20 Must-Read New Queer Books Out in May 2026

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May is a huge publishing month in general, and it’s even bigger in queer books, as publishers rush to get titles to shelves in time for Pride month. I have a big list of 20 books to share with you today, but this barely scratches the surface! My personal spreadsheet has over 100 May releases on it, and it’s only growing.

Highlights of the new queer books out in May include a nonbinary epic, a gay secret society mystery, an oblivious-to-lovers M/M romantasy, an aromantic anthology, and a trans mash-up of Sailor Moon, Sex and the City, and House of Leaves.

New Queer Books Out in May 2026

John of John by Douglas Stuart (May 5)

Booker Prize winner Douglas Stuart delivers John of John, one of the most highly anticipated novels of the year, about a young man who returns to his home in the Hebrides islands to reckon with the tension between his family’s expectations and his own desires. —Rebecca Schinsky

Canon by Paige Lewis (May 19)

Do you love riotously original novels that make you feel like nothing will ever be the same after you read tehm? Then get ready to have your brains melted by this incredible debut. It’s about Yara, who receives a message from God, telling them they need to slay one of the Earth’s Bad Guys. Not one to question a missive from above for too long, Yara strikes a deal and sets off on their assignment. Meanwhile, a downcast prophet with a hidden power is hoping to get in good with the man upstairs and carries out her own plan. So prepare yourself: Canon is a mind-bending adventure about life, death, and fate that will ruin your life, in the best way. —Liberty Hardy

Pretend You’re Dead and I Carry You by Julián Delgado Lopera (May 26)

Ignacio is overcome by his grief over his late wife—and over the man he loved and lost in his youth. His teen daughter, Valentina, is left to raise herself. She finds an unexpected mother figure in Mamadora Eléctrica, a queen who steps in to help her just as she did with her father years ago. But Mamadora suspects that Ignacio has unleashed a curse on them. —Danika Ellis

The Outer Country by Davin Malasarn (May 5)

When Ben’s aunt moves into their Los Angeles home from Thailand, she quickly becomes a second mother figure for him. As he grows up to become more feminine, though, she suspects he is being possessed by the spirit of a dead girl and secretly arranges a Buddhist exorcism. The event changes his life forever, even as he suppresses the memory. He’ll have to accept his queerness and face generations of his family’s past in order to move forward.

Davin Malasarn wrote an essay for Book Riot called “Four Faces of a True Story” about how his experience inspired this novel, and I highly recommend reading it! —Danika Ellis

The Tuxedo Society by Paul Rudnick (May 26)

For fans of improv, espionage, and gay secret societies!

Andrew Birnbaum is in his mid-twenties, working in a candle shop, and dreaming of being an entertainer. When he’s invited to a dinner party by his best friend for the Tuxedo Society, his world is turned upside down: the seemingly wealthy socialites at the dinner are really a team on a covert mission, and they want Andrew for his improv skills! —Jamie Canaves

The Miseducation of Caroline Bingley by Lindz McLeod (May 5)

The second in the Austentatious series (after The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennet), The Miseducation of Caroline Bingley reintroduces us to the title character, who can’t believe she missed out on the marriage of a lifetime. But all of the criticism of her own character has led her in search of a way to become more of a perfect debutante, in order to secure a good marriage. To that end, she seeks out Georgiana Darcy, the most perfect woman she knows. But lessons on being a good person might be leading to something else, and neither of them is particularly interested in securing a husband.

(PS, if you’re thinking, “Wait, didn’t Georgiana Darcy already have a queer romance this year?” You are correct.) —Jessica Pryde

Bromantasy by Máire Roche (May 26)

When all of the promotional material is like “two heroes, one brain cell” and “what if David Rose got dropped into The Princess Bride?” you know I’m firmly sat, holding out my hand in my best “you have phone? Give” gesture.

