Booksmith is thrilled to host June Martin to celebrate her debut novel, Love/Aggression, joined in conversation by Isaac Fellman. Join us!

About the book

Best friends Lily and Zoe fight, separate, reunite, and repeat, each time deepening the belief that the other is the source of their problems. Once Lily, a struggling tattoo apprentice, is exiled from their shared house, she bounces from an artist's fixer-upper, to a cult leader with a harem of subs, to a house shared with the goddess of transfemininity. Meanwhile, rising movie star Zoe becomes more cutthroat by the day in her relentless quest for fame.

If Lily can't give up her desire for control, if Zoe can't lay aside her cruelty and ego, they'll never escape their intolerable places in the world. Traversing art, domination, sex, and shape-shifting houses, Love/Aggression is a novel about the indignity of depending on other people, and the terrible cost of trying not to.

About the author

Three years ago, June Martin jokingly declared herself the world's greatest writer and, since then, no one has challenged her for the title. Her short fiction has appeared in X-R-A-Y, BULL, New Session, and other lit mags. Her debut novel, LOVE/AGGRESSION, is forthcoming with tRaum Books in spring 2024. Photo by Cara Esten Hurtle (@caraessie on Instagram).

Isaac Fellman is a writer and archivist from San Francisco. He is the Lambda Literary Award-winning author of NOTES FROM A REGICIDE, upcoming in 2025, as well as DEAD COLLECTIONS, THE TWO DOCTORS GÓRSKI, and THE BREATH OF THE SUN. 

Please note:

• Masks are not required, but can be provided upon request.
• Check-in begins at 6:45. Unclaimed seats are given up beginning at 7:10.
• There will be a 30 minute post-show signing as time allows. Books will be for sale on the night of the event, but you can also purchase additional copies straight from our website.
• Questions? Accessibility requests? Write to us at [email protected].