About me

 
I'm a trans writer and avid reader of queer stories, based in Vancouver, Canada. My other passions include 2SLGBTQIA+ advocacy, volunteering, swimming, and cycling. Like many trans writers, I didn’t start here. I studied creative writing as an undergraduate and then wrote as a scientist. In 2019, I wrote a fictionalized novella about my father’s death, Murder of an Uncommon Man. In 2022, I worked with the narrator Lia DiFonzo to create the accompanying audiobook. My first article on transitioning, “Small Town Girl,” appeared in Pride Magazine, published by the Vancouver Pride Society. After the CBC interviewed me about transitioning, I discovered that I’m an "enby girl" with they/them pronouns. Find my ongoing overshare on Bluesky @amkirsch.com and Substack. As a trans educator and activist, I look forward to sharing stories with a wide audience and continuing to be a visible advocate for my queer community.

Find a second intro on Substack and find more profile info here.

Email me or find me on Bluesky.

Please be aware of scammers impersonating authors such as A.M., and do not engage with them or provide any personal information or manuscripts. You can verify any suspicious messages by emailing me directly.

Popular posts from this blog

The story behind Lesbians Unite!

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I met my life partner in 1986, having had little dating experience, and wondered what it was like for others to find love and friendship. Working on the July issue of Angles  gave me the opportunity to interview several generations of women to find out.  I interviewed Nancy Kato o n May 13   in New Westminster, and we spoke about community advocacy, coming out late in life, the social scene in Vancouver in the 2000s,  meeting her partner,   and sharing community events through a newsletter.  I interviewed  Sandy McCartie o n May 16   by video from Powell River. We spoke for over an hour about how we met our mutual friend, Margaret Cormier, the discreet lesbian social group Gazebo Connection, the social scene in Vancouver in the 80s, volunteering with a hospice society, loss of a partner, and the queer community in Powell River.  Interviews by email with  Mandy Randhawa and  Jasmine Ruff rounded out the generations. Background resear...
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A TED-inspired talk about transitioning at work

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I took on the challenge of writing and delivering a TED-inspired talk at my former employer when I noticed that they were looking for speakers at their professional development day. It was entitled "Teaching in Two Genders: Lessons from a Polytechnic’s First Trans Instructor" and had a Q&A afterwards. I tried to capture video of it , but even after I set up two cameras to capture the moment, one conked out within the first few minutes, and the second wasn’t at a great angle (there were two lights above the screen). Fortunately, my backup plan was a microphone pinned to my dress shirt, connected to a smartphone strapped to my back.  I used the audio to narrate the slideshow and posted it to YouTube so you can imagine that you were in the room! Like many TED talks, it has a dramatic black screen start, insightful video, a Venn diagram, and an action summary. If you prefer poorly lit video of me from two camera angles, here's your version . See below for a summary of th...
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