Happy International Nonbinary Day 2026! We’re celebrating, as we do, with books starring nonbinary main characters and/or love interests! For even more recs, check out past years’ posts.
Early Reader
Witchycakes #1: Sweet Magic by Kara LeReau and Ariane Moreira
Welcome to the most magical bakery — Witchycakes! Little Blue, a witch-in-training, delivers baked goods all over their town, and helps their neighbors with a touch of magic. Cozy up with this sweet chapter book with irresisitible full-color art on every page!
In a magical bakery called Witchycakes there’s a young witch-to-be named Blue. Blue’s Mama bakes with magic and Blue makes the deliveries! They ride their bike all over town with their basket filled with magical scones, tartes, and pies to deliver. There’s always something going on in Shelville and Blue loves to help their neighbors — especially if helping them means they get to use a little bit of magic.
Cook up some love with Blue as they use magic and problem-solving to be the best helper they can be in their whimsical little town. And there’s a special magical recipe at the end of the book!
Middle Grade
Clock Hands by Marieke Nijkamp and Sylvia Bi
Raising your voice can change everything.
Vale has always dreamed of being a metalworker’s apprentice. But in Siannerra, the guilds rule with an iron fist, and their apprenticeship fees are impossibly high. So Vale and their guildless family must make do with the pennies and scraps they’re able to cobble together from work on the docks or in the market.
Until Maestro Giuseppi arrives from abroad, determined to build the city’s first astronomical clock. He doesn’t care for fees or exclusionary practices—and he sees Vale’s talent. He invites Vale into his workshop, and for a while Vale believes all their dreams are coming true. But everything in Siannerra belongs to the guilds, and if anyone tries to break free, there are consequences. Sometimes the gravest of consequences. Still, Vale refuses to stop dreaming. Or fighting. With the help of their friends, they plan to take on the might of the guilds. And together, they may just be strong enough to bend iron to their will.
A stand-alone companion to the acclaimed Ink Girls.
Opting Out by Maia Kobabe and Swati “Lucky” Srikumar
Bodies are the worst. I wish I didn’t have a body.
Saachi is a storyteller. At school, she’s surrounded by kids she’s known forever — including her best friend, Lyla, who shares Saachi’s love of fantasy novels and creating new worlds.
But as seventh grade starts, kids are changing. Suddenly, it matters who you like and if you can find a boyfriend or girlfriend. Even Lyla seems more interested in hanging out with her new boyfriend than in writing and drawing with Saachi anymore. Saachi’s not interested in any of that boy/girl stuff. Why can’t things just stay the way they were?
Saachi also doesn’t love all the ways her body is changing. What if she doesn’t feel like a girl — or like a boy, either? In a world where there is so much either/or, Saachi is going to need to find her own options . . . and create her own story.
The Dog Knight by Jeremy Whitley, Bre Indigo, and Melissa Capriglione
Frankie knows who they are. They’re a drummer, they’re nonbinary, and they’re… the Dog Knight?
One day Frankie is a relatively normal middle schooler, with relatively normal challenges, like finding the perfect outfit to wear during their drum solo during the upcoming band concert. The next, they save a friendly golden retriever from bullies and suddenly find themselves in a giant magical doghouse, with a funny looking helmet, talking to a group of dog superheroes called the Pawtheon about a job offer.
If Frankie can prove that they possess the six dog virtues of loyalty, kindness, honesty, justice, stubbornness, and smell, they will be named the Dog Knight and be given the power to fight alongside the Pawtheon and save the world from the forces of chaos.
Maybe there is more to Frankie than they thought?
The Dog Knight: Chaos Bites Back by Jeremy Whitley, Bre Indigo, and Melissa Capriglione (February 2, 2027)
A middle school hero joins forces with a council of magical dogs to fight the forces of Chaos in the second action-packed installment of this heartwarming graphic novel series.
Frankie is not your typical middle schooler: they have been chosen as the Dog Knight, protector of the magical pact between humans and dogs.
With gremlin attacks coming more and more often, Frankie has been busy training and going on missions with the members of the Pawtheon. Maybe a little too busy, especially when combined with their schoolwork, and their renewed friendship with Dallas, who keeps trying to get Frankie’s attention.
