Stag Dance, the latest novel from trans writer Torrey Peters, is made up of three short stories and the provocative titular tale of male loggers exploring their sexualities together. Set at an illegal 19th-century logging camp, Stag Dance follows a lonely logger and his male lumberjack friends gather in the woods to dance. Romance, obsession and jealousy ensue deep in the woods, all culminating in a big night with thrilling themes around gender and transition. Her 2021 novel Detransition, Baby received mainstream critical acclaim and was selected as one of the New York Times 100 best books of the 21st century. Her work has thrust Peters further onto the front line of the culture wars. Ahead of her appearance at the Auckland Writers Festival, Susie speaks to Torrey Peters about the reaction to the book and what it means to be trans in an increasingly hostile world.