A radical history of trans images in film, and an exploration of the political possibilities of the new trans cinema movement. There have been trans images in cinema for over a century — very often bad cultural objects and very often inspired by the cultural zeitgeist, from Christine Jorgensen to Candy Darling to a guest on The Jerry Springer Show. But now, trans cinema as a movement is slowly emerging from the margins to create a new film language, often in reaction to these historical trans film images that cast the trans body in abject form; a corpse, a foolish joke, a tragic martyr, or even a monster. Corpses, Fools, and Monsters is a new radical history of these trans film images, and an exploration of the political possibilities of the new trans cinema movement. Analysing the work of trans cinema directors Isabel Sandoval, Silas Howard, and the Wachowski Sisters, it also discusses the trans film image in everything from pre-talkie films and Ed Wood B-movies to Oscar-winners, body horror and slashers. Going beyond reassessing notable films, performances, and portrayals, Corpses, Fools, and Monsters instead brings to light films and artists not given their due, along with highlighting filmmakers who are bringing trans cinema out of the margins in the twenty-first century.

Bloomsbury presents Sick and Dirty by Michael Koresky, read by Robin Speare.A blazingly original history celebrating the persistence of queerness onscreen, behind the camera, and between the lines during the dark days of the Hollywood Production Code.From the 1930s to the 1960s, the Motion Picture Production Code severely restricted what Hollywood cinema could depict. This included “any inference” of the lives of homosexuals. In a landmark 1981 book, gay activist Vito Russo famously condemned Hollywood’s censorship regime, lambasting many midcentury films as the bigoted products of a “celluloid closet.” But there is more to these movies than meets the eye. In this insightful, wildly entertaining book, cinema historian Michael Koresky finds new meaning in "problematic” classics of the Code era like Hitchcock’s Rope, Minnelli’s Tea and Sympathy, and—bookending the period and anchoring Koresky’s narrative—William Wyler’s two adaptations of The Children’s Hour, Lillian Hellman’s provocative hit play about a pair of schoolteachers accused of lesbianism. Lifting up the underappreciated queer filmmakers, writers, and actors of the era, Koresky finds artists who are long overdue for reevaluation. Through his brilliant inquiry, Sick and Dirty reveals the “bad seeds” of queer cinema to be surprisingly, even gleefully subversive, reminding us, in an age of book bans and gag laws, that nothing makes queerness speak louder than its opponents’ bids to silence it.

From a New York Times media correspondent, a dishy history of the Condé Nast magazine empire, home of Vogue, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, and more, focusing on its glitzy heyday from the 1980s through the 2000s.For decades, Condé Nast and its glittering magazines defined how to live the good life in America. The brilliant, complicated, striving characters behind Vogue, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, GQ, Architectural Digest, and many other titles manufactured a vision of luxury and sophistication that shaped consumer habits, cultural trends, intellectual attitudes, and political beliefs the world over. Condé’s billionaire owner Si Newhouse and his stable of star editors, photographers, and writers were the gatekeepers who decided what and who mattered, and they offered those opinions to tens of millions of readers every month. They were the ultimate influencers—before social media changed everything. The magazines crowned celebrities by the dozens, patronized creative talent much as the Medicis had underwritten Renaissance artists, and supercharged opulent events like the Vanity Fair Oscar Party and the Met Gala, which came to rival any fete that Louis XIV ever hosted at Versailles. The book is full of fresh behind-the-scenes reporting about a plethora of boldface names and sets out to explain how Condé Nast established itself as a de facto American aristocracy, anointing an elite and dictating the culture they presided over. The colorful story of Condé Nast at its zenith and the profound way it influenced how Americans aspired to look, eat, decorate, date, marry, and even think, has never been examined deeply. Empire of the Elite is the first book-length history of an empire whose publications refashioned American notions of prestige, whose editors became celebrities themselves, and whose diminution offers a cautionary tale of class, hubris, and technological change, even as its aesthetic and ethos remain influential to this day.

