Shira Glassman

Shira Glassman
OccupationAuthor
Writing career
GenreFantasy fiction
Notable workMangoverse

Shira Glassman is an American author of fantasy fiction. She is best known for creating the Mangoverse, a series of queer fantasy novels beginning with The Second Mango in 2013.

Early and personal life

Shira Glassman lives in north-central Florida. She identifies as Jewish and bisexual. She has cited German and French opera, as well as the detective fiction of Agatha Christie, among her influences.

Literary career

Glassman began writing fantasy fiction in the early 2010s. Her debut novel, The Second Mango, was published in 2013 and introduced the fictional tropical kingdom of Perach, the setting for the Mangoverse series. Subsequent installments in the series included Climbing the Date Palm (2014), A Harvest of Ripe Figs (2015), The Olive Conspiracy (2016), and the short-story collection Tales from Perach (2017).

The story centers on Queen Shulamit, who is a lesbian, and other recurring characters including Shulamit's friend Rivka, Rivka's dragon boyfriend Isaac, and cook Aviva, who is a bisexual. Shulamit seeks Riv's help to find her a companion after her previous relationship with Aviva ended while Riv herself is mourning the loss of her wizard friend Isaac. Kaveh is a prince who seeks Riv's help to find his lover Farzin. The books explore the relationships of these three couples, and the adventures of these characters.

Glassman's fiction explores themes of family, Jewish culture, and queer relationships. The Mangoverse series features several queer and Jewish characters. In interviews, Glassman has stated that she created the Mangoverse partly in response to a perceived lack of queer and Jewish representation in fantasy fiction. She has described her work as an attempt to create stories where LGBTQ and Jewish characters have a happy and innocent childhood, and can experience adventure, romance, and happy endings without being defined primarily by tragedy.

Glassman has also written the novels Knit One, Girl Two and Gifts of Spring.

Awards and honors

Several of her books have been nominated for the Bisexual Book Awards and the Golden Crown Literary Society Awards.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Pesach in the Mangoverse: An Interview with Fantasy Writer Shira Glassman". Keshet. 9 April 2025. Archived from the original on 6 October 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "The Mangoverse books by Shira Glassman". Books and Tea. Archived from the original on 15 January 2026. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  3. ↑ "The Second Mango". Goodreads. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  4. ↑ "Climbing the Date Palm". Goodreads. Archived from the original on 30 August 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  5. ↑ "A Harvest of Ripe Figs". Goodreads. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  6. ↑ "The Olive Conspiracy". Goodreads. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  7. ↑ "Tales from Perach". Goodreads. Archived from the original on 13 November 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  8. 1 2 "Cover Reveal: Tales from Perach by Shira Glassman". LGBTQ Reads. Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Bi Book Club: Mangoverse". Bi.org. 4 December 2019. Archived from the original on 30 April 2026. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  10. ↑ "Knit One, Girl Two". Goodreads. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  11. 1 2 "Meet Our Author: Shira Glassman". Queer Pack. 23 November 2017. Archived from the original on 13 March 2026. Retrieved 1 June 2026.