Coming October 30, 2026
Short Story Contribution: “Utopian Scholastic”
Purchase links coming soon!
“Utopian Scholastic” is one of many speculative queer stories featured in the anthology Can’t Hold Us Down: Tales of Defiance & Hope.
Victoria is just trying to get by as a laborer in the new settlement established by the Humanist Corps in the former state of Washington, but fellow settler and local librarian Rosario has a highly specific retro-futuristic vision for the new society she wants to help build, and Victoria lacks the patience for anything but ensuring the settlement’s basic needs are met. In the aftermath of the complete collapse of the US empire, Victoria and Rosario are left to wrangle the complicated feelings of nostalgia, loneliness, and claiming identity and purpose in the ruins of a failed civilization while rebuilding a city from its very foundation.
In addition to writing “Utopian Scholastic”, Jasmine also served as a developmental editor for several other stories in Can’t Hold Us Down: Tales of Defiance & Hope.