The Charis Trans and Friends Group welcomes Ami Polonsky in conversation with Arin Yost for a celebration of Polonsky's thoughtful and sensitive middle-grade novel about non-binary identity and first love, Spin with Me. Trans and Friends is a youth-focused group for trans*people, people questioning their own gender, and aspiring allies.

In this elegant dual narrative, Essie is a thirteen-year-old girl feeling glum about starting a new school after her professor dad takes a temporary teaching position in a different town. She has 110 days here and can't wait for them to end. Then she meets Ollie, who is nonbinary. Ollie has beautiful blue eyes and a confident smile. Soon, Essie isn’t counting down the days until she can leave so much as she’s dreading when her time with Ollie will come to an end.

Meanwhile, Ollie is experiencing a crush of their own . . . on Essie. As Ollie struggles to balance their passion for queer advocacy with their other interests, they slowly find themselves falling for a girl whose stay is about to come to an end. Can the two unwind their merry-go-round of feelings before it's too late?

This event is free and open to all people, especially to those who have no income or low income right now, but we encourage and appreciate a solidarity donation in support of the work of Charis Circle, our programming non-profit. Charis Circle's mission is to foster sustainable feminist communities, work for social justice, and encourage the expression of diverse and marginalized voices. https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/CharisCircle?code=chariscirclepage

We will be archiving this event and adding closed captioning as soon as possible after airing so that it will be accessible to deaf and HOH people. If you have other accessibility needs or if you are someone who has skills in making digital events more accessible please don't hesitate to reach out to info@chariscircle.org. We are actively learning the best practices for this technology and we welcome your feedback as we begin this new way of connecting across distances.

By attending our virtual event you agree to our Code of Conduct: Our event seeks to provide a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), class, or technology choices. We do not tolerate harassment in any form. Sexual language and imagery are not appropriate. Anyone violating these rules will be expelled from this event and all future events at the discretion of the organizers. Please report all harassment to info@chariscircle.org immediately.

Ami Polonsky is the author of the critically-acclaimed Gracefully Grayson and Threads. She is a middle school English teacher and a parent of two kids, one of whom exists happily beneath the trans umbrella.

Originally from Houston, Texas, Arin is currently living and working in Northeast Georgia while finishing their senior year at Agnes Scott College. After graduating, ze plans to take a gap year before attending graduate school to research trans carceral geographies. A part-time co-parent, farm hand, and bog monster, Arin can usually be found making zines, foraging in the Appalachian mountains, or basking in a spot of 10 am sunshine. Ze is perpetually in search of present and future spaces of trans flourishing, and slowly building hir own such spaces alongside innumerable co-conspirators. Arin uses ze/hir and they/them pronouns. Instagram: @/ak.wren

Trans & Friends Presents: Spin With Me--Ami Polonsky in conversation with Arin Yost