**NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!
A mysterious invitation slides under the door. Antigone opens it, holds it to the light, tries to discern its color, wonders about its faint scent of decay. But there is no mistake: she has been invited to the Rot Party. The question is: who will join her?
Antigone at the Rot Party is a post-modern translation of a pre-modern classic, asking age-old questions with new fervor and wit. What do we owe the dead? Can we be brave enough to act in their memory? Can we be brave enough to love?
Bex Frankeberger’s debut—kind of a play, kind of a novel—filters Antigone through queer theory and contemporary philosophy, bringing us uncannily close to the perennial nature of power and hubris. Against both, it jolts us to recognize that principled defiance is still the most potent, and timeless, of antidotes.
You are cordially invited to join Antigone at the Rot Party.
Bex Frankeberger is a writer and a horticulturist. Antigone at the Rot Party is their first novel. They were a 2024-2025 McCormack Writing Center Reading Fellow and their work has been published here and there, including Mizna and DizzyTV. Raised in southern California, they often reside elsewhere.
Advanced Praise
“A spirited and vivacious retelling, this is like philosophy, but for anarchists. Insurrectionary, thought-provoking. This is a new Antigone for a new time.” —Lara Mimosa Montes, author of The Time of the Novel, Whiting Award Recipient
“In this glorious refrain, Bex Frankeberger cast a spell on their reader that slices across times and genre. Antigone at the Rot Party cracks fresh meaning and vivid storytelling. The future is ancient.” —Samantha Hunt, author of The Unwritten Book and The Dark Dark
“In a year where the classics seem especially relevant, Bex Frankeberger’s Antigone at the Rot Party does what all great reinterpretations must do: it seduces us into a story we already know. This is a strange, queer vision of Antigone, a bold declaration of a book that sharply critiques the intoxicating rot of power unchecked. But at its core, it’s a loving tribute to Frankeberger’s love for the original, the kind of text born out of literary obsession. Antigone at the Rot Party makes you remember why we spend our lives reading.” —Isle McElroy, author of Satellite and People Collide
“Antigone at the Rot Party resists comparison. It is a singular text that is full of depth, research, thought, and life. Bex Frankeberger splits Antigone open and exposes all of our rot—personal and collective, societal and familial. It is funny and moving and took my breath away. Frankeberger is a new favorite voice.” —Alexa Brahme, author of Good News
“A play and not a play, a novel but not quite, a translation, yes, and a wonderfully unique work all its own, Antigone at the Rot Party is a passionate, funny, clever game of what is and what isn’t, of what is found when breaking what seems immutable, and a fabulous celebration of the in-between. A delight!” —Gerardo Sámano Córdova, author of Imps! and Monstrilio
“When I was a teenager, Anouilh’s Antigone felt like a compass. Entering middle age, I am grateful for this original and necessary translation of Antigone. Bex Frankeberger gives this classic story a new and fresh perspective that speaks to the contradictions and complexities of our times.” —noam keim, author of The Land is Holy
“In Antigone at the Rot Party, Frankeberger unites the modern and ancient to create a singularly funny, tragic, and bittersweet narrative. Unusual and moving, they approach Antigone from an angle that feels genuinely surprising; one could not have thought of it before, but once you see it, you’ll see it that way forever.” —Albertine Clark, author of The Bodybuilders
Product Info
Publication date: 20 November 2026
Retail Price: $24
Format: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Cantine Press
ISBN: 979-8-9908152-2-3
Trim (pp): 5.5” x 8” (112 pp)
Orders will start shipping on November 23, 2026.
If you plan to attend one of our Bay Area launch events on November 20th and 21st, you can select “local pickup” and we will bring it to the event for you.
**NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!
A mysterious invitation slides under the door. Antigone opens it, holds it to the light, tries to discern its color, wonders about its faint scent of decay. But there is no mistake: she has been invited to the Rot Party. The question is: who will join her?
Antigone at the Rot Party is a post-modern translation of a pre-modern classic, asking age-old questions with new fervor and wit. What do we owe the dead? Can we be brave enough to act in their memory? Can we be brave enough to love?
Bex Frankeberger’s debut—kind of a play, kind of a novel—filters Antigone through queer theory and contemporary philosophy, bringing us uncannily close to the perennial nature of power and hubris. Against both, it jolts us to recognize that principled defiance is still the most potent, and timeless, of antidotes.
You are cordially invited to join Antigone at the Rot Party.
Bex Frankeberger is a writer and a horticulturist. Antigone at the Rot Party is their first novel. They were a 2024-2025 McCormack Writing Center Reading Fellow and their work has been published here and there, including Mizna and DizzyTV. Raised in southern California, they often reside elsewhere.
Advanced Praise
“A spirited and vivacious retelling, this is like philosophy, but for anarchists. Insurrectionary, thought-provoking. This is a new Antigone for a new time.” —Lara Mimosa Montes, author of The Time of the Novel, Whiting Award Recipient
“In this glorious refrain, Bex Frankeberger cast a spell on their reader that slices across times and genre. Antigone at the Rot Party cracks fresh meaning and vivid storytelling. The future is ancient.” —Samantha Hunt, author of The Unwritten Book and The Dark Dark
“In a year where the classics seem especially relevant, Bex Frankeberger’s Antigone at the Rot Party does what all great reinterpretations must do: it seduces us into a story we already know. This is a strange, queer vision of Antigone, a bold declaration of a book that sharply critiques the intoxicating rot of power unchecked. But at its core, it’s a loving tribute to Frankeberger’s love for the original, the kind of text born out of literary obsession. Antigone at the Rot Party makes you remember why we spend our lives reading.” —Isle McElroy, author of Satellite and People Collide
“Antigone at the Rot Party resists comparison. It is a singular text that is full of depth, research, thought, and life. Bex Frankeberger splits Antigone open and exposes all of our rot—personal and collective, societal and familial. It is funny and moving and took my breath away. Frankeberger is a new favorite voice.” —Alexa Brahme, author of Good News
“A play and not a play, a novel but not quite, a translation, yes, and a wonderfully unique work all its own, Antigone at the Rot Party is a passionate, funny, clever game of what is and what isn’t, of what is found when breaking what seems immutable, and a fabulous celebration of the in-between. A delight!” —Gerardo Sámano Córdova, author of Imps! and Monstrilio
“When I was a teenager, Anouilh’s Antigone felt like a compass. Entering middle age, I am grateful for this original and necessary translation of Antigone. Bex Frankeberger gives this classic story a new and fresh perspective that speaks to the contradictions and complexities of our times.” —noam keim, author of The Land is Holy
“In Antigone at the Rot Party, Frankeberger unites the modern and ancient to create a singularly funny, tragic, and bittersweet narrative. Unusual and moving, they approach Antigone from an angle that feels genuinely surprising; one could not have thought of it before, but once you see it, you’ll see it that way forever.” —Albertine Clark, author of The Bodybuilders
Product Info
Publication date: 20 November 2026
Retail Price: $24
Format: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Cantine Press
ISBN: 979-8-9908152-2-3
Trim (pp): 5.5” x 8” (112 pp)
Orders will start shipping on November 23, 2026.
If you plan to attend one of our Bay Area launch events on November 20th and 21st, you can select “local pickup” and we will bring it to the event for you.
