Plenty of queer or queer-ish books have been adapted into films through the years (though not enough if you ask me), and some of them are better than the movies they inspired. Some of them are equally as good as their film adaptations and perhaps offer something a bit different. I’ve compiled a list of queer book-to-film adaptations in case you’re looking for your next read or your next movie night pick. A note: Books that have been adapted into a series are not included on this list. Also, you’re encouraged to chime in in the comments about whether you think the book or movie is better, because we’re not the absolute authority here and people approach/evaluate adaptations differently! Tell me your thoughts!

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier / Rebecca (1940) and Rebecca (2020)

Both the original novel and the 1940 film are classics for a reason! And then there’s the 2020 film, which…no!

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson / The Haunting (1963) and The Haunting (1999)

An all-time banger book and an all-time banger film —the first one at least. While I do love a lot of the campy fun in the 1999 version (and Catherine Zeta-Hones is SO hot in it), the 1963 adaptation of The Haunting of Hill House reigns supreme as far as film adaptations of Shirley Jackson novels go.

The Fox by D. H. Lawrence / The Fox (1967)

I have not been able to get my hands on this slim novella by D.H. Lawrence of Women in Love and Lady Chatterley’s Lover fame, and now I am consumed with an obsession to read it! The film is one of the first on-screen depictions of a queer women couple on screen and is strikingly complex in its contemplations of gender and sexuality for 1967, much like Lawrence’s work was often ahead of its time on the same subjects. Adapting a novella is so slay (I say, as someone who has written and published a novella. Call me, Hollywood!)

Thérèse and Isabelle by Violette Leduc / Thérèse and Isabelle (1968)

While the erotic novel finally got a reprint thanks to my favs over at Feminist Press, the film version of Thérèse and Isabelle is more difficult to find (this usually goes the other way when it comes to lesbian books/movies!). Both are fantastic and hot and head of their time, equally!

Desert of the Heart by Jane Rule / Desert Hearts (1985)

The 1964 novel shares a lot of the same strengths with its feature film adaptation, one of the best movies of all time. Both are imbued with sensuality and a fully realized queer relationship that feels ahead of its time both for 60s literature and 80s film. I’m calling this one a tie.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker / The Color Purple (1985) and The Color Purple (2023)

I mean, Alice Walker’s The Color Purple is simply one of the greatest novels ever, so on-screen adaptations have ginormous shoes to fill. The book ultimately wins here. The first and only Pulitzer Prize winning novel to feature a queer Black protagonist, it has stood the test of time. Its film adaptations, while having many merits including their performances, fall short in terms of portraying queerness with the same depth and specificity of the novel.

Orlando: A Biography by Virginia Woolf / Orlando (1992) and Orlando, My Political Biography (2023)

Adapted many times for the stage and as opera, Virginia Woolf’s novel Orlando gets told over and over again, and for good reason: The book fucking rules. There’s of course the iconic Tilda Swinton-starring film adaptation from the 90s, but more recently, Paul B. Preciado made the genre-bending film Orlando, My Political Biography, not exactly a straight (lol) adaptation but an evolution of the work that is direct about Orlando‘s inherent transness.

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg / Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)

The book is more explicitly gay than the movie, but my perhaps controversial opinion is that it’s kind of a tossup as to which of the two is better.

Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang by Joyce Carol Oates / Foxfire (1996)

You’re either a Joyce Carol Oates reader or you’re not, but if you are, Foxfire is a must-read. It’s different in many ways from than the movie for sure —for starters, the novel is set in upstate New York in the 1950s, and the film is set in the Pacific Northwest in the 1990s. I’d call the film more of a loose adaptation. But the novel is worth checking out if JCO’s dark, intense style is your vibe.

The Wives of Bath by Susan Swan / Lost and Delirious (2001)

This 1993 novel is based on the author’s own experiences at an all-girls college, and though I have yet to read it, I am immediately intrigued and will be rectifying that ASAP. It sounds like it could have the potential to be…better than the film? And I say that as someone who actually loves this movie. So if you have intel on the novel, let me know.

The Hours by Michael Cunningham / The Hours (2002)

They’re both perfect!!!!!! No notes!!!! No really, I have already written extensively about my love for both the novel and the film The Hours. They are distinct works from one another, but they share many of the same strengths. I mean, the novel literally won the Pulitzer (and I love Chicago, but The Hours should have won the Oscar in my extremely biased opinion).

What Was She Thinking? Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller / Notes on a Scandal (2006)

This book and film are equally disturbingand both mordantly humorous at times. It has been a while since I read the book so I would need to revisit, but my initial instinct is that the film is better.

I Can’t Think Straight by Shamim Sarif / I Can’t Think Straight (2008)

I think we’re long overdue for a cultural reconsideration of I Can’t Think Straight the movie, a film often maligned for being a corny rom-com. But not only does it deliver on romance, it also contains critiques of Israel’s occupation of Palestine. Like the film though, the book is lukewarm in these critiques.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson / The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2009) and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

You’re likely familiar with both the novel and the 2011 David Fincher-directed versions of Lisbeth Salander’s story, but in 2009 there was also a Swedish-language film adaptation of the book starring Noomi Rapace (and then subsequently Swedish versions of the full trilogy like the American film franchise), and a lot of people prefer the Swedish iterations.

Farewell, My Queen by Chantal Thomas / Farewell, My Queen (2012)

I hear from the historical fiction heads in my life that the 2002 novel is quite good! Gay Marie Antoinette! (I always wish this movie were better than it is, but the performances are solid.)