Juniper and Mo have been best friends for as long as either can remember, and now they’re roommates. They look out for each other, but Juniper is certain that wanderlustful Mo is going to leave him one day. Juniper is happy where he is, and doesn’t particularly see himself as a person capable of being out in the world. So when he accidentally volunteers them both for a quest, he’s less than ready to go kill a monster. But going out beyond what he knows with Mo? Well, that sounds like the best thing he’s ever done. —Jessica Pryde

A Star-Cursed Heart by Annie Mare (May 19)

Did somebody say New Annie Mare?! This one has a centuries-old curse keeping our star-crossed lovers apart…or is it? Lucy and Ash’s families were cursed in the age before the Salem Witch Trials, and they have been at odds ever since. Lucy, the newest recipient of the curse, is destined to take people’s souls, and Ashes is destined to stop her. But before the curse came into play, they were the loves of each other’s lives. Can they try to end the curse and save their future? —Jessica Pryde

Plastic, Prism, Void: Part One by Violet Allen (May 19)

This trans romantasy is a mash-up of Sailor Moon, Sex and the City, and House of Leaves—what more could you want? It’s the classic story: “She was a trans girl who was also an intergalactic moth-goddess. He was a trans guy who piloted a giant robotic tiger.” They had a tumultuous enemies-to-lovers romance before their universes diverged. Now, he’s back, and Acrasia will stop at nothing to keep him in her life—even if it means endangering both their worlds. —Danika Ellis

A Long and Speaking Silence (The Singing Hills Cycle #7) by Nghi Vo (May 5)

The Singing Hills Cycle is a fantasy novella series following Chih, a nonbinary cleric, but they can be read as standalones. This volume is Chih’s backstory as they just began as a cleric, documenting the horrific stories of the refugees arriving at Luntien, where they are greeted with suspicion and hostility. Meanwhile, Chih stumbles on a mystery ties to their abbey in Singing Hills. —Danika Ellis

New Queer Young Adult and Children’s Books Out in May 2026

Being Aro: A Collection of Aromantic Fiction About Love, Connection, and Empowerment edited by Madeline Dyer and Rosiee Thor (May 26)

This year, we’re getting the follow-up to the anthology Being Ace, Being Aro! These 12 YA short stories in a range of genres celebrate aromantic love, including: “A high school matchmaker learns a lesson about love. A rebellious spaceship pilot defies his culture’s compulsory coupling. A boy magically transforms banned romance novels into living dragons. A teen immune to romance, and the zombie virus, fights to survive the apocalypse.” —Danika Ellis

Queerleaders by Olivia A. Cole and Ashley Woodfolk (May 19)

When Davie Cathee joined the Oak Haven High cheerleaders three years ago, every other cheerleader on the squad came out as queer. They became the queerleaders of the school.

But now Davie is the cheer squad’s captain, and there’s a vicious rumor spreading that she only allows queer people on the team. Charges of discrimination abound, and now, Davie has to recruit at least one straight cheerleader or face losing team funding from the school.

So when Kendall Hayes shows up, and Davie sees she’s got a boyfriend, Davie also sees her opportunity to recruit a straight girl. Too bad that Kendall and her boyfriend broke up and that Kendall is actually bisexual.

The two of them will now need to keep all those things under wraps to keep the cheer squad viable. Too bad the two of them are developing some Big Feelings for each other. —Kelly Jensen

Shapes of Love by L.V. Peñalba (May 19)

Sasha is a 19-year-old musician whose album of love songs has gone viral. Everyone is gossiping about who her muse is, the one who broke her heart—and Sasha knows that they don’t want to hear that she’s asexual and aromantic, and that she used her favorite love stories from fiction as inspiration. When photos leak of her with her estranged best friend, Kai, Sasha is roped into a PR relationship with him for six months. The time together helps Sasha and Kai to mend their friendship, but Sasha resents having to fake a romance in a world that prioritizes romantic love over platonic love. —Danika Ellis

Meet Me at the Picket Line by Jasper Sanchez (May 26)

Jasper Sanchez is the author of The (Un)popular Vote, and now he’s back with another queer YA book! Eli’s summer job at a roadside tourist trap of a museum is objectively terrible, but he’s just glad he has a way to save up for a down payment on top surgery. That possibility is threatened by his coworker and school rival Efraín, who is trying to unionize the staff. Inititally, Eli reluctantly goes along, but he soon sees the value in what they’re doing. When management gets suspicious, he has to decide whether to stand by his convictions and the boy he’s falling for—even if it means putting his chance at top surgery at risk. —Danika Ellis

Smash or Pass by Birdie Schae (May 12)

Ellie forces herself to do everything Right. By dating the Right person and acting the Right way, she can avoid being made fun of or seen only for her autism. But when Ellie’s “Right” boyfriend dumps her before they’re supposed to go to beach volleyball camp together, she’s distraught. All of her plans are out the window.

