Keep This to Yourself by Tom Ryan
Last Seen Leaving and White Rabbit by Caleb Roehrig
Swipe Right for Murder by Derek Milman
The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass
Surrender Your Sons by Adam Sass
Tag Archives: Ryan Douglass
Fave Five: Queer YA for Dark Academia Lovers
A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee
The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass
People Like Us by Dana Mele
Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
As I Descended by Robin Talley
Bonus: Coming in 2022, My Dearest Darkest by Kayla Cottingham
Authors in Conversation: Julian Winters Interviews The Taking of Jake Livingston Author Ryan Douglass
A few years ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ryan Douglass and a few other authors in a roundtable entitled “Where is the Queer Black Male Voice in YA?” The interviewees were all obvious rising stars, in my opinion, but the very next queer Black male voice to rise up in YA after that post actually belonged to an author I didn’t know yet named Julian Winters.
Fast forward to now, when Douglass has debuted on the New York Times bestseller list (and also managed to publish a volume of poetry called Boy in Jeopardy even before that), Winters is three books in with a fourth, Right Where I Left You, on the way, and both of them are here today to talk about The Taking of Jake Livingston. Here’s a little more on the book, first:
Unfortunately, life as a medium is getting worse. Though most ghosts are harmless and Jake is always happy to help them move on to the next place, Sawyer Doon wants much more from Jake. In life, Sawyer was a troubled teen who shot and killed six kids at a local high school before taking his own life. Now he’s a powerful, vengeful ghost and he has plans for Jake. Suddenly, everything Jake knows about dead world goes out the window as Sawyer begins to haunt him. High school soon becomes a different kind of survival game—one Jake is not sure he can win.
Buy it: Bookshop | B&N | IndieBound
And now, please welcome Julian Winters and Ryan Douglass!
Julian: Ryan! It’s always an honor to chat with you, but this feels especially fantastic because I’m getting to talk to Ryan Douglass, instant New York Times bestselling author of The Taking of Jake Livingston! How wild is that? One week we’re chatting on the day the book is released, then you’re a bestselling author with your debut novel!
Ryan: I don’t even think it’s even sunk in. It’s pretty cool and I’m so glad people have responded well to this story.
Jake’s story continues to inspire me and others to write our books where queer Black boys are at the heart. Where we can celebrate their uniqueness and joy as well as discussing their struggles.
Where did the inspiration for Jake come from? What made you jump into Horror, a genre that doesn’t often showcase Black and/or queer teens as protagonists?
RD: Thank you for saying that. I was very interested in what this book would do for representation politics at the beginning but it’s since become less of a concern. I don’t feel like I’m writing about the “Black queer experience” as much as a slice of life where the MC happens to be Black and queer. I was interested in horror because of the way it explored trauma and fear, how the psyche operates in moments of desperation and the choices people make in perilous situations. That developed as a kid before I realized what it meant to be Black, institutionally, and how the genre treats its Black characters. Later I was able to assess the injustice that occurs in media representation. I wanted to write characters that felt true to me so I put them into the genre I was interested in working in. Since it’s horror, that ends up feeling naturally subversive since the genre usually kills off its Black characters when left to white creators.
JW: I love that this book is gives me old school, paranormal horror vibes, but also looks at the real-life horror Black teens face. It’s very much The Frighteners meets Get Out and so much more. What are some of the themes you wanted to explore, both from the supernatural and real world?
RD: A big theme in the book is how whiteness invades Black consciousness when we’re trying to succeed. It erodes our cultural norms under the guise of professionalism. It’s so normalized to go to PWIs or get a corporate job and link that to merit and moving up. But what you’re doing is negotiating your culture for prestige or financial gain. We’re climbing into systems rooted in a slave system that has never been reformed, and the way we’re treated today mirrors slavery in a way that is better branded. We talk about it but we don’t change these systems in serious ways. It’s so normalized that “talking about it” is a thriving market to make money in. Jake angles into these issues by featuring a Black boy who’s been ripped out of his community and now feels he’s going insane because he can’t get whiteness (Sawyer) off his back. It’s also a book about the ways boys are raised in violence and how hard it becomes to communicate when you feel like you’re being abused and you can’t come up for air. As for the supernatural elements, they’re mostly there to supplement the contemporary issues, and they enhance this “superhero origin story” feel that the book ends up taking on. Black queer boys need superhero icons.
JW: Writing Horror is such a skilled art to me. To be honest, you had me sleeping with the lights on while reading this book! What are the challenges you faced trying to craft out such a terrifying world?
RD: A big challenge when I first chose horror was understanding how it comes to life in literature and how that may be similar or different from what you see in movies. You can’t use jump scares or make use of music and lighting, which are naturally spooky tactics in film. Evoking an unsettling atmosphere with words is the big challenge because it’s so reliant on a sense of dread and zeroing in on the darker aspects of language, imagery, and metaphor. You also have to be irreverent enough to take risks with what is psychologically comfortable.
JW: This book is told from dual POVs. Jake’s story in real time, then the antagonist Sawyer Doon’s world through his diary entries. Sawyer is a frightening character. I love that, through his entries, you explore what brought him to the point he’s at in the novel. But you do it without redeeming him. You don’t excuse away his actions. You weave a tragic story in a way that doesn’t give him exoneration but really dives deep into the psyche of someone pushed to their edge.
What was it like writing a character like Sawyer?
RD: I always sigh with relief when I hear that because a big worry of mine was that he might come off as redeemable or else too evil to for a normal person to tolerate reading from his perspective. Writing Sawyer was all about achieving the right balance. I had to constantly ask myself how much distance I wanted to keep from any vulnerabilities this character might have. That then opens questions of how much distance this character keeps from himself. What about him disturbs himself, and what about his surroundings have disturbed his way of thinking? That’s when I got into the meat of where this character comes from in a way that felt like it wasn’t softening him too much but centering an exploration of how empathy and connection comes into his world as this fleeting object but the crux of him is evil.
JW: Besides all the scary imagery you describe so perfectly, another part of this novel I love is the way you explore queer Black boys like Jake and their relationships with others. Specifically, Jake’s older brother, Benji.
What were some of the things you hope readers get from their relationship, along with the one Jake has with his mother?
