Adult Fiction
Emmy-nominated writer, actor, and producer of Netflix’s Special ‘s JUST BY LOOKING AT HIM, in which a gay TV writer with cerebral palsy who, despite his perfect boyfriend, can’t stop cheating with a sex worker while in search of something bigger, to Michelle Herrera Mulligan at Atria, at auction, for publication in spring 2022, by Kent Wolf at Neon Literary (NA).
‘s ROUGH RIDE and FOOL’S GOLD, the next two installments in the award-winning SPIRES series, along with the first four previously-published books and LOOKING FOR GROUP, as well as HUSBAND MATERIAL and THE AMNESIA PLOT, two additional LGBTQIA+ romances in the BOYFRIEND MATERIAL universe, to Mary Altman at Sourcebooks Casablanca, by Courtney Miller-Callihan at Handspun Literary.
Montana MFA ‘s BODY GRAMMAR, pitched as a queer SWEETBITTER set against the backdrop of the glamorous but grueling modeling industry, in which a young woman discovers herself, what it means to live in her body, and how to let herself find love, to Anna Kaufman at Vintage, in an exclusive submission, by Dan Conaway at Writers House (NA).
Author of ON HELL and the nonfiction collection MINERVA THE MISCARRIAGE OF THE BRAIN, artist, and musician ‘s YOUR LOVE IS NOT GOOD, set in the Berlin and Los Angeles art worlds, following a queer biracial Korean American painter on the precipice of success as she struggles to reconcile her ambitions, her growing debt, and her complicated relationship to whiteness with her support for a boycott of museums and galleries for their racist and imperialist practices, to Jeremy Davies at And Other Stories, by Clare Mao at Europa Content (world English).
Lambda Award and Charles Johnson Fiction Award-winning author of the story collection BLUE TALK AND LOVE ‘s MORE OF EVERYTHING, about an African American girl growing up in 1990s Harlem, grappling with the stigma of obesity passed down through three generations of women in her family, who comes to terms with her self-image and her sexuality against the backdrop of Harlem’s changing landscape, pitched as a fictional counterpart to Roxanne Gay’s HUNGER, to Gina Iaquinta at Liveright, at auction, for publication in summer 2022, by Janet Silver at Aevitas Creative Management (NA).
Griffin Prize winner Billy-Ray Belcourt’s A MINOR CHORUS, in which a queer Indigenous doctoral student steps away from his dissertation to conduct research in his northern hometown for what he hopes will be a novel about how to live a beautiful life; he has a series of intimate encounters with friends, lovers, and elders that brings the modern queer and Indigenous experience into sharp relief, to Mo Crist at Norton, at auction, for publication in fall 2022, by Stephanie Sinclair at CookeMcDermid (US).
‘s THE DOOMSDAY BOOKS, a duo of gay Regency romances about aristocrats, smugglers, and spies on the Kent coast, to Mary Altman at Sourcebooks, in a two-book deal, by Courtney Miller-Callihan at Handspun Literary (world).
Maya Deane’s WRATH GODDESS SING, an #OwnVoices trans women’s literary epic fantasy pitched as reimagining of the Iliad, wherein Athena recruits the young trans heroine Achilles to defeat the omnipotent Helen and her Olympian enablers before she drowns the world in human sacrifice, pitched as a mash-up of N.K. Jemisin’s Inheritance trilogy and Madeline Miller’s SONG OF ACHILLES, to David Pomerico at William Morrow, by Jason Yarn at Jason Yarn Literary Agency (world).
‘s PARTING THE VEIL, in which a scandalous Gilded Age heiress marries a British lord with a tragic past, only to discover dark family secrets hidden within his haunted manor, pitched in the vein of The Clockmaker’s Daughter meets the queer-inclusive fiction of Sarah Waters, to Jodi Warshaw at Lake Union Publishing, for publication in fall 2021, by Jill Marr at Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency (world).
