Metatron Press

We are simply ✨ecstatic✨ to announce our third and final title of Spring 2026! ✻ 𝔏𝔞𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔞𝔩 𝔖𝔴𝔞𝔶 ✻ by Hannah Karpinski @raunchy_lez ᴡʜᴇɴ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰɪʀꜱᴛ ꜱᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴏꜰ ᴍᴏʀɴɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴡᴏʀᴅꜱ ᴏᴄᴇᴀɴ & ɪ ᴀᴍ ᴡᴇɪɢʜᴛʟᴇꜱꜱ ᴡʜᴇɴ ʏᴏᴜ ʟᴏᴏᴋ ᴀᴛ ᴍᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴡʜᴏʟᴇ ꜰᴀᴄᴇ ᴍʏ ꜱʜᴀᴅᴏᴡ ꜰᴀʟʟꜱ ʙᴇʜɪɴᴅ Pre-orders are now open for Lateral Sway, the debut poetry collection by Hannah Karpinski! 𝐿𝐼𝒩𝒦 𝐼𝒩 𝐵𝐼𝒪 Lateral Sway traces the quiet architectures of queer intimacy and friendship across distance, memory, and language. Moving between Toronto and Poland, past and present, the poems hold space for longing, discovery, and the small moments that shape how we come to know ourselves—and each other. Blending lyric fragments, correspondence, and reflective narrative, Karpinski’s work attends to the fragile and radiant textures of connection: gestures, glances, shared silence, and the courage of speaking one’s truth. In Lateral Sway, intimacy becomes a form of navigation. The poems drift, return, and reach—mapping the emotional terrain of coming-of-age, diaspora, and queer belonging with tenderness and clarity. ʀᴇʟᴇᴀꜱᴇ ᴅᴀᴛᴇ: 05-16-2026 ᴘᴏᴇᴛʀʏ ᴘᴀᴘᴇʀʙᴀᴄᴋ ᴄᴏᴠᴇʀ ᴀʀᴛ: ᴡᴇʀᴀ ɢʀᴢᴇꜱ @allowero ᴛɪᴛʟᴇ ʜᴀɴᴅ ʟᴇᴛᴛᴇʀɪɴɢ: ᴇʟʟᴀ ʙʀᴇᴡ @stbrewe ᴄᴏᴠᴇʀ + ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴅᴇꜱɪɢɴ: ᴛʜᴇ ᴏʙꜱᴄᴜʀᴀ ᴀɢᴇɴᴄʏ @the.obscura.agency 88 ᴘᴀɢᴇꜱ ɪꜱʙɴ 978-1-988355-78-8 ꜱᴘʀɪɴɢ 2026 ❋❋❋ Hannah Karpinski is a poet whose work explores queer intimacy, memory, and belonging across borders. Her writing moves between lyric poetry, fragments, and hybrid forms, attending closely to the emotional textures of friendship, desire, and becoming. Lateral Sway is her debut collection.

Ya'll ain't ready! The most daring work we've read maybe ever~ we are ✶thrilled✶ to introduce our second title of 2026! ✻ 𝔚𝔞𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔉𝔲𝔱𝔲𝔯𝔢𝔰 ✻ by Kawai Shen Pre-orders for this debut hybrid collection by Toronto-based writer Kawai Shen are now available! 𝐿𝐼𝒩𝒦 𝐼𝒩 𝐵𝐼𝒪 Wavering Futures is a shape-shifting collection of experimental and speculative fiction and nonfiction prose, fragments that hold space for doubt, intimacy, collapse, and erotic candour. Written from the edge of ecological and emotional breakdown, these short, vivid vignettes refuse easy categories or easy answers. Across three sections—Imaginary Utopias, Imminent Collapse, and Survival Tactics—the book explores how we relate, resist, and reimagine ourselves in moments of personal and planetary crisis. Whether through moments of quiet connection, surreal detachment, or collective dreaming, Wavering Futures leans into instability not as failure, but as invitation. With a style that is lucid, fragmented, and full of surprise, this debut offers a soft yet searing look at the strange beauty of living through a time of threats and contradictions. Wavering Futures is a collection written for anyone who feels unmoored by the present, but unwilling to give up on what comes next. ʀᴇʟᴇᴀꜱᴇ ᴅᴀᴛᴇ: 05-16-2026 ꜱʜᴏʀᴛ ꜱᴛᴏʀɪᴇꜱ + ᴇꜱꜱᴀʏꜱ ᴘᴀᴘᴇʀʙᴀᴄᴋ ᴄᴏᴠᴇʀ ᴀʀᴛ: xɪᴀᴏxɪᴀᴏ ʟɪ ᴇᴅɪᴛᴏʀ: ᴛᴏʀɪᴀ ʟɪᴀᴏ @suntorya 88 ᴘᴀɢᴇꜱ ɪꜱʙɴ 978-1-988355-74-0 ꜱᴘʀɪɴɢ 2026 ❋❋❋ Kawai Shen is a writer based in Toronto. Her fiction was shortlisted for the 6th edition of the Metatron Prize for Rising Authors and selected for the Best Canadian Stories 2025 anthology. She has published in @malahatreview , The Fiddlehead, @ex_puritan @khoreomag @thewalrus @thewhitneyreview and more.

