Tag Archives: H.E. Edgmon

Happy Disability Pride Month 2026!

It’s Disability Pride Month, and we’re celebrating with books that have queer disabled main characters! For more books with queer disabled MCs, or to look for specific conditions, check out our Disability/Neurodivergence page, linked here, as well as past years’ posts.

If you have a visual disability and are looking for more accessible titles, you can find lists on the site of books available in Large Print or Braille under those hyperlinked words.

Note: For more Autism rep, check out this Autism Acceptance Month post. For more Cerebral Palsy rep, check out this World Cerebral Palsy Day post.

Middle Grade Fiction

Boundless ed. by Marieke Nijkamp (October 27, 2026)

A middle-grade short story anthology featuring disabled kids, written by disabled writers, and edited by #1 New York Times-bestselling author Marieke Nijkamp. 

Imagine the boundless experiences of disabled kids: A Deaf Southerner who solves local mysteries. A young diabetic plant mage encountering magical mishaps. A girl with epilepsy discovering a hidden world in her grandmother’s garden. A chronically fatigued gamer saving the day―and their team―during an epic VR space race.

From juvenile arthritis to asthma and from wheelchairs to neurodiversity, Boundless: 17 Stories Starring Disabled Kids writes disability back into the mainstream narrative of the commercial genres we love, with an inclusive and intersectional lens.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

Continue reading Happy Disability Pride Month 2026!

Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Middle Grade: July-December 2026

Finding My Spark by Isabelle Jameson and Sylvain Cabo, trans. by Ann Marie Boulanger (August 18th)

When puberty hits, Alex begins to realize he’s been misgendered as a girl his whole life.

First, he stops wearing dresses and paints his room a dark color. Then he cuts his hair short. But people still aren’t seeing the real him. His mom has always called him her “little star,” but he doesn’t feel like shining. Instead, he feels like hiding away.

Alex knows he should tell people who he really is, but he can’t seem to get the words out. Will his parents be mad? Will his friends still like him? He decides to write a letter to his mom telling her the truth. Slowly but surely, he starts telling others―first the rest of his family, then his class. The big explosion he worried about never comes, just love and support. He’s still his mom’s little star, and he can finally be himself and shine.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

Continue reading Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Middle Grade: July-December 2026

Fave Five: Trans M/M YA SFF

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon

Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White

To Our Untamed Core by Sonido Reyes

 Flyboy by Kasey LeBlanc

Bonus: These all have trans MCs, but for one with a cis MC and trans LI, check out The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried by Shaun David Hutchinson

Happy Trans Day of Visibility 2026!

Today is Trans Day of Visibility, and we’re celebrating as we do by highlighting a whole bunch of wonderful trans books! For even more recs, check out previous years’ posts.

Children’s Fiction

Sebastian Metzger Solves a Sticky Situation by Kyle Lukoff and Kat Fajardo

This is the 11th book in the The Kids in Mrs. Z’s Class series

Meet the kids in Mrs. Z’s wacky and wonderful third grade class! Sebastian Metzger is overjoyed when he checks out a brand-new book on octopodes from the school library, but everything goes awry when the book gets ruined.

Sebastian Metzger loves learning new things, especially about animals. He’s actually been experiencing many new things recently: third grade marks his first year living as a boy. Some things don’t change, though. His imaginary friend, Jimothy the chipmunk, is always by his side!

When Sebastian spots a new book in the school library on octopodes, he just knows he has to check it out. The only problem is: this book is so new, the librarian hasn’t even prepared it to be checked out! Sebastian promises to take great care of it, and the librarian makes an exception.

But when his little sister accidentally ruins the book, Sebastian is devastated. Will Sebastian find a way to save the library book and redeem himself?

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | B&N

Continue reading Happy Trans Day of Visibility 2026!

Happy Native American Heritage Month 2025!

Happy Native American Heritage and Indigenous History Month! We’re celebrating, as we do, with books by Indigenous authors, starring Indigenous characters. (Note: Despite the title of the post, these books include indigenous characters from all over.) While the usual affiliate links are included, you’re strongly encouraged to order from the Native-owned Birchbark Books where available!

Picture Books

Phoenix Ani’ Gichichi-I’ / Phoenix Gets Greater by Marty Wilson-Trudeau with  Phoenix Wilson (text) and Megan Kyak-Monteith (illustration), translated by Kelvin Morrison

Phoenix loves to play with dolls and marvel at pretty fabrics. Most of all, he loves to dance―ballet, Pow Wow dancing, or just swirling and twirling around his house. Sometimes Phoenix gets picked on and he struggles with feeling different, but his mom and brother are proud of him. With their help, Phoenix learns about Two Spirit/Niizh Manidoowag people in Anishinaabe culture and just how special he is.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | Birchbark Books

Continue reading Happy Native American Heritage Month 2025!

