“Judas Goat” by Gabrielle Bates Made Me Start Writing Again
Once I started Judas Goat, it was nearly impossible to put down.
Tess Sharpe’s New Queer YA Novel Will Have You Chanting “Kiss, Kiss, Kiss!”
As someone who grew up in a rural place, I really appreciated how authentically rural this novel felt.
“The Fixer” Is Slow Burn Lesbian Romance at Its Finest
Lee Winter is back with an age gap, ice queen romance that leaves you hanging.
Alison Rumfitt’s “Tell Me I’m Worthless” Is Fearlessly Honest About Modern Trans Life
In a time when so many popular examples of queer art have their edges sanded down, Alison Rumfitt’s Tell Me I’m Worthless is all edge.
Kristin Cashore’s “Seasparrow” Continues The Great Graceling Gaying
Like all the Graceling books, Seasparrow allows the woman at its center to be angry, and hurt, and confused, and scared and messy and even downright unlikable sometimes. That’s what makes the series great!
In a Year Full of Great Sapphic Holiday Romances, “Kiss Her Once for Me” Stood Out
Kiss Her Once for Me is a truly stellar example of not just a holiday romance or a queer romance, but of any kind of romance.
Queer Naija Lit: Hausa Is a Language of Love in Arinze Ifeakandu’s “God’s Children Are Little Broken Things”
To be human is to be, or not. To love, or not.
I’ll Never Look at the Ocean the Same Way After Reading Sabrina Imbler’s “How Far the Light Reaches”
Sea creatures become iridescent queer metaphors in this wonderfully queer memoir.
“Men I Trust” Is a Beautiful Graphic Novel About Loneliness, Connection, and Capitalism
Tommi Parrish’s stunning new graphic novel Men I Trust is about two lonely women. It appears to be the story of their connection, but as it unravels it becomes darker, deeper, and, ultimately, in its own way, more hopeful.
Queer Naija Lit: Akwaeke Emezi’s “The Death of Vivek Oji” Delves Into What Is Born in Death
Emezi’s ability to immerse the reader into multiple characters’ realities and tell a story that isn’t just one narrative but infinite is reminiscent of Toni Morrison, even as Emezi creates something entirely new in Vivek.
Fatimah Asghar’s New Novel Is a Salve for My Reality of Grief
Nothing lasts, though — not our parents, not our homes, not our relationships, not us.
Jeanna Kadlec’s “Heretic” Is a Memoir for the Witches Who Grew From Good Christian Women
Heretic is part memoir, part cultural critique, part political analysis, and part history, all viewed through the queer lens of a woman who grew up in the Midwest trying her hardest to be a Good Christian Girl, before finally accepting she’s a lesbian and nearly gnawing off her own arm to escape before she could be burned at the stake.
The Polyamory Workbook Offers Practical Tips for Navigating Any Relationship
I wish I could send pieces of this book to all of the people I have ever loved.
In “Helen House,” Sorrow Is an Inescapable Specter That Transforms Our Lives
What’s not left up for interpretation is Upadhyaya’s ability to craft a ghost story that both feels thoroughly new and also reminds of something that’s hard to forget or run away from: “We all do things to keep the dead with us.”
“The Family Outing” Is a Vivid Memoir of Neglect, Secrets, and the Power of Family
Over the course of five years, Jessi Hempel came out as a lesbian; her dad then came out as gay, her sister as bisexual, and her brother as trans.
Cecilia Gentili’s “Faltas” Is One of the Best Memoirs I’ve Ever Read
Faltas: Letters to Everyone in My Hometown Who Isn’t My Rapist is an exciting and, at times, breathtaking addition to the canon of works about “messy trans lives.”
“It Came From the Closet” Gave Me New Appreciation for the Horror Genre
Because we’re so frequently othered, many LGBTQ+ people find ourselves in horror film monsters.
Malinda Lo’s New Coming-of-Age Queer Novel “A Scatter of Light” Shines Brilliantly
Lo’s newest offering is beautifully composed, often feeling like a peek into your best friend’s hot (queer) girl summer.
Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha’s “The Future Is Disabled” Should Be Required Reading
After reading The Future is Disabled, I feel more hopeful, and I think you will, too.
Gender Nonconformity Has Always Existed
Trans activist and historian Kit Heyam’s new book Before We Were Trans: A New History of Gender examines gender nonconformity throughout history.