But then, disaster strikes and the Omniversal Doghouse is destroyed. With the Pawtheon scattered across the world, Frankie is suddenly thrust into their first world-saving mission: sniff out the members of the Pawtheon and keep them safe.
But it soon becomes clear that there is a spy in their midst, and the forces of chaos are closer to home than Frankie ever imagined.
Young Adult
I Was a Teenage Death God by M.J. Beasi
Every time seventeen-year-old Charlie Ford touches someone, they absorb seconds of their life . . . which adds up when Charlie has no way of giving that time back. It feels like enough of a curse without Lou―the bratty bully of a ghost who’s hung around Charlie since childhood―forcing them to hand over that stolen life for her to use.
Charlie will steal life from whomever Lou tells them to, as long as she doesn’t hurt Charlie’s twin Sam or their best friend and secret crush Ravi. So when Lou tries to force Charlie to take life from Ravi, Charlie refuses, and Lou retaliates.
When Lou goes after Sam, Charlie breaks down and finally tells Ravi about their life-stealing abilities―and after some internet sleuthing, Ravi finds out that Charlie might not be the only person born with that power. Along with Sam, they embark on a weekend road trip to meet a pair of self-proclaimed “death gods,” hoping for answers and, if they’re lucky, a solution to the whole Lou problem. But the answers about their powers only bring up more questions. With dark discoveries at every turn, Charlie must wrestle with a supernatural legacy that redefines their relationships to Sam and Ravi―and calls their very humanity into question.
How (Not) to Conjure a Boyfriend by Jordon Greene
Standing at the foot of my comatose crush’s hospital bed is not how I envisioned becoming Hayden’s partner. First I needed to find out if he’s even into the theys, then hopefully some flirting, a cute date up in the valley or at Taco Bell, a kiss. The normal cutesy stuff, but this? No! Hayden wasn’t supposed to get hurt, especially not a trauma-induced extended nap from slipping on a wet floor at my job. On top of that, one of the nurses told his family we’re dating. Sure, it might have been because that’s what I told her when I was trying to get to his room to see him…but it’s not true.
The wild part is his family believes it! They really think I’m the Hayden Marcus’s short little curly-haired enbyfriend. His partner! With one little lie, now they think he isn’t straight, and I’m terrified he actually is.
So now I’m having Thanksgiving with a family I barely know because, as far as they’re concerned, I’m “dating” their son. I can’t tell if this is a sign my love spell worked, or if I royally messed up and I’m being punished. I mean this family is amazing. It’s everything I wish I had, and honestly more. But it’s all based on a lie.
Oh, and as if all of that wasn’t bad enough, my comatose crush has an even cuter brother who I think I might be falling for…
They Want Us Dead by CL Montblanc
Seventeen-year-old Sam Tombs hopes to get more eyes on the videos they make to raise awareness of crimes against LGBTQ+ teens. A true crime content creator event seems like the perfect opportunity to grow their channel―until the group becomes stranded at an eerie Victorian mansion, and one of them is killed in the night.
Sam’s alibi, and the only person they can trust, happens to be their mean, dorky internet nemesis Dylan. But the two must now put aside their rivalry and use their investigative skills to figure out who among the remaining teens is the killer, before their own deaths become tomorrow’s trending content.
According to Plan by Christen Randall
As editor-in-chief of their school’s literary magazine, Mal Flowers expected senior year fall to be full of cozy sweaters, good coffee, and copyediting. They just want to stick to The Plan to graduate and get out of their small midwestern town—a place where, as a broke, fat, queer person with ADHD, they’ve never really fit in. But when budget cuts result in the lit mag’s cancellation, Mal is suddenly scrambling to fill the hole in their college application.
That is, until Emerson Pike—loud, confident, and Mal’s complete opposite—suggests that the staff go rogue and create a zine instead. Which would be cool, except that making and selling contraband isn’t exactly what Mal envisioned as the extracurricular activity on their college application. A zine would be unofficial, unapproved, and definitely not in The Plan.
