Trans author voices in crime thrillers?
Unfinished oil painting.
In 2021, as I started the first draft of my debut psychological crime thriller ‘The Profiler’s Shadow’, I hoped I would not be the sole transgender woman author in the crime thriller genre. The good news was that others existed and were thriving. Not many, in fact, from what I could find at the time, there were three others writing crime thrillers: Dharma Kelleher, Renee James and Robyn Gigl. There’s also Gretchen Felker-Martin, who writes in the horror genre. Of course, other trans authors write in genres such as memoirs, romance, fantasy, Sci-fi, and more. Here, I’m strictly referring to the crime thriller genre.
The feeling of isolation hit me hard. Even though I’m certain other trans writers may be writing a thriller as I post this, it remains that there is a dearth of trans representation in my chosen genre. It’s not so much a complaint as it is a longing for community and belonging. As I embarked on my adventure as an author of psychological crime thrillers, I found myself greeted by the very transgender women authors I admired; they patiently answered my questions, addressed my concerns, and held space for me to flourish. I made a promise to myself to extend my hand to other trans writers whenever the occasion arose.
All things being equal, I’d be satisfied to be in a world in which gender and identity didn’t pose a risk of erasure. The situation is better, as more trans authors are obtaining opportunities to have their work published instead of being spoken for and of by cis-authors only.
Representation matters. Last year, I received a response to a query letter sent to a small-press publisher, who liked it enough to read the manuscript. I thought, okay, Joelle, don’t get your hopes up too much, and be ready for the rejection email to follow. You see, I had already sent out so many queries to agents and was getting rejection letters that I figured this would have a similar result. Wow, was I wrong.
When Suzanne Craig-Whytock, editor-in-chief at Dark Winter Press, got back to me, she told me she thought it was excellent and wanted to publish my debut crime thriller. It was good that I was sitting because I have no doubt that my legs would have failed me. I am thankful beyond words. A publisher wants to publish a crime thriller written by a transgender woman about a transgender woman protagonist. In short, this publisher is helping amplify and support trans voices. And it’s not lost on me that I may be the only transgender woman author of psychological crime thrillers in Canada to date. My hope is that other Canadian trans woman thriller writers will soon see their work published as well.
As you can tell by now, there are not too many of us in the genre. From a 2022 census, only 2% of authors in Canada were non-binary, and I take it trans authors are included in this percentage. Trans authors are critically under-represented in Canada. Authors such as Casey Plett have made important contributions. Anti-trans legislation in certain provinces forms false and dangerous sentiments toward the trans community, and is wrong. The bright side is that more and more Canadians are open and interested in hearing from diverse voices.
In November 2026, just a few months from now, my debut psychological thriller ‘The Profiler’s Shadow’ will be released, and I would be so honoured if fans of crime thrillers, LGBTQ+ book readers, those who love psychological thrillers that deal with trauma, strong women and found family, pick up their copies.
Joelle Circé