Blue Is the Warmest Color by Julie Maroh / Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013)

If you hated the film Blue Is the Warmest Color (I did not, but I understand why people did), it’s extremely possible you will actually enjoy the graphic novel upon which it’s based!

Valencia by Michelle Tea / Valencia (2013)

Michelle Tea’s iconic lesbian autobiographical novel has an honestly equally iconic arthouse film adaptation in which 21 different queer directors each took on one of the book’s 21 chapters, including Cheryl Dunye, Joey Soloway, and more. If you haven’t read the book, do it! If you haven’t seen the film, do it! They’re both great examples of queer art that actually takes risks and go against both mainstream publishing and film.

The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith / Carol (2015)

Don’t make me choose between The Price of Salt and Carol, because I simply cannot! Both the book and film are so fucking good and also just represent great adaptation work in the sense that they’re quite different while still maintaining the same general story and also evoking the same moods, emotions, and themes.

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters / The Handmaiden (2016)

The Handmaiden is a masterclass in adaptation, taking the original Victorian-era Britain setting of the Sarah Waters crime thriller Fingersmith and transposing it to Japanese-occupied Korea. It’s a resplendent example of how adaptation can (and should, in my opinion) shift and reimagine while still maintaining the same themes, moods, and general story beats as the original work. Fingersmith is a great novel and totally worth reading if you haven’t, but it’s impossible to really compare the quality of these works when they’re ultimately so different and still so tethered (though I will say, The Handmaiden is one of my favorite films, and Fingersmith isn’t even my favorite Sarah Waters novel).

Half in Love and Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It by Maile Meloy / Certain Women (2016)

I love that the triptych of stories in Certain Women are based on short stories! More short stories should be adapted to film! Maile Meloy’s short fiction is usually set in the American West and portrays complicated female characters, so if that’s your jam, you’ll find much to love.

Disobedience by Naomi Alderman / Disobedience (2017)

I’m partial to the sex scenes in the film over the book, as they are much more specific and erotic than anything we get in the book, which is an ever quieter and slower slow-burn.

Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu / The Carmilla Movie (2017) and Carmilla (2019)

I mean, listen, the odds are kind of stacked against any attempts to adapt one of the greatest vampire novels ever written. And while the modern film representations of Carmilla’s story get to be more explicitly queer than the original, it’s just impossible to compete with such a profoundly influential piece of literature.

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer / Annihilation (2018)

Though vastly different from the movie, the first novel in Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach series is brilliant and a must-read for sci-fi horror fans. The first book isn’t as explicitly queer as the film —there’s a lot of intentional distance between the reader and the characters —but the full series does feature queer perspectives, especially the third book. If Annihilation the movie unsettled you, the book will do so ten times over.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth / The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018)

I prefer the Desiree Akhavan-directed film, and my coworker Drew Burnett Gregory prefers the book. I think that’s simply a testament to the fact that both are very good!

Can You Ever Forgive Me?: Memoirs of a Literary Forger by Lee Israel / Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)

Listen, if you’re drawn to the unlikeability of Melissa McCarthy’s filmic portrayal of Lee Israel, buckle up to read Lee Israel herself. It’s funny, brash, and a thrill of a read.

A Simple Favor by Darcey Bell / A Simple Favor (2018)

Given my love for this film, the book is…disappointing. Maybe you’ll like it more if somewhat rote thrillers are your jam. The queer subtext is not really giving in the book though, so do with that information what you will!

Adam by Ariel Schrag / Adam (2019)

It will perhaps not shock you that this controversial and divisive film is based upon a controversial and divisive book. But the vitriol surrounding Adam often obscures the things both the book and film do do well.

Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances by Maureen Johnson, John Green, and Lauren Myracle / Let it Snow (2019)

Here we have an instance of the film adaptation injecting a queer storyline that isn’t present in the book version. I do love when adaptations do this! However, it means I’m less interested in the book.

Fear Street book series by R. L. Stine / Fear Street film series (2021)

Here we have another instance of the film adaptation adding a queer storyline where there was none in the original source material. The trilogy of Fear Street films by Netflix are loose adaptations of the popular horror book series by R.L. Stine, borrowing tropes, vibes, and aesthetics from the books rather than perfectly adapting them. The books offer nostalgic fun though, even if they’re not explicitly queer.

How To Blow Up a Pipeline by Andreas Malm / How To Blow Up a Pipeline (2022)

This is less of a direct adaptation as the original book is a work of nonfiction and the film is narrative (and the best queer Christmas movie), but Daniel Goldhaber’s brilliant movie pulls significantly from the ideas put forth by Malm’s climate activism manifesto. Both the book and the movie are urgent and essential contemplations of the current state of climate crisis we’re in and what it will truly take to curb it and survive.

Find a Way: The Inspiring Story of One Woman’s Pursuit of a Lifelong Dream by Diana Nyad / Nyad (2023)

This striking sports film was preceded by a striking sports memoir by Nyad herself. And if sports memoirs are your thing, you should definitely check it out.

Poor Things by Alasdair Gray / Poor Things (2023)

I haven’t read the 1992 novel — whose full title is Poor Things: Episodes from the Early Life of Archibald McCandless M.D., Scottish Public Health Officer —but boy do I want to! I’m always interested in adaptations that do things in their new medium that aren’t possible in the original work, and since the film is so visually immersive, I’d be curious how the story works when that’s stripped away. My minimal research indicates there might not be any queer sex in the novel, but I’m still intrigued.

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