Be queer, be protagonist! That is the tagline of Ladys and Moonscape, an emerging queer publishing house founded by Nachanok Yuwapoom (Ladys) and Apinuch Petcharapiracht (Moonscape). Such a manifesto was born out of frustration that LGBTI characters are stuck in coming out scenes, pleading for acceptance.
"Can we skip them?" asked Apinuch. "Our characters never come out. They are unapologetically LGBTI. In Death And The Maiden, Stella is flat out a boy in a skirt."
Nachanok agreed. "If the whole story revolves around coming out, it conveys the message that society should accept us. But it isn't the only thing in life we want. Like straight people, LGBTI want to be successful as well. In fiction, though rejected by parents, they are able to move on, like Lalana [a trans man protagonist in Karunya]."
Last month, the two authors hailing from Phetchaburi met fans at House of Commons, an independent bookstore in Bangkok. Both Death And The Maiden and Juveniles And Other Stories were published by Penguin Random House SEA. Meanwhile, Karunya is set to be published by the middle of this year with the same publishing house.
Ladys and Moonscape meet readers at House of Commons. (Photo: Thana Boonlert)
Apinuch's stories started with blogging in high school. With background in kitchen management from Dusit Thani College, she is helping run the family dessert store and her own cafe. However, she enjoys observing people in daily life and turning them into stories. "What would happen if they were together?" she shared of her working process. Her early works include The Church Of Lost Hope and Madam Karavika's Shared House For Writers.
During Covid-19, Apinuch got to know Nachanok, who lived next door and studied at the same school. At the time, Nachanok was planning to resign from medical college and write Beau Is Non-Binary Of Everything. Unlike Apinuch, Nachanok's fiction is based on experience.
Despite different personalities, they share the same goal of bringing their works to an international audience. However, there is no room for freelance authors since international book fairs recognise only publishers, distributors and literary agents. Thus, they founded a queer publishing house.
"It is run by only two of us," laughed Apinuch.
From left, Beau Is Non-Binary Of Everything, Adaline & Other Short Stories and Murder Of Crows. (Photo: Thana Boonlert)
At first, they published small print runs of their works, or 100-200 copies. It was in the second year that they started to plan a book launch calendar. While mainstream publishing houses can live off annual national book fairs, they have to cover all seasons. Besides, they are taking on more work, for example, dealing with distributors, maintaining a social media presence and giving talks.
"I wish I could write only," said Apinuch. "A [self-published] author must be able to handle both writing and selling."
They have been on a steep learning curve as unfortunately a large number of independent bookstores have closed down.
"It is like the burning of the Library of Alexandria," said Apinuch. "Still, we have stuck together through thick and thin. Selling our books via Shopee makes up for lost income at least for now."
Apinuch said it is only after the third year that they will reach the make-or-break moment. The publishing industry needs more support to lower printing costs. In addition, chain bookstores should cease dumping. Currently, they are delivering copies to provincial bookstores. They are also tapping into a mainstream market through distributors. However, Boys Love (BL) and Girls Love (GL) are taking up the lion's share, not queer literature, said Nachanok.
"It is good if people enjoy writing something popular. But if so, they will swim in a red ocean and miss the opportunity to express minority voices. If I wrote for the market, there wouldn't have been Karunya. At first, there were only 60 pre-orders, but I was stubborn. Now, media attention has opened up a new groups of readers, like trans people."
Ladys and Moonscape, founded by Nachanok Yuwapoom, left, and Apinuch Petcharapiracht, right, meet readers at House of Commons. (Photo: Thana Boonlert)
For those who want to set up a publishing house, Apinuch and Nachanok suggest they know who their readers are, such as teenage girls or office ladies and have clear taglines.
"Stick to your tagline. Ladys and Moonscape is focusing on queer characters, not slice of life or fantasy genres per se," said Apinuch.
Apinuch said the boom of BL and GL was initially useful for normalising same-sex relationships. Nachanok added that increased competition can help improve quality, but in the long run, other factors must be taken into account. They agreed that what promotes queer literature is that "writers can make a decent living from it".
"The number of writers won't grow from legalisation of same-sex marriage, but it allows LGBTI characters to break a glass ceiling. Without it, they will be stuck to making medical decisions in front of an operating room. Now, they can move on to other topics," said Nachanok.
Last year, Death And The Maiden was adapted for a stage play. However, they never thought about an adaptation during writing. They said they are not good at writing dialogue. Once, a director asked Apinuch to expand the already complete story for series adaptation but the deal was broken. They hope that Blue Hour and Karunya will be adapted for other media to reach a wider audience.
Recently, both authors have submitted manuscripts to writing contests and international publishing houses. Nachanok's Karunya and Ms. Kent & Me were shortlisted in the S.E.A. Write Award in 2024. Adaline & Other Short Stories was the first runner-up in the short story collection category, while Orlando In A Glimpse was the second runner-up in the novel category at the 7 Book Awards in 2024. Apinuch's short story titled The Victorious Deer Will Take The Head Of The Defeated also succeeded in the first round of the Kanokpong Songsompan Award.
"Sending hard copies and having them translated is expensive," said Apinuch. "Putting our names on the international map will make negotiations easier. Above all, it will boost sales."
