Sadly, Gay Christmas is behind us. I feel like October is the queerest month of the year, including Pride Month. Luckily, we can comfort ourselves with a slate of new queer books out in November. There are trans and gay litfic novels, sapphic historical fiction books, an M/M paranormal YA romance, a queer romantasy, a picture book about gender, and lots of other books under the 2SLGBTQIAA+ umbrella to add your TBR.
If that’s not enough, All Access members can find a bonus list at the end of this post of 27 new queer books out this week!
Terry Dactyl by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore
Terry Dactyl is a trans woman raised by lesbian moms who comes of age in the 1980s. She moves from Seattle to New York City and builds a community in the queer and gender-bending club scene, even as it is torn apart by the AIDS epidemic. At her art gallery job, she tries to blend her worlds of elite art and club culture together.
20 years later, Terry moves back to Seattle during the COVID-19 pandemic, searching for community once again.
Palaver by Bryan Washington
This is one of the biggest literary fiction releases of the year, and it’s a finalist for the National Book Award. The unnamed main character of Palaver moved to Japan partly to escape his family: his homophobic brother and the mother who takes his side. He’s built a found family in his new home, though his love life is complicated: he’s sleeping with a married man. Ten years since he last spoke to his estranged mother, she shows up at his door, wanting to make amends. Slowly, over many difficult conversations, they begin to see each other more clearly.
Self Portrait by Ludwig Volbeda, translated by Lucy Scott
In this Dutch coming-of-age novel, Jip is a teenager struggling with an assignment he needs to complete during spring break: a self-portrait. The problem isn’t the drawing; he’s an artist. But he keeps getting distracted, thinking about beetles, an upcoming party, the new boy in class, and the boy who changed his life. The publisher says, “Ludwig Volbeda writes as he draws: sensitively, intimately, and with striking observations and metaphors that gradually give the reader insight into Jip’s innermost thoughts. What results is a magnificent self-portrait in words (and line art) and one of the more exquisite queer coming-of-age stories in years.”
Next Time Will Be Our Turn by Jesse Q. Sutanto
I love Jesse Q. Sutanto’s cozy mysteries, Dial A for Aunties and Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, so I’m thrilled to see her dipping her metaphorical toes into historical fiction. In Next Time Will Be Our Turn, Sutanto explores complicated family relationships and second chances. When Izzy Chen reluctantly shows up to her family’s annual Chinese New Year Celebration only to see her grandmother walk in with a stunning woman, everything she thought she knew about her family is turned on its head. Izzy’s reaction reminds Magnolia Chen of the girl she once was, prompting her to share her story of being sent to LA from Jakarta and finding herself caught between familial expectations and the girl she loved. —Rachel Brittain
The Devil She Knows by Alexandria Bellefleur
I love how creative paranormal romances are getting. This one pairs Samantha, who is determined to win back her ex, with Daphne, an actual demon. Samantha makes a deal with Daphne, exchanging her soul for wishes. Daphne, in turn, hopes she’s one step closer to being free of her own deal. As the two grow close, they realize their priorities are changing. I’m always eager to see how authors tackle the conundrum of finding a happy ending for a human and an otherworldly being. —Isabelle Popp
As Many Souls as Stars by Natasha Siegel
A witch and a demon are reunited by a Faustian bargain in every lifetime in this queer romantasy. To get out of her wretched, cursed life, Cybil Harding makes a deal with demon Miriam Richter: she can have Cybil’s soul in return for reincarnation. And in every life, Miriam is there to claim her reward, drawing them closer together each time Cybil is reborn. —Liberty Hardy
My Roommate From Hell by Cale Dietrich
Owen has a plan for college. He’s not here to have fun. He’s here to secure a good job that will set him up for a prosperous life. Unluckily for him, he’s arrived during the first hell/Earth exchange program, and his roommate is the literal prince of hell, Zar. Zar is just here to have fun, including bringing a rotating cast of guys to their room, throwing parties, and setting furniture on fire. They reach a mutually beneficial agreement, though: they will fake date and Owen will teach Zar how to act human. In exchange, Zar will set Owen up with a life-changing internship. Aiden Thomas calls this a “hilarious and charming descent into love, fake dating, and actual Hell. I couldn’t stop grinning.”