But a zine is also a good way to spend more time with Emerson, whose playful banter and bad jokes Mal can’t seem to get enough of. And maybe, with a group of new friends, the back of the charming coffee shop where Emerson works could be somewhere Mal does belong. Because breaking the rules with Emerson—and flirting with her over coffee—is fun . . .
The Saw Mouth by Cale Plett
When Cedar was a child, fragmented, tortured souls woke up in the world’s most complex machines, destroying them and pushing technology back decades. A fall. The Fall, some said, and they called it Autumn.
Ten years later, following a family tragedy, Cedar moves to the nowhere town of Sawblade Lake only to find something hunting them. A long, bent shadow that reeks like rot and has the mouth of a deep crevice. It’s after Cedar, and it’s willing to go to any lengths to break them, including preying on Cedar’s new queer family.
The closer it circles, the more it seems to weave through Cedar’s whole life. It might stretch back to their mother’s gruesome, inexplicable death, to the murk of their missing family, to the house they grew up in. Back and back and back to the first day of Autumn.
Cedar thought they understood how their world had changed, but they’re far from dredging the bottom.
Bad Queer by
I feel invincible.
Like I could run and run
and never stop for breath.
I feel a power in me
I didn’t know I had.
The power to speak,
to say what I need.
Surya knows exactly who they are. Coming out as non-binary to their queer parents and best friend? A total non-event. Catching feelings for Blessing – the boy in drama club whose smile makes their heart race? That’s trickier.
As their final year of school unfolds and the two of them grow closer, Surya starts to question: Does Blessing really see them? Or just a version of them that doesn’t exist? They’d ask their best friend for advice, but she’s busy falling in love too. . .
Queens of the Crypt, Vol. 1 by Dom&Ink (August 25, 2026)
There is a crypt that sits in the darkness… A crypt that exists across multiple realms, that houses your worst fears… And it’s coming to Widow’s Creek…
When seventeen-year-old Barnaby Jones comes out to their parents as nonbinary, they expect that to be the toughest part of their day. But it turns out the toughest part might actually be when their best friend, Fi, is kidnapped by a faceless killer who’s been abducting teens all across the small town of Widow’s Creek. Or is it when Barnaby unwittingly summons the undead and fabulous Queens of the Crypt through a portal in their bedroom closet?
Either way, the Queens—the Phantom, the Countess, Lady Invisible, the Creature, and the Bogeywoman—are here to help. As the horrors creep closer, can Barnaby work together with the scream queens to save Widow’s Creek from destruction and unmask the Faceless Frightener?
Your Boyfriend Needs an Exorcist by Justine Pucella Winans (September 1, 2026)
Jennifer’s Body meets The Weight of Blood in this horror-comedy about an evil spirit looking for a second chance at love and life.
Just because Schuyler is a bloodthirsty evil spirit doesn’t mean she can’t fall in love. Ever since Wren Castillo moved into the house Schuyler haunts, Schuyler has been crushing hard. But Wren has a boyfriend, Enzo, and he’s the worst. Schuyler has no choice but to watch as Enzo treats Wren terribly-until she accidentally possesses him.
With Enzo’s spirit nowhere to be found, Schuyler must pretend to be him until she can set things right. But Schuyler feels more at home in Enzo’s body than she ever did in her own, and as she grows closer to his family and friends-including Wren-she starts to wonder if this could all be for keeps.
Maintaining a possession is harder than Schuyler expected, though, and it might just take some spilled blood to keep her new body going strong. Worse, it turns out she’s not the only one interested in stealing Enzo’s body. When another evil spirit threatens everyone Schuyler now holds dear, she must decide just how far she’s willing to go to secure her second chance at love-and life.
Death in Verse by Julie Lew (September 22, 2026)
The first ferry of the new term arrives in six days. Let us hope it finds you alive and well.
When Bronte Cade’s mother vanishes, the only clue she leaves behind is an invitation to a retreat for magical poets. Determined to find answers, Bronte attends in her mother’s place by masquerading as the esteemed Dr. Sappho Cade.
But when Bronte arrives at the Radley School of Poetry, she finds the island abandoned—save for six other confused poets, one line of an unfinished poem, and an anonymous host who issues a chilling ultimatum through an enchanted gramophone: complete the spell, and they may return home on the next ferry. Fail, and they die.