Caribbean-English-American writer ‘s GREENLAND, a literary ghost story in which a Black gay writer who is on an obsessive quest to get published, seeks to find his own voice while writing a novel about the forbidden real-life love affair between E.M. Forster and the young Black Egyptian train conductor Mohammed el-Adl, as he becomes gradually more and more possessed by Mohammed’s spirit which is coming alive in him as he writes, drawing on magical realism and exploring issues of racism, psychological manipulation, and identity, to Tara Parsons at Amistad, in a pre-empt, for publication in spring 2022, by Tom Miller at Liza Dawson Associates (world English).
Cornell University Press production editor and Barbara Deming Memorial Fund award recipient ‘s ENDPAPERS, about a genderfluid bookbinder in 2003 New York, whose discovery of a queer love letter written on the back of an old lesbian pulp cover and hidden in the binding of a book pushes them to venture out of the safe world they’ve built as they track down the letter’s author, reexamine their own ill-fitting relationship, and use their art to explore what it means to live authentically, to Abby Muller at Algonquin, by Trevor Ketner at Ladderbird Literary Agency (world English).
Author of PETITE MORT ‘s ALL OF YOU EVERY SINGLE ONE, set in a queer bohemian enclave of Vienna in 1910-1946, about three women and the lengths they’ll go to protect the ones they love, to Chelsea Cutchens at Overlook, for publication in January 2022, by Laura Macdougall at United Agents (NA).
Children’s/Middle Grade Fiction
Queer mixed media artist from Washington and #DVpit success story ‘s Middle Grade graphic novel MY GIRLFRIEND THE WITCH, in which the narrator has disappeared into fanfiction ever since coming out as queer, and escapes to a magical world, finding it easier than making new friends or dealing with “supportive” parents who don’t “get” him, to Michele McAvoy at Blue Bronco, in a nice deal, for publication in fall 2023 (world).
Debut author ‘s DREW LECLAIR GETS A CLUE, pitched as a modern-day, queer HARRIET THE SPY, in which a true crime-obsessed girl decides to catch a cyberbully by profiling all of the bullies in her grade, and discovers that family, friendship, and sexual identity are the hardest mysteries to solve, to Emilia Rhodes at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s, in a pre-empt, in a two-book deal, for publication in spring 2022, by Chelsea Eberly at Greenhouse Literary Agency (NA).
Young Adult Fiction
‘s THE FEELING OF FALLING IN LOVE, in which a boy’s non-relationship ends right before his mother’s latest wedding so he enlists the prep school roommate he barely tolerates to pose as his boyfriend only for their temporary alliance to turn into something much more, to David Levithan and Jeffrey West at Scholastic, in a two-book deal, by Lauren Abramo at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret (NA).
Author of BEYOND THE BLACK DOOR and the forthcoming IN THE RAVENOUS DARK ‘s COURT OF THE UNDYING SEASONS, about a reluctant initiate to a school for vampires trying to survive the deadly politics of her kingdom’s blood-drinking rulers, her sexy-but-hostile mentor, and a string of student murders, to Rachel Diebel at Feiwel and Friends, for publication in 2023, by Hannah Bowman at Liza Dawson Associates (world).
‘s debut THE ONES WE BURN, a Sapphic YA fantasy in which a blood witch’s mission to assassinate the prince she is betrothed to is compromised by the discovery of a deadly plague—and by the beautiful princess intent on stopping it, to Alyza Liu at Margaret K. McElderry Books, in a nice deal, for publication in fall 2022, by Kiana Nguyen at Donald Maass Literary Agency (world English).
Author of GHOST WOOD SONG and the forthcoming THE RIVER HAS TEETH ‘s THE RESTLESS DARK, in which two girls join forces in a macabre true crime contest to find the missing bones of a killer in the nightmarish fogs of Cloudkiss Canyon, but when their search morphs into a hunt for a monster in their midst, the girls must ask themselves—is the fog to blame for what’s happening in the canyon, or are they?, to Alice Jerman at Harper Teen, in a good deal, in a two-book deal, for publication in fall 2022, by Lauren Spieller at TriadaUS Literary Agency (NA).
