Lunch-esque novel, “5150”. Once you’re on that list, you will receive a coupon for a free e-copy of “Agnes in the Fifth Bardo”, a book surprisingly similar to Chuck Pahlaniuk’s “Damned”. The free e-copy of Agnes will come when the sequel, “Jagniel” is complete some time in early 2021.
I can assure you that I am not a writer who peppers his fan/subscribers with multiple emails in a week or even a month. I really only need it to let you know when a book comes out, or when I want to give something out for free or at a discount.
