Fat Swim (publication day April 28, 2026) by Emma Copley Eisenberg (of the Frump Feelings Substack, Housemates, and The Third Rainbow Girl) is a beautiful collection of semi-linked short stories that is a celebration of fat, queer love.
All of the stories are set in or around Philadelphia and feature fat and queer characters in different stages of acceptance and celebration of their bodies and body’s size. Each was interesting and Copley Eisenberg handled the characters’ fatness honestly and with great respect.
The opening and title story, Fat Swim, features a young girl who observes a pool party night every Wednesday where fat women go to enjoy the pool–she realizes that she is in love with them. I loved it–this is why representation matters, why visibility matters, why it is important that kids see people of all colors, shapes, sizes, and abilities living their lives and doing what they love–so that they know such a thing is possible for them, too, no matter their current circumstances.
Sundays is a perfect little short story about embracing contradictions; Ray’s Happy Birthday Bar seems to be a love letter to Philadelphia and past choices. The Dan Graves Situation is about men and women in academia and how women have to placate them, even or especially when there is no romance or attraction between them. They are all so good–from the ones mentioned above to the novella about a retreat center called Camp Sensation!
I highlighted many quotes of wisdom, and checked my email this morning to find that the author has rented a billboard in Philly to advertise Fat Swim, and that the Philadelphia Inquirer has written an article about it. (Both links feature photos of the billboard!)
If you are reading this blog because you are starving for fat-positive literature, you absolutely must read Fat Swim. It is affirming and sexy and beautifully written. Thanks to NetGalley for the e-galley in exchange for an honest review.
Reading While Fat 