RD: I like these boys because they ring true as Black boys without there being any performative emphasis on how “Blackity Black” they are. I want readers to get a slice of human experience without the primary mission being to convince white people that Black people are people too. When the mission is not saying to the reader “hey guys, Black people are actually human”, we’re able to dive into intracommunity issues like the relationships between straight Black men and queer Black men, how straight Black women may support homophobic actions of their straight Black partners at the expense of the queer boys or men in their lives. There’s the issue of whiteness but at the center of Jake’s trauma are the issues he dealt with at home. The experience of living in his identity is having layers of trauma to work through. I think readers who are not of that experience or of an intersectional experience can learn from that.
JW: Let’s talk about Allister! From the moment he appeared on the page, I felt like Jake—like I could breathe again. He’s this amazing addition in Jake’s life. Someone who doesn’t question who Jake is, what he’s going through, nor does he brush off Jake’s struggles. And let’s be real—their romance made me swoon.
Who is Allister to this book and why was it so important for you two show that kind of relationship between two queer Black boys?
RD: Allister serves as a breath of fresh air to the narrative. I didn’t have a lot of time to develop his relationship to Jake because I was trying to develop other things in a time crunch during edits. But I ended up liking how simple it was. I like that Jake has someone in his life that doesn’t feel untrustworthy or overly complicated. I don’t know if boys as perfect as Allister exist, but I think it’s important that gay teens are able to see what healthy love looks like.
JW: As an avid fan of yours, I know you love music! I get some of my best recs from your social media posts. If (or when?) this book becomes a movie, who would be on the soundtrack? What songs or artist would best accompany Jake’s story?
RD: I’m a big fan of the artists that come out of NUXXE, which is Shygirl’s record label. It’s gritty, often spooky experimental pop. I’d want Shygirl, Sega Bodega, COUCOU CHLOE, Y1640 and similar sounding artists to be on the soundtrack. I think their sounds really mirror the tone of the book.
JW: People are gobbling this book up! I know I did. We all have to know: What can we expect next from Ryan Douglass?
RD: I’m working on another YA horror currently. I’ve been trying several genres in recent years, from historical fantasy to paranormal romance to rom-com. I want to tap into so many genres but teen horror and dark academia come naturally. I’m good at that so I’m developing in that genre as a writer for now. Later I plan to spread out to other things.
New Releases: July 2021
I Have Always Been Me by Precious Brady-Davis (1st)
In I Have Always Been Me, Brady-Davis reflects on a childhood of neglect, instability, and abandonment. She reveals her determination to dream through it and shares her profound journey as a trans woman now fully actualized, absolutely confident, and precious. She speaks to anyone who has ever tried to find their place in this world and imparts the wisdom that comes with surmounting odds and celebrating on the other side.
A memoir, a love story, and an outreach for the marginalized, Precious’s sojourn is a song of self-reliance and pride and an invitation to join in the chorus.
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The Very Nice Box by Eve Gleichman and Laura Blackett (6th)
But when Ava’s new boss—the young and magnetic Mat Putnam—offers Ava a ride home one afternoon, an unlikely relationship blossoms. Ava remembers how rewarding it can be to open up—and, despite her instincts, she becomes enamored. But Mat isn’t who he claims to be, and the romance takes a sharp turn.
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What We Devour by Linsey Miller (6th)
Lorena Adler has a secret―she holds the power of the banished gods, the Noble and the Vile, inside her. But she has spent her entire life hiding from the world and her past. Lorena’s content to spend her days as an undertaker in a small town, marry her best friend, Julian, and live an unfulfilling life so long as no one uncovers her true nature.
But when the notoriously bloodthirsty and equally Vile crown prince comes to arrest Julian’s father, he immediately recognizes Lorena for what she is. So, she makes a deal―a fair trial for her betrothed’s father in exchange for her service to the crown.
The prince is desperate for her help. He’s spent years trying to repair the weakening Door that holds back the Vile…and he’s losing the battle. As Lorena learns more about the Door and the horrifying price it takes to keep it closed, she’ll have to embrace both parts of herself to survive.
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Everyone in this Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily R. Austin (6th)
In between trying to memorize the lines to Catholic mass, hiding the fact that she has a new girlfriend, and erecting a dirty dish tower in her crumbling apartment, Gilda strikes up an email correspondence with Grace’s old friend. She can’t bear to ignore the kindly old woman, who has been trying to reach her friend through the church inbox, but she also can’t bring herself to break the bad news. Desperate, she begins impersonating Grace via email. But when the police discover suspicious circumstances surrounding Grace’s death, Gilda may have to finally reveal the truth of her mortifying existence.
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Impacted by Benji Carr (6th)
After all, Jessa did just abandon her church and her family to be with him. And she did just have Wade’s baby. So their relationship has already caused enough gossip in the small Georgia town of Waverly.
When Wade tries to end the affair, the breakup takes a brutal turn, leaving Wade in a state of panic. His life is under threat. His secrets could be exposed, and his family may fall apart before he realizes what kind of person he wants to be.
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Rise to the Sun by Leah Johnson (6th)
Toni is grieving the loss of her roadie father and needing to figure out where her life will go from here — and she’s desperate to get back to loving music. Olivia is a hopeless romantic whose heart has just taken a beating (again) and is beginning to feel like she’ll always be a square peg in a round hole — but the Farmland Music and Arts Festival is a chance to find a place where she fits.
The two collide and it feels like something like kismet when a bond begins to form. But when something goes wrong and the festival is sent into a panic, Olivia and Toni will find that they need each other (and music) more than they ever imagined.
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Saved by a Song: The Art and Healing Power of Songwriting by Mary Gauthier (6th)
Mary Gauthier was twelve years old when she was given her Aunt Jenny’s old guitar and taught herself to play with a Mel Bay basic guitar workbook. Music offered her a window to a world where others felt the way she did. Songs became lifelines to her, and she longed to write her own, one day.
Then, for a decade, while struggling with addiction, Gauthier put her dream away and her call to songwriting faded. It wasn’t until she got sober and went to an open mic with a friend did she realize that she not only still wanted to write songs, she needed to. Today, Gauthier is a decorated musical artist, with numerous awards and recognition for her songwriting, including a Grammy nomination.
