TRUST FALL

Coming September 15, 2026

TRUST FALL: A Not-Very-Magical Fairy Tale
about the F Word, by Tamara Kaye Sellman 

Trust Fall: A Not-Very-Magical-Fairy-Tale About the F Word is Tamara Kaye Sellman’s avant garde fictionalized account detailing a budding feminist’s coming of age during the twin ascents of modern suffragism via the ERA and ultraconservatism in 1970s America.

This unorthodox literary take on the bildungsroman motif gives readers a grassroots’ perspective on feminism through the lens of a young girl’s life as she navigates the political messages coming from the daily newspaper and Walter Cronkite in contrast to the equally political messages coming directly to her from across the kitchen table: the anti-woman ideas espoused by her Bircher father.

Fairy Punkmother sketches ©️2026, Chelsea Baker van Drood. All rights reserved.

Illustrated with a fairy punkmother who addresses the reader, and designed to resemble a fairy tale in its telling, Trust Fall is GenX storytelling as it should be: irreverent, outspoken, off the hook, with no use for the traditional, commercial, or conventional. Trust Fall reveals how feminists are not made but born, that women’s rights aren’t a trend but at the heart of egalitarianism. No matter the obstacles, the desire for freedom for all persists no matter who’s in charg of writing history.


Trust Fall includes an overview of the John Birch Society, a Who’s Who list of feminism’s finest warriors, a contextualized social issues timeline, a badass progressive fairy godmother, a hat tip to Billie Jean King, and—perhaps most importantly—conservative advice on how to be a “good wife.” This is required reading for those needing a quick civil rights history lesson from the very mouths of the babes who lived through it.

|| PREORDER NOW THROUGH THE PUBLISHER || 

Trust Fall cover reveal in Substack (July 20, 2026)

https://rhymeswithcamera.substack.com/p/ramping-up-for-a-trust-fall-in-september

What people are saying about Trust Fall:

“I absolutely loved Trust Fall. Tamara Kaye Sellman tells this story with wit, intelligence, and a fearless honesty that feels both deeply personal and strikingly universal. Framed as a ‘not-very-magical fairy tale,’ the book captures the complicated journey of growing up inside inherited beliefs and slowly learning how to question them. Sellman balances humor and insight beautifully, showing how love for family can coexist with the courage to think for oneself. Thoughtful, sharp, and quietly powerful, Trust Fall is the kind of book that makes you reflect on your own story long after you’ve finished the last page.”— Angela Yuriko Smith, multiple Bram Stoker Award–winning author, founder of Authortunities, and editor-in-chief of Space & Time

“Brave, unflinching, at times, gut-wrenching, Trust Fall is a cautionary story for our time from the always-inventive Tamara Sellman. Fairy tales do come true in this story, but not until our heroine completes her quest and finds her place in the world outside her nuclear family. Lovers of fairy tales will appreciate this genre choice as an unusual but inspired method for a personal story. Sellman interweaves her text with factoids, warnings, and encouragements to the reader, which brings a sense of intimacy and integrity to the text, and keeps the ending from becoming sentimental. Anyone who has ever wondered if they landed in the wrong family will appreciate this narrative. Readers of Tara Westover’s Educated will find a new heroine to cheer.”—Glenda Bailey-Mershon, author of Eve’s Garden, Weaver’s Knot, and the readers’ Substack newsletter, An Unfettered Woman. 

“A master storyteller, Sellman captures our rapt attention as she weaves this timely feminist narrative through the warp and weft of the fairy tale. At once both startlingly realistic and soothingly dreamlike, Sellman’s story entrances and burrows deep into your heart. I never wanted it to end.” —G.G. Silverman, author of The Blood Year Daughter and award-winning artist, creative coach, and magazine editor

“Father drives his Ford. Provides. Mother sells Avon—funds his future. Era of Father Knows Best—Fiefdom. John Birch. Brothers are favored. Father sets the test: who goes to college. Daughter passes. He sets the terms—and breaks them. Smart. Feisty. Unfinished. She forges her own path.”—Julene Tripp Weaver, author of Slow Now with Clear Skies 

“What a fierce, fun, furious, feisty, fairy tale about family, fury, freedom, and feminism! Tamara Kaye Sellman is F-ing fantastic!”—Gayle Brandeis, author of Drawing Breath: Essays on Writing, the Body, and Loss

ISBN: 978-196607527-1
|| Pages: 94 || Size: 6×9 Paperback || Publication Date: September 15, 2026 || $20.00 USD
Categories: Feminist Fiction, Womens Fiction, Contemporary Fairy Tale, Speculative Fiction, Feminism & Feminist Theory, 1970s Womens Narratives

From Gnashing Teeth Publishing

TRUST FALL print edition will be available for purchase starting August 15, 2026.
👉🏽PREORDER  NOW👈🏽

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