Children’s
Billy Porter: A Little Golden Book Biography by Phil Stamper and Steffi Walthall
Billy saw that clothes were the perfect way to stand out and let people know who you are.
Billy Porter has been impressing audiences ever since he played his award-winning role of Lola in the Broadway hit Kinky Boots. His story of chasing his dream to be a performer comes to life in Billy Porter: A Little Golden Book Biography. When you’re Billy Porter, you dream big and you inspire others to love themselves!
O.K. is Gay by Vincent X. Kirsch
Olivio Kipling, known to his friends as O.K., has something to say: He loves George, and he can’t wait to share his feelings with his whole community.
O.K. rushes from friend to friend, excited to tell them his big news, but he’s having some trouble. Everyone assumes they know what he’s going to say, and he can’t quite get the words out.
O.K. tries again and again until, with a little help from someone special, he’s finally able to tell everyone what he wanted to say: O.K. is gay, and he and George belong together!
A Year of Pride and Joy ed. by Simon James Green, ill. by Ruth Burrows
An uplifting and empowering anthology, A Year of Pride and Joy shares joyful contributions from 52 contemporary LGBTQIA+ voices, including Olympic gold medalist diver Tom Daley, author and historian Blair Imani, and singer Rina Sawayama
Edited by award-winning children’s author Simon James Green, this buoyant title celebrates the joy, talent, and contributions of members of the LGBTQIA+ community—and delivers a full year of celebration. Each of the 52 entries—one for each week of the year—is tied to a particular season, event, international day, or week.
- Feel the timeless joy of old movies with actor Stephen Fry and discover his all-time favorite classic movies on Global Movie Day.
- Discover the joy of knitting with Olympic gold medalist Tom Daley, then follow a beginner’s step-by-step knitting guide.
- Find the joy of pets with singer Rina Sawayama, then consider which pet is right for you.
- Experience the joy of food with actress Miriam Margolyes, then uncover a recipe to her famous chicken soup with matzo balls.
Young Adult
The Survivor Wants to Die at the End by Adam Silvera
Paz Dario stays up every night, waiting for the Death-Cast call that would mean he doesn’t have to keep faking his way through this lonely life. After a devastating day, Paz decides he’s done waiting around for Death-Cast. If they say he’s not dying, he’ll just have to prove them wrong. But right before Paz can die, a boy saves his life.
Alano Rosa is heir to the Death-Cast empire that encourages everyone to live their best lives, but he doesn’t feel in control of his own existence thanks to his father. And with a violent organization called the Death Guard threatening Alano, his End Day might be closer than he thinks. It’s time to live.
Fate brings Paz and Alano together, but it’s now up to the boys to survive the tragic trials ahead so no one dies at the end.
Come Home to My Heart by Riley Redgate
Gloria Forman and Xia Harper go to the same high school in a small South Carolina town, but they couldn’t be more different. While Gloria is part of the popular, Christian crowd, Xia sleeps through class, antagonizes anyone who dares talk to her, and buries herself in books that help her pretend she’s somewhere else—anywhere that being lesbian wouldn’t be a waking nightmare.
When the two form an accidental friendship, they begin noticing each other in ways they promised themselves they’d avoid. After all, Xia’s isolation is self-imposed for a reason, and the last thing Gloria needs is more upheaval, especially after her parents kicked her out of the house for being gay. Ever since, she has spent her nights under the stage in the school auditorium and her days terrified of being discovered.
Xia just wants to keep her head down until the end of senior year. Gloria just wants to keep her living situation quiet until her parents come around. But as their feelings for each other intensify and the truths they’ve hidden work their way to the surface, what they truly want will change forever.
Murder Land by Carlyn Greenwald
Seventeen-year-old Billie feels like she is on top of the world. She gets to spend the summer with her best friend, sparks are flying with her crush, and she has received a promotion to ride operator for one of the most buzzworthy new attractions in the theme park she works at. But the first night on the new job takes a dark turn when her creepy coworker mysteriously dies…on her ride, when she isn’t authorized to be running it.
