Alaina Leary

Alaina Leary

Bio

Alaina Leary is an editor and activist based in Boston, MA. She is currently a social media editor for We Need Diverse Books. She has an MA in publishing from Emerson College. When she isn’t busy reading, you can find her at the beach or curled up with her girlfriend and their two adopted literary cats.

Alaina Leary Articles

When Macey and I planned our engagement photos, I knew I wanted my sparkly, bright lavender cane to be in them. (photo by Ginny Cummings Photography)

Why I Wanted My Cane In My Engagement Photos 

When Macey and I planned our engagement photos, I knew I wanted my sparkly, bright lavender cane to be in them.

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Genre fiction is all about knowing what has been written in the canon previously, what current trends are, what audiences are excited about, and what hasn’t yet been done.

Why Diverse Genre Fiction Is Important, And How To Get It Right

Diverse genre fiction shares a lot in common with diverse literature, in that a lot of the challenges are the same. We still have to ask a lot of questions about who gets to tell what stories, what kinds of books and authors are published, what it means to get it right, and who is on staff at the publishing houses that produce genre fiction.

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Having A Cat Makes Me Feel Better About Being Alive

I told Winnie that I was queer before I told anyone human—late at night, in my room, after writing it down in my journal. “You won’t stop loving me if I’m gay, will you?” I asked him. He replied with his signature loud meow.

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Doniga Markegard Is Teaching People How To Be More Wild

Doniga Markegard teaches at a wilderness school instructor, and it’s important to her that her own kids learn about nature and wildlife.

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Image credit: Christopher Flynn via Unsplash

Navigating The Trauma Of Moving

Moving can be a traumatic experience. We often forget how many remnants of the past we hold onto—whether intentionally or accidentally, just because we put a letter away in a drawer and forgot about it.

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I blamed myself for what happened and internalized the guilt and shame that many survivors feel after sexual violence.

I Was Sexually Assaulted On Valentine's Day

My sexual assault is the main reason my girlfriend and I didn’t celebrate the love-infested holiday for the first six years of our relationship. Last Valentine’s Day, a month after we celebrated seven years together, was our first time embracing the holiday as our own.

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"I have a lifetime of momless moments ahead of me, but I’ve prepared for those since her death. What I hadn’t prepared for was that I’d have to celebrate one of those milestones on a day that I typically spend in mourning."

My Graduation Is On Mother’s Day, But My Mom Won’t Be There

I have a lifetime of momless moments ahead of me, but I’ve prepared for those since her death. What I hadn’t prepared for was that I’d have to celebrate one of those milestones on a day that I typically spend in mourning.

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