An Electrifying Queer Book Tour – MAKE SURE YOU DIE SCREAMING
Zee Carlstrom’s literary road-trip thriller, MAKE SURE YOU DIE SCREAMING, is a “topical, gonzo, and chaotic” (them) debut novel that follows a nonbinary corporate burnout embarking on a road trip from Chicago to Arkansas to find their conspiracy-theorist father.
Named one of the most anticipated books of 2025 by LGBTQ Reads, Debutiful, them, The Mary Sue, and GoodReads, this “iconic road trip novel,” which interrogates class rage, economic immobility, gender expression, and the rot at the heart of capitalism, is, as author Vanessa Walters says, “a balm for a bleak, uncertain world.”
Like the singular protagonist of their “debut novel our country needs (but doesn’t deserve)” (Ruth Madievsky), Carlstrom is a burnt-out advertising creative and a hopelessly genderqueer liberal child of two MAGA supporters. When they started writing MAKE SURE YOU DIE SCREAMING, Carlstrom was estranged from their family, self-medicating with alcohol and drugs, and disgusted by their queerness (in fact, they still publicly identified as male while writing the first draft). Not perfectly healed, Carlstrom gained some life-saving self-knowledge while writing this book. As such, this novel—written for queers, queer allies, and anyone else who is struggling to love and live in this country—takes readers on a powerful, poignant, and unforgettable journey from self-destruction to self-acceptance.
Zee will be going on a book tour across the US, with a stop at Moth Oddities in Northeast Minneapolis on Friday, April 18, 2025 from 7:00pm CST. This big queer event will begin with a short reading, a conversation between Zee and Patrick Nathan (author of The Future Was Color), and some Q&A about the book. Then the party shall begin: DJ Jake Ryan will provide the vibes, Steady Pour will provide the drinks, and hosts Moth Oddities will provide 20% off storewide. Hope to see you there!