Deadly Ever After by Brittany Johnson
This magical queer romantasy debut is about princesses who need true love’s kiss to save them. But it’s not your ordinary fairytale. Amala and Kha’dasia meet when they wake up in the cursed forest. They have both died, but the gods of the forest promise them a second chance, if they can get a kiss from their true love. As the princesses work to meet the challenge, well…you can see where this is going, right? —Liberty Hardy
Where There’s Room For Us by Hayley Kiyoko
Yes, that Hayley Kiyoko! This YA romance is set in an alternate Victorian England. In Kiyoko’s version, people are free to love whomever they wish, but inheritance law is behind the times. Ivy and Freya, our main characters, are burdened with familial expectations. Their budding romance challenges them to take risks, and the result is a sweet sapphic historical romance. —Isabelle Popp
Beautiful Brutal Bodies by Linda Cheng
Linda Cheng’s sapphic standalone follow-up to Gorgeous Gruesome Faces is described as “a feral fairytale.” Tian, a singer-songwriter with a huge online following, is horrified to discover her fans have died from mysterious injuries while watching her livestream. Now, she’s escaped from the spotlight to hide out on a remote island with her best friend and only confidant, Liya, as well as her musical collaborator, Shenyu. What they think will be a restorative retreat ends up being anything but when horrifying rituals are revealed and terrible creatures await them in the wilds. —Emily Martin
My Gender, My Rules by Andy Passchier
My Gender, My Rules is a great introduction to discussing gender with young children. In this colourful book full of fascinating facts, My Gender, My Rules teaches about the different ways people express their gender; how important it is as a part of someone’s identity; and most crucially, that everyone gets to reach their own conclusions about their gender and deserves to have their feelings respected. —Alice Nuttall
27 New Queer Books Out This Week
As a bonus for All Access members, here are 27 more queer books out this week, including Gendertrash From Hell: The First Print Collection of the Zine That Changed Everything edited by Mirha-Soleil Ross, The King Must Die by Kemi Ashing-Giwa, Fire in Every Direction: A Memoir by Tareq Baconi, and Nothing Wanting: Asexuality and the Matter of Absence by KJ Cerankowski.
Thirst Trap by Gráinne O’Hare (Lesbian Fiction)
Town & Country by Brian Schaefer (Gay Fiction)
Palaver by Bryan Washington (Queer Guy Fiction)
Like Family by Erin O. White (Sapphic Fiction)
Discovering Nicola by Clare Ashton (F/F Romance)
Last First Kiss by Tatiana Gómez (F/F Romance)
Heaven Official’s Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu (Deluxe Hardcover Novel) Vol. 7 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (M/M Fantasy) (New deluxe edition)
Son of the Morning by Akwaeke Emezi (Bisexual Romantasy)
There’s Something Wrong with the Chief: Du Zhu You Bing (Novel) Vol. 1 by Yang Su (M/M Romantasy)
The Beauty’s Blade: Mei Ren Jian (novel) by Feng Ren Zuo Shu (F/F Historical Fantasy)
Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi (Deluxe Hardcover Novel) Vol. 1 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (M/M Historical Fantasy) (New deluxe edition)
The King Must Die by Kemi Ashing-Giwa (Queer Science Fiction)
Song of Spores by Bogi Takács (Nonbinary/Genderfluid Space Opera)
Fade into You by Amber Smith and Sam Gellar (F/F YA 90s Romance)
Where There’s Room For Us by Hayley Kiyoko (F/F YA Historical)
Hear Her Howl by Kim DeRose (Sapphic YA Werewolf Fantasy)
Deadly Ever After by Brittany Johnson (F/F YA Fantasy)
Beautiful Brutal Bodies by Linda Cheng (Sapphic YA Horror)
I Wanna Be Your Girl, Vol. 2 by Umi Takase (Trans Girl YA Manga)
Chris Makes a Friend by Alex Gino (Nonbinary Middle Grade Contemporary)
Banana Menorah by Lee Wind, illustrated by Karl West (Two Dads Hanukkah Picture Book)
The Past is a Grotesque Animal by Tommi Parrish (Trans Short Stories/Graphic Novel)
Fire in Every Direction: A Memoir by Tareq Baconi (Queer Memoir)
And the Dragons Do Come: Raising a Transgender Kid in Rural America by Sim Butler (Parent of a Trans Child Memoir)
Nothing Wanting: Asexuality and the Matter of Absence by KJ Cerankowski (Asexual Nonfiction)
Are You There, Spirit? It’s Me, Travis: Life Lessons from the Other Side by Travis Holp (Gay Nonfiction)
Gendertrash From Hell: The First Print Collection of the Zine That Changed Everything edited by Mirha-Soleil Ross (Trans Nonfiction)
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