| "Don't Press Charges and I Won't Sue" | |
|---|---|
| Short story by Charlie Jane Anders | |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction short story |
| Publication | |
| Published in | Boston Review |
| Publication date | October 30, 2017 |
"Don't Press Charges and I Won't Sue" is a science fiction story by Charlie Jane Anders. It was first published in Boston Review , in their 2017 Global Dystopias anthology.
Rachel is a trans woman who is captured by an agency that forces detransition by means of brain transplants — where she discovers that the person supervising her torture is her childhood friend Jeffrey.
Gardner Dozois compared it to Kafka's The Castle. [1] Publishers Weekly considered it "astoundingly good". [2]
In 2020, Anders stated that she has only read the story aloud once, as she finds it too traumatizing; as well, she reported that "other trans people have told [her] that they had to lie down after reading it." [3]
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | James Tiptree Jr. Award | — | Honor List | [4] |
| 2018 | Locus Award | Short Story | Finalist | [5] |
| Theodore Sturgeon Award | — | Won | [6] |
Anders has described the story's genesis as her own anxieties over the then-pending inauguration of Donald Trump. [3]
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