December 2025 Deal Announcements

Adult Fiction

Ari Baran‘s UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT, part of the Penalty Box hockey romance series, in which a tightly wound, picture-perfect all-star is forced to babysit a bad boy waiver pickup, on a team decimated by injury, where it’s unclear what could be more devastating—losing the season, or losing their hearts, to Leyla Erkan at Carina Press, in a two-book deal, by Deidre Knight at The Knight Agency (world English).

Continue reading December 2025 Deal Announcements

Fave Five: MG Starring Trans Girls

The Ink Witch by Steph Cherrywell

Zenobia July by Lisa Bunker

Magical Princess Harriet by Leiah Moser

Glitch Girl! by Rainie Oet

Joy, to the World by Lisa Bunker and Kai Shappley

Bonus: These are all prose novels, but for graphic novels, check out The Deep & Dark Blue by Niki Smith and The Ojja-Wojja by Magdalene Visaggio and Jenn St-Onge

Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Young Adult Fiction: January-June 2026

I, in the Shadows by Tori Bovalino (January 13th)

Maybe this is possession; maybe this is truly what it is to be haunted.

There’s a ghost hanging out in Drew Larpin’s new room. He’s a fellow Pine Hollow high schooler named Liam, and technically, it’s his old room. Now he’s stuck haunting it―unsure of how he died or why he hasn’t moved on to the afterlife. Drew knows she has to help him. . . . She has to figure out how to resolve Liam’s earthly regrets. Otherwise, he’ll degrade―just like any ghost who hangs around the living for too long―until all that’s left is a hungry, mindless husk of who he used to be.

So, Drew interviews Liam about his life, getting the rundown on her new classmates in the process. She slowly falls into Liam’s old group of friends, experiencing their grief with the painful knowledge that Liam is watching it all play out from right beside her. Things get more complicated when Drew realizes she and Liam share a hopeless attraction to valedictorian-to-be, walking sunshine Hannah Sullivan. Liam was Hannah’s best friend in life, and at first, he doesn’t seem to mind being Drew’s wingman in death. But his unrequited feelings boil under the surface. The spectral energy cast off by his emotions is so powerful that it catches the attention of something truly sinister.

It’s lurking in the woods, watching Liam, attracted by the intensity of his grief and frustration. Whatever this “Watcher” has in store for him, it’s a fate far worse than death. Drew is determined to save him from it. But with Hannah slowly catching on that Liam might not be totally gone, the tangled mess of everyone’s emotions only draws the Watcher closer. It becomes a race against the clock to help Liam come to terms with his own death―even if it means shattering the fragile, painful normalcy his loved ones have built in his absence.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

Continue reading Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Young Adult Fiction: January-June 2026

Fave Five: Queer Hockey Romance Standalones

For more m/m hockey titles, click here.
For queer hockey romance series, click here.

It’s a Love/Skate Relationship by Charli J. Corson (f/f YA)

Time to Shine and The Shots You Take by Rachel Reid (m/m)

Shoot Your Shot by Lexi LaFleur Brown (bi m/f)

Light Up the Lamp by Kit Oliver (m/m)

Overtime by Tracey Richardson (f/f)

Bonus: Coming in 2026, A Good Puck by Rochelle Wolf (f/f), which is part of the Love on the Podium shared universe, and Peaches and Pucks by M.A. Wardell (m/m novella)

Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Romances: January-June 2026

Pumped by K.M. Neuhold (January 2nd)

I’m just a nerd, standing in front of a bench press, asking it not to humiliate me in front of my gym crush

I’ve never walked into a gym on purpose in my life, and I’m not sure which part is more shocking, the massive beefcake who immediately challenges me to arm wrestle or the fact that I kind of want to come back.

I spent years of my life refusing to lift anything heavier than a textbook, and it shows. I never expected that coming to the gym and bulking up would give me more gender euphoria than all the T shots in the world.

