ray stoeve (they/them)
@raystoeve.bsky.social
writer of YA and more. they/them.
🌈WORST-CASE SCENARIO out 1.20.26!
🌈BETWEEN PERFECT AND REAL, ARDEN GREY, and THE SUMMER LOVE STRATEGY out now!
linktr.ee/rayrowanjames
🌈WORST-CASE SCENARIO out 1.20.26!
🌈BETWEEN PERFECT AND REAL, ARDEN GREY, and THE SUMMER LOVE STRATEGY out now!
linktr.ee/rayrowanjames
Pinned
🏳️⚧️ COVER REVEAL!! 🏳️🌈 WORST-CASE SCENARIO drops on January 20, 2026! Featuring a T4T type A vs class clown romance; a nonbinary MC w/ self-diagnosed anxiety (but it’s actually OCD); should social justice be serious or fun?; & what do you do when your recovering alcoholic dad reappears in your life? 🧵
In recent author life news, WORST-CASE SCENARIO got a starred review from School Library Journal!
They loved my portrayal of OCD and of diverse teens with full, rich lives and romance in the midst of mental health struggles 🥰
And called the book a “safe environment” 🥹
They loved my portrayal of OCD and of diverse teens with full, rich lives and romance in the midst of mental health struggles 🥰
And called the book a “safe environment” 🥹
Worst-Case Scenario
www.slj.com
December 13, 2025 at 2:21 AM
In recent author life news, WORST-CASE SCENARIO got a starred review from School Library Journal!
They loved my portrayal of OCD and of diverse teens with full, rich lives and romance in the midst of mental health struggles 🥰
And called the book a “safe environment” 🥹
They loved my portrayal of OCD and of diverse teens with full, rich lives and romance in the midst of mental health struggles 🥰
And called the book a “safe environment” 🥹
I’ll be talking to my agent today about this and I suggest all authors in tradpub do the same. We can play a role in helping our publishers fight this.
December 12, 2025 at 5:57 PM
I’ll be talking to my agent today about this and I suggest all authors in tradpub do the same. We can play a role in helping our publishers fight this.
I always wonder with stuff like this why publishers aren’t just…honest. Like, why not just say “Hey y’all, most book printers are overseas and backed up but we are working as hard as we can to get you more copies of this book.”
The industry is allergic to transparency to a self-defeating degree.
The industry is allergic to transparency to a self-defeating degree.
this is a VERY good piece!!! harper and harlequin in particular seem quite messy lately! (and, i mean, for harper, always!) but i also wonder how much of the complications around printing (there's almost no book printers in the us; all are overseas and often backed up on work) affected this.
NEW: It’s not just readers that suffer due to Harlequin’s mismanagement of the' Heated Rivalry' books. Reid misses out on royalties, & booksellers miss out on commissions—which is especially painful during the holiday season when many small businesses make the bulk of their money.
December 12, 2025 at 7:06 AM
I always wonder with stuff like this why publishers aren’t just…honest. Like, why not just say “Hey y’all, most book printers are overseas and backed up but we are working as hard as we can to get you more copies of this book.”
The industry is allergic to transparency to a self-defeating degree.
The industry is allergic to transparency to a self-defeating degree.
My cat loves sleeping on my lap and I can always feel the moment that she really falls asleep because the full weight of her head relaxes onto my leg and it’s the best feeling in the entire world 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹
December 12, 2025 at 7:03 AM
My cat loves sleeping on my lap and I can always feel the moment that she really falls asleep because the full weight of her head relaxes onto my leg and it’s the best feeling in the entire world 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹
LET’S GOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Ready to pledge more years of my life to another Larian game!!!!!!
December 12, 2025 at 6:00 AM
LET’S GOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Ready to pledge more years of my life to another Larian game!!!!!!
Bluesky feels like the only social platform left that isn’t a hellscape of ads with a soul-crushingly opaque algorithm and never ending circular rage bait discourse. It’s nice here. Peaceful. I could get used to this…
December 11, 2025 at 4:53 AM
Bluesky feels like the only social platform left that isn’t a hellscape of ads with a soul-crushingly opaque algorithm and never ending circular rage bait discourse. It’s nice here. Peaceful. I could get used to this…
Oh my god so THAT’S how books are using Taylor Swift lyrics as titles without getting sued into the ground!!! I HAD NO IDEA
Fun copyright fact: you cannot copyright titles! Which is why there are so damn many books using short quotes from Shakespeare as their names.
December 11, 2025 at 4:49 AM
Oh my god so THAT’S how books are using Taylor Swift lyrics as titles without getting sued into the ground!!! I HAD NO IDEA
I am once again asking for the ability to toggle off seeing other people’s reposts in my feed without having to mute the individual.