There’s another problem: Bronte isn’t magical.
With escape impossible, the body count rising, and her mother still missing, Bronte forms a wary alliance with the infuriating yet brilliant Marlowe Fang. Together, they race to unmask their host before Bronte is exposed—or worse, the next victim.
But beneath the host’s sinister scheme lies an even more insidious plot, one decades in the making. It bleeds beyond the shores of Radley like an ink stain, and no one’s hands are clean. Least of all the people Bronte trusts most.
Luck of the Draw by Christine Suggs (November 10, 2026)
From the creator of ¡Ay, Mija!, a budding cartoonist attends an elite pre-college art program, where the only limit to their potential is their…budget. Luck of the Draw raises the question: how do you paint your future with bargain store brushes?
It’s the summer before senior year, and Mar Ortega is holding a ticket out of town: an acceptance letter to a prestigious pre-college program at an elite art school in Baltimore. Suddenly, Mar’s deepest desires are within reach: studying illustration, making a real friend group…and maybe even using new pronouns?
At the Baltimore Institute of Art, everything feels perfect. Mar is thrilled by the artsy community and incredible, engaging instructors, but when the time comes to buy painting supplies, the hefty price tags feel like a slap in the face. In fact, everything about this college is expensive, and there aren’t many students that look like Mar. As the days go by, Mar begins to wonder if they truly belong at art school…but it’s also the only place they’ve ever felt truly at home.
Inspired by creator Christine Suggs’s own experience attending a pre-college art program, Luck of the Draw illustrates what can happen when reality becomes part of your dream.
Every Room a Hunger by Nino Cipri (February 16, 2027)
Nobody comes to Home House by choice.
Leo was pressured into accepting a juvenile diversion sentence after a security guard overreacted and labeled him a threat. Rowan’s doctor told them it was the only in-patient psych facility with an available bed. Caroline, horrified at having been labeled a lesbian by her evangelical parents, expects conversion therapy. Frankie, who is transmasc, hides his longing for acceptance under a firebrand personality, but as a veteran of troubled teen programs thanks to his hateful birth mother, he’s the only one who knows to expect the worst.
When these teens arrive at Home House, they’re promised a fresh start. But they’re quickly ambushed by their own traumas in attack therapy and bullied in the name of growth. Plus, the House’s strange atmosphere twists everything, making it hard to tell what’s real and what’s not.
Though the program is designed to isolate them and poison them against each other, when the horror becomes all too real, Rowan, Frankie, Leo, and Caroline can agree on one thing: they must escape. But it’s not the adults running the house or their fellow inmates that are trying to keep them inside the houses’ four walls – it’s Home House itself that doesn’t want them to leave.
Adult Fiction
Field Guide for the Formerly Villainous by Autumn K. England
When Oaklin Nettlewood accidentally joined an evil world-ending cult, mind control magic forced them to do unspeakable things. Years later, the realm’s heroes have finally saved the day, defeated the villain, and shattered the last remnants of the spell…leaving destruction in their wake. And so, with a spell-damaged memory and whole bushel of trauma, Oaklin escapes to a small farm on the edge of Mossley’s Rest and swears an oath: After all the things they were forced to do with their magic, they will never use it again. Ever.
The no-nonsense ghost granny who lives in Oaklin’s house has other ideas. As she coaxes Oaklin out of their shell and back into the world, they find companionship (a grumpy horse and a very good dog), friendship (a local bard and magical baker who should just kiss already), and tentative romance (a paladin-librarian who makes Oaklin’s heart come alive for the first time in ages.) Magic even seems possible again―though strictly for foraging magical mushrooms and protecting the farm from bugs.
Healing comes in gentle waves, and Oaklin doesn’t have to do it alone. So what does it mean when an inquisitor comes to town to hunt former cultists just as Oaklin begins to think that maybe, just maybe, they deserve a happy ending after all?
Canon by Paige Lewis
Yara can’t comprehend why God has chosen them to slay Dominic, the ruthless leader of the army of Bad Guys. Cast out by their family and reeling from a destructive relationship, Yara has never felt weaker—but with nothing left to lose, they strike a deal. Abandoning their solitary days of embroidery and obsessive cleaning, Yara reluctantly embarks on a perilous odyssey designed to prepare them for the daunting mission ahead.