Now, she’s going to get her boyfriend back. First up, going to Camp SMASH, which will help her get her reputation back. Too bad she’s paired up with Sierra, a volleyball legacy. Sierra, a girl who Ellie thinks might make getting her boyfriend back way more complicated than she bargained for.

Sierra, the girl for whom Ellie begins to think that breaking all of the “Right” rules is the Right thing to do. —Kelly Jensen

That Which Feeds Us by Keala Kendall (May 5)

Hawaiian author Keala Kendall just released her YA sapphic horror novel That Which Feeds Us earlier this month. Described as a “Hawaiian Gothic,” That Which Feeds Us is the story of a native Hawaiian teen girl who travels to Kōpaʻa Island Resort, a luxury vacation spot for the world’s wealthiest travelers. But she’s not there for a relaxing holiday; she’s looking for her missing sister. —Emily Martin

The Saw Mouth by Cale Plett (May 12)

Cedar was young when tortured souls woke up the machines, destroyed them, and set technology back decades. This moment was known as Autumn.

Now, 10 years later, Cedar has just experienced a family tragedy and is forced to move to the rural town of Sawblade Lake. But something is haunting Cedar there. It’s a long, rancid-smelling shadow. The thing is hellbent on getting Cedar, going as far as to prey on their new queer family.

Cedar’s beginning to see where and how the thing has woven through their life. It was there when their mother died inexplicably. There when their family went missing. There in the house where they grew up. It goes back as far as The Autumn, and now Cedar must dig deeper into themselves to understand what the thing is and what it wants with them.

This is a story that’s being compared to Compound Fracture and The Last Bookstore on Earth. It’s post-apocalyptic, it’s horror, and it’s very, very queer. —Kelly Jensen

Good Morning, Salwa, Volume 1 by Shazleen Khan (May 26)

This is the graphic novel adaptation of the beloved webcomic BUUZA!!. Set in 1997, it follows Zach, a phone operator, who receives a misdialed call from someone named Zhen. There’s an undeniable spark from the start, and Zach is bound and determined to track down Zhen. It leads him across multiple cities, missed connections, exes, frenemies, and more.

Good Morning, Salwa, is a queer romance set in a world inspired by the Silk Road history and both Asian and African Islamic cultures. It’s not entirely realistic, either: it blends magic and mystery within it. —Kelly Jensen

Opting Out by Maia Kobabe and Lucky Srikumar (May 5)

Opting Out follows Saachi, a new seventh grader who starts to feel out of place at school. All of Saachi’s friends and classmates are starting to get interested in dating—and, on top of that, everyone is starting to go through puberty, which Saachi is also finding difficult to deal with. Uncomfortable with the girl/boy binary, Saachi has to find their own path to follow. —Alice Nuttall

Also check out Gender Queer: The Annotated Edition by Maia Kobabe, out May 19th!

Queer and How We Got Here: A (Personal) History by Hazel Newlevant (May 12)

Part memoir and part history, Newlevant’s latest comic takes you inside their personal journey toward self-acceptance while also placing that journey into the larger context of queer history. Just in time for Pride Month, too! —Eileen Gonzalez

21 More New Queer Books Out May 12, 2026

As a bonus for All Access members, here are 21 more queer books out this week, including the queer and trans sci-fi novel Ignore All Previous Instructions by Ada Hoffman, the queer horror novel Make Me Better by Sarah Gailey, and the sapphic YA novel In Between Days by Camryn Garrett.