At first, it seems like he died by heart attack, but by the time she returns to the body with help, it looks like a broken neck. Had she just imagined him sitting upright a few minutes ago? It’s as if someone is trying to pin his death on her, and she has one night to figure out who is really responsible before she is blamed.
Billie recruits the help of her friends to sneak around the park after-hours and search for the truth. But as the night stretches on and more people wind up dead, Billie realizes she may not make it out of Murder Land alive. And her friends may know more than they’re letting on.
All’s Fair in Love and Field Hockey by Kit Rosewater
Evelyn was raised to see field hockey as war.
Before she could write her own name, her family’s legacy on the field was already spelled out. Every step Evelyn takes toward glory is within a footprint her mother left behind. And no step matters more than this next one, with Evelyn about to lead her varsity team into their final battle season. Evelyn is beyond ready to score the Nationals title and win the critical scholarship to her mom’s alma mater that comes with it.
This year, she’s out for blood, and nothing can stand in her way…
…except for Rosa Alvarez, the highly talented new recruit on her biggest rival’s team.
After a humiliating homecoming game and follow-up prank leave the two enemies in a stalemate, they grudgingly strike a deal to help each other overcome their weaknesses on the field. But the more time Evelyn spends with Rosa, the more she finds herself casting her hardened armor aside, until she begins to wonder what life might be like if she left the battlefield behind and fought for love instead.
I Can’t Even Think Straight by Dean Atta
Kai knows who he is to others: the reliable grandson, the best friend, the romantic backup. But he doesn’t quite know who he is to himself.
Though Kai desperately wants to come out at school, he keeps himself closeted. His best school friend, Matt, who is also queer, is afraid of getting kicked out by his religious parents if they knew—so he stays closeted and asks Kai to do the same. Kai unhappily goes along with it, but when a rumor goes around that Kai and Matt are together, Matt starts acting differently toward Kai anyway.
Kai’s other best friend, Vass, is nonbinary and doesn’t care who knows it. Vass feels that Matt is a negative influence, putting a damper on Kai’s identity—but maybe that’s just Vass’s crush on Kai talking. Caught between his best friends, Kai turns to writing to express his emotions. But when he explodes, he puts everything at risk.
The Rebel’s Guide to Pride by Matthew Hubbard
There’s nothing Zeke Chapman wants more than to tarnish the perfect reputation his father is so obsessed with. He quit the baseball team, started fighting at school, and nearly flunked junior year. Newly out as gay, Zeke isn’t sure where his queer identity fits in with his bad-boy persona. His father has always told him to stay quiet and not attract attention, but his friends are pushing him to be just as out and proud as they are. Most days, Zeke isn’t sure how to be a “good gay” or what that even means.
When his best friend, Sawyer, begs him to help the QSA plan Pride Day, he obliges—mostly to piss his dad off. But then the mayor announces an ordinance that cancels all LGBTQ+ celebrations. Angered by the injustice—and his father’s support of it—Zeke decides to put his rebellious ways to good use and plans a series of underground “Pride Speakeasies”.
As the speakeasies grow, and the community comes together to declare him “King of Pride”, Zeke finally feels like he’s doing something that matters. But friendship drama, a mysterious cyber-crush, and rising tension with his rival and ex Cohen “Coco” Fisher threaten to undermine his newfound pride. When his final party ends in near-disaster, Zeke must ask himself what he’s really trying to do. After all, there’s a reason that the first pride was a riot.
Shampoo Unicorn by Sawyer Lovett
Shampoo Unicorn: (noun)
1. A shower hairstyle in which one styles their lathered hair into the fluffiest soapy unicorn horn possible.
2. A podcast by two mysterious hosts exploring rural queer life—the isolation, the microaggressions, the boredom, and occasionally, the sky-shattering joy.
In the small town of Canon, West Virginia, most people care about three things: God, country, and football.
Brian is more into Drag Race, Dolly Parton, and his gig as one of the mystery hosts of his podcast, Shampoo Unicorn.
Greg’s life should be perfect as the town’s super-masc football star, but his secret is he’s just as gay as Brian.
Leslie is a trans girl living in nearby Pennsylvania, searching for reasons to get out of bed every day. Her solace is listening to her favorite podcast. . . .