Meanwhile, Adrena, a disillusioned prophet with a terrifying secret power, is determined to become the hero of this story. Desperately seeking the glory of God’s approval and the promise of heaven, where she hopes to reunite with her beloved mother, Adrena must first persuade Harpo, the leader of the Good Guys, that her plan is God’s will.
Mad Eden by Morgan Thomas
Ro and Liam live in a ramshackle cabin in a secluded stretch of Florida. Neither their home nor their sometimes-tumultuous relationship is what the world would call perfect, but to Ro―newly diagnosed with autism and working as a patient navigator for people seeking gender-affirming care―their life, despite the deeply inhospitable political climate, is a kind of paradise.
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what shatters their peace. There’s Quentin, the unpredictable teenager for whom Liam and Ro are quasi-parents, who visits on his way to college, where he plans to finally start T. There’s the appearance of “Mad Eden,” an online fantasy serial about heroic dragon riders that increasingly becomes Ro’s obsession. And then there’s a seemingly innocuous patient video call that results in consequences both unexpected and grave. This triad of circumstances sends Liam’s and Ro’s world spinning toward disaster―unless Ro can become the real-life hero their situation demands without betraying who they are and who they love.
Robbie McNeil’s Hit List by Brianna Heath
For this hitwoman, curiosity may be killer.
Contract killer Robbie McNeil never asks questions. Her mission is simple. Do the job. Get paid. Get back to running the karaoke bar she co-owns with her queerplatonic partner and fellow contract killer, Dee. And it works… Until their ambitious new theatrical venture breaks the bank.
When a mysterious new client hires Robbie for a hit, she takes the job, even though it’s sketchy as hell he won’t tell her anything but the target’s name. But hey, she didn’t build her reputation by being curious, and she desperately needs the cash.
Except something about this new target doesn’t add up. When he disappears with no record he ever existed, she chucks her no-questions-asked policy out the window, determined to figure out who this target really is. But the price for asking questions is high and might just cost Robbie everything she holds dear.
Puck by Samantha Allen
Meet Puck: the nonbinary, thirty-year-old mastermind behind Homewreckers, a dating show that puts troubled couples through hell—with a little help from their exes. Used to being the one pulling the strings, it shocks Puck when their life undergoes a plot twist of its own and their college roommate Mia announces her engagement to her ex’s best friend, Damon. Having only recently broken up with longtime-boyfriend Zander, and never having had much in common with Damon (who lovesick Lena has always pined after), Mia’s news leaves her friend group reeling—and Puck’s mind whirling.
When they arrive for a week of wedding festivities at an upscale resort in the Appalachian forest, Puck immediately sees that Mia’s marriage will lead to misery, and takes it upon themself to save their friends by rearranging the couples—without anyone finding out. But as Puck comes up against a type-A maid of honor hell-bent on making this wedding happen, it becomes clear that they will have to deliver the greatest stunt of their career. If only they can take their eyes off the bridesmaid. After all, the course of true love never did run smooth…
Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | B&N
The Body Riddle by Sam MacKinnon
The body riddle—What if the body you fought for no longer fits the life you built before it?
When Lex finally receives a date for their chest surgery, they’re not sure if they want to go through with it. But it’s been a year since they’ve had sex with their cis partner, Ada, who believes Lex’s surgery will rekindle their kinky dynamic.
When surgery doesn’t have the outcome either expects, Lex, in the spirit of their non-monogamous relationship, tries to support Ada’s new romance with Noah, a cis man. But Lex’s jealousy spirals—Is Ada replacing them? And does she prefer cis masculinity after all?
Then Lex meets Sadie, a magnetic nonbinary coworker who awakens a new attraction. Lex thought they were only attracted to women and has never dated another trans person. Unsure about their changing sexuality, Lex hides the budding romance from Ada. As secrets build, Lex must decide what kind of love—and life—they really want.
A Vow Made Twice by Emma Denny
Haunted by love. Bound by duty.