Part history lesson. Part sacrilege. An entirely good time. Think you have what it takes to be a saint? Lucky for you, thousands of souls have paved the way to heaven—creating a clear formula for getting the job done while also leaving a rich, disturbing history behind them. And in just five easy-ish steps, you can learn how to secure your own halo! But even if the whole "dying and becoming a saint" thing doesn't appeal to you, the bizarrely bureaucratic process of canonization is still guaranteed to delight and entertain. How to Be Saint is a compulsively readable and endlessly entertaining ride through Catholicism for anyone who enjoys their history with a side of comedy. From flying friars to severed heads, this book explores the wild lives (and deaths) of saints and pulls the curtain back on the oddest quirks of religious doctrine. Whether you're a lifelong Catholic or a weird-history enthusiast, How to Be a Saint is your ultimate guide to understanding the hilarious, fascinating, and shockingly true history of sainthood.

This epic, dazzling tale based on true events illuminates a woman of color’s rise to power as one of the few purported female pirate captains to sail the Caribbean, and the forbidden love story that will shape the course of history. In the tumultuous town of Yáquimo, Santo Domingo, Jacquotte Delahaye is an unknown but up-and-coming shipwright. Her dreams are bold but her ambitions are bound by the confines of her life with her self-seeking French father. When her way of life and the delicate balance of power in the town are threatened, she is forced to flee her home and become a woman on the run along with a motley crew of refugees, including a mysterious young woman named Teresa. Jacquotte and her band become indentured servants to the infamous Blackhand, a ruthless pirate captain who rules his ship with an iron fist. As they struggle to survive his brutality, Jacquotte finds herself unable to resist Teresa despite their differences. When Blackhand hatches a dangerous scheme to steal a Portuguese shipment of jewels, Jacquotte must rely on her wits, resourcefulness, and friends to survive. But she discovers there is a grander, darker scheme of treachery at play, and she ultimately must decide what price she is willing to pay to secure a better future for them all. An unforgettable tale told in three parts, The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye is a thrilling, buccaneering escapade filled with siege and battle, and is also a tender exploration of friendship, love, and the search for freedom and home.

Welcome to legendary style guru David Kibbe’s program of Love-Based Beauty, filled with revolutionary techniques to unlock the secret superpower that is your authentic style.Prepare for a guided journey through Kibbe’s ingenious method of games created to take you by the hand to uncover all the things that are unique to you. His new vision of beauty will help you completely redefine what style is, what it can do for you, and how it can help you uplift the world around you.As you travel this journey, you will learn such visionary concepts • Beauty comes from individuality.• Style evolves from identity.• There are no “flaws”—only unique characteristics.• You are exactly who you are “supposed” to be.• You are a star—it is your irrefutable birthright.Here you will find all you need to banish the old, restrictive style rules of yesterday and smash the stifling boxes of stereotypes. David Kibbe’s Power of Style will show you how to capture and express your star qualities from head to toe.

Misogyny is being hardwired into our future. Can we stop it? We like to believe we’re moving closer to equality, riding the wave of technological progress into a brighter, fairer future. But beneath the glossy surface of innovation lies a chilling truth: new technologies are not just failing to solve age-old inequalities—they’re deepening them. In The New Age of Sexism, acclaimed author and activist Laura Bates exposes how misogyny is being coded into the very fabric of our future. From the biases embedded in artificial intelligence to the alarming rise of sex robots and the toxic dynamics of the metaverse, Bates takes readers on a shocking journey into a world where technology is weaponized against women. This isn’t a dystopian warning about what might happen. It’s a harrowing account of what’s happening now and the dangers we face if we don’t act. With clarity and urgency, Bates reveals how these advancements are dragging society backward, reinforcing harmful stereotypes, and jeopardizing decades of progress in the fight for gender equality. Eye-opening and empowering, The New Age of Sexism is a rallying cry for awareness and action in a world where the battle for equality has entered a dangerous new frontier.

Part history lesson. Part sacrilege. An entirely good time. Think you have what it takes to be a saint? Lucky for you, thousands of souls have paved the way to heaven—creating a clear formula for getting the job done while also leaving a rich, disturbing history behind them. And in just five easy-ish steps, you can learn how to secure your own halo! But even if the whole "dying and becoming a saint" thing doesn't appeal to you, the bizarrely bureaucratic process of canonization is still guaranteed to delight and entertain. How to Be Saint is a compulsively readable and endlessly entertaining ride through Catholicism for anyone who enjoys their history with a side of comedy. From flying friars to severed heads, this book explores the wild lives (and deaths) of saints and pulls the curtain back on the oddest quirks of religious doctrine. Whether you're a lifelong Catholic or a weird-history enthusiast, How to Be a Saint is your ultimate guide to understanding the hilarious, fascinating, and shockingly true history of sainthood.