The crush I’m developing on my Golden Retriever of a personal trainer, Butch, though? Yeah, I should have seen that one coming.

Butch is a guy’s guy. Jockstraps, armpit licking, Sweat enthusiast… what could he possibly find exciting about a scrawny, book-ish nerd like me?

I’m just going to try not to drool on him too hard while he helps me get pumped. And I’m for sure not going to do anything stupid like falling in love with him…

Buy it: Amazon

Continue reading Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Romances: January-June 2026

Happy 250th Birthday, Jane Austen!

RIP, Jane – you would’ve really loved how much queer literature is explicitly gaying up your work.

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For generally Austen-inspired work, check out:

I Shall Never Fall in Love by Hari Conner

George has major problems: They’ve just inherited the failing family estate, and the feelings for their best friend, Eleanor, have become more complicated than ever. Not to mention, if anyone found out they were secretly dressing in men’s clothes, George is sure it would be ruination for the family name.

Eleanor has always wanted to do everything “right,” including falling in love—but she’s never met a boy she was interested in. She’d much rather spend time with her best friend, George, and beloved cousin Charlotte. However, when a new suitor comes to town, she finds her closest friendships threatened, forcing her to rethink what “right” means and confront feelings she never knew she had.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

Continue reading Happy 250th Birthday, Jane Austen!

Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Adult Fiction: January-June 2026

Trying something different this year and breaking up by genre, so if you’re looking for SFF/H, Crime Fiction, or Graphic Novels, just keep scrolling! (Yes, some of those distinctions are a little fuzzy. I did my best.) Romance will still be getting its own post, though, so do keep an eye out for that in the coming days!

Literary/Upmarket Fiction

Is This a Cry for Help? by Emily Austin (January 13th)

Darcy’s life turned out better than she could have ever imagined. She is a librarian at the local branch, while her wife Joy runs a book binding service. Between the two of them, there is no more room on their shelves with their ample book collections, various knickknacks and bobbles, and dried bouquets. Rounding out their ideal life is two cats and a sun-soaked house by the lake.

But when Darcy receives the news that her ex-boyfriend, Ben, has passed away, she spirals into a pit of guilt and regret, resulting in a mental breakdown and medical leave from the library. When she returns to work, she is met by unrest in her community, and protests surrounding intellectual freedom, resulting in a call for book bans and a second look at the branch’s upcoming DEI programs.

Through the support of her community, colleagues, and the personal growth that results from examining her previous relationships, Darcy comes into her own agency and the truest version of herself.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

Continue reading Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Adult Fiction: January-June 2026

Fave Five: YA with Queer Filipino MCs

Rest in Peaches by Alex Brown

Death in the Cards by Mia P. Manansala

My Heart Underwater by Laurel Flores Fantauzzo

Lovely Dark and Deep by Elisa A. Bonnin

Chasing Pacquiao by Rod Pulido

Bonus: These are all Young Adult, but for Middle Grade, check out Lulu Sinagtala and the CIty of Noble Warriors by Gail D. Villanueva

Double Bonus: These are all prose novels, but for a graphic novel, check out Flamer by Mike Curato, and for short stories, check out  “Murders at the Rue Apartelle, Boracay” by Rin Chupeco in His Hideous Heart, “Whatever She Wants” by Kess Costales in Keep Faith, and “Leyla Mendoza and the Last House on the Lane” by Maya Gittelman in Night of the Living Queers

Gift Guide: Picks for Young Readers

Looking for great picks for voracious readers 10 and under? Here’s a guide for that!

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The Batcat series by Meggie Ramm – a ridiculously cute graphic novel series both my kids (under 10) love, with a nonbinary grump of a main character who’s simultaneously a bat and a cat, a song in book 1 that my family randomly bursts out with, delightful illustrations, and a very cool quick guide in the back of each one to elements of graphic novels so kids can understand what goes into them and even how to make their own.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

Continue reading Gift Guide: Picks for Young Readers