Donnaville

Debut novel by Donna Minkowitz

Special pre-order SALE extended through the fall!

$16 cover price includes shipping!!!

DONNAVILLE is set almost entirely in the author’s own mind, depicted as a city called Donnaville. The city is outwardly verdant, pleasant, and attractive to tourists, but at its center lies a dark and malevolent prison that most residents prefer not to think about. Some parts of Donna run the prison, some are incarcerated there, and others are trying to burn the place down. Meanwhile, why can’t the mother goddess do anything to stop this from happening? Can a sexy trickster dude inside Donna free the inmates, or will he need help from the feminine principle he despises and fears? 

“Not an allegory but a wild romp of a fantasy story that takes the reader on a journey to the most forbidden recesses of the psyche, and the most hopeful ones. A tour de force of wit and imagination, Donna Minkowitz’s debut novel DONNAVILLE invents a whole new way of talking about the psyche and the internal struggles we all face. Devising a fantasy city in which all components of her mind and heart dwell (and variously flirt with, imprison, and rebel against one another), Minkowitz narrates a harrowing personal journey toward wholeness and a state in which no parts of her may be abandoned to self-torture and shame. A very queer, very sexy novel, where the author assumes all genders and many different sexualities, and where riotous sex scenes can be the occasion of important plot points. I’ve long loved Minkowitz’s work. DONNAVILLE is one more reason to be grateful to this fearless author who sheds all skins.”—Steven Petrow, contributing columnist, The Washington Post

“Part anti-prison fable, part gory horror camp, part dyke Goddess gay porn, Donnaville shocks the senses to open the gates between myth and belonging. This is the abusive family narrative turned inside-out, vomiting up the possibility of survival. Tender and grotesque, Donnaville frees the self of its burdens.”—Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore, author of Touching the Art

About the Author

Donna Minkowitz is the author of the memoirs Ferocious Romance, winner of a Lambda Literary Award, and Growing Up Golem, a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award and for the Judy Grahn Award from the Publishing Triangle. A former columnist for the Village Voice, Minkowitz’s writing has appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Nation, Salon, and Slate. She is the recipient of a GLAAD Media Award, the Exceptional Merit Media Award, and the Award for Outstanding Journalism from NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists, as well as an Art Omi residency.

SPECIAL PRICE of $16 INCLUDES SHIPPING!!!


Get your Donnaville map, too!


Get a limited edition letterpress DONNAVILLE map—the very same map that graces the cover of the book—signed and numbered by graphic designer Brendan Lorber. The map is 14″ x 11″ on Mohawk Superfine 120# White Eggshell and VERY suitable for framing.

Brendan Lorber is a visual artist, poet, prose writer, and editor who lives in Brooklyn. He creates hand drawn fantasy maps of ideas, lives, loves, poetry, and music. His maps are in collections at the Museum of Modern Art, other museums and cultural centers, and private collections, and have been featured on CNN, NBC’s The Today Show, and Oprah.

$25 includes shipping


book + map super discount package

Get the book and the map for $39 including shipping!

We will ship the book and the map separately so the map can travel in a properly sized flat mailer, but your price is all inclusive.