Co-published by Get YA Words Out and edited by Seth Malacari, An Unexpected Party brings together the stories of emerging authors from the LGBTQIA+ community.
From fantastical realms to real-world struggles, this anthology champions queer identity by challenging stereotypes and exploring the many facets of identity. Written with wit, heart and honesty, these stories take queer protagonists outside the box of young adult romance and centre them at the heart of stories that involve magic, paranormal beings and adventure.
Featuring trans and gender-diverse voices – asexual, aromantic, bisexual and more – the stories in An Unexpected Party are as diverse as their writers.
Recommended for ages 14+.
Buy a copy of An Unexpected Party here.
Read some great reviews from our Preview readers here:
A hugely entertaining collection of short stories. So many feelings… Science fiction, fantasy, sometimes horror, so much diversity in the stories. It’s a bonus that it’s also gender diverse and young adults writing for young adult readers. Loved it as a not so young adult. Joanna, VIC, 5 Stars
This was a really fabulous collection of stories. Such a rollercoaster of different adventures. I loved how the eclectic collection provided a new story, a different perspective. I was able to dip into delicious bite-sized stories over a number of days, an insight into life from a different set of eyes to my own. Let the representation continue through words and greater understanding. Danielle, SA, 5 Stars
A collection of whimsical stories with the lead characters identifying as LGBTQIA+. This does not change the stories but highlights that writing can and should transcend gender. Louise, teenaged, NSW, 5 Stars
Grace, 10 years, says: I really enjoyed this collection. I liked the interesting ideas in the stories and I thought they were all well written. I enjoyed all the stories. The characters were really good although I didn’t think it always mattered if they were different genders or sexuality. Some of the stories about trans people confused me a bit because of the pronouns, but it didn’t matter much. This is a really great book! Mum says: Both my 10 and 15-year-olds enjoyed this anthology, as did I. It’s a really good collection of speculative fiction stories. Although the characters’ gender or sexual identity isn’t always central to the stories, the collection also gives an empathetic insight into their experiences. The writers have solidly constructed stories that will draw most readers in emotionally and develop sympathy for lots of different characters. This also succeeds as a speculative fiction anthology. There’s a wide variety of stories here, from fantasy to science fiction to genre-blurring stories that are hard to define. They’re all of a similar length. Most have an interesting premise at the heart of the story, and some are strikingly original. They’re also universally well-written. Lorraine and Grace, ACT, 5 Stars
An Unexpected Party is an absolute delight and a surprisingly comforting collection, considering the content and nature of some of the stories! An array of wonderful queer voices telling such a diverse range of stories, stepping away from the cliché of romance, and into comedy, adventure, connection, action, identity, and discovery. Each story presents such a different perspective, but all of the stories offer a truly genuine outlook of the characters’ experiences and it is so easy to fall into their world, for even the briefest of times. Representation is so important, and representation in worlds of fantasy, science fiction, and supernatural horror are just as vital as representation in the “real” world. An Unexpected Party and its contributors have done such a wonderful job tying together a collection of these such stories, and reading it has been a true joy. Thank you so much! Penny, NSW, 5 Stars
An Unexpected Party explores the different components of identity and in doing so challenges stereotypes around queer identity. It was an honest and unexpected dive into both real-world struggles and fantastical realms. Phoebe, aged 15, NSW, 4 Stars
There wasn’t one story I didn’t like, but I definitely have my favourite/s. I did like the editor’s story, and appreciate the subtle references of allyship in the Intro, and especially the paragraph before it acknowledging Our Mob (Indigenous Australians) and our traditional gender and sexual diversity (including my own sons). This book combines my love of short stories and some of my favourite themes of sf, fantasy, dystopia, magic… What’s not to love! I really enjoyed Our Time Our Home by Alistair Ott. I was raised on Dreamtime Stories and always felt a connection with (the) cheeky Crow… Can’t wait to pass it along to the teenager in my rainbow family and hear his reaction… Ayesha, NSW, 4 Stars
This anthology of speculative fiction short stories has been wonderfully named as each new world of story and characters adds to the unexpected for the reader. I enjoyed the diversity of the experiences as well as the integration of a diverse range of LQBTQIA+ characters within the realms of each story. Identity is important, exploring emotions and understanding around identity is important, experiencing reading of pronouns ‘they/them’ is important. I appreciated, however, that the above did not dominate the storylines, it wasn’t the only aspect of the characters. The reader is immersed in an extravagance of experiences, ideas and above all characters who are nuanced rather than stereotyped. A wonderful collection of work, this really is a party in a book and a good read of the unexpected. Lisa, QLD, 4 Stars
A great collection of YA queer short stories. Seth has done a great job of putting this together. I recommend. Trudy, aged 13, SA, 4 Stars
This book is full of colorful and creative stories spanning from fantasy to sci-fi, each with its own characters and personal themes. If I had to choose my favorite character I would choose Giacoma from The Excursion, I personally feel as though I can really relate to his experiences and the way he sees the world, this story mixes the experience a lot of trans people live through, and a fantastic story filled with wonder for what will happen next. I also loved the swan king and its beautiful writing that captured the magical world it’s set in. If I had any complaints of this book it’s that I felt some stories inserted a queer character in passing just to try and fit into the book; while I have no problem with this in other books I felt like it didn’t fit in here, as this book says it’s a “fresh take on the queer experience”, which I felt some of the stories didn’t even try to achieve. Other than this small issue I have I really enjoyed the rest of the book and think it’s a good read for anyone looking for more queer literature. Sydney, aged 17, VIC, 4 Stars