December 10, 2025 at 7:11 AM
I am once again asking for the ability to toggle off seeing other people’s reposts in my feed without having to mute the individual.
my holy bible
December 9, 2025 at 9:02 PM
my holy bible
Reposted by ray stoeve (they/them)
I'm running for president on the platform that anyone who writes a review of a YA book and says something to the effect of "it reads young" is forever banned off the internet.
December 9, 2025 at 5:39 PM
I'm running for president on the platform that anyone who writes a review of a YA book and says something to the effect of "it reads young" is forever banned off the internet.
Got to add my pick, “KFC Santería” by Cain Culto, to this list for @xtramagazine.com! One of my favorite things about that song is the fact he sampled a squeaky chair for the beat 🪑
The queer and trans songs we loved in 2025 | Xtra Magazine
From Amaarae to Rosalía to Ezra Furman, here’s what we had on repeat this year
xtramagazine.com
December 9, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Got to add my pick, “KFC Santería” by Cain Culto, to this list for @xtramagazine.com! One of my favorite things about that song is the fact he sampled a squeaky chair for the beat 🪑
Reposted by ray stoeve (they/them)
Gonna go even further: don't refer to it as "consuming media" when doing this. You aren't a consumer - it's not a product. You read books. You look at art. You watch movies and/or videos. Be careful about word choice.
Reject "consume" and REJECT "CONTENT."
IT IS ART.
YOU ARE ENGAGING WITH ART.
Reject "consume" and REJECT "CONTENT."
IT IS ART.
YOU ARE ENGAGING WITH ART.
I'm being so real right now, learn how to engage in media as art and not a reflection of your own real life morals. consume things that make you uncomfortable and understand why it makes you uncomfortable. Don't just base yours and others morals standings on the media you consume.
September 22, 2025 at 2:59 AM
Gonna go even further: don't refer to it as "consuming media" when doing this. You aren't a consumer - it's not a product. You read books. You look at art. You watch movies and/or videos. Be careful about word choice.
Reject "consume" and REJECT "CONTENT."
IT IS ART.
YOU ARE ENGAGING WITH ART.
Reject "consume" and REJECT "CONTENT."
IT IS ART.
YOU ARE ENGAGING WITH ART.
🩷💜💙 I’m doing a #BiWeek giveaway in honor of Talia, a bi autistic trans girl and bestie to Hayley in my YA romcom THE SUMMER LOVE STRATEGY! One winner gets a signed personalized HC copy of TSLS.
TO ENTER:
Subscribe to my newsletter!
US only, open til 11:59pm 9/23. More deets on my IG 👀
TO ENTER:
Subscribe to my newsletter!
US only, open til 11:59pm 9/23. More deets on my IG 👀
Ray Stoeve’s Newsletter
YA author Ray Stoeve shares monthly spotlights of trans YA & MG books, updates on their own books and writer life, culture recommendations and advocacy opportunities.
mailchi.mp
September 22, 2025 at 10:08 PM
🩷💜💙 I’m doing a #BiWeek giveaway in honor of Talia, a bi autistic trans girl and bestie to Hayley in my YA romcom THE SUMMER LOVE STRATEGY! One winner gets a signed personalized HC copy of TSLS.
TO ENTER:
Subscribe to my newsletter!
US only, open til 11:59pm 9/23. More deets on my IG 👀
TO ENTER:
Subscribe to my newsletter!
US only, open til 11:59pm 9/23. More deets on my IG 👀
The “first trans YA” I talked abt last time actually WASN’T the first! How do we decide who is “first” in trans YA, anyway? Today I’m talking abt those elusive milestones, how we decide what qualifies, and what we learn when we ask that question.
August 29, 2025 at 9:28 PM
The “first trans YA” I talked abt last time actually WASN’T the first! How do we decide who is “first” in trans YA, anyway? Today I’m talking abt those elusive milestones, how we decide what qualifies, and what we learn when we ask that question.
I finished Expedition 33 two days ago and I’m still thinking about that final choice. Absolutely brilliant writing and follow through on a theme until the very end. I’ve been learning a lot about what makes a meaningful choice in a video game and that one was a perfect example.
August 17, 2025 at 7:09 PM
I finished Expedition 33 two days ago and I’m still thinking about that final choice. Absolutely brilliant writing and follow through on a theme until the very end. I’ve been learning a lot about what makes a meaningful choice in a video game and that one was a perfect example.
AGENTS YOU BETTER BE LINING UP TO REP THIS!!!!!!!
August 15, 2025 at 11:38 PM
AGENTS YOU BETTER BE LINING UP TO REP THIS!!!!!!!
