Pride month is in full swing, and for avid readers, that might mean looking for more representation in their books. There are a ton of new and old books celebrating the diversity of the LGBTQ+ experience to choose from. This list rounds up just a few of the authors behind those books. These writers are crafting stories for and by the community and they’re worth celebrating this month, and every month after.
1. Ocean Vuong
Ocean Vuong made waves with his debut novel, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous. The stunning story of a boy grappling with sexuality, identity, and class quickly became a New York Times Bestseller and remains an influential book for many. Vuong is also a celebrated poet, having received a Ruth Lilly Fellowship from the Poetry Foundation. His poetry collection, Night Sky With Exit Wounds, takes aim at the human experience, from poems about romance to ones about familial bonds. Vuong says he draws inspiration for his work from his intersectional identities as a Vietnamese-American, gay man from an immigrant family.
2. Rivers Solomon
For fans of speculative fiction that incorporates themes of race and generational trauma, Rivers Solomon delivers powerfully unique narratives for all readers. Solomon is a non-binary and intersex author with a number of novels under their belt as well as work published in places like The New York Times and Guernica. Their novel, The Deep, was a smash hit that won a Lambda Award. The book sets up an underwater society built by the descendants of African slave women. It takes the classic mermaid tale and spins a wholly new story of memory, loss, and belonging.
3. Fatimah Asghar
Fatimah Asghar is a multifaceted storyteller with experience in fiction and poetry, but also filmmaking. If They Come for Us was their debut poetry collection and in it, Asghar takes a raw, emotional look at what it means to be a woman and all the joys and sorrows that come with it. Each poem unravels a new aspect of identity and is unafraid of confronting the generational effects of violence. Fatimah Asghar has extended their reach into the world of TV and film with projects like Brown Girls and Eartha. Brown Girls tells the story of a friendship between two women of color coming of age and finding solace in each other despite their different experiences.
4. Alice Oseman
The success of Heartstopper has made Alice Oseman a well-known name to many. Oseman got her start young, publishing her first book at only 19 years old. Since then, her graphic novels and the Netflix series adaptation of the same name have captured the hearts of global audiences. Her stories capture a youthful perspective on coming into one’s identity and intersperse explorations of queerness with explorations of all the other challenges and discoveries that come with being a teenager. Oseman is not only an author but also an illustrator and producer, showcasing her many talents in a variety of mediums.
5. Xiran Jay Zhao
Fantasy is a genre that has lacked diversity in the past but with more and more authors drawing from underrepresented cultural histories and injecting new life into the genre, representation is on the rise. Xiran Jay Zhao is a New York Times Bestselling author bringing their own twists on a tried-and-true method of storytelling. Their YA fantasy trilogy, Iron Widow, draws from both Chinese history and modern science fiction themes. The novels also offer depictions of bisexuality and polyamory, things one is hard-pressed to find in other books like it. Zhao also writes middle-grade books and has said that their own struggles with identity as a child pushed them to write stories with queer and diaspora representation for the next generations.
6. Akwaeke Emezi
Akwaeke Emezi is yet another multi-hyphenate on this list, with credits in writing, filmmaking, and music, to name a few. The Nigerian-born writer has made appearances on the cover of TIME magazine and has been called “one of our greatest living writers” by Shondaland. Their novel, Pet, is a standout in the young adult genre. It holds up a mirror to society all while creating a unique fantasy world as its backdrop. Pet forces readers to contend with how the lines between good and evil are so often blurred and what it’s like to be a kid in a world where the adults you trust don’t ever truly listen. Pet features a young transgender protagonist but this is yet another fact of life in the town of Lucille, treated as simply and skillfully as any other aspect of the story. Emezi’s newest novel, Little Rot, releases on July 4, 2024.
7. Aiden Thomas
Aiden Thomas’s novel, Cemetery Boys, is just one of the author’s young adult novels to become quick bestsellers. But this particular book holds a special title as the first book on the New York Times Bestseller list “written by an openly transgender author and featuring a trans character.” Thomas’s books not only feature realistic depictions of queer experiences but a strong dose of Mexican and Latinx-inspired fantasy elements, drawing from Thomas’s own cultural identity.
8. Garth Greenwell
Next on the list is an author whose work takes a more mature perspective on the queer experience. He has noted that promiscuity is “one of the virtues [he] most admire[s] in thinking, in art-making, in life.” This unabashed take on the human experience is evident in his writing. His novels, What Belongs to You and Cleanness examine desire, connection, and how a human emotion can quickly turn dark. Greenwell’s books have been chosen as New Yorker Books of the Year and finalists for several prestigious literary awards.
9. Ryan Douglass
Any avid YA reader is likely to have picked up a copy of The Taking of Jake Livingston. Douglass’s debut YA horror novel follows a young boy named Jake who can see ghosts. This supernatural aspect is not the only thing that makes it hard for him to fit in with his peers, however. He is gay and a Black student attending a predominantly white private school. Douglass seamlessly blends the supernatural and the ever-too-real in his writing. He explores themes of identity and belonging in ways that appeal to young and old audiences. Douglass also writes poetry and has writing featured in two upcoming horror anthologies.
10. Carmen Maria Machado
Carmen Maria Machado is known for her uniquely written memoir, In the Dream House, as well as the short story collection, Her Body and Other Parties. She has won the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction and the Shirley Jackson Award. Machado’s work explores womanhood through a myriad of lenses, exposing the scrutiny women face, from their bodies to their sexualities and beyond. She also portrays romantic relationships between women with truth and respect. Her memoir draws from her own experiences with domestic abuse to show the good, bad, and the ugly of loving another person. In the process, she breaks down stereotypes surrounding queer relationships and the LGBTQ+ community as a whole.
