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Critically Recognized
  • Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey book cover
  • Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey book cover
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Upright Women Wanted

by Sarah Gailey

A resistance story on horseback

$23.07 USD
$38.46 USD $23.07 USD
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Awards & Recognition

  • Award recognition

    2021 Hugo Award finalist

    Named a 2021 Hugo Award finalist.

  • Editorial selection

    2020 ALA Booklist Top 10 SFF Pick

    Selected as a 2020 Top 10 SFF pick.

  • Critical praise

    Praise from NPR

    NPR described the book as “a breezy, rousing, and unrelentingly fun gallop.”

AlbakiReads Editorial

A resistance story on horseback

Set in a near-future American Southwest shaped by fascist rule, the novel brings librarians into the work of resistance. Esther hides in their book wagon while fleeing an arranged marriage, carrying the loss of a friend she loved—executed for possessing resistance propaganda. The librarians she encounters are queer spies on horseback, and their struggle connects private acts of escape and loyalty with a larger fight against the state. The western setting and the book’s focus on identity, censorship, and political defiance place personal stakes alongside collective resistance.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • For readers interested in queer characters and stories of identity under political pressure.
  • For readers drawn to speculative westerns featuring librarians, spies, and resistance to authoritarian rule.

Themes

Queer identityCensorship and resistanceAuthoritarianismFriendship and loveEscape from an arranged marriage

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

FIGHT THE STATE. BE A LIBRARIAN.

A 2021 Hugo and Locus Award Finalist - A 2020 ALA Booklist Top 10 SFF Pick - A Booklist Editor's Choice Pick - Named a Best Book of 2020 (NPR, New York Public Library, Booklist, Bustle, Den of Geek)

"A breezy, rousing, and unrelentingly fun gallop."--NPR

In Upright Women Wanted, Sarah Gailey reinvents the neo-Western with an explicitly antifascist, near-future story of queer identity.

Esther is a stowaway.

She's hidden herself away in the Librarian's book wagon in an attempt to escape the marriage her father has arranged for her. To the man who was previously engaged to her best friend. Her best friend who she was in love with. Her best friend who was just executed for possession of resistance propaganda.

The future American Southwest is full of bandits, fascists, and queer librarian spies on horseback trying to do the right thing. They'll bring the fight to you.

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In-stock items normally dispatch within 1–2 business days. The ZIP-code estimator on this page is informational only; the final shipping method, price, and availability are confirmed at checkout for your full order.

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