If you like interactive fiction I just published this short piece based on the fetch (no relation to Mean Girls), a figure in Irish folklore, with a trans spin on it. I’ve been getting into video game writing & narrative design and this is the first attempt I’m sharing. I’m quite proud of it!
The Fetch Speaks by western hemlock
Your friend has something to tell you.
westernhemlock.itch.io
August 15, 2025 at 11:35 PM
If you like interactive fiction I just published this short piece based on the fetch (no relation to Mean Girls), a figure in Irish folklore, with a trans spin on it. I’ve been getting into video game writing & narrative design and this is the first attempt I’m sharing. I’m quite proud of it!
Reposted by ray stoeve (they/them)
For the entire time of knowing who he is, I have thought Gavin Newsom was gay, and I just learned he isn’t.
Was it just me?? Is this some kind of Mandela effect?? I stg I remember reading that he was gay years and years ago and that was why he started marrying people before it was legal.
Was it just me?? Is this some kind of Mandela effect?? I stg I remember reading that he was gay years and years ago and that was why he started marrying people before it was legal.
August 8, 2025 at 10:02 PM
For the entire time of knowing who he is, I have thought Gavin Newsom was gay, and I just learned he isn’t.
Was it just me?? Is this some kind of Mandela effect?? I stg I remember reading that he was gay years and years ago and that was why he started marrying people before it was legal.
Was it just me?? Is this some kind of Mandela effect?? I stg I remember reading that he was gay years and years ago and that was why he started marrying people before it was legal.
So uhhhhh who else went from a BG3 obsession to a Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 obsession bc this game is GORGEOUS
August 3, 2025 at 12:44 AM
So uhhhhh who else went from a BG3 obsession to a Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 obsession bc this game is GORGEOUS
Chappell Roan was definitely listening to a lot of Cocteau Twins while she was writing and recording “The Subway” and I’m LOVING it
August 2, 2025 at 2:53 AM
Chappell Roan was definitely listening to a lot of Cocteau Twins while she was writing and recording “The Subway” and I’m LOVING it
If you want a crash course on the history of trans YA and middle grade books, I’m posting my newsletter archive one essay at a time on my blog starting TODAY with the first (or is it…?) trans YA book and what it says about where trans representation started!
Who Wrote The First Trans YA Novel?
According to my research, the first YA novel ever traditionally published about a trans character by a trans author came out only 12 years ago, in 2012. That book is BEING EMILY, by Rachel Gold, pu…
raystoeve.com
August 2, 2025 at 2:49 AM
If you want a crash course on the history of trans YA and middle grade books, I’m posting my newsletter archive one essay at a time on my blog starting TODAY with the first (or is it…?) trans YA book and what it says about where trans representation started!
And it’s never surprising to me when it’s the white cis gay men who do this. They consistently throw others under the bus to preserve their rights (to assimilate).
buttigieg is (and at least on the national stage *consistently* has been) a Corporate Gay
and queers know that Corporate Gays will sell out the community to get ahead
and queers know that Corporate Gays will sell out the community to get ahead
July 30, 2025 at 8:46 PM
And it’s never surprising to me when it’s the white cis gay men who do this. They consistently throw others under the bus to preserve their rights (to assimilate).
LET’S GO LESBIANS you have until tomorrow 7/31 to bid on my latest super-gay YA novel AND help Queer Liberation Network fund their programs for queer and trans financial empowerment in Texas and beyond!
Calling all sapphic YA romcom lovers! You can now bid on a signed & personalized copy of THE SUMMER LOVE STRATEGY! Hayley and Talia are BFFs who team up on a very neurodivergent Plan™️ to find their first girlfriends…but is love actually right in front of them??
www.32auctions.com/organization...
www.32auctions.com/organization...
July 30, 2025 at 8:42 PM
LET’S GO LESBIANS you have until tomorrow 7/31 to bid on my latest super-gay YA novel AND help Queer Liberation Network fund their programs for queer and trans financial empowerment in Texas and beyond!
Tomorrow 7/31 is your LAST DAY to shoot your shot for an author visit from me AND help Queer Liberation Network fund their programs for queer and trans financial empowerment in Texas and beyond!
Hey high school teachers and librarians!! I am auctioning off an author visit from me ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD! In-person for Seattle-Tacoma; virtually elsewhere.
Proceeds benefit Queer Liberation Network’s programs! 💜
www.32auctions.com/organization...
Proceeds benefit Queer Liberation Network’s programs! 💜
www.32auctions.com/organization...
July 30, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Tomorrow 7/31 is your LAST DAY to shoot your shot for an author visit from me AND help Queer Liberation Network fund their programs for queer and trans financial empowerment in Texas and beyond!