After inheriting his father’s title, Earl Ash Barden has no choice but to find a wife to ensure the family line. But Ash has pledged himself to another, and making new vows – even with his lover long-since dead – feels like the ultimate betrayal to his memory.
Skilled bowman and unconventional widow Agnes Forrett wants two things: to be true to herself, and to avoid marrying the childhood friend her family is determined will take her hand. When Ash arrives in her keep, she realises he’s the perfect choice to grant her the freedom she needs to be the person she is – be that lady, lord, or something else entirely.
Agreeing to enter a marriage of convenience, their plan is set … until a roadside attack thrusts a familiar face back into Ash’s life, and with it a choice about his future. Whilst his feelings for the ghost from his past remain as strong as ever, he can’t deny his growing affection for Agnes too. Now Ash must ask himself: can one heart truly be pledged to two people?
Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | B&N
Hold Your Horses by Ali K. Mulford
When socially anxious, secretly asexual, and thoroughly horse-illiterate Hollis lands a job at Prickle Island Zoo (by pretending to be a cowgirl from Wyoming), she’s just hoping for a fresh start . . . and maybe to hide away from the world with a Jane Austen novel and meerkat in tow.
What Hollis doesn’t expect is to fall head over heels—literally—for the charming non-binary zookeeper, Heron.
Heron Lachlan knows that living at their family zoo on a tiny island and being ace means the dating pool is zero. Heron accepts that their longest running relationship will probably be with a literal crane . . . until Hollis trots in wearing a thrifted cowboy hat and lying through her teeth.
As zoo hijinks, escaped ostriches, and a meddlesome family of zookeepers bring them closer, Hollis and Heron must face their fears, their secret hopes, and their wildly incompatible knowledge of equine fun facts.
Buy it: Amazon
The Unmagical Life of Briar Jones by Lex Croucher
For as long as they can remember, Briar Jones dreamed of attending the Temple School of Thaumaturgy. Behind its looming ornate gates, the elite prep school—the place that has produced the most CEOs and Prime Ministers in British history—is whispered to be magical.
Briar’s best friend, Sebastian Wolfe, never cared about Temple or believed in the rumors. He just wanted them to stay together forever.
When, at age 11, Seb gets an acceptance letter and Briar doesn’t, their childhood friendship is shattered. Seb vanishes onto Temple’s grounds and Briar resigns themself to a mundane life. But they can’t completely forget their yearning for Temple, for the extraordinary, to be one of the chosen in the ivory tower.
Seven years later, a summer job advert appears: a temp position sorting through the junk in Temple’s attics. Briar takes it. And they discover that quiet, sensitive Seb, the boy they once loved more than anything else in the world, has become Bastian: a beautiful, arrogant villain feared by most of the school. And worse, the secrets Temple is hiding might not be so magical after all, but a dark conspiracy with implications that extend far beyond the gates.
Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | Blackwell’s
A Lady for All Seasons by TJ Alexander
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a woman who has lost her fortune must be in need (not want) of a husband. Beautiful, cunning Verbena Montrose must marry to save herself and her odious family from abject poverty. Fortunately, what she lacks in a dowry, she makes up for in the currency of gossip.
When she hears an alarming rumor about her very dear, very queer friend Étienne that could ruin him, she comes to his aid with a proposal—for a marriage of convenience, that is. But when Verbena discovers that a mysterious and celebrated poet by the name of Flora Witcombe has been publishing verses that hint she is onto their scheme, Verbena has no choice but to pretend to be a poet herself to confront her in a local salon. And—unexpectedly—be charmed by her.
Flora, in turn, is terrified by and smitten with Verbena in equal measure. But she holds a secret of her own: he is also William Forsyth, a struggling novelist and fifth son of a minor noble family. And if circumstances don’t allow Flora to woo Verbena, perhaps William can. Faced with two suitors and a fiancé, Verbena, who has always had to be clever to survive in society, starts to realize she may need to think outside of society’s constraints to find true happiness.
