There’s never a bad time to add more queer books by Black authors to your TBR, but Black History Month is an especially good time to do so, especially if you’re buying them from a Black-owned bookstore.
I’ve gathered together 26 queer books by Black authors out in 2026, but this isn’t a complete list. Consider it a starting point. My original list had so many queer YA books by Black authors I wanted to talk about that I decided to make that its own list, so you can expect that next week.
I’ve included the scheduled release date for titles that aren’t out yet. Most of these are available to preorder, which is a great way to support the book and signal to publisher that it’s getting attention. There are also quite a few that came out in the first few weeks of the year, so you can snap those ones up now without having to wait.
They All Fall in Love at the End by Haili Blassingame (Polyamorous Bisexual Fiction) (June 2)
I can’t resist a book about a messy bisexual love triangle. Cat is a 24-year-old novelist who is in an open relationship with her boyfriend, Jay. She’s excited to start exploring the freedom of her polyamorous dating life, but she doesn’t expect to fall for Jay’s best friend, Tristan, who is in a monogamous relationship. To make things even messier, she also develops feelings for Tristan’s girlfriend, Nia. “Cat is determined to have it all—or blow up her life trying.”
Belonging to the Air by Avery Irons (Queer Fiction)
Bird grew up with her mother and grandmother in the freedmen’s town her great-grandfather founded: Bennettsville, Illinois. As a young adult, she fell in love with her best friend and moved to Harlem to find the freedom to be herself. A decade later, she returns home to reconcile with her family. She finds in the intervening time that the neighboring white town of Tuckersville has started encroaching on Bennettsville, trying to drive Black families out.
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There’s Only One Sin in Hollywood by Rasheed Newson (Queer Fiction) (June 2)
From the author of My Government Means to Kill Me, this novel follows Xavier C. Barlow, a Black actor whose fame in the late 1950s was comparable to Sidney Poitier. He died at the height of his popularity, and years later, the true story of his life—and its untimely end—comes to light. Aaron Touissant was the studio’s “backlot fixer” who kept stars in the closet, and he’s ready to expose the culprits behind Xavier C. Barlow’s tragic story.
Fire Sword and Sea by Vanessa Riley (Queer Historical Fiction)
This historical fiction exploration of the legendary pirate Jacquotte Delahaye shows that the real Pirates of the Caribbean were Black queer women! On the 17th century Caribbean Sea, Jacquotte disguises herself as Jacques to become a dockworker and eventually a pirate. She finds other women also disguising themselves as men, and they band together. She also falls for the courtesan Lizzôa d’Erville. But when her fellow pirates decide to cash in on the slave trade, Jacquotte plans a war of liberation instead.
Last First Kiss by Julian Winters (M/M, Pansexual, Demisexual Romance)
Julian Winters is well known for both his queer YA books, like Running with Lions, and his adult M/M romances, like I Think They Love You. In this second-chance adult M/M romcom, Jordan is planning a high-profile wedding when he discovers the man of honor is Jamie, the guy who broke his heart as a teen. Despite his best efforts—and the fact that he’s still questioning his identity and labels—Jordan can’t stay away, and soon their verbal sparring turns into hook-ups. Early reviews say this is a gorgeous love story with great demisexual representation!
Black as Diamond by U.M. Agoawike (Queer Fantasy) (March 3)
When his brother’s squadron disappears near the border, Asaru goes to the human realm to investigate. Unfamiliar with this world, he is ensnared by a curse and accidentally commits a crime. His only chance of escape—and rejoining his community without cursing them too—is finding the Chronicler, whose knowledge of history could unlock everything. Joining him on the search is Wren, a healer with dangerous magic.
The Feywild Job (Dungeons & Dragons) by C. L. Polk (Nonbinary Romantasy) (June 3)
I was delighted to learn that C. L. Polk, author of Even Though I Knew the End and Witchmark, has a queer romantasy book out this year that’s an official D&D novel! Saeldian is a con artist whose magic comes from a pact to never fall in love. Their latest job is to steal “The Kiss of Enduring Love” gem and return it to the feywild. But things get more complicated when Saeldian learns his ex, Kell, is part of the team. Working together reignites sparks between them, but they also learn that this heist has higher stakes than they were led to believe. I can’t wait to read this cozy romantasy heist story set in the feywild!
Bytchcraft by Aaron Reese, Bex Glendining, Lema Carril, and Morgan Martinez (Queer Fantasy Graphic Novel)
In this graphic novel, Adriyel, Michele, and Em are friends in a queer coven together, each with their own magickal path: an oracle, a nature wytch, and a necromancer. When they accidentally cause a magical imbalance in New York, they catch the eye of a powerful enemy. They also learn they’re at the center of an ancient prophecy, with the fate of the world in the balance.
A Black Queer History of the United States by C. Riley Snorton and Darius Bost (Queer Nonfiction)
This Black queer history of the U.S. explains that “gender and sexual expression have been an intimate and intricate part of Black freedom struggle,” highlighting the queer, trans, and gender-nonconforming Black Americans who shaped the country. It includes the stories of Private William Cathay/Cathay Williams, Josephine Baker, Bayard Rustin, Amanda Milan, and more. “Through storytelling and other narratives, Snorton and Bost show how the Black queer community has always existed, regardless of the attempts to stamp it out, and how those in it continue to fight for their rightful place in the world.”
… and 17 More Queer Books by Black Authors Out in 2026
- Jackson Alone by Jose Ando, translated by Kalau Almony (Queer Men Thriller)
- The Rhythm of Raine at Dawn by Aricka Alexander (F/F Romance)
- Mine, Yours & Ours by Karmen Lee (F/F Mafia Romance)
- On Sundays She Picked Flowers by Yah Yah Scholfield (Sapphic Horror)
- The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram by Ethelene Whitmire (Queer Man Biography)
- The Fire Inside: The Dharma of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde by Rima Vesely-Flad Ph.D. (Queer Nonfiction)
- Soulmate as a Verb by Kelsey L. Smoot (Trans Poetry) (February 24)
- A Body Made Home: They Black Trans Love by K. Marshall Green (Trans Memoir) (February 24)
- Promise/Threat by Jonah Mixon-Webster (Queer Poetry) (March 10)
- Devil of the Deep by Falencia Jean-Francois (Trans and Queer Fantasy) (April 7)
- Pure Men by Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, translated by Lara Vergnaud (Queer Fiction) (June 2)
- The Ties Between Us by Chencia C. Higgins (F/F Romance) (June 2)
- The Double Dutch Fuss: A Memoir by Phill Branch (Queer Guy Memoir) (June 2)
- Transcendent by Laverne Cox (Trans Woman Memoir) (June 9)
- Love is a Contact Sport by Frederick Smith (M/M Romance) (June 16)
- The Case of Elmwood Ranch by Deanna Grey (Bisexual F/F Paranormal Romance) (July 15)
- The Fall Fix Up by Karmen Lee (F/F Romance) (October 6)
For even more queer books by Black authors, check out:
English (US) · 