{{Short description|Canadian writer (born 1987)}} {{Infobox writer | name = Casey Plett | image = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1987|06|20}}<ref>{{cite tweet |first=Casey |last=Plett |user=caseyplett |number=478282160429101056 |date=June 15, 2014 |title=Btw Winnipeg I am gonna be giving a hometown reading at @mcnallyrobinson on June 20, my 27th birthday, coincidentally}}</ref> | birth_place = Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada | occupation = Writer | period = 2010–present | nationality = Canadian | notableworks = ''A Safe Girl to Love,'' ''Little Fish,'' ''A Dream of a Woman'' | website = {{URL|http://caseyplett.wordpress.com}} }} '''Casey Plett''' (born June 20, 1987) is a Canadian writer, best known for her novel ''Little Fish,'' her Lambda Literary Award winning short story collection, ''A Safe Girl to Love'', and her Giller Prize-nominated short story collection, ''A Dream of a Woman''. Plett is a transgender woman, and she often centers this experience in her writing. Plett also co-founded LittlePuss Press with Cat Fitzpatrick.
== Personal life == Plett was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and grew up in a Mennonite family in Morden, Manitoba.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://thedrivemagazine.com/posts/shes-an-open-book/|title=She's an open book {{!}} The Drive Magazine|website=The Drive Magazine|date=27 July 2018|language=en-US|access-date=2019-11-01|archive-date=2019-11-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191101195629/https://thedrivemagazine.com/posts/shes-an-open-book/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite interview|last=Plett|first=Casey|interviewer=Erin Koop Unger|title=5 Questions With Author Casey Plett|url=https://www.mennotoba.com/5-questions-with-author-casey-plett/|access-date=January 29, 2019|work=Mennotoba|date=April 20, 2018|archive-date=July 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719195551/https://www.mennotoba.com/5-questions-with-author-casey-plett/|url-status=live}}</ref> She attended high school in Eugene, Oregon, and later moved to Portland for college and New York for graduate school.<ref name=":0" /> She has lived in Windsor, Ontario.<ref name="prism">{{cite interview|last=Plett|first=Casey|interviewer=Jessica Johns|title=Get to Know: Casey Plett|url=http://prismmagazine.ca/2018/05/17/get-to-know-casey-plett/|access-date=March 30, 2019|work=PRISM International|date=May 17, 2018|archive-date=March 31, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331010945/http://prismmagazine.ca/2018/05/17/get-to-know-casey-plett/|url-status=live}}</ref> Plett currently teaches at Ohio University.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ohio.edu/fine-arts/plett|title=Casey Plett Ohio University|author=|publisher=|accessdate=24 October 2024|archive-date=7 October 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241007214552/https://www.ohio.edu/fine-arts/plett|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/protect-trans-kids-youre-sick-what-a-new-bridge-in-windsor-taught-me-about-reaching/article_e27c85d8-323d-11ef-bd4e-eb10b0a3e438.html|title='Protect trans kids!' 'You're sick!' What a new bridge in Windsor taught me about reaching out across our cultural divides|publisher=Toronto Star|first=Casey|last=Plett|date=30 June 2024|accessdate=24 October 2024|archive-date=12 December 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241212203832/https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/protect-trans-kids-youre-sick-what-a-new-bridge-in-windsor-taught-me-about-reaching/article_e27c85d8-323d-11ef-bd4e-eb10b0a3e438.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
== Writing career == Plett previously wrote a regular column about her gender transition for ''McSweeney's Internet Tendency''.<ref name="mines">"Winnipeg author mines her experiences and those of other trans women in fearless collection of short stories". ''Winnipeg Free Press'', June 19, 2014.</ref> She has also written about her transition for ''Defector''{{'}}s series, ''Histories of Transition''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Plett |first=Casey |date=June 6, 2023 |title=How One Dumb Woman Got On HRT In 2010 |url=https://defector.com/how-one-dumb-woman-got-on-hrt-in-2010 |access-date=2026-01-06 |website=Defector |language=en |archive-date=2025-11-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251118043611/https://defector.com/how-one-dumb-woman-got-on-hrt-in-2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> She is a book reviewer for the ''Winnipeg Free Press''<ref name="mines" /> and has published work in ''Rookie'', ''Plenitude'', ''The Walrus'', and ''Two Serious Ladies''.<ref name="Canadian">{{cite web |last1=Page/Odofemi |first1=Morgan M. |title=Trans Women's Lit? An Interview with Trish Salah and Casey Plett |url=http://cwila.com/trans-womens-lit-an-interview-with-trish-salah-and-casey-plett/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913020212/http://cwila.com/trans-womens-lit-an-interview-with-trish-salah-and-casey-plett/ |archive-date=September 13, 2015 |access-date=June 23, 2015 |website=Canadian Women in the Literary Arts}}</ref>
