Renton, WA— On Saturday, March 7th, Renton Pride and TechFox USA welcomed award-winning journalist and author Nico Lang to the Renton Chamber of Commerce for a reading and Q&A of their debut book, American Teenager: How Trans Kids Are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era.
Disclosure: This event was organized and moderated by Renton Signal’s publisher, Winter Cashman, through TechFox USA, LLC and Renton Pride. See our About page for more on our disclosure policy.
A national bestseller and 2025 Stonewall Book Award honoree, American Teenager profiles eight trans and nonbinary teenagers across the country, following their daily lives, their families, and what it means to grow up trans in the United States. Lang read a chapter following a trans youth from the West Coast, setting the tone for an afternoon that quickly became something more than a book event.
The roughly dozen attendees — including parents of trans youth and faith leaders from St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church and Fairwood Community United Methodist Church — utilized the Chamber’s main space, which had been arranged with two chairs up front for the author and moderator. The event came together quickly — about a month after Lang reached out to Renton Pride. The Renton Chamber of Commerce proved a welcoming host, with plenty of seating and a setup that made the reading and Q&A feel intimate.
During the Q&A, one parent described recognizing herself and her daughter in the pages — including a scene where a teen comes out to their parent in a Burger King drive-thru. It was the kind of shared experience that reminded the room why books like this resonate. Faith leaders from both congregations participated thoughtfully, sharing different perspectives and experiences alongside the parents, a reminder that the lines drawn around these discussions are not always as fixed as they seem.
Lang proved to be as generous in person as their writing is on the page — greeting everyone individually before the event began and giving detailed, meaningful answers throughout. They noted that most authors do four or five tour stops for a book. Lang will do over 200 in the next year, a choice they described as deliberate: this book needs to reach the people who need it most. Renton was the 180th stop.
The afternoon closed with a book signing. American Teenager is available at major booksellers.