In Saved by a Song, Mary Gauthier pulls the curtain back on the artistry of songwriting. Part memoir, part philosophy of art, part nuts and bolts of songwriting, her book celebrates the redemptive power of song to inspire and bring seemingly different kinds of people together.
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It Ends in Fire by Andrew Shvarts (6th)
1. Infiltrate Blackwater Academy
2. Win the Great Game
3. Burn Wizard society to the ground. As a child, Alka witnessed her parents’ brutal murder at the hands of Wizards before she was taken in by an underground rebel group.
Now, Alka is deep under cover at the most prestigious school of magic in the Republic: Blackwater Academy, a place where status is everything, where decadent galas end in blood-splattered duels, where every student has their own agenda.
To survive, Alka will have to lie, cheat and kill, to use every trick in her spy’s toolkit. And for the first time in her life, the fiercely independent Alka will have to make friends, to recruit the misfits and the outcasts into her motley rebellion.
But even as she draws closer to victory – to vengeance – she sinks deeper into danger as suspicious professors and murderous rivals seek the traitor in their midst, as dark revelations unravel her resolve. Can Alka destroy the twisted game… without becoming a part of it?
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There’s Magic Between Us by Jillian Maria (6th)
Lydia joins the treasure hunt, thrilled by all the things it offers her. Things like endless places in the forest to explore and a friendship with Eden that threatens to blossom into something more. But even as she throws herself into her new adventure, some questions linger. Why did her mom keep magic a secret? Why do most of the townspeople act like the forest is evil? It seems that, as much as Lydia would like to pretend otherwise, not everything in Fairbrooke is as bright and easy as a new crush…
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Out of Character by Annabeth Albert (6th)
Jasper Quigley is known for moonlighting on a popular gaming blog, but he’s eager to stop playing the sidekick. The last thing he wants is to help out Milo and dredge up feelings he’d rather forget. But helping Milo comes with some perks, including getting his help running a cosplay event at the local children’s hospital. All that forced proximity was not supposed to come with kissing, and definitely not falling in love…
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Summer in the City of Roses by Michelle Ruiz Keil (6th)
All her life, seventeen-year-old Iph has protected her sensitive younger brother, Orr. But this summer, with their mother gone at an artist residency, their father decides it’s time for fifteen-year-old Orr to toughen up at a wilderness boot camp. When he brings Iph to a work gala in downtown Portland and breaks the news, Orr has already been sent away. Furious at his betrayal, Iph storms off and gets lost in the maze of Old Town. Enter George, a queer Robin Hood who swoops in on a bicycle, bow and arrow at the ready, offering Iph a place to hide out while she figures out how to track down Orr.
Orr, in the meantime, has escaped the camp and fallen in with The Furies, an all-girl punk band, and moves into the coat closet of their ramshackle pink house. In their first summer apart, Iph and Orr must learn to navigate their respective new spaces of music, romance, and sex work activism—and find each other to try to stop a transformation that could fracture their family forever.
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Bolla by Pajtim Statovsi, trans. by David Hackston (6th)
![Bolla: A Novel by [Pajtim Statovci, David Hackston]](https://i0.wp.com/m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41HN-E3oryL.jpg?resize=229%2C336&ssl=1)
After these fevered beginnings, Arsim and Miloš’s unlikely affair is derailed by the outbreak of war, which sends Arsim’s fledgling family abroad and timid Miloš spiraling down a dark path, as depicted through chaotic journal entries. Years later, deported back to Pristina after a spell in prison and now alone and hopeless, Arsim finds himself in a broken reality that makes him completely question his past. What happened to him, to them, exactly? How much can you endure, and forgive?
Entwined with their story is a re-created legend of a demonic serpent, Bolla; it’s an unearthly tale that gives Arsim and Miloš a language through which to reflect on what they once had. With luminous prose and a delicate eye, Pajtim Statovci delivers a relentless novel of desire, destruction, intimacy, and the different fronts of war.
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Out of Bounds by A.J. Truman (9th)
![Out of Bounds (Browerton University Book 7) by [A.J. Truman]](https://i0.wp.com/m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41V50YK4KFS.jpg?w=217&ssl=1)
But the plan didn’t include my childhood crush walking back into my life. First, he wrecked my concentration. Then my body.
For college jock Cliff, crushing it on the court is all that matters. Yet his tightly maintained status quo begins to unravel when he discovers Brennan, his brother’s smooth-talking best friend, is also on campus.
Brennan’s last minute transfer to Browerton was an escape from a relationship that left his heart in shambles. When he offers to help Cliff with a class project, lessons in sketching give way to sizzling sexual tension – and some fun with neckties.
But as Cliff’s star rises on campus, their relationship becomes less of a release and more of a liability to his NBA aspirations. Brennan fears his heart is bound to be broken again, while Cliff grapples with a decision that’ll come down to the buzzer: the game or the guy?
Buy it: Amazon
The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass (13th)
Unfortunately, life as a medium is getting worse. Though most ghosts are harmless and Jake is always happy to help them move on to the next place, Sawyer Doon wants much more from Jake. In life, Sawyer was a troubled teen who shot and killed six kids at a local high school before taking his own life. Now he’s a powerful, vengeful ghost and he has plans for Jake. Suddenly, everything Jake knows about dead world goes out the window as Sawyer begins to haunt him. High school soon becomes a different kind of survival game—one Jake is not sure he can win.
Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | B&N | IndieBound
The Calyx Charm by May Peterson (July 13th)
But her biggest secret is her love for her best friend, who only knew her as Mercurio Benedetti, not the woman she is today. Now he’s dead, and she’ll never be able to tell him the truth.
Tibario Gianbellicci was dead. And then…he wasn’t. Reborn as an immortal, he has powers he never imagined. Powers his crime boss mother wants to tap into to destroy their longtime rivals: House Benedetti.
But Tibario is hiding something, too: his best friend is a Benedetti—and the love of his life. With a second chance at life, he’ll have to risk revealing his heart.
