It’s Pride month, which is the perfect excuse to buy and read a bunch of queer books. One method I really enjoy for finding new books is to take the recommendations of my favorite authors. Carmen Maria Machado hasn’t led me astray yet. Unfortunately, I don’t have these authors on speed dial, but luckily, they usually have shared their recommendations publicly.
Below I’ve put together queer book recommendations from 11 beloved queer authors. Some are from interviews where they discussed their favorite books, and others are book blurbs. Both the authors’ works and the books they recommend cover a wide spectrum of genres and formats, including graphic novels, literary fiction, poetry, biographies, horror, sci-fi, YA fantasy, and more, so there’s something for every kind of reader.
Akwaeke Emezi recommends…
Vagabonds! by Eloghosa Osunde“Some of the most spectacular writing I’ve ever encountered in my life… Vagabonds! brought me to tears because it gave me a world in which my country could be home again.” |
Under The Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta“[A] classic piece of literary fiction reminding us that queer people are a real and vital part of all our histories.” |
Oreo by Fran Ross“[A] satirical novel written by a Black queer woman and published in 1974. I consider it an indisputable genius-level text that should absolutely be taught widely.” |
Maia Kobabe recommends…
Gaysians by Michael Curato“I’ve been hunting for books like this my whole life; this story broke my heart and healed it.” (blurb) |
Trans History: A Graphic Novel: From Ancient Times to the Present Day by Alex L. Combs and Andrew Eakett“A well-researched, thoughtful, engaging look at trans and gender-nonconforming people through history and from all around the world. This book is very welcoming to newcomers but full of little gems for those of us who have been reading trans histories for years. Combs and Eakett come from within the trans community, and they also pass the mic to many other trans folks of different ages, races, nationalities, and identities to share non-white and non-Western experiences. A beautiful and compassionate primer!” (blurb) |
Gay the Pray Away by Natalie Naudus“For any reader who had their identity or sexuality constrained or compressed by religion, this book offers hope, compassion, and healing.” (blurb) |
Carmen Maria Machado recommends…
Confessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg“Confessions of the Fox is so goddamned good. Reading it was like an out-of-body experience. I want to run through the streets screaming about it. It should be in the personal canon of every queer and non-cis person. Read it.” (blurb) |
Stag Dance: A Novel & Stories by Torrey Peters“The stories in Stag Dance are potent and surprising and take no prisoners. How exquisitely Peters writes about the way we move towards ourselves—with the clarity of desire and the agony of resistance.” |
Don’t Call Us Dead: Poems by Danez SmithIncluded in an Instagram story as a favorite queer poetry book. |
Exclusive content for All Access members continues below. Read on for recommendations from Casey McQuiston, Tamsyn Muir, Alice Oseman, Torrey Peters, Rivers Solomon, Aiden Thomas, Ocean Vuong, and Andrew Joseph White.
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