Finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award and a Lambda Literary Award, and author of BIG FAMILIA ‘s ALL FRIENDS ARE NECESSARY, set in the Bay Area, following a late-30s bisexual man’s effort to reconnect to the world through misadventures in dating, Peloton, and OnlyFans after his marriage dissolves in the wake of his partner’s loss of a full-term pregnancy, to Evan Hansen-Bundy at Algonquin, in a pre-empt, by Eleanor Jackson at Dunow, Carlson & Lerner (world).
R. Lee Fryar’s FLIPPING, pitched as an enemies-to-lovers mash-up of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir and The Money Pit, in which a gay ghost and a psychic house flipper duke it out over a haunted house with an agenda of its own, to Lisa Green at Mystic Owl, in a nice deal, for publication in November 2022.
Digital artist ‘s BLUEBIRD, in which a lesbian gunslinger fights spies in space, against her home faction, with a mysterious bounty hunter to protect her sister and the entire galaxy, to Gemma Creffield at Angry Robot, in a nice deal, for publication in February 2022, by Lauren Spieller at TriadaUS Literary Agency (world English).
Authors of THE GAY AGENDA and THE QUEER TAROT and owners of the Ash + Chess stationery store Ashley Molesso and Chess Needham’s ABC-DECONSTRUCTING GENDER, an illustrated ABC book, with each page featuring a word and then an illustration that shows that words can be neutral or not tied to one specific gender, disrupting the notion that words are typically gendered or related to either “masculine” or “feminine” associations, drawn in their singular brightly colored, risographed style, to Julie Matysik at Running Press Kids, in an exclusive submission, by Meg Thompson at Thompson Literary Agency (world).
Author of A LESSON IN VENGEANCE Victoria Lee’s THE GIRL THAT TIME FORGOT, pitched as a sapphic The Umbrella Academy with time travel, in which a teenage girl, one of five adepts training in a mysterious new magic, discovers that her fellow adepts have recently murdered someone and are planning to kill again, to Krista Marino at Delacorte, for publication in spring 2023, by Holly Root and Taylor Haggerty at Root Literary (NA).
‘s STUNT GIRL, in which real-life historical figure Nell Nelson—one of the early undercover female journalists called stunt girls—investigates working conditions in the garment factories of New York City in the summer of 1888, while also falling in love with real-life historical figure and queer icon Alice Austen, the first female street photographer, illustrated by , to Andrea Colvin at Little, Brown Children’s, for publication in winter 2025, by Wendi Gu at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates for the author, and by Tanya McKinnon at McKinnon Literary for the illustrator (world).
Lambda, Stonewall, and PEN Center USA Literary award-winning author ‘s DESTINATION UNKNOWN, a story about two teen boys—one bold and headstrong, one hesitant and yearning—who find each other in 1987 New York City and try to figure out love, sex, and identity as AIDS decimates and galvanizes the gay community, to David Levithan at Scholastic, for publication in May 2022, by Linda Epstein at Emerald City Literary Agency (NA).
Composer Edward Underhill’s debut ALWAYS THE ALMOST, about a trans classical pianist who resolves to spend his junior year winning back his ex-boyfriend and defeating his arch-nemesis at the biggest piano competition of the year, only to have his carefully-laid plans in both love and music disrupted when a new boy moves to town and makes a play for his heart, pitched as for fans of Becky Albertalli and Phil Stamper, to Sylvan Creekmore at Wednesday Books, in a very nice deal, in a two-book deal, for publication in spring 2023, by Patricia Nelson at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency (world).
Minister of outreach and media strategy at Middle Church Benjamin Perry’s LEARNING TO CRY: AN INTIMATE HISTORY OF OUR TEARS–AND HOW THEY MIGHT CHANGE THE WORLD, in which a queer minister and activist explores our rich legacy of weeping, why we stopped crying, and how tears can change both our culture and our future, to Valerie Weaver-Zercher at Broadleaf, for publication in spring 2023 (world).
