For Part I, click here.
A Vile Season by David Ferraro
This Ravenous Fate by Hayley Dennings
The Good Vampire’s Guide to Blood and Boyfriends by Jamie D’Amato
Honeybloods by I.S. Belle
Keep it in the Dark by Justin Arnold
Bonus: A new mention for Where Shadows Meet by Patrice Caldwell, as both the title and pub date changed since the last one (but it is now officially and newly out!)
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.
Today on the site we’re revealing the cover of Girls Night by I.S. Belle, a Sapphic YA Fight Club releasing from Tiny Ghost Press on April 16, 2024! Here’s the story:
Gossip queen ALEX longs to be seen.
Cheerleader TULSI is sick of cutting people on her sharp heart.
New kid CLEMENTINE can’t escape the violence inside.
And wallflower SUNJU is tired of keeping quiet.
When a twist of fate brings this unlikely quartet together, sparks and punches fly.
They call it ‘Girls Night,’ an underground fight club that’s girls only.
Soon every girl at Sterling High is showing up to class with bruised knuckles and split lips.
Alex, Tulsi, Clementine, and Sun have never felt more alive. Until demonic head cheerleader, Quentin Scarhill, steps in the ring with her eyes on Alex.
As Quentin’s hold over Alex tightens, Girls Night spirals out of control.
Can they take back the reins before things turn deadly?
And if Girls Night ends will they throw in the towel their newfound friendships?
Here’s the badass cover by Bhavna Madan!
Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | B&N
I.S. Belle writes dark queer YA books with happy endings. She works in a bookshop and stops to pat dogs in the street. She has a Masters of Creative Writing from the International Institute of Modern Letters. You can find her on Tiktok at @i.s.belle_writes and on Instagram @isbelleauthor.
NYT staff writer ‘s HOW TO SLEEP AT NIGHT, about two gay siblings whose lives are upended when one decides to run for office—as a Republican, to Rachel Kahan at William Morrow, in a pre-empt, for publication in 2025, by Brettne Bloom at The Book Group (world).
‘s TIL DEATH DO US BARD, a queer light fantasy pitched for fans of LEGENDS & LATTES and Our Flag Means Death, about a grumpy ex-adventurer who must come out of retirement to save the kingdom and his sunshiny bard husband, with the “help” of a flirty necromancer grandmother and the ghost of his ex-wife, to Natasha Qureshi at Hodderscape, in a two-book deal, for publication in fall 2023, by Rebecca Podos at Rees Literary Agency (world English).
‘s debut WAKE UP, NAT & DARCY, a sapphic romance in which two former hockey teammates turned rivals with unresolved feelings for one another are paired to host a popular morning show’s Olympic coverage and must remain professional amid a nation of fans closely scrutinizing their incredible chemistry, to Errin Toma at Carina Adores, for publication in 2024, by Paige Terlip at Andrea Brown Literary Agency (world English).
‘s LOVE AND RAINBOW LATTES, an opposites-attract queer romance, to Emily Gowers at Storm Publishing, in a two-book deal, for publication in January 2024 (world).
Author of ZEUS GRANTS STUPID WISHES ‘s TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE, a literary science fiction mystery set in a half-drowned future Los Angeles where knowledge is literally currency, following an aging combat veteran who is dragged into investigating a murder that brings his ex-boyfriend back into his life decades after they parted ways, in a humorous, heartfelt blend of noir and cyberpunk, to Anna Kaufman at Anchor, by Jessica Felleman at Jennifer Lyons Literary Agency (NA).
McSweeney’s contributor and one of Electric Literature’s emerging voices of Nigerian fiction Chukwuebuka Ibeh’s BLESSINGS, a coming-of-age story following a young gay man in Nigeria longing for love, acceptance, and queer joy, culminating in the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act of 2014, interrogating how politics can impact ordinary lives, to Cara Reilly at Doubleday, for publication in 2024, by Emma Leong at Janklow & Nesbit (US).
Republic of Consciousness finalist Nate Lippens’s RIPCORD, which follows the narrator of MY DEAD BOOK as he navigates sex, intimacy, class, and queer aging in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Hedi El Kholti at Semiotext(e), in a nice deal, in an exclusive submission, in a two-book deal, for publication in 2024, by Chris Fischbach at Fischbach Creative (NA).