When a terrible accident occurs, it’s Shampoo Unicorn that brings the three teens’ lives together. And what begins as a search for answers becomes a story of finding connection.
Sometimes the Girl by Jennifer Mason-Black
Eighteen-year-old Holiday needs to sort her life out.
She’s still shaken from her brother’s recent suicide attempt; still pining over her ex, Maya; and still struggling to write again after a long dry spell. To earn enough money for a rebalancing trip with Maya, Holi gets a short-term job: organizing the attic of acclaimed author Elsie McAllister. It’s an unglamorous gig with a difficult boss. Elsie―whose fame rests on a single novel published decades ago―is in her nineties, in failing health, and fiercely protective of her privacy. But as Holi sorts through the attic’s surprising contents, she realizes there’s much more to Elsie than the novel that made her a legend.
Unearthing Elsie’s secrets will change how Holi sees art, life, and the way they intertwine, as she grapples with choices that will redefine her own path.
Adult
Brighter Than Scale, Swifter Than Flame by Neon Yang
Few know the true identity of the masked guildknight of Mithrandon.
She barely remembers herself.
The masked guildknight―Yeva―was thirteen when she killed her first dragon. With her gift revealed, she was shipped away to the imperial capital to train in the rare art of dragon slaying. Now a legendary dragon hunter, she has never truly felt at home―nor removed her armor in public―since that fateful day all those years ago.
Yeva must now go to Quanbao, a fiercely independent and reclusive kingdom. It is rumored that there, dragons are not feared as is right and proper―but instead loved and worshipped. It is rumored that there, they harbor a dragon behind their borders.
While Yeva searches for the dreaded beast, she is welcomed into the palace by Quanbao’s monarch, Lady Sookhee. Though wary of each other, Yeva is shocked to find herself slowly opening up to the beautiful, mysterious queen.
As they grow closer, Yeva longs to let Lady Sookhee see the person behind the armor, but she knows she must fulfill her purpose and slay the dragon. Ultimately, she must decide who―or what―she is willing to betray: her own heart, or the sacred duty that she has called home for so long.
Kiss Me, Maybe by Gabriella Gamez
When a late bloomer goes viral for coming out, she decides to use her newfound fame to get her first kiss—with the help of a sexy bartender.
Librarian Angela Gutierrez has never been kissed. But after posting a video about her late bloomer status and ace identity, she’s finally ready to get some firsts out of the way. Using her new influencer status to come up with a scavenger hunt idea in which the winner earns her first kiss, Angela realizes she may need some help to pull off the event. Enter Krystal Ramirez, hot bartender and Angela’s unrequited crush of five years. Despite vowing that romantic love isn’t for her, Krystal seems awfully determined to help Angela pull off the scavenger hunt and find true love.
There’s just one problem: the connection between Angela and Krystal is getting stronger and stronger the more they hang out, until Angela isn’t sure she wants to go through with the scavenger hunt after all. But Krystal is convinced that she isn’t capable of love and before long, Angela realizes she’s falling head over heels for a woman who may never love her back.
Love Story by Afsana Mousavi
She moves to New York for whatever reasons. Then she starts hormones and steps out at night. Everything else falls away. How had it never not been this?
Quickly, Io—freshly feminized and hardly clothed—is yanked into the glamor and vagaries of her times by her obsessive parasocial relationship with a fellow trans woman and renowned DJ. In nightlife she quickly discovers the stakes of living so close to cultural production—fashion, art, literature, it all flashes and dies as her bank account stays empty and her health waxes and wanes.
The lines between transition and cultural capital begin to blur and the currency of femininity demands to sell or be sold. Io must decide how far she will go to attain the dreams of upward mobility free-wheeling through the cloaca of the City.
The Manor of Dreams by Christina Li
They say what you don’t know can’t hurt you. But silence can be deadly.
Vivian Yin is dead. The first Chinese actress to win an Oscar, the trailblazing ingénue rose to fame in the eighties, only to disappear from the spotlight at the height of her career and live out the rest of her life as a recluse.
Now her remaining family members are gathered for the reading of her will and her daughters expect to inherit their childhood home: Vivian’s sprawling, Southern California garden estate. But due to a last-minute change to the will, the house is passed on to another family instead—one that has suddenly returned after decades of estrangement.
