Happy Pride Month! Given it is June, it felt fitting to share some of my very favorite books by LGBTQIA+ authors. From memoirs to short stories, poems to fiction, hopefully there’s something here for everyone.
As this is our first recommendation list, it feels important to share that based on personal experience, sometimes the more you know the more you can decide if a book is for you. Conversely, sometimes the less you know the more you’ll enjoy a book. With that in mind, I’ll give you a brief high-level synopsis so you get a sense of what the book is about, and include a link to the publisher-provided longer synopsis in case you want to read more.
Martyr! A Novel by Kaveh Akbar
Cyrus Shames is a queer Iranian American struggling with addiction and grief following the tragic death of his mother. With the image of his uncle, who rode on horseback through Iranian battlefields dressed as the angel of death to comfort dying soldiers, Cyrus embarks on a quest to make sense of death, martyrs and martyrdom.
Martyr! is lyrical and somewhat experimental in its construction. It is funny at times and moving throughout. I recommend it for anyone who enjoys the poetry of Hanif Abdurraqib or the writing style of Tommy Orange. While reading it, I also thought a lot about of the work of performance artist Marina Abramović, most especially her exhibit, The Artist is Present.
To read more or purchase, click here.
How We Fight For Our Lives by Saeed Jones
This memoir is a collection of stories and vignettes about life as a queer Black boy growing up in the south. Jones navigates themes of adolescence, racism, love, and sex, as well as the death of his mother. This book feels, in part, like a love letter to his late mother, and I wept reading it to my daughter when she was born (hey: they say it’s important to read to your babies when they’re born so they hear your voice, they didn’t specify it had to be age-appropriate).
Saeed Jones is not only a poet, but a culture critic. He can move you to tears with his beautiful poetry one minute, and have you crying with laughter with his caustic wit the next. If you don’t already, I highly recommend following him on social media (@theferocity) as well as checking out his podcast Vibe Check with Sam Sanders and Zach Stafford.
To read more or purchase, click here.
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
I think about this book only all of the time.
Ames thinks that by detransitioning, life will be easier lived as a cis man; but then he gets his girlfriend-slash-boss, Katrina, pregnant. Seeking to affirm his queer identity while embracing parenthood, Ames turns to his ex-girlfriend, Reese—a trans woman who has dreamed her whole life of being a mother—with a proposed parenting model that aims to get everyone what they want. But will everyone go for it?
I devoured this book. It’s complex and ambitious and one of the most unexpectedly beautiful examinations of what it means be a mother and feel “maternal”. Reese’s voice is distinct and captivating. I especially love the idea of a cis straight character being asked to fold into a non-heteronormative family model, where more often we see queer characters being asked to do the opposite.
I recommend this book most especially to anyone who loved the trans “cult classic” Nevada by Imogen Binnie.
To read more or purchase, click here.
You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat
This debut novel tells the story of a 30-something queer Palestinian-American protagonist (unnamed) as she navigates her Palestinian identity, her queerness and her obsession with what it means to love and be loved. Jumping from flashbacks in the Middle East to present day in the US, this book delves into the complexities of identity and desire while simultaneously negotiating cultural expectations. The narrative meanders, but it feels compelling enough to follow.
I recommend it if you enjoy first generation stories, particularly queer first gen stories, or if you enjoyed books like Behind You Is the Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj or Salt Houses by Hala Alyan.
To read more or purchase, click here.
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
I learned about this book in a Twitter (RIP) thread of all places. Someone asked for recommendations for women writers “crushing the feminist horror game.” I didn’t realize (a) that that was a genre, and (b) that it was a genre I desperately needed in my life.
This is a collection of short stories that are as sexy as they are bleak, as surreal as they are feminist. Machado is a gorgeous writer — rumor has it, one of my favorites! — and her work is unapologetic in its exploration of female sexuality. There’s a woman who wears a green ribbon around her neck but what happens if you untie it? Another that remembers all of her lovers who have since died of a plague spreading across the planet (p.s. this book was published in 2017). There are women who literally disappear when their body no longer fits conventional beauty standards.
The first story from this collection, The Husband Stitch, is available online here. Read it to see if Machado’s style might be for you.
To read more or purchase, click here.
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka
It’s 1990 in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, and Maali Almeida has woken up dead in the afterlife, a celestial visa office. Maali has been murdered with no idea who killed him. As a closeted gay man and a war photographer living in the midst of a country ravaged by a civil war, the list of suspects feels endless. But in the afterlife, Maali has been given seven moons to contact the man and woman he loves most in the living world to lead them to the evidence that will unravel the mystery of his death.
This book is wholly unique. Gritty, seedy, violent, tragic, imaginative, sensual, mystical. A mix of “holy sh*t” and “what the f*ck did I just read?” It will not be for everyone, but it might be for you.
To read more or purchase, click here.
The Selected Works of Audre Lorde
I debated whether or not to include this book here given, stylistically, it’s so different from the others. But a book list is only made better by the inclusion of Audre Lorde. It certainly doesn’t hurt that the incomparable “Bad Feminist” and professional leather jacket wearer Roxane Gay is the editor and author of the book’s introduction.
This is a collection of essays and poems examining queer theory, intersectional feminism, and race. Particularly with the current state of the world, Lorde’s words feel so vital: from “the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house”, to the oft quoted poem A Litany for Survival, this book is a great choice for an author whose work is so foundational.
To read more or purchase, click here.
What would you put on your Pride Cairn? Let us know in the comments.
Courtney x