Perverts: Stories by Mac Crane
An employee at a hunting ground where people pay to act out hate crimes prepares to meet their girlfriend’s parents for the first time. A self-destructive client engages in an affair with their therapist, careening their relationship toward its inevitable breaking point. At a theme park where men pay to ogle women dressed as sirens, a mild-mannered boat attendant gets engaged to the star performer. And in the title story, a pregnant internet sex worker blackmails her clients into attending a disastrous party.
Nothing is off limits for Mac Crane as they rework classic stories of rejection, isolation, and connection to suggest that the so-called pervert, by existing in the margins of society, may be the one who sees the world most clearly. Crane brings their keen eye for the unsavory to seventeen transgressive stories that are as tantalizing and addictive as the characters’ experiences. A provocative and uproarious collection about pleasure, performance, and pain, Perverts is an exaltation of the awesome depravity of queer modernity.
The Iridescents: Stories by Emrys Donaldson
Steeped in a fabulist version of the American South, The Iridescents highlights how the LGBTQ+ community transforms everyday acts of support and survival into miracles, redefining sainthood and spiritual history through the lens of queer resilience and fierce joy. A trans man visits a donut shop with his ailing dog to pray for advice. Genderqueer lovers search the desert for a ballerina saint. Three-hundred-year-old crustacean oracles predict the future of our oceans. Blending irreverence with reverence, these stories explore the contemporary yearning to find meaning in something larger than ourselves.
Strange Lights by Mira
Parenting is never easy, but it’s a hell of a lot harder when your toddler is a chupacabra.
Paranormal investigator and cryptozoologist Reggie has embraced her fate as parent to an adopted toddler, Eldi—a bloodsucking chupacabra with a fondness for goats. Reggie wants nothing more than to put her complicated past in the rearview mirror and fade into as much obscurity as her toddler will allow. But a rash of UFOs in the night sky and a couple of crop-circle-carving Roombas force Reggie into an investigation that attracts the attention of an old enemy, an anti-supernatural agency hunting for creatures like Eldi. To outwit them, Reggie must team up with Calvin, a podcaster-turned-werewolf whose charm is a real threat to Reggie’s rule against romantic attachments.
With Reggie’s history quickly catching up to her and Eldi in the agency’s crosshairs, any shred of normalcy evaporates. Reggie must decide: Can she confront her dark past to save Eldi—and an entire alien species—from getting wiped out of the universe?
This Knight Topples Empires by Ry Herman (November 3, 2026)
Jules is tired of running low-stakes errands with their five magically mismatched sisters, whose skills include killing plants, inducing sneezing, and making smaller windows … slightly larger. Blessed with a poorly controlled ability to make flowers bloom, Jules longs for a mission where they can actually prove themself. And when the siblings stumble upon a rival kingdom’s plot to overthrow their royal family, Jules sees an opportunity.
What follows is a whirlwind of botched disguises, accidental heroics, talking animals with surprisingly strong opinions, and one very inconvenient crush on the most sought-after princess in the land. And through all this, Jules learns that happy endings are indeed possible, even if you’re not quite Prince Charming. A cozy yet epic retelling of a Romanian fairy-tale, This Knight Topples Empires proves that the greatest victories of all are love and self-acceptance.
Two Can Play That Game by Zakiya N. Jamal (November 17, 2026)
Chelsea has never cared about sports. But when she’s invited to sit courtside at a New York Rebels game, she welcomes the break from her usual routine. What she doesn’t expect is a basketball nearly colliding with her face—or the six-foot-four hottie who jogs over, flashing a heart-stopping grin, to retrieve it.
Adrienne “AD” Daniels is a player on and off the court, notorious for their inability to stay in a relationship. Still, something about Chelsea sticks with them—even though their instant connection can’t bring AD to offer more than one night.
But AD’s agent makes a pitch: Chelsea should pretend to be AD’s girlfriend. It’s a strategic move. AD, hoping to retire after this season, needs to lock down some brand deals—but their identity as a Black, nonbinary lesbian with a messy dating history makes sponsors wary. Chelsea, a sex-positive influencer, is ready to take her platform to a new level, and this feels like the perfect next step. With Chelsea’s network and AD’s star power, they could both strengthen their public images. Once the season ends, they’ll go their separate ways.
