The epistolary novel is very much alive and well and living in the warm California sun as Jeanne Thornton can testify. It shapes the story of Gala, a young trans woman working in a hostel in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. But Gala is also obsessed with the Get Happies, a 1960s California band headed up by mastermind B—. She starts writing B—, wanting to know why they stopped making music and what happened to their long-awaited but never released Summer Fun album. This correspondence narrates Gala’s tale of fandom, creativity, music, and trans identity.
Summer Fun, by Jeanne Thornton. Published by Soho Press. The editor is Mark Doten, and the agent is Jin Auh. Summer Fun is a finalist for the Ferro-Grumley Award for LGBTQ Fiction, presented by the Ferro-Grumley Foundation in conjunction with the Publishing Triangle; the winner will be announced on May 11.