None of the Above Reflections on Life Beyond the Binary
- 22 Jun 2023
- 9781838854331
- £10.99
- 224 pp
- 129×198mm
- 4 Aug 2022
- 9781838854324
- £8.79
- 224 pp
In a few words
An electric memoir about what it means to live outside the gender boundaries imposed on us by society, from the award-winning trans writer and performer
In a few words
An electric memoir about what it means to live outside the gender boundaries imposed on us by society, from the award-winning trans writer and performer
A breath of fresh air . . . Anyone expecting a hand-holding guidebook will be disappointed by the candour, complexity and subjectivity of None of the Above. Alabanza's memoir offers welcome nuance to those willing to listen
Travis Alabanza writes about gender and its possibilities with such generosity and ease even the most provocative suggestions start to seem obvious, despite their challenges to society at large. Both profound and witty
Shon Faye, Author Of The Transgender Issue
A breath of fresh air . . . Anyone expecting a hand-holding guidebook will be disappointed by the candour, complexity and subjectivity of None of the Above. There's no memoir like it published in the UK . . . Alabanza's memoir offers welcome nuance to those willing to listen
Travis Alabanza writes about gender and its possibilities with such generosity and ease even the most provocative suggestions start to seem obvious, despite their challenges to society at large. This anti-memoir, which is at times both profound and funny, will make anyone question the stories we tell about ourselves, how we tell them and even who the telling is for
Shon Faye, Author Of The Transgender Issue
More about
the book
WINNER OF THE JHALAK PRIZE 2023
WINNER OF THE SOMERSET MAUGHAM AWARD 2023
SHORTLISTED FOR THE POLARI FIRST BOOK PRIZE 2023
A WATERSTONES BEST BOOK OF 2022: POLITICS
‘No memoir like it’ Independent
‘Travis Alabanza writes with such generosity and ease even the most provocative suggestions start to seem obvious . . . Profound and funny’ SHON FAYE
‘Will challenge, empower and move your soul’ Glamour
‘Lucid and glorious’ YRSA DALEY-WARD
In None of the Above, Travis Alabanza examines seven phrases people have directed at them as a Black, mixed race, non-binary person. Some are deceptively innocuous, some deliberately loaded or offensive, some celebratory; sentences that have impacted them for better and for worse; sentences that speak to the broader issues raised by a world that insists that gender must be a binary.
Through these seven phrases, Travis Alabanza turns a mirror back on society, giving us reason to question the very framework in which we live and the ways we treat each other.
More about
the book
WINNER OF THE SOMERSET MAUGHAM AWARD 2023
WINNER OF THE JHALAK PRIZE 2023
SHORTLISTED FOR THE POLARI FIRST BOOK PRIZE 2023
A WATERSTONES BEST BOOK OF 2022: POLITICS
‘A breath of fresh air . . . There’s no memoir like it’ Independent
‘Travis Alabanza writes with such generosity and ease even the most provocative suggestions start to seem obvious . . . Profound and funny’ SHON FAYE
‘Will challenge, empower and move your soul’ Glamour
‘Lucid and glorious’ YRSA DALEY-WARD
‘A gloriously specific, funny and smart body of work’ CANDICE CARTY-WILLIAMS
__________
‘When you are someone that falls outside of categories in so many ways, a lot of things are said to you. And I have had a lot of things said to me.’
In None of the Above, Travis Alabanza examines seven phrases people have directed at them about their gender identity. These phrases have stayed with them over the years. Some are deceptively innocuous, some deliberately loaded or offensive, some celebratory; sentences that have impacted them for better and for worse; sentences that speak to the broader issues raised by a world that insists that gender must be a binary.
Through these seven phrases, which include some of their most transformative experiences as a Black, mixed race, non binary person, Travis Alabanza turns a mirror back on society, giving us reason to question the very framework in which we live and the ways we treat each other.
A change-maker shaping the culture of tomorrow
Bernardine Evaristo
[Travis Alabanza is] a big voice in multiple intersecting communities . . . This is a book that is supposed to make other people feel seen, heard and help them understand themselves. It's brilliant
Jameela Jamil
Travis is an incredible thinker, philosopher and human being
Vicky Featherstone
GuardianFlips the well thumbed script that casts oppressed people as lead in the tale of their mistreatment, boldly interrogating the faults of a society that allows such mistreatment to occur . . . Alabanza’s lyrical style and theatrical grounding is the book’s lifeblood
A change-maker shaping the culture of tomorrow
Bernardine Evaristo
[Travis Alabanza is] a big voice in multiple intersecting communities . . . This is a book that is supposed to make other people feel seen, heard and help them understand themselves. It's brilliant
Jameela Jamil
Travis is an incredible thinker, philosopher and human being
Vicky Featherstone
GuardianFlips the well thumbed script that casts oppressed people as lead in the tale of their mistreatment, boldly interrogating the faults of a society that allows such mistreatment to occur . . . Alabanza’s lyrical style and theatrical grounding is the book’s lifeblood
Travis Alabanza
View profileTravis Alabanza is a writer, performer and theatre maker. Their theatre shows Burgerz, Overflow and Sound of The Underground were all received with critical acclaim, winning Total Theatre Award at Edinburgh Fringe, streaming to over 22 countries and being included in over 20 syllabuses. They have given talks on race and gender across the world including at Harvard, Oxford and Bristol – with their impact in the LGBT+ community being noted in the Forbes 30under30 list, Dazed100 and a recent Attitude magazine 100 list.
@travisalabanza | travisalabanza.co.uk
Travis Alabanza
View profileTravis Alabanza is an award-winning writer, performer and theatre maker. After being the youngest recipient of the Artist-in-Residency programme at Tate Galleries, Alabanza’s debut show Burgerz toured internationally to sold-out performances in the Southbank Centre, Sao Paulo, Brazil, and HAU, Berlin, and won the Edinburgh Fringe Total Theatre Award. In 2020 their theatre show Overflow debuted at the Bush Theatre to widespread acclaim and later streamed online in over 20 countries. Their writing has appeared in the Guardian, Vice, gal-dem and BBC Online, and they previously had a fortnightly column in the Metro. They have been published in numerous anthologies, including Black and Gay In the UK. Their work surrounding gender, trans identity and race has garnered international recognition, and they have given talks at universities including Oxford, Harvard, Bristol and more.
@travisalabanza | travisalabanza.co.uk