Author of REVERIE and BE DAZZLED ‘s THE HONEYS, pitched as Heathers meets Midsommar set at an exclusive overnight camp in the Catskills, to Zack Clark at Scholastic, in a good deal, at auction, in a pre-empt, in a two-book deal, for publication in summer 2022, by Veronica Park at Fuse Literary (world English).
Non-Fiction
Married writer/photographer team Hannah Murphy and Billie Winter’s QUEER POWER COUPLES, a photographic celebration of queer intimacy and excellence, to Natalie Butterfield at Chronicle, for publication in spring 2023 (world).
LGBTQ human rights activist Angeline Jackson and Susan McClelland’s THE POWER OF ONE PERSON, with its title chosen from President Obama’s public address about Jackson’s ordeal and efforts, the true story from Jackson’s POV as a young girl and rape survivor, coming to terms with her sexuality and forging ahead to create safe spaces and unprecedented support for LGBTQ communities in Jamaica, to Scott Fraser at Dundurn Press, in a nice deal, for publication in the fall of 2022, by Rob Firing at Transatlantic Literary Agency (world).
NEA fellow and author of three poetry collections Emma Bolden’s THE TIGER AND THE CAGE, a debut memoir connecting a personal narrative of endometriosis, chronic pain, and asexuality to a long history of women being treated as curiosities and hysterical unreliable narrators of their own bodies and experiences, to Sarah Lyn Rogers at Soft Skull, for publication in fall 2022, by Cassie Mannes Murray at Howland Literary (world).
Orphaned and forced to serve her country’s ruling group of scribes, Karis wants nothing more than to find her brother, long ago shipped away. But family bonds don’t matter to the Scriptorium, whose sole focus is unlocking the magic of an ancient automaton army.
Common Bonds is an upcoming anthology of speculative short stories and poetry featuring aromantic characters. At the heart of this collection are the bonds that impact our lives from beginning to end: platonic relationships. Within this anthology, a cursed seamstress finds comfort in the presence of a witch, teams of demon hunters work with their rival to save one of their own, a peculiar scholar gets attached to those he was meant to study, and queerplatonic shopkeepers guide their pupil as they explore their relationship needs and desires. Through nineteen stories and poems, Common Bonds explores the ways platonic relationships enrich our lives.
A poetry collection about the mythic life of Artemis, Greek Goddess of the hunt. Told through the perspective of Artemis herself with the contributions of a few other Greek Goddesses. This collection reimagines and follows Artemis navigating her lifelong vow of chastity and, rather than suffering through it, owning it as a facet of her aromanticism and asexuality. Immerse yourself in a cultivated tempest of poems illustrating Artemis as a warrior, whose shoulders have known an excessive weight of responsibility, and who always fights to remain her authentic self among people who would change her.
Dexter meets This Savage Song in this dark fantasy about a girl who sells magical body parts on the black market — until she’s betrayed.
Paige has always been scared to be herself. The real Paige- the nerdy Paige- who just wants to have real friends, talk about anime, lose her virginity, and share her art- doesn’t exist at school or to her friends. Only quiet Paige does.
A Maiden, a Fox, and a long journey home.
A gender-confused farmer desperate to reclaim her farm and escape her stepparents’ abuse. A closeted prince more interested in helping his people than finding a bride. A fairy godfather with a ton of secrets and no powers. In this diverse fairy tale, everyone is searching for a happy ending.
“It’s not every day you get to put the fear of Medusa into a god.”
Like everyone else she knows, Mallory is an orphan of the corporate war. As a child, she lost her parents, her home, and her entire building in an airstrike. As an adult, she lives in a cramped hotel room with eight other people, all of them working multiple jobs to try to afford water and make ends meet. And the job she’s best at is streaming a popular VR war game. The best part of the game isn’t killing enemy combatants, though—it’s catching in-game glimpses of SpecOps operatives, celebrity supersoldiers grown and owned by Stellaxis, the corporation that runs the America she lives in.