I recently read the book An Unexpected Party by Seth Malacari and found it to be a diverse collection of stories about the LGBTQIA+ community. The book covers a wide range of genres, themes and identities. It also contains some violence, sex and profanity. 19 emerging authors wrote a collection of creative stories. Predominantly science fiction, fantasy, speculative fiction, dystopian or light horror. Fantastical realms and real world struggles. The stories in this anthology are honest and heartfelt. It’s a book about magic, connection and adventure, depicting mythical and supernatural beings. It is the mundane and the magical, the in-between and the unexpected. I felt this anthology allows the storyteller to tell and explore the world they want to create. Each story in this anthology had a satisfactory ending. They all featured queer protagonists who face challenges, discover themselves and find happiness in unexpected ways. If you enjoy queer speculative YA fiction this book is a great read. I found the book educational and empowering as it gives voice and visibility to the LGBTQIA+ community. Gwynne, QLD, 4 Stars
An Unexpected Party was a great collection of stories. Really good mix of writing styles and themes. Danielle, aged 17, VIC, 4 Stars
I was not sure what to make of this book when I first started reading it, but after reading Seth Malacari’s introduction, I WAS intrigued. So, I dipped my metaphoric toe in the water of this collection of short stories, and what a wonderful surprise it was! Demons, aliens, water creatures, next realm ghost presences – these stories had a bit of something for everyone and although some of the tales were hard to fathom, they presented an escapism often lost by older writers and just created joy from the madness! It took me a while to get my head around those referred to as ‘they’ – I kept expecting to see another character introduced, and it gave me an understanding of how people just want to be accepted for who and what they are – not what they are perceived to be. Although touted as ‘queer speculative YA fiction’ the themes throughout are pretty much like those of their ‘straight’ counterparts – love, friendship, custom, tradition, acceptance, loss, fear, and anger. So maybe we are not all so different from one another. A very enjoyable read from some talented young writers, highly recommended. Open your heart and embrace the change! Kathy, VIC, 4 Stars
A very different interesting read. Seth should be proud of gathering all the different writers of their fiction tales. Everyone is so different. I wish all the participants a healthy satisfying life and listen to your own feelings not to be told by anyone to be something else. Loraine, QLD, 4 Stars
This was a book of surprises – lots of short stories all written by LGBTQIA+ young authors. The genre wasn’t my cup of tea – lots of fantasy and witches and demons – but the writing was well done. The stories were short enough to keep the reader engaged and, in some cases, wanting more. The story by Seth Malacari was one I would have loved to see expanded. Overall this was a great book and such a positive initiative for our young adults. Kristy, NSW, 4 Stars
Great book, such lovely heart-warming stories. I found this book such a rare find, it really captured my attention. Jessica, NSW, 4 Stars
An interesting book with many different stories. Well suited to young adult readers who may be looking to read stories featuring trans and gender-diverse characters. Not your usual romance with the happily ever after but that is what set this book apart from the rest. Good read, especially if you enjoy sci-fi, mystery and magic. Amanda, aged 25, SA, 3 Stars
As with many anthologies of stories, especially those with various authors, there are stories that I like much better in An Unexpected Party than others, which makes this a difficult book to rate. This is queer spec fiction, with a broad range of both queer and spec which is good in that it has explored a wide range of both areas, but also it means that if you are only mainly interested in specific areas of either, there will be some stories that interest you and some that you’ll find a bit meh. There’s also a wide range of styles. There are 19 stories and they don’t necessarily focus on love life and actually not that much on sex – there is a strong sense of trying to show that LGBTQIA is a lot more than sex stories. The first story, Sixteen Candles, was one I enjoyed a lot. It was very simple and straightforward, however it felt honest in its emotions and had a nice dose of humour. Some of the other stories I enjoyed most were: Violet Grim and the In-between Place – a good ghost story; The Parade of the Weeds – I just loved the language and the way I could feel the weeds and see them; The Swan King – a good fairy story; The Vampire and the Aunty – a rather comical blend of vampires with LGBTQ and Asian culture. I had, not surprisingly, a mix of reactions to this book as it is a mixed bag but I found a number of stories very well worth reading that I’d recommend, and others that were quite enjoyable or at least ok. Only a few that I found irritating. Rebecca, NSW, 3 Stars
An Unexpected Party is a collection of nineteen short stories written by young emerging Australian writers. There is a supernatural theme running throughout the book and although some of the titles were well-written and contained interesting ideas, I didn’t really enjoy this text. I found that the content was often confusing, and the authors failed to engage me. My mind wandered and I struggled to understand exactly what was happening throughout many of the stories. My favourite story within the collection was Sixteen Candles (But With Demons) written by Shaeden Berry as it was fun and easy to read with an interesting premise. It made me giggle at times with the witty prose and the amusing dialogue between the characters. Another story that I enjoyed was Surge by Em Readman. Readman encapsulates the complex love that often exists between siblings whilst dealing with a tricky and sensitive topic. I believe that both Berry and Readman have promising careers ahead of them. Although this book wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, I can see that it would appeal to fans of Queer Speculative Fiction or lovers of supernatural, science fiction or light horror stories. Mary-Jo, VIC, 2 Stars
This was a mix of different stories from different authors, all delving into fantastical worlds and scenarios. It’s definitely not my genre, but for the YA category, it would be a fun and quick read. Handy for those who have short attention spans too. Kylie, NSW, 2 Stars
Leave a Reply