BEFORE GENDER: Eli Erlick in conversation

We are thrilled to welcome Eli Erlick to the Blackwell's in partnership with the Centre for Sexuality Studies. Eli will be discussing her latest book BEFORE GENDER: Lost Stories from Trans History 1850-1950. She will be in conversation with Eden Foxon.

Doors: 6.30pm, starts: 6.45pm

Tickets are £4. Admission is free when purchasing a copy of the book.

This event is part of Oxford Road Corridor’s Cultural Welcome Week, find out more here.

About the book:

Discover the trailblazing lives of thirty trans people who will radically change everything you've been told about transgender history. Highlighting influential individuals from 1850 to 1950 who are all but unknown today, Eli Erlick shares thirty remarkable stories from romance to rebellion and mystery to murder.

These narratives chronicle the grit, joy and survival of trans people long before gender became an everyday term. Organised into four parts, paralleling today's controversies over gender identity - kids, activists, workers and athletes - Before Gender introduces figures whose forgotten stories transform the discussion. These ground-breaking histories include two of the first teens to access gender-affirming medical treatment, a countess who instigated an LGBTQ+ riot forty years before Stonewall and the greatest female billiards player of the 1910s.

Bold and visionary, Erlick's debut uncovers these lost stories from the depths of the archives to narrate trans lives in a way that has never been attempted before.

About the author:

Eli Erlick is an internationally acclaimed activist, author and educator. In 2011, she founded Trans Student Educational Resources (TSER), an organisation dedicated to transforming the educational environment for trans students. Since then, she has been at the forefront of social justice issues through her research, organising and cultural criticism. Erlick's work and writing have been featured in hundreds of outlets, including the New York Times, Time Magazine and the Washington Post. She lives in New York City, where she continues to fight for trans liberation.

If you cannot make the event but would like a dedicated copy of the book, please email events.manchester@blackwell.co.uk or call us on 0161 274 3331.

Our event format is usually a 45 minute discussion between the author and interviewer, followed by a chance for audience members to ask questions. There will be the opportunity to get your book signed/dedicated after the event. Events are a brilliant opportunity to discover new books, meet authors and likeminded readers and learn something new.

Support your local bookshop and help us keep the Manchester literary scene vibrant and exciting. You can follow us on Eventbrite and social media (@BlackwellsMCR) to keep up to date on upcoming events.