Alvina Chamberland
(USA) is a Swedish-American author of predominantly literary autofiction novels, residing between Athens and Berlin. She has an MA in gender studies from Sodertorns University Stockholm, with a thesis on trans feminine sisterhood and intersectionality in New York City. In 2015 she published in Sweden her co-authored book Allt som ar Mitt: Valdtakt, Stigmatisering och Upprattelse (English translation: All that is mine: Rape, Stigmatization and Reparation). In September 2018 her novel Utelast – Uppvaxt- nostalgi for freaks (Locked Out – A nostalgic account of growing up for freaks) a parody of the coming of age-genre, was published. Through poetic prose, sharp social commentary and self-deprecating gallows humor her novel and English language debut Love the World or Get Killed Trying (2024) dives into the mind of Alvina, a trans woman on the eve of turning 30. The reader follows her journey through the wilderness of Iceland and city boulevards of Berlin and Paris as she probes questions of eternity, sexuality, longing, death, love, and how hard it is to remain soft when you're a ceaseless target of straight men's secret lust and open disgust.
(WU2025)Share this page
Archive available for: Alvina Chamberland
-
Writer Alvina Chamberland in The Hague University of Applied Sciences
With: Alvina Chamberland, Suzy Byczuk
Swedish-American writer Alvina Chamberland is a guest at The Lighthouse Book Club! De Haagse Hogeschool's English-language book club has read her novel Love the World or Get Killed Trying and will discuss it with her. You can attend!
The interview will be led by Suzy Byczuk, European Studies student at the The Hague University of Applied Sciences. This is a free-access event open to all students, staff and all interested, even if you are not a book club member. Please register first.
Through poetic prose, sharp social commentary and self-deprecating gallows humor her novel Love the World or Get Killed Trying dives into the mind of Alvina, a trans woman on the eve of turning 30. The reader follows her journey through the wilderness of Iceland and city boulevards of Berlin and Paris as she probes questions of eternity, sexuality, longing, death, love, and how hard it is to remain soft when you're a ceaseless target of straight men's secret lust and open disgust.
Alvina Chamberland (USA) is a Swedish-American author of predominantly literary autofiction novels, residing between Athens and Berlin. She has an MA in gender studies from Södertörns University Stockholm, with a thesis on trans feminine sisterhood and intersectionality in New York City. In 2015 she published in Sweden her co-authored book Allt som är Mitt: Våldtäkt, Stigmatisering och Upprättelse (All that is mine: Rape, Stigmatization and Reparation). In September 2018 her novel Utelåst – Uppväxt- nostalgi för freaks (Locked Out – A nostalgic account of growing up for freaks) a parody of the coming of age-genre, was published. Love the World or Get Killed Trying (2024) is her English language debut novel.
Festival tip: during the grand festival event Saturday Night Unlimited, 25 January 2025 on five stages of Theater aan het Spui and Filmhuis Den Haag, Alvina Chamberland will perform in the subprogramme Trans, Writing, Joy, a celebration of gender, literature and creative energy with authors Alara Adilow, Alvina Chamberland and Zaire Krieger, host: Alejandra Ortiz.
(Trans) Authors from various parts of the world will read from their work and talk about in what way these concepts define their work and their lives. After the discussion the venue will be turned into a 'Room of Joy', with music, dance and celebration of everyone's uniqueness. Feel free to dance along! English spoken. Order here your tickets for Saturday Night Unlimited via the online box office of Het Nationale Theater (Up to 30 years 15 Euro, up from 31 years 35 Euro).
-
Trans, Writing, Joy
Challenge your perception of Femininity and Masculinity and join us! This program is a celebration of Gender, Literature and Creative Energy.
Alvina Chamberland and Alara Adilow will read from their work and speak with Alejandra Ortiz about in what way these concepts define their work and their lives. After the conversation (in English) the venue will be turned into a Room of Joy, with music, dance and celebration of everyone's uniqueness featuring poet and spoken word-artist Zaïre Krieger, performer Patri Roa Johansen and DJ Shari Jae. Feel free to dance along!
Alara Adilow is a Somali poet and writer living in the Netherlands. Her poetry collection Mythen en stoplichten (Myths and Traffic Lights, 2022) was one of the most striking debuts of recent years. She has published poetry in Dutch literary publications, and works on her first novel Kijk es naar al dit licht (Look at all this light), to be published in 2025.
Alvina Chamberland is a Swedish-American author of predominantly literary autofiction novels, residing between Athens and Berlin. Through poetic prose, sharp social commentary and self-deprecating gallows humor her novel and English language debut Love the World or Get Killed Trying (2024) dives into the mind of Alvina, a trans woman on the eve of turning 30.
Zaïre Krieger is a poet, spoken word artist, activist, journalist and translator. Her performances are layered, rhythmic and sincere. She translated the poem The Hill We Climb recited by Amanda Gorman during Joe Biden's inauguration into Dutch. In 2025, Krieger's bilingual poetry collection Chameleon will be published, about creating your own place to feel at home and allowing yourself to be multidimensional.
Alejandra Ortiz is a trans woman refugee from Mexico who fled transphobia and violence. In The Netherlands she works toward a better life for trans persons, and especially for trans persons of colour -- with or without papers. Ortiz wrote the autobiographical De waarheid zal me bevrijden (The Truth Will Free Me, 2022) about her youth, her life as a transgender woman, and her quest for a safe place to be herself.
Patri Roa Johansen is a Colombian-Danish classically trained musician, a performance artist, and a trans community builder. Currently, he lives in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. He is a member of Papaya Kuir, an intersectional feminist organization for and by Trans, Lesbian & Queer Latinx asylum seekers/migrants in The Netherlands. He is also a founding member of the award winning House of Løstbois, an Amsterdam-based drag king collective. Since 2019, Patri aka LatinX Charm, has done creative research on gender expression through realness drag.
Shari Jae has been the driving force of the T-Huis (Transhuis) in Amsterdam, a safe space for trans people in Amsterdam's Red Light District, since its inception. In 2024, she took a festive leave as coordinator. She remains committed to the target group. As a baby, she arrived in the Netherlands in the late 1960s from Biafra (now Nigeria), where a civil war was raging at the time. Growing up with foster parents, she never saw the effects of polio as an obstacle. When she was in her 40s, she made her gender transition. She has been an ambassador for Pride Amsterdam since 2021.
Trans, Writing, Joy is curated for Writers Unlimited Festival 2025 by Alejandra Ortiz and Shantie Singh.