Paranorthern and the Chaos Bunny A-Hop-Calypse by Stephanie Cooke and Mari Costa (13th)
In this deliciously humorous, cozy, and bewitching graphic novel, sometimes the most of powerful magic comes from our connections to family and friends (but kicking bunny butt is great, too)
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Flash Fire by T.J. Klune (13th)
Nick landed himself the superhero boyfriend of his dreams, but with new heroes arriving in Nova City it’s up to Nick and his friends to determine who is virtuous and who is villainous. Which is a lot to handle for a guy who just wants to finish his self-insert bakery AU fanfic.
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A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers (13th)
One day, the life of a tea monk is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of “what do people need?” is answered.
But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how.
They’re going to need to ask it a lot.
Becky Chambers’s new series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?
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The Rebellious Tide by Eddy Boudel Tan (13th)
The father he’s never met is Kostas, the commanding officer of a luxury liner sailing the Mediterranean. Posing as a member of the ship’s crew, Sebastien stalks his unwitting father in search of answers to why he disappeared so many years ago.
After a public assault triggers outrage among the ship’s crew, Sebastien finds himself entangled in a revolt against the oppressive ruling class of officers. As the clash escalates between the powerful and the powerless, Sebastien uncovers something his father has hidden deep within the belly of the ship—a disturbing secret that will force him to confront everything he’s always wondered and feared about his own identity.
Buy it: Bookshop | Indiebound | Amazon | B&N | Chapters Indigo
Breeder by Honni van Rijswijk (13th)
Every day in Zone F is a struggle, especially for Will who is fighting against time for access to an illegal medical drug, Crystal 8. Under the cover of night, Will travels to the Gray Zone, where life is less regulated and drugs — and people — are exchanged for gold. There, Will meets Rob, a corrupt member of the Corporation running a Breeder smuggling operation. Will also meets Alex, another teen whom he quickly recognizes as a Breeder in disguise.
Suddenly, Will has an illicit job and money, access to Crystal, and a real friend. As the pair grows closer, Alex shares her secret: she is part of the Response, an uprising to overthrow the Corporation. Caught up in the new friendship, Will and Alex become careless as the two covertly travel into Zone B for a day of adventure. Nothing goes as planned and Will’s greatest fear is realized. Will his true identity be revealed?
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The Mythic Koda Rose by Jennifer Nissley (13th)
Everything Koda Rose knows about her father she’s learned from other people. Moving to New York City with her mom won’t change that, even if New York was Mack Grady’s city—where he became famous, where he wrote his music, and also where he died.
Koda has more important things on her mind. Like how she’s in love with her best friend, Lindsay, and doesn’t have the courage to tell her. Agonizing over how to confess her feelings leads Koda to explore Mack’s enigmatic history in search of answers. She tracks down her dad’s band mate and ex-girlfriend, Sadie Pasquale, and finds herself becoming rapidly obsessed with the mercurial musician.
As Koda and Sadie’s complicated bond deepens, they are both forced to grapple with the black hole Mack left behind, or get sucked in themselves.
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Three Seeking Stars by Avi Silver (13th)
With her home still in jeopardy, she doesn’t have much choice. What she does have is Ahnschen, an endearing prince of the dangerous empire that is disrupting the sãoni migration route. If she can convince Hei to trust him long enough to safely return him to his people, Sohmeng might just have a chance of restoring balance to Eiji. That is, until an unexpected piece of her past emerges from the jungle and challenges everything she is trying to achieve.
Now, the future of Eiji rests in Ahn’s hands—but does he have the courage to face the harm inflicted by his people? Determined to do right by the beloved friend who died on his sword, it will take a lot of unlearning to prove to Eiji—and to Hei—that he can, in fact, be good.
In the second chapter of the Sãoni Cycle, Sohmeng, Hei, and Ahn must reconcile their places in the human and natural worlds, all while navigating their complicated feelings about one another.
Buy it: Amazon | Bakka Phoenix | Kobo
Being You: A First Conversation about Gender by Megan Madison and Jessica Ralli, illustrated by Anne/Andy Passchier (13th)
Developed by experts in the fields of early childhood and activism against injustice, this topic-driven board book offers clear, concrete language and beautiful imagery that young children can grasp and adults can leverage for further discussion.
While young children are avid observers and questioners of their world, adults often shut down or postpone conversations on complicated topics because it’s hard to know where to begin. Research shows that talking about issues like race and gender from the age of two not only helps children understand what they see, but also increases self-awareness, self-esteem, and allows them to recognize and confront things that are unfair, like discrimination and prejudice.
This second book in the series begins the conversation on gender, with a supportive approach that considers both the child and the adult. Stunning art accompanies the simple and interactive text, and the backmatter offers additional resources and ideas for extending this discussion.
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The Monster I Am Today: Leontyne Price and a Life in Verse by Kevin Simmonds (15th)
Structured operatically into overture, acts, and postlude, The Monster I Am Today guides the reader through associative shifts from arias like “weather events” and Price’s forty-two-minute final ovation to memories of Simmonds’s coming of age in New Orleans. As he melds lyric forms with the biography of one of classical music’s greatest virtuosos, Simmonds composes a duet that spotlights Price’s profound influence on him as a person and an artist: “That’s how I hear: Her.”
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She Who Became the Sun by Shelly Parker-Chan (20th)
In a famine-stricken village on a dusty yellow plain, two children are given two fates. A boy, greatness. A girl, nothingness…
In 1345, China lies under harsh Mongol rule. For the starving peasants of the Central Plains, greatness is something found only in stories. When the Zhu family’s eighth-born son, Zhu Chongba, is given a fate of greatness, everyone is mystified as to how it will come to pass. The fate of nothingness received by the family’s clever and capable second daughter, on the other hand, is only as expected.
When a bandit attack orphans the two children, though, it is Zhu Chongba who succumbs to despair and dies. Desperate to escape her own fated death, the girl uses her brother’s identity to enter a monastery as a young male novice. There, propelled by her burning desire to survive, Zhu learns she is capable of doing whatever it takes, no matter how callous, to stay hidden from her fate.
After her sanctuary is destroyed for supporting the rebellion against Mongol rule, Zhu takes the chance to claim another future altogether: her brother’s abandoned greatness.