Fave Five: YA Fantasy with Nonbinary MCs

For Middle Grade, click here.

Costumes for Time Travelers by A.R. Capetta

The Wicked Bargain by Gabe Cole Novoa

Venom & Vow by Anna-Marie McLemore and Elliott McLemore

Godly Heathens by H.E. Edgmon

Spell Bound by F.T. Lukens

Bonus: Coming in 2026, The Bloody and the Damned by Rebecca Coffindaffer

Happy Native American Heritage Month 2024!

Happy Native American Heritage Month 2024! To celebrate, we’re featuring books starring queer Native American and First Nations characters, by Native American and/or First Nations authors, as well as poetry and nonfiction. For even more recommendations, check out last year’s post! (And again, while the usual affiliate links are included, you’re strongly encouraged to order from the Native-owned Birchbark Books where applicable!)

Middle Grade

The Flicker by H.E. Edgmon

One year ago, a solar flare scorched the Earth and destroyed life as we know it.

With their parents gone and supplies running dangerously low, step-sisters Millie and Rose only have one chance at survival: leave home with their infant half-brother and loyal dog Corncob in search of Millie’s grandma, a Seminole elder. As they navigate the burning land with a group of fellow survivors, dodging The Hive, a villainous group that has spent the last year hoarding supplies and living in luxury, the siblings have to learn to rely on each other more than ever, and discover how to build a new life from the ashes.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | Birchbark Books

Continue reading Happy Native American Heritage Month 2024!

New Releases: April 16, 2024

Queer and Fearless: Poems Celebrating the Lives of LGBTQ+ Heroes by Rob Sanders and Harry Woodgate

Learn about the lives of some of the most important LGBTQ+ heroes in this unique picture book that combines poetry and biographical information to honor those at the forefront of LGBTQ+ history.

Young readers will learn about the lives and legacies of seventeen heroes of the queer community from both past and present. Marsha P. Johnson, Harvey Milk, Cleve Jones, Pauline Park, Richard Blanco, and Pete Buttigieg are just a few of the iconic figures represented in this wonderfully designed and colorful picture book with illustrations by Harry Woodgate. A perfect introduction to the people who have stood up for what they believed in, lived lives according to their own ideals, and their partners, friends, and allies, the poetry in this book provides great read-aloud potential sure to entertain and inform readers of all ages.Beloved children’s book author Rob Sanders makes the lives of the most prominent LGBTQ+ heroes jump off of the page through his beautiful poems and detailed biographies. This title includes a glossary as well as a description of each poetry style, making it an ideal choice for home and classroom.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

Continue reading New Releases: April 16, 2024

Happy Native American Heritage Month 2023!

Happy Native American Heritage Month 2023! To celebrate, we’re featuring books starring queer Native American and First Nations characters, by Native American and/or First Nations authors, as well as indigqueer poetry. While the usual affiliate links are included, I encourage you to check out and purchase from Birchbark Books, whose links are included as well.

To Buy Now

Rabbit Chase by Elizabeth LaPensée and K.C. Oster (Anishinaabe)

59342979. sx318 Anishinaabe culture and storytelling meet Alice in Wonderland in this coming-of-age graphic novel that explores Indigenous and gender issues through a fresh yet familiar looking glass.

Aimée, a non-binary Anishinaabe middle-schooler, is on a class trip to offer gifts to Paayehnsag, the water spirits known to protect the land. While stories are told about the water spirits and the threat of the land being taken over for development, Aimée zones out, distracting themselves from the bullying and isolation they’ve experienced since expressing their non-binary identity. When Aimée accidentally wanders off, they are transported to an alternate dimension populated by traditional Anishinaabe figures in a story inspired by Alice in Wonderland.

To gain the way back home, Aimée is called on to help Trickster by hunting down dark water spirits with guidance from Paayehnsag. On their journey, Aimée faces off with the land-grabbing Queen and her robotic guards and fights the dark water spirits against increasingly stacked odds. Illustrated by KC Oster with a modern take on their own Ojibwe style and cultural representation, Rabbit Chase is a story of self-discovery, community, and finding one’s place in the world.

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | Birchbark Books

Continue reading Happy Native American Heritage Month 2023!

Fave Five: Queer Indigenous Fiction, Part III

For Part I, click here. For part II, click here.

Those Pink Mountain Nights by Jen Ferguson (YA, Métis)

Into the Bright Open by Cherie Dimaline (YA, Métis)

Godly Heathens by H.E. Edgmon (YA, Seminole)

Between Earth and Sky by Rebecca Roanhorse (Fantasy)

Coexistence: Stories by Billy-ray Belcourt