In hopes of staking their claim, both families move into the mansion. Amidst the grief and paranoia of this unhappy reunion, Vivian’s daughters race to piece together what happened in the last weeks of their mother’s life, only to realize they are being haunted by something much more sinister and vengeful than their regrets. After so many years of silence, will the families finally confront the painful truth about the last fateful summer they spent in the house, or will they cling to their secrets until it’s too late?
And Introducing Dexter Gaines by Mark B. Perry
HOLLYWOOD, 1952
Blessed with the smoldering good looks that destine him for the silver screen, the unfortunately named Dan Root arrives on the scene as a naïve but ambitious 21-year-old. Mentored and exploited by a powerful and dashing Svengali-like producer and his beguiling wife (a movie star whose career is on the tragic cusp between fame and fade out), Dan is transformed into the promising young actor, Dexter Gaines.
Soon their three lives become dangerously entangled by sexual awakening and unrequited love, but when their passion and deceit lead to a crushing discovery and attempted murder, Dexter is forced to choose between stardom and survival. Four decades later, a heartbreaking event compels Dan to return to the city of lost dreams and confront his past. It is only then he begins to unravel the twists and turns of a long-ago emotional mystery, to make peace with his past and his foiled chance at stardom.
milktooth by Jaime Burnet
Sorcha is over the hook-ups and gay haunts of her twenties. At thirty-one what she wants, more than anything, is to have a baby. Then she meets Chris― with her buttoned-up plaid, 90s heartthrob hair, and grand romantic gestures― and things get serious. Fast. Though Sorcha’s friends find her new partner problematic, Sorcha has an explanation for everything.
As Chris’s moods turn volatile and Sorcha becomes increasingly isolated, Chris paints an idyllic picture of domestic bliss in Cape Breton. Sorcha is all in: if her conservative religious upbringing taught her anything, it’s how to save. Plus, Chris promises Sorcha the thing she wants most― a baby.
But when Sorcha becomes pregnant and Chris’s abuse escalates, Sorcha realizes she must escape the life they’ve built together, just as she escaped her own stifling family years before.
When Sorcha’s estranged Aunt Agnes, a retired midwife, messages Sorcha out of the blue, her bothy in the Scottish Highlands seems the perfect place to hide. As the bundle of cells in Sorcha’s belly diligently divides, she daydreams that Agnes will deliver the baby and they’ll stay in Scotland, where Chris can’t find them. And where, just maybe, Sorcha could build the sort of family she’s always ached for.
Disco Witches of Fire Island by Blair Fell
It’s 1989, and Joe Agabian and his best friend Ronnie set out to spend their first summer working in the hedonistic gay paradise of Fire Island Pines. Joe is desperate to let loose and finally move beyond the heartbreak of having lost his boyfriend to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The two friends are quickly taken in by a pair of quirky, older house cleaners. But something seems off, and Joe starts to suspect the two older men of being up to something otherworldly. In truth, Howie and Lenny are members of a secret disco witch coven tasked with protecting the island—and young men like Joe—from the relentless tragedies ravaging their community. The only problem is, having lost too many of their fellow witches to the epidemic, the coven’s protective powers have been seriously damaged.
Unaware of all the mystical shenanigans going on, Joe starts to fall for the super-cute bisexual ferryman who just happens to have webbed feet and an unusual ability to hold his breath underwater. But Joe’s longing to find love is tripped up by his own troublesome past as well as the lure of a mysterious hunk he keeps seeing around the island—a man Howie and Lenny warn may be a harbinger of impending doom.
The Disco Witches need to find help—fast—if they’re to save Joe and the island from the Great Darkness. But how?
A Poisonous Silence by Jenny Adams
Philadelphia, 1921. Edie Shippen has officially started her new career as a private investigator…even though she has yet to book a client. When she runs into an old friend, the film actress Ava Sylvester, Edie is delighted at the chance to rekindle their relationship. But when Ava’s co-star and new husband, Duncan, dies suddenly, all signs point to Ava. Edie’s first official case begins in earnest, desperately trying to clear her friend’s name.