Plett has cited Imogen Binnie, Elena Rose, and Julia Serano as some of her influences.<ref name="Canadian" />
=== ''A Safe Girl to Love'' === Plett's first short story collection was published in 2014: ''A Safe Girl to Love''. It became a cult classic, sharing stories of trans women across a range of settings and experiences.<ref name=":4" /> It also won the 2014 Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Fiction.<ref name="latimes" /> It was later reprinted by Arsenal Pulp Press with a new afterword from Plett in 2023.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=2023-04-04 |title=This Short Story Collection Helped Revolutionize Trans Women's Fiction |url=https://www.them.us/story/casey-plett-a-safe-girl-to-love-reissue-interview |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=Them |language=en-US |archive-date=2024-01-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110154307/https://www.them.us/story/casey-plett-a-safe-girl-to-love-reissue-interview |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== ''Meanwhile, Elsewhere'' === {{Main|Meanwhile, Elsewhere}}Plett met Cat Fitzpatrick at a writer's conference in the early 2010s: later, Fitzpatrick asked Plett to co-edit a trans-authored speculative fiction anthology with her.<ref name=":10" /> This became ''Meanwhile, Elsewhere: Science Fiction and Fantasy From Transgender Writers'', published by Topside Press.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=Macaré|first=Joe|date=September 20, 2017|title=Talking to the Editors of a Trans Speculative Fiction Anthology|url=https://truthout.org/articles/meanwhile-elsewhere-talking-to-the-editors-of-a-trans-speculative-fiction-anthology/|access-date=2026-01-07|website=Truthout|language=en-US}}</ref> The anthology was likely the first speculative fiction collection written entirely by trans authors, and it won the 2018 Barbara Gittings Literature Award, a Stonewall Book Award.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Milks|first=Megan|date=October 16, 2017|title=Meanwhile, Elsewhere: Science Fiction and Fantasy from Transgender Writers, edited by Cat Fitzpatrick and Casey Plett|url=https://strangehorizons.com/wordpress/non-fiction/reviews/meanwhile-elsewhere-science-fiction-and-fantasy-from-transgender-writers-edited-by-cat-fitzpatrick-and-casey-plett/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250822060132/http://strangehorizons.com/wordpress/non-fiction/reviews/meanwhile-elsewhere-science-fiction-and-fantasy-from-transgender-writers-edited-by-cat-fitzpatrick-and-casey-plett/|archive-date=2025-08-22|access-date=2026-01-07|website=Strange Horizons|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> When the publisher disbanded soon after, Plett and Fitzpatrick decided to start LittlePuss Press to continue printing the work.<ref name=":32" />
=== ''Little Fish'' === Plett published her debut novel in 2018, ''Little Fish''. The book centers on Wendy, a trans woman in Winnipeg who weathers weeks of tragedy, learns that her grandfather may have been trans, and searches for trans culture and community across far distances.<ref name=":9" />
''Quill & Quire'' gave the book a starred review, saying it is a work that centers transness rather than sanitizing it or hiding the violence inflicted against trans women. Jonathan Valelly's review describes the story's portrayal of collective community and heroism, calling it "a book that invites us to witness something so important, so complex, and so tender".<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |last=Valelly |first=Jonathan |date=May 2018 |title=Little Fish |url=https://quillandquire.com/review/little-fish/ |access-date=2026-01-06 |website=Quill & Quire |language=en}}</ref>