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Everyman by M. Shelly Conner (20th)
Eve’s questions and longing launch a multigenerational story that sprawls back to the turn of the twentieth century, settles into the soil of the South, the blood and souls of Black folk making love and life and fleeing in a Great Migration into the savage embrace of the North.
Eve is a young woman coming of age in Chicago against the backdrop of the twin fires and fury of the civil rights and Black Power movements–a time when everything and everyone, it seems, longs to be made anew.
At the core of this story are the various meanings of love–how we love and, most of all, whom we love. everyman is peopled by rebellious Black women straining against the yoke of convention and designated identities, explorers announcing their determination to be and to be free. There is Nelle, Eve’s best friend and heart, who claims her right both to love women and to always love Eve as a sister and friend.
Brother Lee Roy, professor and mentor, gives Eve the tools for her genealogical search while turning away from his own bitter harvest of family secrets. Mama Ann, the aunt who has raised Eve and knows everything about Mercy, offers Eve a silence that she defines as protection and care. But it is James and Geneva, two strangers whom Eve meets in Ideal, who plumb the depths of their own hurt and reconciliations to finally give Eve the gift of her past, a reimagined present, and finally, her name.
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The River Has Teeth by Erica Waters (27th)
When Natasha’s sister disappears, Natasha desperately turns to Della, a local girl rumored to be a witch, in the hopes that magic will bring her sister home.
But Della has her own secrets to hide. She thinks the beast who’s responsible for the disappearances is her own mother—who was turned into a terrible monster by magic gone wrong.
Natasha is angry. Della has little to lose. Both are each other’s only hope.
From the author of Ghost Wood Song, this eerie contemporary fantasy is perfect for fans of Wilder Girls and Bone Gap.
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Summer Fun by Jeanne Thornton (27th)
Gala writes letters to B—- that she light not only on the Get Happies, but paint an extraordinary portrait of Gala. The parallel narratives of B—- and Gala form a dialogue about creation–of music, identity, self, culture, and counterculture.
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I am Not Starfire by Mariko Tamaki and Yoshi Yoshitani (27th)
Seventeen-year-old Mandy Koriand’r is not her mother. Daughter of Starfire and high school outcast, Mandy is constantly trying to get out from under the shadow of her bright, bubbly, scantily clad, and famous mother. Dyeing her bright orange hair black and sticking close to her best friend, Lincoln, Mandy spends her days at school avoiding Teen Titans superfans and trying to hide her feelings for the gorgeous, popular, and perfect Claire. And while Mandy usually avoids spending too much time with her alien mother, she’s been particularly quiet as she’s keeping one major secret from her: Mandy walked out of her S.A.T.
While Mandy continues to tell Lincoln her plans of moving to France to escape the family spotlight and not go to college, she secretly hides a fear of not knowing her identity outside of just being the daughter of a superhero and who she will become. But when she is partnered with Claire to work on a school project, their friendship develops into something more and a self-confidence unknown to Mandy begins to bloom. Claire seems to like Mandy for being Mandy, not the daughter of Starfire.
But when someone from Starfire’s past comes to disrupt Mandy’s future, Mandy must finally make a choice: give up before the battle has even begun, or step into the unknown and risk everything. I Am Not Starfire is a story about mother-daughter relationships, embracing where you come from while finding your own identity, and learning to be unafraid of failing, if it was even failing in the first place.
Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | B&N | IndieBound
After You Died by Dea Poirier (27th)
Juvenile boys serving time for everything from truancy to murder are hidden away in the sinister School for Boys. Those who manage to escape its bounds with broken bones and scars are the lucky ones. Asher’s afraid he may end up like many of the other students buried beneath unmarked graves. Worse, his fellow inmates may become his next victims.
In hopes of recovering the events from the night of the murder, Asher visits the school’s psychiatrist. But when the memories return, he finds many aren’t his own. Thoughts, feelings, and visions from another life, and another time, slip into his mind. And each new memory brings consequences. First days disappear, then weeks. As the weeks slip away, students follow. He starts seeing his murdered girlfriend Olivia in the woods around the school. One morning, after following her ghost into the forest the night before, he wakes up outside covered in blood with no memory, and fears he’s killed someone else. On top of that, he learns that his sister—who had feared she was being stalked by a boy from their school—has disappeared. Could Asher himself somehow be responsible?
As Asher’s possible body count grows, he knows the answers he needs are trapped within his own mind, and in ghosts from the past. He needs to find out who he is and prove the murders aren’t connected to him or risk losing his sanity and freedom forever.
AFTER YOU DIED is a paranormal thriller loosely based on true events.
Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | B&N | IndieBound
TBRainbow Alert: 2021 YA Starring QBIPoC, Part 2
For part 1, click here!
The Marvelous by Claire Kann (June 8th)
After mysteriously disappearing for a year, Jewel made her dramatic return with an announcement: Three lucky Golden Rule users have been chosen to compete in a mystery treasure hunt at her private estate – all for an unimaginable cash prize. Luna: fifteen, fearless, and Jewel’s biggest fan. Nicole: the new Queen of Golden Rule given an invitation she couldn’t refuse. Stella: the brilliant outsider with a killer ulterior motive.
As the weekend goes on, the line between reality and the game begins to blur and the players begin to realize that money isn’t the only thing at stake.
Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | IndieBound
Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, Nicola Yoon (22nd)
A first meeting.
Long-time friends.
Bitter exes.
And maybe the beginning of something new.
When the lights go out, people reveal hidden truths. Love blossoms, friendship transforms, and new possibilities take flight.
Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | IndieBound
This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron (June 29th)
When Briseis’s aunt dies and wills her a dilapidated estate in rural New York, Bri and her parents decide to leave Brooklyn behind for the summer. Hopefully there, surrounded by plants and flowers, Bri will finally learn to control her gift. But their new home is sinister in ways they could never have imagined–it comes with a specific set of instructions, an old-school apothecary, and a walled garden filled with the deadliest botanicals in the world that can only be entered by those who share Bri’s unique family lineage.
