June is Pride month, and while I would like to say I could coordinate my reading in such a way that the reviews lined up for June, I don’t have that kind of organizational flexibility right now. Instead, I want to share an array of books I have read featuring LGBTQ authors and characters. I’m sure I’m missing some, and it’s possible I’ve miscategorized some content (please tell me if I have). Basically, this post is for you to pursue and see if you’re inspired to pick up a book for Pride month.
l: lesbian writers and characters
G: gay writers and characters
I suspect it’s because I do not review books by people who identify as male that I have such a small section of gay characters/authors.
b: bisexual writers and characters
t: trans writers and characters
Q: queer writers and characters
Grab the Lapels 
Excellent list! Well, True Biz, obviously – I can add some more though as I managed to read and review four LGBTQIA+ books this month: Nevada by Imogen Binnie is a queer trans road trip novel, Lark and Kasim Start a Revolution by Kacen Callender is a YA novel with very wide representation. Four Movements by Sally Brooks is a novel full of gay women but self-published so harder to find. That’s my female-identifying authors list for you and the other readers. Happy Pride Month!
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I looked up the Sally Xerri-Brooks novel and see that it is out of print, but it is a Kindle book for $3.99, so at least in the U.S. we can get digital copies!
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Great list! I love Becky Chambers so much and have read all her books. I am hoping to get to The Misfit’s Manifesto this summer. Not planning on reading Monica Nolan, but I must say I love those pulpy covers!
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The Monica Nolan books were really smart and funny. I mean, you’re so aware that it is satire of the old pulp romance novels, but can’t escape the tongue-in-cheek of the women hooking up.
I only read the one Becky Chambers. I should do more, but I’m also thinking about reading those The Calculating Stars (Lady Astronaut) books by Mary Robinette Kowal.
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I’ve read Roxane Gay, Meaty, and True Biz. I think I’ve read Joe Jones but it was so long ago I don’t remember anything about it. I want to read Becky Chambers.
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I appreciate the detail Chambers puts into her novels, which bring to life characters that are invented space creatures. I actually don’t get on with much of Gay’s writing, but I understand that most folks do. I hope you keep reading Irby; she is a hoot. I have to get my hands on her new book.
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Gays are so often privileged white people that I would never seek out fiction for its gayness. Of course some authors I like (or think I should read) dump it on me anyway – yes, you Christos Tsiolkas, but that was also my reaction to Giovanni’s Room, which I think now I’ve read more Baldwin, I should try again.
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I think there are a lot of gay folks out there who aren’t white or privileged, so I’m not sure what you mean. In know in certain communities it is even less acceptable to be gay than in the white community, so it’s almost certain these folks are keeping their sexual identity and life to themselves. It might be that white gay people are more likely to get published, which is all the more reason to find what is out there in smaller markets. Interestingly, when I searched Google for “fiction by gay men,” I got lots of books by straight women writing gay characters. However, the Lambda Literary Award Winners Gay Men’s Fiction looks like a great place to start: https://lambdaliterary.org/awards/previous-winners-3/?a_search=&award_year=&award_classifications=&award_status=&award_categories=gay-fiction
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My point was that if I’m reading white, mainstream, literature and the characters happen to be gay or Jewish or whatever, as they often are, then I will go along with that. But I will not seek out literature for its gayness or Jewishness as I will Black and Indigenous Lit for instance.
Your Monica Nolan books make their point by being funny, and I appreciate that, but all too often white gays (and white feminists) claim victimhood without acknowledging their privilege.
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Ah, I see what you mean about white people, regardless of other minority status, not acknowledging their privilege.
I likely would seek out a book by a gay person who is not white so I can see what the another life is like, which is where the Lambda awards are helpful. The titles selected are about those topics, whereas with James Baldwin, you may get a whole story about a white man. He’s worth reading because he sure can write.
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I haven’t read many of these (except Woman on the Edge of Time, of course!) but you have reminded me that I want to read some of Patricia Highsmith’s work, so thank you for the nudge.
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You’re welcome. I’m quite a fan of how tense Strangers on a Train is. I didn’t love The Price of Salt as much.
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I enjoyed this little round-up, because it reminded me of some of the books you’ve reviewed in the past that I really loved the sounds of. I think I mentioned this in an earlier comment on your blog, but I’ve got the new Samantha Irby review coming tomorrow 😉
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You did! And she is a hoot. She did a reading near me (actually, she only lives about 75 minutes away). I met her wife, too. A nice, white, liberal lady, which is a riot.
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