=== ''A Dream of a Woman'' === In 2021, Plett published ''A Dream of a Woman'', another short story collection with eight short stories about trans women.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stratis |first=Niko |date=August 23, 2021 |title=For award-winning writer Casey Plett, the beauty of trans lives resides in the details |url=https://xtramagazine.com/culture/books/casey-plett-dream-of-a-woman-206990 |access-date=2026-01-06 |website=Xtra Magazine |language=en-CA |archive-date=2025-09-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250911114359/https://xtramagazine.com/culture/books/casey-plett-dream-of-a-woman-206990 |url-status=live }}</ref> Elanor Broker, reviewing for ''Portland Mercury'', praised it as the "leading edge of trans storytelling" and appreciated its stories set in Oregon and Portland, saying it elevated neglected experiences using deep stories anchored in local settings.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Broker |first=Elanor |date=November 15, 2021 |title=In A Dream of a Woman, Casey Plett Crafts Trans Stories Rooted in Portland |url=https://www.portlandmercury.com/books/2021/11/15/36902729/in-a-dream-of-a-woman-casey-plett-crafts-trans-stories-rooted-in-portland |access-date=2026-01-07 |website=Portland Mercury |language=en |archive-date=2025-05-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250524215515/https://www.portlandmercury.com/books/2021/11/15/36902729/in-a-dream-of-a-woman-casey-plett-crafts-trans-stories-rooted-in-portland |url-status=live }}</ref> Drew Burnett Gregory, reviewing for ''Autostraddle'', says it is a trans love and forgiveness story, whose parts reveal deep nuances in that experience: with "immersive prose, they sting and salve, then sting again".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gregory |first=Drew Burnett |date=January 6, 2022 |title="A Dream of a Woman" and Forgiveness as a Love Story |url=https://www.autostraddle.com/casey-pletts-a-dream-of-a-woman-and-forgiveness-as-a-love-story/ |access-date=2026-01-07 |website=Autostraddle |language=en-US |archive-date=2025-11-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251115001257/https://www.autostraddle.com/casey-pletts-a-dream-of-a-woman-and-forgiveness-as-a-love-story/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
''A Dream of a Woman'' was longlisted for the 2021 Giller Prize.<ref name="cbc.ca">[https://www.cbc.ca/books/miriam-toews-omar-el-akkad-katherena-vermette-among-12-authors-longlisted-for-100k-scotiabank-giller-prize-1.6166969 "Miriam Toews, Omar El Akkad & Katherena Vermette among 12 authors longlisted for $100K Scotiabank Giller Prize"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221210192427/https://www.cbc.ca/books/miriam-toews-omar-el-akkad-katherena-vermette-among-12-authors-longlisted-for-100k-scotiabank-giller-prize-1.6166969 |date=2022-12-10 }}. CBC Books, September 8, 2021.</ref> Plett then served on the Giller Prize jury in 2022.<ref>{{cite web |title=Casey Plett, Kaie Kellough and Waubgeshig Rice among 5 writers to jury 2022 Scotiabank Giller Prize |url=https://www.cbc.ca/books/casey-plett-kaie-kellough-waubgeshig-rice-among-5-writers-to-jury-2022-scotiabank-giller-prize-1.6325164 |accessdate=January 24, 2022 |publisher=CBC Books |archive-date=January 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124160712/https://www.cbc.ca/books/casey-plett-kaie-kellough-waubgeshig-rice-among-5-writers-to-jury-2022-scotiabank-giller-prize-1.6325164 |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== ''On Community'' === Plett published ''On Community'' in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kreizman |first=Maris |author-link=Maris Kreizman |date=November 30, 2023 |title=Casey Plett On Community and Being Open To Strangers |url=https://lithub.com/casey-plett-on-community-and-being-open-to-strangers/ |access-date=2026-01-07 |website=The Maris Review: Literary Hub |language=en |archive-date=2025-07-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250704113342/https://lithub.com/casey-plett-on-community-and-being-open-to-strangers/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It is a short work compiling her thoughts and experiences about community, insisting on the neutrality of community and exploring various questions and definitions in a playful and invitational tone. Laura Sackton, reviewing for ''Book Riot'', praised the book's insights, funny and informal tone, and ability to start a conversation about the subject: "Plett opens the doors to so many rich conversations about what community—in all its iterations—can and cannot do".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sackton |first=Laura |date=July 25, 2025 |title=What Even Is "Community," Anyway? |url=https://bookriot.com/on-community-by-casey-plett/ |access-date=2026-01-07 |website=Book Riot |language=en-US |archive-date=2025-07-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250731134659/https://bookriot.com/on-community-by-casey-plett/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