British journalist, editor, and artist ‘s THE TRANSGENDER ISSUE: AN ARGUMENT FOR JUSTICE, an overview of the oppression faced by transgender people, the relationship of trans rights to feminism and gay and lesbian liberation, and a call for a trans rights movement that can bring a more joyful world for us all, with a new introduction for US readers, to Jessie Kindig at Verso, in a nice deal, for publication in September 2022, by Emma Paterson at Aitken Alexander (NA).
Book Riot contributor and writer of their monthly horoscopes and book recommendations column ‘s QUEERLY BELOVED, a queer debut rom-com set in Tulsa, Oklahoma that follows semi-closeted baker and bridesmaid-for-hire Amy’s search for Happily Ever After — with the new mysterious lesbian in town, of course, but most importantly, with herself, to Katy Nishimoto at Dial Press, in an exclusive submission, by Jamie Carr at The Book Group (world).
Liz Bowery’s COVER STORY, a hate-to-love queer rom-com pitched as The West Wing meets RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE by way of THE HATING GAME, in which a viral photo forces two ruthless political staffers to fake a relationship to save their presidential candidate’s campaign, to Emily Ohanjanians at Mira, by Laura Zats at Headwater Literary Management (world English).
NYU MFA graduate ‘s ACTS OF SERVICE, following a young queer woman’s consuming affair with a straight couple, a dangerous arrangement that forces her to interrogate her own desire and complicity; an examination that cuts to the heart of modern sexuality, power, politics and moral responsibility, to Parisa Ebrahimi at Hogarth, in a pre-empt, by Dan Kirschen at ICM (NA).
Griffin Prize-winning poet and scholar ‘s A MINOR CHORUS, about an unnamed narrator who abandons his unfinished thesis to return to his hometown, where he has a series of intimate encounters with friends, lovers, and elders that brings the modern queer and Indigenous experience into sharp relief, to David Ross at Hamish Hamilton Canada, at auction, in a two-book deal, for publication in fall 2022, by Stephanie Sinclair at CookeMcDermid (Canada).
2019 Lambda Fellow ‘s THE UNFORTUNATES, pitched in the vein of LUSTER, QUEENIE, and MY YEAR OF REST AND RELAXATION, about a queer, half-Nigerian college student enraged and exhausted by the racism, tokenism, and indifference to the Black experience at her elite college, who pens a no-holds barred thesis (“to my advisors: Mr. White Supremacy, Mr. Capitalism, Ms. Racism”) documenting her search for the truth about The Unfortunates, an unlucky subset of her Black classmates who keep dying at the hands of white supremacy, to Millicent Bennett at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, in a pre-empt, for publication in spring 2022, by Larissa Melo Pienkowski at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world, excl. UK).
Zoe Sivak’s SEASON OF ASHES, about a biracial woman who flees to Paris following the start of the Haitian Revolution and into the inner circle of Robespierre and his mistress, where she must contend with her place in both uprisings, to Jen Monroe at Berkley, in a pre-empt, by Amy Elizabeth Bishop at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret (world).
McDuffie Diversity Award-winning author of M.F.K. ‘s REEL LOVE, based on the author’s experiences embracing being asexual, the graphic novel follows a young woman who goes on a summer trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains where she develops a passion for fishing, meets a boy, and learns there’s no getting away from growing up and from facing her questions about identity and love, to Polo Orozco at Random House Children’s, in a major deal, at auction, in a two-book deal, for publication in fall 2023, by Patrice Caldwell at New Leaf Literary & Media (world English).
Editor at ACC Art Books B.L. Radley’s STRICTLY NO HEROICS, a queer adventure love story pitched as Dumplin’ meets Deadpool, about a teen without powers trying to survive and find justice and love in a world filled with superheroes and villains, to Holly West at Feiwel and Friends, at auction, for publication in winter 2023, by Beth Marshea at Ladderbird Literary Agency.
Ciera Burch’s THE INEVITABILITY OF HOME, in which a Black girl is forced to meet her estranged, dying grandmother all while grappling with ancestral ghosts, a girl who wants to be more than friends, and a trove of secrets; pitched as perfect for fans of Nina LaCour and Jesmyn Ward, to Elizabeth Lee at Farrar, Straus Children’s, in a good deal, in a pre-empt, in a two-book deal, for publication in winter 2023, by Patrice Caldwell at New Leaf Literary & Media (world English).