When strangers begin to arrive on their doorstep, asking for tinctures and elixirs, Bri learns she has a surprising talent for creating them. One of the visitors is Marie, a mysterious young woman who Bri befriends, only to find that Marie is keeping dark secrets about the history of the estate and its surrounding community. There is more to Bri’s sudden inheritance than she could have imagined, and she is determined to uncover it . . . until a nefarious group comes after her in search of a rare and dangerous immortality elixir. Up against a centuries-old curse and the deadliest plant on earth, Bri must harness her gift to protect herself and her family.
Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | IndieBound
The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass (July 13th)
Unfortunately, life as a medium is getting worse. Though most ghosts are harmless and Jake is always happy to help them move on to the next place, Sawyer Doon wants much more from Jake. In life, Sawyer was a troubled teen who shot and killed six kids at a local high school before taking his own life. Now he’s a powerful, vengeful ghost and he has plans for Jake. Suddenly, everything Jake knows about dead world goes out the window as Sawyer begins to haunt him. High school soon becomes a different kind of survival game—one Jake is not sure he can win.
Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | IndieBound
A Clash of Steel by CB Lee (September 7th)
1826. The sun is setting on the golden age of piracy, and the legendary Dragon Fleet, the scourge of the South China Sea, is no more. Its ruthless leader, a woman known only as the Head of the Dragon, is now only a story, like the ones Xiang has grown up with all her life. She desperately wants to prove her worth, especially to her mother, a shrewd businesswoman who never seems to have enough time for Xiang. Her father is also only a story, dead at sea before Xiang was born. Her single memento of him is a pendant she always wears, a simple but plain piece of gold jewelry.
But the pendant’s true nature is revealed when a mysterious girl named Anh steals it, only to return it to Xiang in exchange for her help in decoding the tiny map scroll hidden inside. The revelation that Xiang’s father sailed with the Dragon Fleet and tucked away this secret changes everything. Rumor has it that the legendary Head of the Dragon had one last treasure—the plunder of a thousand ports—that for decades has only been a myth, a fool’s journey.
Xiang is convinced this map could lead to the fabled treasure. Captivated with the thrill of adventure, she joins Anh and her motley crew off in pursuit of the island. But the girls soon find that the sea—and especially those who sail it—are far more dangerous than the legends led them to believe.
Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | IndieBound
Things We Couldn’t Say by Jay Coles (September 21st)
It’s hard for Gio to know what to do. Can he forgive her like she wants to be forgiven? Or should he tell her she lost her chance to be in his life? Complicating things further, Gio’s started to hang out with David, a new guy on the basketball team. Are they friends? More than friends? At first, Gio’s not sure … especially because he’s not sure what he wants from anyone right now.
There are no easy answers to love – whether it’s family love or friend love or romantic love. In Things We Couldn’t Say, Jay Coles shows us a guy trying to navigate love in all its ambiguity — hoping at the other end he’ll be able to figure out who is and who he should be.
Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | IndieBound
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao (September 21st)
When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it’s to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister’s death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected—she kills him through the psychic link between pilots and emerges from the cockpit unscathed. She is labeled an Iron Widow, a much-feared and much-silenced kind of female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises instead.
To tame her unnerving yet invaluable mental strength, she is paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest and most controversial male pilot in Huaxia. But now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she will not cower so easily. She will miss no opportunity to leverage their combined might and infamy to survive attempt after attempt on her life, until she can figure out exactly why the pilot system works in its misogynist way—and stop more girls from being sacrificed.
Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | IndieBound
A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger (October 12th)
Oli is a cottonmouth kid, from the land of spirits and monsters. Like all cottonmouths, he’s been cast from home. He’s found a new one on the banks of the bottomless lake.
Nina and Oli have no idea the other exists. But a catastrophic event on Earth, and a strange sickness that befalls Oli’s best friend, will drive their worlds together in ways they haven’t been in centuries.
And there are some who will kill to keep them apart.
Darcie Little Badger introduced herself to the world with Elatsoe. In A Snake Falls to Earth, she draws on traditional Lipan Apache storytelling structure to weave another unforgettable tale of monsters, magic, and family. It is not to be missed.
Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | IndieBound
Spin Me Right Round by David Valdes (November 2nd)
When a hit on the head knocks him back in time to 1985 and he meets the doomed young Chaz himself, Luis concocts a new plan-he’s going to give this guy his first real kiss. Though it turns out a conservative school in the ’80s isn’t the safest place to be a gay kid. Especially with homophobes running the campus, including Gordo (aka Luis’s estranged father). Luis is in over his head, trying not to make things worse-and hoping he makes it back to present day at all.
Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | IndieBound
Here’s to Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera (December 28th)
Arthur is in New York for a dream internship on Broadway, with a boyfriend back at home that he couldn’t be happier with. But when he comes upon Ben cuddled up with a mystery boy, he starts to wonder if his feelings for Ben ever truly went away.
Even as the boys try to focus on their futures, they can’t seem to help running into each other in the present. Is the universe forcing them to question if they’re actually meant to be?
Possibly not. After all, things didn’t work the first time around.
Possibly yes. After all, the sparks are still flying.
Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith and raise a glass.
Buy it: Amazon | IndieBound
Black History Month 2021
This is an annual feature that runs a little differently from the rest on LGBTQReads, as the post builds on itself each year and new titles/sections are added with asterisks. These books are all queer titles by Black authors, the vast majority of which star Black main characters. (Obviously this isn’t remotely exhaustive.)
Sites
Sistahs on the Shelf – SotS is run by Rena, a Black lesbian who reviews Black lesbian books. You can also follow on Twitter at @SotS!
WoC in Romance – this is a site highlighting all Romance written by WoC, but there’s a page just for LGBTQ Romances. It’s run by Rebekah Weatherspoon, whose name you may recognize as being a prolific author of LGBTQ lit herself! You can follow on Twitter at @WOCInRomance, and make sure you check out their Patreon; link is in the pinned tweet!
Black Lesbian Literary Collective – To nab from their site, “The Black Lesbian Literary Collective creates a nurturing and sustainable environment for Black lesbian and queer women of color writers.” Looking for more reviews of Black lesbian fic? Ta da! The site is new, so it’s not packed with posts just yet, but there is already an active radio show linked to it. Find them on Twitter at @LezWriters.
The Brown Bookshelf – this is a site dedicated to Black kidlit; here are the posts that come up if you search LGBT.