Metatron Press is ✨ecstatic✨ to announce our first title of 2026! ✻ 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢: poems & traces ✻ by Xiaoxuan Huang @xiao_xuan_huang ꜱᴏᴍᴇ ᴡᴀʏꜱ ᴏꜰ ʟɪꜱᴛᴇɴɪɴɢ ᴛᴜʀɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡʜᴏʟᴇ ʙᴏᴅʏ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴀɴ ᴇᴀʀ Metatron Press is thrilled to open pre-orders for 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢: poems & traces, the newest collection from Shanghainese-Canadian poet and scholar Xiaoxuan Huang. Today, we’re also revealing the book’s official cover, designed by the poet herself! 𝐿𝐼𝒩𝒦 𝐼𝒩 𝐵𝐼𝒪 A durational, intimate, and formally inventive work, 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢 is a rigorously crafted meditation on queer longing, language’s limits, and the beauty—and ache—of what remains unsaid. Blending autotheory, fragmented lyric, and the delicate architecture of silence, Huang asks: ɪꜰ ʟᴀɴɢᴜᴀɢᴇ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴀʀʀɪᴠᴇꜱ ᴇxᴀᴄᴛʟʏ ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ᴡᴇ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ɪᴛ ᴛᴏ, ᴅᴏ ᴡᴇ ꜱᴛɪʟʟ ᴅᴀʀᴇ ᴛᴏ ꜱᴘᴇᴀᴋ? Pre-orders directly support the author and help sustain the work of small presses. Reserve your copy of 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢 today—and for readers wanting Huang’s full body of work, a discounted bundle of 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢 + her debut 𝔏𝔬𝔳𝔢 𝔖𝔭𝔢𝔢𝔠𝔥 (2019) is also available. Xiaoxuan Huang is a poet and interdisciplinary artist working across poetry, video, and sound. Author of 𝔏𝔬𝔳𝔢 𝔖𝔭𝔢𝔢𝔠𝔥 (Metatron Press, 2019). Her work explores queer temporality, embodiment, and presence across media.

Montréal! Mark your calendars ✶ We have another beautiful book launch planned for you. Please join us at the lovely @rocketscienceroom on Saturday, May 23 for the official launch of all the time by @xiao_xuan_huang , who is coming all the way from Vancouver to celebrate with us. Xiaoxuan has curated a very special lineup to support the launch 〰️ Join us for an afternoon of poetry, music, and a conversation between @xiao_xuan_huang and @ashley.obscura PWYC / NOTAFLOF, with a cash bar on site to help support the ongoing maintenance of this important community space. Saturday, May 23 2–4:30 pm @rocketscienceroom ✶

One week away! 🌀 Metatron Press x In the Mood Magazine present METAMOOD — Featuring readings by: ✽ Kawai Shen ✽ Sennah Yee ✽ Trynne Delaney ✽ Nirris Nagendrarajah ✽ Lee Suksi Readings will be followed by a collective discussion with Ashley Obscura, Gabrielle Marceau, Sennah Yee, and Kawai Shen on sustaining creative practices, surviving the present together, and building connections of support, care, and inspiration. We are also raising money for Grassy Narrows First Nation @grassy.narrows.solidarity 🫶 〰️ Tickets available in our bio 〰️

Toronto! Mark your calendars 〰️ We are launching @raunchy_lez 's poetry debut, Lateral Sway, at @flyingbooks_to on Wednesday May 20! Featuring readings by: ✧ @raunchy_lez ✧ @jowitabot + a secret guest! Hosted by @ashley.obscura ~ Moving through queer intimacy, memory, and displacement, the poems in this collection trace what it means to be pulled off-course—towards others, towards language, towards fleeting forms of belonging. Fragmentary and tender, Lateral Sway offers an account of how connections survive across bodies, borders, and time. Hannah Karpinski is a lesbian Canadian poet from Tkaronto/Toronto. Diving into intimate personal archives and collective memory, she writes about queer friendship and queer desire. You can find her poems in Commo Mag, Voicemail Poems, Ghost City Press’ My Loves: Digital Anthology of Queer Love Poems, and elsewhere. Lateral Sway is her first book.