== LittlePuss Press == {{Main|LittlePuss Press}} Plett and Cat Fitzpatrick founded LittlePuss Press in 2020.<ref name=":32">{{cite web |last1=Beeck |first1=Nathalie op de |date=April 28, 2023 |title=Independent Spirit: LGBTQ Voices in Publishing |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/92149-independent-spirit-lgbtq-voices-in-publishing.html |access-date=March 17, 2024 |website=Publishers Weekly |language=en |archive-date=March 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240312183355/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/92149-independent-spirit-lgbtq-voices-in-publishing.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Their aim was to create a feminist press to publish authors who wouldn't be published elsewhere, especially supporting trans literature.<ref name=":10">{{Cite news |last=Walker |first=Harron |date=December 27, 2022 |title=A Literary Scene Where Parties Are Part of the Agenda |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/27/style/littlepuss-press-literary-parties.html |work=The New York Times |archive-date=July 20, 2025 |access-date=January 7, 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250720223448/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/27/style/littlepuss-press-literary-parties.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Their first publication was a reprint of ''Meanwhile, Elsewhere'', the anthology that both women had previously written for Topside Press, which had since disbanded.<ref name=":32" /> Since then, they have published works by emerging authors that have won awards like the Stonewall Book Award and Leslie Feinberg Award.<ref name=":34">{{cite web |last1=Beeck |first1=Nathalie op de |date=April 28, 2023 |title=Independent Spirit: LGBTQ Voices in Publishing |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/92149-independent-spirit-lgbtq-voices-in-publishing.html |access-date=March 17, 2024 |website=Publishers Weekly |language=en |archive-date=March 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240312183355/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/92149-independent-spirit-lgbtq-voices-in-publishing.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Leslie Feinberg Award for Trans and Gender-Variant Literature |url=https://publishingtriangle.org/awards/trans-gender-variant-literature/ |access-date=2026-01-10 |website=The Publishing Triangle |language=en-US |archive-date=2024-05-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240520110336/https://publishingtriangle.org/awards/trans-gender-variant-literature/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Awards == {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Work !! Awards !Result !Ref. |- | rowspan="2" |''A Safe Girl to Love'' |Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Fiction | {{won}} |<ref name="latimes">[http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-lambda-literary-awards-20150602-story.html "Lambda Literary Awards laud best gay, lesbian and transgender books"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905233354/http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-lambda-literary-awards-20150602-story.html |date=2017-09-05 }}. ''Los Angeles Times'', June 2, 2015.</ref> |- |Dayne Oglivie Prize | {{nom}} |<ref>{{Cite web|title=Casey Plett {{!}} Writers' Trust of Canada|url=https://www.writerstrust.com/authors/casey-plett|access-date=2022-01-16|website=Casey Plett {{!}} Writers' Trust of Canada|language=en|archive-date=2022-01-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220114052411/https://www.writerstrust.com/authors/casey-plett/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Alex Leslie wins 2015 Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBT Emerging Writers|url=https://quillandquire.com/awards/2015/06/08/alex-leslie-wins-2015-dayne-ogilvie-prize-for-lgbt-emerging-writers/|access-date=2022-01-16|website=Quill and Quire|language=en|archive-date=2024-06-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610053856/https://quillandquire.com/awards/2015/06/08/alex-leslie-wins-2015-dayne-ogilvie-prize-for-lgbt-emerging-writers/|url-status=live}}</ref> |- |''Meanwhile, Elsewhere'' |Stonewall Book Award: Barbara Gittings Literature Award | {{won}} |<ref name=":1">{{cite news |author=Jarnagin |first=Briana |date=February 13, 2018 |title=2018 Barbara Gittings Literature Award and Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award of the Stonewall Book Awards Announced |url=http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2018/02/2018-stonewall-book-awards-announced-literature-nonfiction |access-date=June 15, 2018 |work=American Library Association News |archive-date=February 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215083739/http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2018/02/2018-stonewall-book-awards-announced-literature-nonfiction |url-status=live }}</ref> |- | rowspan="2" |''Little Fish'' |Amazon.ca First Novel Award | {{won}} |<ref>[https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2019/05/22/casey-plett-wins-60000-amazon-first-novel-prize.html "Casey Plett wins $60,000 Amazon first novel prize"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523074743/https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2019/05/22/casey-plett-wins-60000-amazon-first-novel-prize.html |date=2019-05-23 }}. ''Toronto Star'', May 22, 2019.