As the ruse starts to work and their connection deepens, Chelsea finds herself on unsteady ground. Falling for AD wasn’t part of the plan, and if she follows through, she just might lose her heart and the future she’s finally starting to build.
Nonfiction
Queer and How We Got Here by Hazel Newlevant
When Hazel was twelve years old, they came out as bisexual to their parents. At the time, they couldn’t have imagined who they are today: a nonbinary, transmasculine person in a loving queer relationship.
In seeking to understand their own history, Hazel takes readers on a parallel journey through queer history—from the origins of Western concepts of sexual orientation, to the synthesis of hormones, to the evolution of trans health care. They unpack the economic underpinnings of gender roles. They dive into the origins behind our concept of “coming out,” the history of “female husbands,” neopronouns, and the emergence of drag kings.
As Hazel grows and changes, so does their understanding of those who came before them, and the interweaving of both narratives gives the reader a powerful entryway into not just Hazel’s journey of self-actualization, but the queer community at large.
Let Us Play: Winning the Battle for Gender Diverse Athletes by Harrison Browne and Rachel Browne
The debate over the inclusion of gender diverse people in sport has become the latest battleground in the fight for basic human rights and equality. Trans and nonbinary people around the world are facing physical harm and violence—including death—at unprecedented rates. In Let Us Play, trans athlete Harrison Browne and investigative journalist Rachel Browne reveal how the opposition towards gender diverse athletes is fueled by fear and a moral panic as opposed to facts around what makes “a level playing field.”
Interweaving Harrison’s first-hand experience as a transgender athlete with exclusive accounts—from athletes, coaches, policymakers, and advocates on the front lines—Let Us Play dismantles the illusion that sports have ever been fair, that trans athletes pose a threat to women’s sports, and that gender-affirming healthcare for athletes should be prohibitive to play.
Calling for a reframing of the binaries from youth and high school levels all the way to the national leagues, Browne and Browne offer a new path forward, led by solutions proposed by gender diverse athletes themselves.
Gender Queer: The Annotated Edition by Maia Kobabe
In 2014, Maia Kobabe—who uses e/em/eir pronouns—thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was the only thing e felt comfortable with strangers knowing about em. Then e created Gender Queer. Maia’s intensely cathartic autobiography charts eir journey of self-identity, which includes the mortification and confusion of adolescent crushes, grappling with how to come out to family and society, bonding with friends over erotic gay fan fiction, and facing the trauma and fundamental violation of pap smears. Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, Gender Queer is more than a personal story: It is a useful and touching guide on gender identity—what it means and how to think about it—for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere.
This special annotated edition calls on voices from academic and creative communities to further shed light on the creation of Kobabe’s work—from exploring the technicalities of comic creation to highlighting personal anecdotes from a host of writers and artists discussing their own experiences growing up queer. Featuring commentary from designer and animator Phoebe Kobabe (The ABCs of Identities), cartoonist Ashley R. Guillory, Dr. Sandra Cox (associate professor of English at Southwest Missouri State University), Matthew Noe (Lead Collection & Knowledge Management Librarian at Harvard Medical School), author Hal Schrieve (Fawn’s Blood), and many more, this beautiful hardcover edition promises to be a wonderful educational tool for years to come.
(Out) on the Road: The Radical Joy of Queer Travel by Lindsey Danis
Queer people spend around $100 billion annually on travel, and are twice as likely as the general population to hold a passport. In short, they love to travel!
Despite their lavish spending, queer travelers are often underserved. They are either overlooked when it comes to travel guides, or are encouraged to stick to a handful of “safe” destinations. This conventional wisdom doesn’t build their confidence or validate their identities. Nor does it teach them how to advocate for themselves as travelers or plan off-the-beaten-path adventures to new places. And, with the advent of anti-LGBTQ+ policies across the United States and elsewhere, travel has become more fraught than ever for queer individuals.
Weaving personal experience with data and interviews, (Out) On the Road empowers LGBTQ+ travelers to face their fears, expand their comfort zones, find community, and thrive on the road. This book provides readers with a framework for planning travel, navigating risks, and becoming self-reliant. Written in a tone that centers female and nonbinary points of view, (Out) On the Road offers a deep dive into the queer travel experience.