Author of RULES FOR VANISHING Kate Alice Marshall’s THESE FLEETING SHADOWS, a queer supernatural in which a girl inherits her ancestral home, only to discover that a dark presence lurks within it—and within herself; with the help of the young woman, she must unlock the house’s secrets and her own if she wants to survive, to Maggie Rosenthal at Viking Children’s, in a good deal, in a two-book deal, for publication in 2022, by Lauren Spieller at TriadaUS Literary Agency (NA).
Brian Kennedy’s debut A LITTLE BIT COUNTRY, in which two boys—one who wants to be the biggest openly gay country music superstar, and one who, as the grandson of a faded Nashville star, hates country music more than anything—fall for each other while working at a Dollywood-esque theme park, to Kristin Daly Rens at Balzer & Bray, in a good deal, at auction, by Lauren Spieller at TriadaUS Literary Agency (world English).
Author of HOT DOG GIRL and VERONA COMICS Jennifer Dugan’s COVEN, in which a young witch must leave sunny California for dreary upstate New York after members of her coven are murdered under mysterious circumstances, illustrated by Kit Seaton, to Stephanie Pitts at Putnam Children’s, for publication in the fall of 2022, by Brooks Sherman at Janklow & Nesbit for the author, and by Ben Grange at L. Perkins Agency for the illustrator (world).
Author of WHO I WAS WITH HER and Lambda Literary Writer’s Retreat fellow ‘s THE SONG I SANG UNCARING, set during the Swingjugend movement in 1930s and 1940s Berlin, centering around a girl who finds herself swept up in the culture and the resistance while falling for another girl in the middle of it all, again to Catherine Wallace at Harper Teen, for publication in summer 2022, by Eric Smith at P.S. Literary Agency (world English).
Patrice Caldwell’s WHERE SHADOWS REIGN, set in the aftermath of a war between vampires, humans, and the gods that created them, in which a vampire princess teams up with a seer, who only has visions of death, to journey to the island of the dead—a mythical place where all souls go at their end—to save her kidnapped best friend, to Vicki Lame at Wednesday Books, in a good deal, at auction, in a two-book deal, for publication in fall 2022, by Sara Megibow at kt literary (NA).
Author of the forthcoming IN DEEPER WATERS F.T. Lukens’s HOW TO SURVIVE EVER AFTER, pitched as Dungeons & Dragons meets CARRY ON, in which a group of teenagers, having just completed a quest to save their kingdom, now need to figure out what comes next while their de facto leader is accidentally crowned king and is caught up in a curse that requires him to find his soulmate before he turns 18, to Kate Prosswimmer at Margaret K. McElderry Books, in a nice deal, in an exclusive submission, for publication in spring 2022, by Eva Scalzo at Speilburg Literary Agency.
Activist, artist, filmmaker, and scholar ‘s MARSHA: THE BEAUTY AND DEVIANCE OF MARSHA P. JOHNSON, a biography of the legendary Black trans activist whose role in the 1969 Stonewall riots sparked the gay liberation movement, and whose fabulous, fearless life as a colorful trans woman still inspires the current wave of LGBTQ protests, to Amber Oliver at Tiny Reparations Books, at auction, for publication in fall 2022, by Georgia Frances King and Bridget Wagner Matzie at Aevitas Creative Management (world).
Culture columnist at Longreads Jeanna Kadlec’s HERETIC, a memoir in essays on life after leaving the evangelical church, queerness, and what faith looks like in the face of millennial loneliness and desire for community and meaning—all in light of the hold evangelicalism has on American politics, power structures, and pop culture, to Jenny Xu at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, at auction, by Dana Murphy at The Book Group (world).
Former senior editor at Out Lester Fabian Brathwaite’s RAGE: THE EVOLUTION OF A BLACK QUEER BODY IN AMERICA, a collection of essays about how his search for love thrust him into the crosshairs of a potent and specific brand of racism, converting his trauma into a weapon and critiquing the evolution of his Black queer consciousness, to Amber Oliver at Tiny Reparations Books, by Robert Guinsler at Sterling Lord Literistic (world).