</ref> |- |Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Fiction | {{won}} |<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dundas |first=Deborah |date=2019-06-04 |title=Canadians win three Lambda awards for LGBTQ writing |language=en-CA |work=Toronto Star |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2019/06/04/canadians-win-three-lambda-awards-for-lgbtq-writing.html |access-date=2022-01-16 |archive-date=2021-12-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211228120108/https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2019/06/04/canadians-win-three-lambda-awards-for-lgbtq-writing.html |url-status=live }}</ref> |- |''A Dream of a Woman'' |Giller Prize | {{Longlisted}} |<ref>{{cite web|title=Casey Plett brings trans love to the forefront|url=https://www.cbc.ca/books/casey-plett-brings-trans-love-to-the-forefront-in-short-story-collection-a-dream-of-a-woman-1.6198712|publisher=CBC|accessdate=October 16, 2021|archive-date=October 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016211236/https://www.cbc.ca/books/casey-plett-brings-trans-love-to-the-forefront-in-short-story-collection-a-dream-of-a-woman-1.6198712|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="cbc.ca"/> |- | ''On Community'' | Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Nonfiction | {{nom}} | <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.them.us/story/lambda-literary-awards-2024-shortlist-announcement |title=Announcing the Finalists for the 36th Annual Lambda Literary Awards |work=them. |date=2024-03-27 |access-date=2024-04-05 |archive-date=2024-04-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240405165014/https://www.them.us/story/lambda-literary-awards-2024-shortlist-announcement |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://lambdaliterary.org/2024/06/announcing-the-winners-of-the-2024-lammy-awards/ |title=Announcing the Winners of the 2024 Lammy Awards |work=Lambda Literary Foundation |date=2024-06-12 |access-date=2024-10-24 |archive-date=2024-09-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240926215325/https://lambdaliterary.org/2024/06/announcing-the-winners-of-the-2024-lammy-awards/ |url-status=live }}</ref> |}
==Selected works== Works by Plett include the following:
* {{Cite book |year=2014 |title=A Safe Girl to Love |publisher=Topside Press |isbn=978-1627290050 |last=Plett |first=Casey}} * {{Cite book |year=2017 |title=Meanwhile, Elsewhere: Science Fiction and Fantasy from Transgender Writers |title-link=Meanwhile, Elsewhere |publisher=Topside Press |isbn=978-1627290180 |editor-last=Plett |editor-first=Casey Plett |editor-last2=Fitzpatrick |editor-first2=Cat}} * {{Cite book |title=Little Fish |title-link=Little Fish (novel) |publisher=Arsenal Pulp Press |year=2018 |isbn=978-1551527208 |last=Plett |first=Casey}} * {{Cite book|title=A Dream of a Woman|publisher=Arsenal Pulp Press|year=2021|isbn=978-1551528564|last=Plett|first=Casey}} * {{Cite book |title=On Community |publisher=Biblioasis |year=2023 |isbn=978-1771965774 |last=Plett |first=Casey}}
==References== {{reflist|2}}
==External links== *[https://caseyplett.wordpress.com/ Casey Plett]
{{Amazon.ca First Novel Award}} {{Dayne Ogilvie Prize}} {{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plett, Casey}} Category:1987 births Category:21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people Category:21st-century Canadian novelists Category:21st-century Canadian short story writers Category:21st-century Canadian women novelists Category:Amazon.ca First Novel Award winners Category:Canadian LGBTQ novelists Category:Canadian Mennonites Category:Canadian transgender women Category:Canadian transgender writers Category:Canadian women bloggers Category:Canadian women columnists Category:Canadian women literary critics Category:Canadian women short story writers Category:Lambda Literary Award winners Category:LGBTQ bloggers Category:LGBTQ Mennonites Category:Living people Category:Mennonite writers Category:Novelists from Manitoba Category:Novelists from Ontario Category:People from Morden, Manitoba Category:Stonewall Book Award winners Category:Transgender Christians Category:Transgender novelists Category:Transgender women writers Category:Writers from Windsor, Ontario Category:Writers from Winnipeg