Gilbert Lawless has carved out a peaceful existence as a coroner’s assistant. The last thing he wants is to jeopardize his position by involving himself with Edie Shippen. But when the body count racks up, Gilbert finds himself drawn into Edie’s investigation on the set of Philadelphia’s most famous film studio, where everyone seems to have something to hide.
As the cameras roll, Edie and Gilbert race to catch a poisoner before one of them ends up being the next body in the morgue.
The Vengeance by Emma Newman
A swashbuckling adventure set in a version of Alexandre Dumas’s world haunted by vampires…
Morgane grew up at sea, daughter of the fierce pirate captain of the Vengeance, raised to follow in her footsteps as scourge of the Four Chains Trading Company. But when Anna-Marie is mortally wounded in battle, she confesses to Morgane that she is not her mother.
The captain of the enemy ship reveals he was paid to kill Anna-Marie and bring Morgane home to France and her real family. Desperate to learn the truth about her lineage, Morgane spares him, leaving the Vengeance and everything she knows behind.
Her quest reveals a world of decadence and darkness, in which monsters vie for control of royal courts and destinies of nations. She discovers the bloody secrets of the Four Chains Trading Company, and the truth about her real mother’s death, nearly twenty years before…
Archangel’s Ascension by Nalini Singh
This is the 17th book in the Guild Hunters series
Aodhan and Illium. Adi and Blue. Sparkle and Bluebell. Friends become lovers, their future a wild unknown.
Finally reunited in New York, they must now learn to navigate the monumental shift in their relationship. But for these two members of Archangel Raphael’s legendary Seven, there is no time to rest. As they investigate a case for the Tower that echoes the darkness from Aodhan’s past, they will be forced to confront not only the scars that mark them both, but the promise of a vast power that flickers in Illium.
The threat of ascension has haunted and troubled Aodhan’s Blue for too long, the forces of change immutable and without mercy…and uncaring of Illium’s fierce wish to remain part of the Seven. Change is a constant in an immortal’s life, and this new horizon will bring with it both terrible heartbreak and a joy extraordinary enough to reverberate through time…
Sympathy for Wild Girls by Demree McGhee
A runaway seeks shelter from violence with a pack of wild coyotes. A young woman falls into a hypocritical crew of white Christian YouTube influencers. A mother witnesses her daughter’s prophecy about the end of the world come true. In Sympathy for Wild Girls, young Black women yearn for intimacy and hunt for belonging in a subtly warped version of our world, where social mores loom like shadows and bigotry shape-shifts.
Skirting the chasms that lurk in our common notions of “girlhood”—and their heightened peril for queer women of color—Demree McGhee’s characters track the prints of their desire and pain to the edges of reality, finding refuge in unlikely places. Fighting self-loathing and societal abuse, they explore the bounds of their feral strength and ugliest truths, howling at the moon to be known.
The Sun Blessed Prince by Lindsey Byrd
Motherlover by Lindsay Ishihiro
Imogen has an exciting new neighbor!
Alex just moved from the big city back into her late parents’ house, and she seems to have it all: She’s a cool single mom with a thriving career, a fun look, and a cosmopolitan life of adventure. Imogen certainly has dreams of a more carefree life, but being a stay-at-home mom of four is a more-than-full-time job—one that doesn’t pay very well—and that’s all she can handle. How does Alex do it? She’s captured Imogen’s imagination.
But what we see on the surface isn’t always the whole story. Alex’s return has given her a lot to ponder. Her parents are gone, and she’s just starting to realize her privileged childhood wasn’t as happy as it seemed. Now she’s adrift, learning how to relate after a lifetime of pushing everyone away.
Chance brought these two fast friends together . . . and everything that happens next is unlike anything they could have planned!
A Quick Stop in Paradise by Lily Seabrooke
Her boyfriend tried to cheat with the bartender. Now she wants her too.
Ryan Bell is already anxious about her family vacation. Between family drama and arguments over her career change, the last thing she needs is her boyfriend trying to cheat on her with the resort bartender.
