Marcia Biederman’s Newest True Crime Book Shows Why Outlawing Abortion Doesn’t Work

By Sophia-Joelle McDowell
Art by Maddy Best

Former journalist Marcia Biederman, has a knack for finding stories that need to be told. As a former journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, the New York Daily News, Crain’s New York Business, and New York magazine, Biederman has three mystery novels under her belt and a story in the anthology Sisters in Crime 3

Marcia considers herself a reformed fiction writer, but in recentrecent years, she’s returned to her journalism roots and written four non-fiction, woman-centric books about people whose stories should be better known. Her new book The Disquieting Death of Emma Gill: Abortion, Death, and Concealment in Victorian New England is no exception.

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K.R. Quill’s New Solarpunk Action Book The Century Soldier is One You Won’t Want to Miss

By Sophia-Joelle McDowell
Art by Maddy Best

K.R. Quill (they/them) has been a writer for over a decade, but only recently started self-publishing their books. As a queer person with ADHD and autism, writing and advocacy work are two of their biggest passions, and they do everything they can to advocate for their queer and neurodivergent communities. 

Throughout their childhood a love for reading blossomed, one memorable read being The Tale of Despereaux which they received in second grade. While reading has always been a passion of theirs, they didn’t discover a desire to be a writer until around twelve years old. 

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What We Wish We Knew Before We Came Out

By The Catcall Team

Here at Catcall, 100% of our regular staff members identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community, a statistic that makes us proud af. From bi- and pan-sexuals to trans folks and lesbians, we’ve all had unique queer experiences—and learned a lot along the way. 

Here’s the thing: whether you come out loud and proud or subtly tell the world you’re queer, people will react—sometimes in the best of ways, sometimes in the most hurtful of ways. 

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What is the point of the Bechdel test? It might not be the feminist media measurement we need.

By Molly Stein-Seroussi
Art by Maddy Best

A note: In this piece, the terms “women/woman” and “female characters/representation” are intended to describe anyone who identifies with feminine identities and stories, regardless of whether they identify as female.

I work in film production at a company run by women. Representation of women in media is something we think about deeply and often. We just released a film that doesn’t pass the Bechdel test, but even so, this film was made to call out patriarchal structures that harm women. 

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You’ll want to hop under the covers after visiting KC’s first romance bookshop

By Nicole Mitchell
Photos by Whitney Young

Do you dart to the romance section at every bookstore you enter? Are you someone who chooses books based on romantic interests? Will you be reading Ao3 fanfiction for the rest of your life? Maybe you found all your fave book recs from Catcall Editor Kelcie McKenney’s Smutty Book Guide. If any (or all) of the above fits your reading style, then, wow, do we have news for you.

Carley Morton recently opened Kansas City’s first all-romance bookshop, Under the Cover, to serve all your rom-com, YA romance, paranormal romance, regency romance, and/or erotica needs. A fellow cliterature stan, Carley has been a romance fiend since 2011. 

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