Author of JUDE SAVES THE WORLD ‘s ASKING FOR A FRIEND, in which a socially anxious, nonbinary 12-year-old lies to their mother about having friends at their new school—and has to make them fast when Mom wants to throw them a 13th birthday party, to Erin Haggett and Amanda Sun at Scholastic, with Emily Seife editing, in an exclusive submission, for publication in 2024, by Jennifer Azantian at Azantian Literary Agency (world).
Emmy-winning journalist and poet Dr. , MD’s picture book THE ABCS OF QUEER HISTORY, a journey through key individuals, movements, and moments across a range of identities and experiences, illustrated by , to Pamela Bobowicz at Workman Kids, in an exclusive submission, for publication in spring 2024, by Lilly Ghahremani at Full Circle Literary for the author (world).
Author-illustrator Jayme Brodie’s debut graphic novel STICK TOGETHER, which follows a 12-year-old who is excited to become fast friends with her new neighbor and join her school’s field hockey team, but her burgeoning friendship with (and crush on) one of the prettiest and coolest girls that she’s ever seen threatens to come between them, and she must reconcile their differences, and her feelings for the pretty one, before they tear the team and each other apart, to Rachel Diebel at Feiwel and Friends, in a very nice deal, at auction, for publication in spring 2026, by Jennifer Azantian at Azantian Literary Agency (world).
Author of BIANCA TORRE IS AFRAID OF EVERYTHING ‘s ONE KILLER PROBLEM, a humorous mystery following a bisexual teen with IBS and an attitude, who convinces her murder-mystery obsessed, bookish best friends to investigate the suspicious death of their favorite teacher, to Lily Kessinger at Harper Teen, with Alice Jerman editing, for publication in summer 2024, by Jordan Hamessley at New Leaf Literary & Media (world English).
‘s NAV’S FOOLPROOF GUIDE TO FALLING IN LOVE, a queer rom-com in which an expert at flirting who is allergic to love agrees to give the painfully shy new girl lessons in romance to win over her best friend, only to fall for the new girl herself, to Olivia Valcarce at Inkyard Press, in a pre-empt, in a two-book deal, for publication in summer 2024, by Holly Root at Root Literary (world English).
Author of ZOMBABE and BABYLOVE I. S. Belle’s GIRLS NIGHT, a sapphic YA in which four unlikely friends at an all-girls school start an underground fight club, but what starts out as a way to let off steam quickly snowballs into something larger until the girls are forced to choose between the friendships they’ve made or the club that brought them together, to Joshua Dean Perry at Tiny Ghost Press, in a nice deal, for publication in summer 2024 (world English).
Fashion Fair commentator and founder of The Ground Crew ‘s EVERY INCH A LADY: A MEMOIR, highlighting the author’s life from a model, Wall Street mutual funds broker, department store dynamo, Ebony fashion coordinator and commentator, Vogue editor, and successful businesswoman; taking readers behind-the-scenes with her work with fashion royalty including Michael Kors, Donna Karan, and Ralph Lauren, and candidly discussing her “coming out” after marrying her wife, former WNBA and Olympic silver medalist Gail Marquis in 2011, to Patrik Henry Bass at Amistad, in a good deal, in a pre-empt, for publication in fall 2025, by Alina Mitchell at MacGregor & Luedeke (world).
Long-term survivor of AIDS, prominent advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, and former Metropolitan Community Church pastor Rev. Dr. ‘s DANCING WITH JOY: COMING OUT, SURVIVING AIDS, AND EMBRACING GOD’S GRACE, the story of the man whose 1985 interview with Tammy Faye Baker changed how religious America perceived AIDS and the gay community, to Richard Brown at Rowman & Littlefield, in a nice deal, in an exclusive submission, for publication in March 2024, by George Greenfield at CreativeWell (NA).
Author of IN THE MARGINS ‘s NO ONE TAUGHT ME HOW TO BE A MAN: A TRANSGENDER PERSPECTIVE ON NON-TOXIC MASCULINITY, in the author, a transgender man, examines how we got to this moment of a crisis of masculinity in modern culture and illustrates how transgender men provide unique insights on how readers can become better men, better feminists, and work more in solidarity with people of all genders, to Lil Copan at Broadleaf, for publication in spring 2025, by Trinity McFadden at The Bindery (world).
Justice, equity, and transformation post-doctoral fellow at the University of Calgary ed.’s SHAME-SEX ATTRACTION: SURVIVORS’ STORIES OF CONVERSION THERAPY, an anthology that collects the stories of those who have been harmed by anti-gay conversion therapy, offering hope in community and overcoming their shame, to Alex DiFrancesco at Jessica Kingsley, for publication in January 2025 (world).