Books
*=new additions this year
Picture Books
- My Rainbow by DeShanna and Trinity Neal*
Middle-Grade
- Hurricane Child by Kacen Callender (Stonewall Award Winner)
- King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender (National Book Award finalist, CSK Award Nominee)
- Meow or Never by Jazz Taylor*
- In the Key of Us by Mariama Lockington*
- The House You Pass on the Way by Jacqueline Woodson
Young Adult
- Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo* (New York Times and Indie bestseller)
- The Wicker King by K. Ancrum
- The Weight of the Stars by K. Ancrum
- Darling by K. Ancrum*
- The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta (Stonewall Award winner)
- This is What it Feels Like by Rebecca Barrow
- Bad Things Happen Here by Rebecca Barrow*
- Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron
- The Inevitability of Home by Ciera Burch*
- A Phoenix First Must Burn ed. by Patrice Caldwell
- Where Shadows Reign by Patrice Caldwell*
- This is Kind of an Epic Love Story by Kacen Callender
- Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
- Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert (Stonewall Award winner)
- Things We Couldn’t Say by Jay Coles*
- The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass
- Pet by Akwaeke Emezi (National Book Award finalist)
- The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons
- Full Disclosure by Camryn Garrett
- The Secrets of Eden by Brandon Goode
- We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds*
- Dread Nation by Justina Ireland (New York Times bestseller)
- Yesterday is History by Kosoko Jackson
- You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson (Indie bestseller, Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club inaugural YA pick)
- Rise to the Sun by Leah Johnson
- Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann
- If it Makes You Happy by Claire Kann
- The Marvelous by Claire Kann*
- Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee*
- Forever is Now by Mariama J. Lockington*
- 37 Things I Love (in No Particular Order) by Kekla Magoon
- A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney
- Escaping Mr. Rochester by L.L. McKinney*
- Home and Away by Candice Montgomery (Bi LI)
- By Any Means Necessary by Candice Montgomery
- The Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Junauda Petrus (CSK Nominee)
- Odd One Out by Nic Stone
- Running with Lions by Julian Winters
- How to Be Remy Cameron by Julian Winters
- The Summer of Everything by Julian Winters
- Right Where I Left You by Julian Winters*
- The Beauty that Remains by Ashley Woodfolk
- Nothing Burns as Bright as You by Ashley Woodfolk*
- Black Enough ed. by Ibi Zoboi
NA/Adult (Realistic)
- Dead Dead Girls by Nekesa Afia*
- The Way Back List by Lily Anderson
- The Unfortunates by J K Chukwu
- Once Ghosted, Twice Shy by Alyssa Cole
- A Prince on Paper by Alyssa Cole
- How to Find a Princess by Alyssa Cole*
- Hamilton’s Battalion by Alyssa Cole, Courtney Milan, and Rose Lerner
- A Hundred Thousand Words by Nyrae Dawn
- Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn
- Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn
- Jeremiah by Jayce Ellis*
- Learned Behaviors by Jayce Ellis*
- Learned Reactions by Jayce Ellis*
- For Sizakele by Yvonne Fly Onakeme Etaghene
- Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
- The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings*
- Work For It by Talia Hibbert
- Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert*
- Things Hoped For by Chencia C. Higgins
- Ready, Set, Wed! by Chencia C. Higgins*
- Speak No Evil by Uzodinma Iweala
- The Spies Who Loved Her series by Katrina Jackson
- The Welcome to Seaport series by Katrina Jackson
- Neighborly by Katrina Jackson
- I’m (So) Not Over You by Kosoko Jackson*
- Being Merry by Meka James*
- Cinder Ella by S.T. Lynn
- The Summer We Got Free by Mia McKenzie
- She Called Me Woman ed. by Azeenarh Mohammed, Chitra Nagarajan, and Aisha Salau
- Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta
- When We Speak of Nothing by Olumide Popoola
- You Make Me Wanna by Nikki Rashan
- Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers
- Real Life by Brandon Taylor (Booker Prize finalist)
- Filthy Animals by Brandon Taylor*
- The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor*
- Group Show by Brandon Taylor*
- F*ths by G.L. Thomas
- Sugar and Ice by Brooklyn Wallace
- Tailor-Made by Yolanda Wallace
- Treasure by Rebekah Weatherspoon
- So Sweet by Rebekah Weatherspoon
- Xeni by Rebekah Weatherspoon
- Harbor by Rebekah Weatherspoon*
- Bliss by Fiona Zedde
- Femme Like Her by Fiona Zedde*
NA/Adult (Speculative)
- Stone and Steel by Eboni J. Dunbar
- Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
- To Terminator, With Love by Wes Kennedy
- Shatterproof by Xen Sanders
- An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
- The Deep by Rivers Solomon
- Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon*
- The Root by Na’amen Gobert Tilahun
- Better off Red by Rebekah Weatherspoon
- Every Dark Desire by Fiona Zedde
Comics/Graphic Novels*
- Bingo Love by Tee Franklin
- Check, Please! by Ngozi Ukazu
Memoirs
- Mama: A Black, Queer Woman’s Journey to Motherhood by Nikkya Hargrove*
- All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson (YA)
- We Are Not Broken by George M. Johnson* (YA)
- How We Fight for Our Lives by Saeed Jones
- *Fat Off, Fat On by Clarkisha Kent
- Redefining Realness by Janet Mock
- Surpassing Certainty: What My Twenties Taught Me by Janet Mock
- *Fierce Love by
Poetry
- original kink by Jubi Arriola-Headley*
- The Tradition by Jericho Brown
- When the Only Light is Fire by Saeed Jones
- Black Queer Hoe by Britteney Black Rose Kapri
- Reacquainted With Life by KOKUMỌ
- The Black Unicorn by Audre Lord
- [insert] boy by Danez Smith
- Homie by Danez Smith
Featured Authors
- Katrina Jackson
- Candice Montgomery
- Julian Winters
- Kayla Ancrum
- Rebecca Barrow
- Kacen Callender
- Brandon L.G. Taylor
- Rebekah Weatherspoon
Posts
- Shop Queer Books From Black-Owned Bookstores, Part I and Part II
- Finding Queer Black Love in Literature: a Guest Post by Katrina Jackson
- Where is the Queer Black Male Voice in YA Lit?