CeCe Ross is kind of a big deal. She and her girlfriend, Silvie, are social media influencers with zillions of fans and followers, known for their cute outfits and being #relationshipgoals.
Katherine Locke lives and writes in Philadelphia where they are ruled by their feline overlords and their addiction to chai lattes. They are the award-winning author of THE GIRL WITH THE RED BALLOON, THE SPY WITH THE RED BALLOON, editor-and-contributor to IT’S A WHOLE SPIEL, and other titles. They not-so-secretly believe most stories are fairytales in disguise. They can be found on Twitter and Instagram at @bibliogato, and on katherinelockebooks.com.
Nicole Melleby, a born-and-bred Jersey girl, is the author of HURRICANE SEASON, which was a Lambda Literary Finalist, IN THE ROLE OF BRIE HUTCHENS…, a Kirkus Reviews best book of the year, and the upcoming HOW TO BECOME A PLANET (May 2021). She lives with her partner and their cat, whose need for attention oddly aligns with Nicole’s writing schedule. Feel free to follow her on Twitter @LadyNeeko
Pet is here to hunt a monster. Are you brave enough to look?
For Veronica Clayton, the sudden death of her mother has turned her naturally bright and happy-go-lucky view of the world bleak. As the Police Protection Officer for the Queen’s children, she has purpose, but for the next six months, the Queen’s family is the focus of a documentary on royal life. The last thing Clay wants is a camera pointed in her face.
It’s a hot summer, and life’s going all right for Jackson and his family on the Mish. It’s almost Christmas, school’s out, and he’s hanging with his mates, teasing the visiting tourists, avoiding the racist boys in town. Just like every year, Jackson’s Aunty and annoying little cousins visit from the city – but this time a mysterious boy with a troubled past comes with them… As their friendship evolves, Jackson must confront the changing shapes of his relationships with his friends, family and community. And he must face his darkest secret – a secret he thought he’d locked away for good.
Transgressive, foulmouthed, and devastatingly funny, Brontez Purnell’s 100 Boyfriends is a revelatory spiral into the imperfect lives of queer men desperately fighting—and often losing—the urge to self-sabotage. His characters solicit sex on their lunch breaks, expose themselves to racist neighbors, sleep with their coworker’s husbands, rub Preparation H on their hungover eyes, and, in an uproarious epilogue, take a punk band on a disastrous tour of Europe. They also travel to claim inheritances, push past personal trauma, and cultivate community while living on the margins of a white supremacist, heteronormative society.
Orphaned and forced to serve her country’s ruling group of scribes, Karis wants nothing more than to find her brother, long ago shipped away. But family bonds don’t matter to the Scriptorium, whose sole focus is unlocking the magic of an ancient automaton army.
Randa Jarrar is a fearless voice of dissent who has been called “politically incorrect” (Michelle Goldberg, The New York Times). As an American raised for a time in Egypt, and finding herself captivated by the story of a celebrated Egyptian belly dancer’s journey across the United States in the 1940s, she sets off from her home in California to her parents’ in Connecticut.
Andre Cobb hopes his luck is finally turning around. After being sick for as long as he can remember, he’s finally gotten the liver transplant he desperately needed. Now his life can finally begin. But weeks after the operation, he feels shaky and ill, passes out, and wakes up somewhere totally unexpected…the past.
Fire burns bright and has a long memory….
Marty arrives in London with nothing but his oboe and some savings from his summer job, but he’s excited to start his new life–where he’s no longer the closeted, shy kid who slips under the radar and is free to explore his sexuality without his parents’ disapproval.
Kink is a dynamic anthology of literary fiction that opens an imaginative door into the world of desire. The stories within this collection portray love, desire, BDSM, and sexual kinks in all their glory with a bold new vision. The collection includes works by renowned fiction writers such as Callum Angus, Alexander Chee, Vanessa Clark, Melissa Febos, Kim Fu, Roxane Gay, Cara Hoffman, Zeyn Joukhadar, Chris Kraus, Carmen Maria Machado, Peter Mountford, Larissa Pham, and Brandon Taylor, with Garth Greenwell and R.O. Kwon as editors.