Brooklyn Sterling is perfectly content with her life in paradise, working the bar at a high-end resort and drifting from one no-strings fling to another. Attachments aren’t her thing. But an attempted fling goes bad when it turns out he has a girlfriend—and when that girlfriend dumps him, her family takes his side.
Brooklyn’s just trying to do the right thing by stepping up for Ryan and giving her a place to stay. Under no circumstances is she going to take advantage of the beautiful woman sleeping under her roof.
And certainly, certainly under no circumstances will Brooklyn fall for her.
Buy it: Amazon
Friends With Benefits by Marisa Kanter
Evie Bloom pays attention to the details. Her very job depends on it―as an aspiring Foley artist, she’s responsible for every crisp footstep, smacking kiss, and distinct sound in film and television. So when she’s selected for a fellowship opportunity that would make all her career dreams come true, she’s quick to spot the catch: there are no health benefits, and for someone with a chronic illness, that’s a non-starter.
Theo Cohen is an elementary school teacher who can’t afford to live on his own in LA, and is facing eviction after his roommates couple up and move out of their rent-controlled apartment. But there is one loophole in his lease: each tenant must meet an income threshold, unless the tenants are married.
For Theo, the answer is obvious. Marry Evie, his best friend since forever. It’s not as if they don’t spend all their free time together anyways. Not only will Theo be able to keep his apartment, but Evie can be added to his insurance plan so she can accept her dream fellowship. It’s such a logical, practical solution. Never mind that Evie doesn’t really want to be married―not to Theo, not to anyone―ever. Or the small, complicating fact that Theo has always been a little bit in love with Evie.
But it doesn’t have to be a big deal. Marriage. It will just give them space to breathe, and much-needed relief from the daily financial stress. It won’t change anything.
It’s . . . going to change everything.
Rink Rash by Santana Knox
This was originally published in 2024 as False Start
She’s the roller derby captain and her newest rival is her very own teammate.
There are only three things that get under Madeline Maddox’s skin: defeat, disorder, and disruption, especially when it comes to her carefully curated life and her roller derby team. Because no one outskates Mad Maddox-that is, until a cocky little jammer blows back into her hometown wreaking havoc into all her plans.
Vera Havik is mayhem, she’s chaos, she’s everything Madeline despises.
Madeline is set on making their time on the track together a rink-rash-filled nightmare, pushing through Vera’s defenses like a bad block. That’s when she learns the heavy secret the world-famous jammer is hiding. Everything’s off-track now, including their hearts.
The fine line between love and hatred can be crushed, snorted, or injected…
But it can’t be ignored.
Non-Fiction
Edge of the World ed. by Alden Jones
These lively essays by luminary writers offer a queer perspective on how people experience other cultures and how other cultures receive queer people. This anthology of essays includes the perspectives of gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, and trans American authors from multiple ethnic identities, showcasing the travel writing of both established and emerging authors across a wide age spectrum to address these central questions. Contributors who have committed work thus far include Alexander Chee, Edmund White, Daisy Hernández, Putsata Reang, Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, Garrard Conley, Nicole Shawan Junior, Raluca Albu, Genevieve Hudson, Zoë Sprankle, and Calvin Gimpelevich. Their essays take the reader to different areas of the world including Spain, Ukraine, Florida, Cuba, New York City, Ecuador, Cambodia, Russia, Senegal, Berlin, Paris, and more.
Love is For All of Us ed. by James Crews and Brad Peacock
Edited by James Crews with his husband, Brad Peacock, and illustrated by Lisa Congdon, these compassionate poems of connection and affirmation are a celebration of all kinds of love—romantic, family, friendship, self-love, and love for nature. The poems are gathered from a diverse group of contemporary writers, both part of and allied with the LGBTQIA+ community, with a special focus on queer, nonbinary, and transgender poets.
Contributors include Andrea Gibson, Ellen Bass, Nikita Gill, Mark Doty, Audre Lorde, Richard Blanco, Gabrielle Calvocoressi, Danez Smith, Joy Ladin, Carl Phillips, Li-Young Lee, and many others. Brief essays called “Stories of Becoming” act as touchstones throughout the book, telling the inspiring and touching stories of LGBTQIA+ people whose experiences may bring hope to others.