🩶🤎 We are ecstatic to announce Lez Fest (!), the official Montréal launch of Lateral Sway by Hannah Karpinski @raunchy_lez 🤎🩶 Sunday May 24 @mespantsdequeer 4pm With readings by: Hannah Karpinski @raunchy_lez Alana Dunlop @femalesportsannouncer Sadie Avery Lake @myskypeaccount Dimana Radoeva @raddimana Hosted by @ashley.obscura 🩶 Poster by Lulu Guequierre @sideosoup @lulushortforlewis

We're so back! Copies of 'all the time: poems & traces' by @xiao_xuan_huang have officially arrived in our studio! 💙🌀🧡 ✻ In all the time, Xiaoxuan Huang crafts a profound exploration of queer longing, the fragility of language, and the spaces between speech and silence. Blending love letters, fragmented aphorisms, and poems where silence itself becomes a punctuation mark, this genre-defying collection asks: If words can never fully capture what we mean, do we still dare to speak? Rooted in poetic rigor and philosophical inquiry, all the time insists on the urgency of address, even when words falter. It is poetry that thinks as deeply as it feels, inviting readers to linger in the liminal spaces between breath, memory, and meaning. For those who seek works that blur the lines between theory and heartache, this is a luminous testament to the necessity of speaking—even when the destination remains unknown. ✻ Xiaoxuan Huang is a Shanghainese-Canadian writer, scholar, and educator whose work bridges poetry, critical theory, and queer autotheory. all the time is their second book, following their debut Love Speech (Metatron Press, 2019). The manuscript has been shortlisted for the Fonograf Editions Essay Collection Contest (2023) and the John Lent Poetry & Prose Award (2022). They teach English Literature and Creative Writing at Capilano University and reside in Vancouver on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Səlílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples.

🌀Metatron Press x In the Mood Magazine present METAMOOD, a literary happening, in Toronto! 🌀 〰️ Tickets now available in our bio 〰️ Metatron Press x In the Mood Magazine are pleased to announce METAMOOD in Toronto, an afternoon celebrating our vibrant literary ecosystem and the launch of Wavering Futures by Kawai Shen! Theme is: The Future🌀 We humbly invite you to dream and conspire with us about the future of art and literature amid great uncertainty. You can expect a banging line-up of readings, wordy activities, friendly faces, a fundraiser for land defenders, and real talk about what it means to build creative communities today. There will be spice! 🌶️🍵 Featuring readings by: ✽ Kawai Shen ✽ Sennah Yee ✽ Trynne Delaney ✽ Nirris Nagendrarajah ✽ Lee Suksi Readings will be followed by a collective discussion led by Ashley Obscura (founder, Metatron Press), Gabrielle Marceau & Sennah Yee (founders, In the Mood Magazine), and Kawai Shen (author, Wavering Futures) about how to keep dreaming through our collective nightmare, sustain creative practices, survive our era of existential crises (together), and make connections of support, care, and inspiration. We invite audience participation. Please bring your attention, ideas, goodwill, and honesty. No recordings will be permitted ♡ Each ticket includes entry into a fundraising raffle. A % of the proceeds will be donated to Grassy Narrows First Nation’s land defence. Accessibility notes: -Accessible venue with ground-floor accessible washroom -All washrooms are gender neutral -Masking is encouraged! 😷 -Free N-95 (limited supply) and surgical masks at the door -Space is large and will run two HEPA air purifiers (Winix C 535) by seating area -We will leave front doors open for air circulation (weather permitting) -Water will be provided -Comfortable sofa seating -Please contact us about ASL interpretation -If you have any other accessibility questions or requests, please do not hesitate to contact us via Eventbrite Save the date: We will be hosting part two of METAMOOD in Montreal, June 7th @_parquette . Tell your friends!

Don’t take our word for the brilliance of Lateral Sway by @raunchy_lez — take it from two of the most celebrated voices in contemporary Canadian poetry ✶ “Dear reader, you have in your hands a gorgeous tumult of verse. It’s a tonic. A balm. A much-needed reprieve from all the wrong kinds of chaos.” — Sina Queyras @occasional_poems Author of Lemon Hound and winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Poetry “Lateral Sway explores the lyrical intricacies of human/girl relation and the beauty of the complexities that emerge. Seeking to make the lives of queer others in Poland visible alongside hers, Karpinski in the end is permitted to share only her own desires, leaving open the search for answers: how can we make space for others, when their stories are not ours to tell?” — Erín Moure Author of Kapusta and Furious, winner of the Governor General’s Award for Poetry Pre-orders now available ✶

Kawai Shen's first book is coming soon 🔥🧡✨ More advance praise for Wavering Futures, this time from author + founder of @inthemood.magazine @sennahaha 💛 Pre-orders now available ✶ Link in bio

Debut collection of stories and essays from the incredible Kawai Shen 🔥🧡✨ More advance praise for Wavering Futures: “Wavering Futures is alive with precise physicality… Shen’s Wavering Futures reminds us we can create our own inverted worlds, ones we have agency in creating, ones where we can bask in pleasure, rather than the doomsday dystopian world we live in.” — Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch @sherlockh0m0 Co-publisher of Metonymy Press @metonymypress • Author of knot body and The Good Arabs • Winner of the Grand Prix du Livre de Montreal (2022) Pre-orders now available ✶ Link in bio