Natalie Chan gained her corporate citizenship, but barely survived the battle for Tribulation.
Anne Bonny had it all—her own ship, a pirate crew, and a fearsome reputation—but a new enemy has her on the run and it’ll take all of Anne’s courage to stay afloat. The night before a major heist, Anne has an unsettling dream, and come morning, the robbery is thwarted by Woodes Roger, a zealot who has sworn to eliminate piracy. With no plan to escape, Anne must persuade her crew to seek the meaning of her dream—or perish. Full of sass, solidarity, and swordplay, Tell No Tales is a graphic novel about belonging, belief, and how far we’re willing to go to protect the ones we love.
William Anson is done with relationships, thanks. He’s starting the second year of his medicine degree single, focused, and ready to mingle with purely platonic intentions.
New York, 1925
Set in the year between the 2015 Supreme Court marriage equality ruling and the 2016 Pulse nightclub massacre, Let’s Get Back to the Party explores the intertwined lives of two gay men named Sebastian Mote and Oscar Burnham: estranged childhood friends who reconnect as adults in Washington, DC.
11-year-old Stevie is an avid reader and she knows a lot of things about a lot of things. But these are the things she’d like to know the most:
For years, Robin Thorpe has kept her head down, staying among her people in the Riverside neighborhood and hiding the magic that would have her imprisoned by the state. But when Grace Hensley comes knocking on Clan Thorpe’s door, Robin’s days of hiding are at an end. As freed witches flood the streets of Kingston, scrambling to reintegrate with a kingdom that destroyed their lives, Robin begins to plot a course that will ensure a freer, juster Aeland. At the same time, she has to face her long-bottled feelings for the childhood love that vanished into an asylum twenty years ago.
Choose your player.
In this wry and hilarious queer romantic comedy, fifteen-year-old Phoebe realizes that falling in love is maybe not just for losers.
African American lesbian writers and theorists have made extraordinary contributions to feminist theory, activism, and writing. Mouths of Rain, the companion anthology to Beverly Guy-Sheftall’s classic Words of Fire, traces the long history of intellectual thought produced by Black Lesbian writers, spanning the nineteenth century through the twenty-first century.
With her newly completed PhD in astronomy in hand, twenty-eight-year-old Grace Porter goes on a girls’ trip to Vegas to celebrate. She’s a straight A, work-through-the-summer certified high achiever. She is not the kind of person who goes to Vegas and gets drunkenly married to a woman whose name she doesn’t know…until she does exactly that.
World War II is raging, and five teens are looking to make a mark. Daniel and Rebeka seek revenge against the Nazis who slaughtered their family; Simone is determined to fight back against the oppressors who ruined her life and corrupted her girlfriend; Phillip aims to prove that he’s better than his worst mistakes; and Liam is searching for a way to control the portal to the shadow world he’s uncovered, and the monsters that live within it–before the Nazi regime can do the same. When the five meet, and begrudgingly team up, in the forests of Germany, none of them knows what their future might hold.
Charlie Matheson has spent his life taking care of things. When his parents died two days before his eighteenth birthday, he took care of his younger brother, even though that meant putting his own dreams on hold. He took care of his father’s hardware store, building it into something known several towns over. He took care of the cat he found in the woods…so now he has a cat.
In this delightfully compelling full-color graphic memoir, the author shares her process of undoing the effects of a patriarchal, colonial society on her self-image, her sexuality, and her concept of freedom. Reflecting on the ways in which oppression was the cause for her late bloom into queerness, we are invited to discover people and things in the author’s life that helped shape and inform her LGBTQ identity. And we come to an understanding of her holistic definition of queerness.
Robin Loxleigh and his sister Marianne are the hit of the Season, so attractive and delightful that nobody looks behind their pretty faces.
