Join us for an evening celebrating the groundbreaking anthology Crime Ink: Iconic (An Anthology of Crime Fiction Inspired by Queer Icons), edited by award-winning novelist John Copenhaver and Bywater Books publisher Salem West. This vibrant collection reclaims space for LGBTQ+ voices in crime fiction, a genre that has too often sidelined queer writers.

The need for Crime Ink: Iconic is clear: a 2023 study of thirty major crime anthologies revealed that, of 517 stories published, fewer than one percent were written by LGBTQ+ authors.

Responding to this gap, Crime Ink: Iconic gathers more than two dozen celebrated queer writers who draw inspiration from cultural icons such as James Baldwin, Radclyffe Hall, Oscar Wilde, Candy Darling, and Laverne Cox. The result is a collection that spans cozy mystery, noir, psychological thriller, and procedural—placing queer voices and characters firmly at the center.

For this event, Copenhaver will be joined by contributors Robyn Gigl, award-winning author and a leading voice in contemporary legal thrillers; Ann Aptaker, Lambda Literary Award–winning novelist and noted figure in queer noir; and Christopher Bollen, acclaimed author of psychologically rich crime fiction. Together, they will discuss the anthology’s origins, the icons who inspired their stories, and the importance of ensuring LGBTQ+ perspectives are represented in one of the world’s most enduring literary genres.

To reserve a copy of Crime Ink: Iconic (Bywater Books, September 2, 2025, paperback, $23.95) please write to us at contact@bgsqd.com with “please reserve Crime Ink for September 24 event” in the subject line.

Thank you for supporting the Bureau by purchasing books from us!

You can also purchase Crime Ink: Iconic (click on title below) on our online shop at bookshop.com/shop/bgsqd:

Crime Ink: Iconic

This event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St., NYC, 10011.

ANN APTAKER’s Cantor Gold Crime series has been the recipient of Lambda Literary and Golden Crown Literary Society’s Goldie Awards. Her short stories have appeared in the anthologies Fedora, Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, Private Dicks & Disco Balls, Scattered, Smothered, Covered & Chunked, Our Happy Hours: LGBT Voices from the Gay Bars, Switchblade Magazine, Black Cat Mystery Magazine, the Guns & Tacos novella series, and the online zine Punk Soul Poet.

CHRISTOPHER BOLLEN is the author of six literary thriller novels, including Havoc, The Lost Americans, and A Beautiful Crime. He writes for a number of publications including the New York Times, Vanity Fair, and Interview Magazine. He lives in New York City.

JOHN COPENHAVER is an award-winning author whose latest novel, Hall of Mirrors, was named a New York Times Crime Novel of the Year. His debut, Dodging and Burning, won the Macavity Award, and The Savage Kind earned the Lambda Literary Award. A founding member of Queer Crime Writers, he teaches at Virginia Commonwealth University, mentors in the University of Nebraska MFA program, and lives in Richmond, VA, with his husband, artist Jeffery Paul Herrity.

ROBYN GIGL is the author of four novels featuring Erin McCabe, a transgender criminal defense attorney. Time magazine selected her novel, Survivor’s Guilt, as one of the 100 best Mystery/Thriller books of All Time. It was also named as one of the best crime novels of 2022 by the New York Times, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, and won the Publishing Triangle’s Joseph Hansen Award for LGBTQ+ Crime Writing. Her fourth novel, Nothing But the Truth, was selected by the New York Times as one of the best crime novels of 2024.