“To identify with a villain is to recognize that fear is a reflection—of who or what we believe capable of inevitable harm. We see this reflection turned on its head again and again throughout It Came From the Closet, including in…Grimm’s queer reading of Hereditary.” — The Atlantic
“This must-have title [Fat and Queer] is a radically necessary addition that will bring joy and understanding to readers. The contributors revel in their identities, thrive despite challenges, and claim the space they deserve.” — Library Journal
About
August Owens Grimm is an acclaimed horror writer, editor, and essayist. They co-edited Fat and Queer: An Anthology of Queer and Trans Bodies and Lives (2021, JKP/Hachette). Fat and Queer won the 2022 AASECT Book Award for a general audience from the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists as well as the Reads Rainbow’s Best Nonfiction 2021 Award. Their work appears in, among others, The Rumpus, Zócalo Public Square, and in the Los Angeles Times bestseller, It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror. They coined the term Haunted Memoir in their essay of the same name published by Assay: A Journal of Nonfiction Studies.
A finalist for the 2024 Tucson Literary Festival of Books Literary Awards in nonfiction, August attended the 2021 Tin House Winter Workshop and the 2024 Tin House Summer Workshop. They have received fellowships and support from We Need Diverse Books, PEN America, Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Vermont Studio Center, and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. They are a 2025 Lambda Literary Fellow in nonfiction. They hold an MFA in Creative Writing from The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and live in Chicago.
August Owens Grimm 