Have more to share? Add them in the comments!
Black History Month 2020
This is an annual feature that runs a little differently from the rest on LGBTQReads, as the post builds on itself each year and new titles/sections are added with asterisks. These books are all queer titles by Black authors, the vast majority of which star Black main characters. (Obviously this isn’t remotely exhaustive.)
Sites
Sistahs on the Shelf – SotS is run by Rena, a Black lesbian who reviews Black lesbian books. You can also follow on Twitter at @SotS!
WoC in Romance – this is a site highlighting all Romance written by WoC, but there’s a page just for LGBTQ Romances. It’s run by Rebekah Weatherspoon, whose name you may recognize as being a prolific author of LGBTQ lit herself! You can follow on Twitter at @WOCInRomance, and make sure you check out their Patreon; link is in the pinned tweet!
Black Lesbian Literary Collective – To nab from their site, “The Black Lesbian Literary Collective creates a nurturing and sustainable environment for Black lesbian and queer women of color writers.” Looking for more reviews of Black lesbian fic? Ta da! The site is new, so it’s not packed with posts just yet, but there is already an active radio show linked to it. Find them on Twitter at @LezWriters.
The Brown Bookshelf – this is a site dedicated to Black kidlit; here are the posts that come up if you search LGBT.
Books
*=new additions this year
Middle-Grade
- Hurricane Child by Kacen Callender (Stonewall Award Winner)
- King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender
- The House You Pass on the Way by Jacqueline Woodson
Young Adult
- The Wicker King by K. Ancrum*
- The Weight of the Stars by K. Ancrum
- The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta* (Stonewall Award winner)
- This is What it Feels Like by Rebecca Barrow
- Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron*
- A Phoenix First Must Burn ed. by Patrice Caldwell
- This is Kind of an Epic Love Story by Kacen Callender
- Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender*
- Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert (Stonewall Award winner)
- Until You Came Back by Jay Coles
- Jake in the Box by Ryan Douglass
- Pet by Akwaeke Emezi (National Book Award finalist)
- The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons
- Full Disclosure by Camryn Garrett
- The Secrets of Eden by Brandon Goode
- Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
- Yesterday is History by Kosoko Jackson*
- You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson*
- Rise to the Sun by Leah Johnson*
- Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann
- If it Makes You Happy by Claire Kann
- 37 Things I Love (in No Particular Order) by Kekla Magoon
- A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney
- Escaping Mr. Rochester by L.L. McKinney*
- Home and Away by Candice Montgomery (Bi LI)
- By Any Means Necessary by Candice Montgomery
- The Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Junauda Petrus (CSK Nominee)
- Odd One Out by Nic Stone
- Running with Lions by Julian Winters
- How to Be Remy Cameron by Julian Winters
- The Summer of Everything by Julian Winters*
- The Beauty that Remains by Ashley Woodfolk
- Black Enough ed. by Ibi Zoboi
NA/Adult Contemporary
- The Way Back List by Lily Anderson*
- Once Ghosted, Twice Shy by Alyssa Cole
- A Prince on Paper by Alyssa Cole*
- Hamilton’s Battalion by Alyssa Cole, Courtney Milan, and Rose Lerner
- A Hundred Thousand Words by Nyrae Dawn*
- Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn
- Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn
- For Sizakele by Yvonne Fly Onakeme Etaghene
- Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo*
- Work For It by Talia Hibbert*
- Speak No Evil by Uzodinma Iweala
- The Spies Who Loved Her series by Katrina Jackson
- The Welcome to Seaport series by Katrina Jackson
- Neighborly by Katrina Jackson*
- The Summer We Got Free by Mia McKenzie*
- She Called Me Woman ed. by Azeenarh Mohammed, Chitra Nagarajan, and Aisha Salau
- Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta
- When We Speak of Nothing by Olumide Popoola
- You Make Me Wanna by Nikki Rashan*
- Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers*
- Real Life by Brandon Taylor*
- F*ths by G.L. Thomas
- Sugar and Ice by Brooklyn Wallace
- Tailor-Made by Yolanda Wallace
- Treasure by Rebekah Weatherspoon
- So Sweet by Rebekah Weatherspoon
- Xeni by Rebekah Weatherspoon
- Bliss by Fiona Zedde*
NA/Adult (Speculative)
- Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James*
- To Terminator, With Love by Wes Kennedy
- Shatterproof by Xen Sanders
- An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
- The Deep by Rivers Solomon*
- The Root by Na’amen Gobert Tilahun
- Better off Red by Rebekah Weatherspoon
- Every Dark Desire by Fiona Zedde
Comics/Graphic Novels*
- Bingo Love by Tee Franklin
- Check, Please! by Ngozi Ukazu
Memoirs*
- All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson (YA)
- How We Fight for Our Lives by Saeed Jones
- Redefining Realness by Janet Mock
- Surpassing Certainty: What My Twenties Taught Me by Janet Mock
Poetry*
- The Tradition by Jericho Brown
- When the Only Light is Fire by Saeed Jones
- Black Queer Hoe by Britteney Black Rose Kapri
- Reacquainted With Life by KOKUMỌ
- The Black Unicorn by Audre Lord
- [insert] boy by Danez Smith
- Homie by Danez Smith
Featured Authors
- Katrina Jackson
- Candice Montgomery
- Julian Winters
- Kayla Ancrum
- Rebecca Barrow
- Kacen Callender
- Brandon L.G. Taylor
- Rebekah Weatherspoon
Discussion Posts
Have more to share? Add them in the comments!
Black History Month 2019
Last year, I posted this on the last day of Black History Month as part of the Around the Blogosqueer feature. This year, I thought it’d be nice to start a tradition of just adding to it every year as a BHM staple, keeping the old stuff but continuously providing new content, and posting it in th middle of February. Living history FTW.
Sites
Sistahs on the Shelf – SotS is run by Rena, a Black lesbian who reviews Black lesbian books. You can also follow on Twitter at @SotS!
WoC in Romance – this is a site highlighting all Romance written by WoC, but there’s a page just for LGBTQ Romances. It’s run by Rebekah Weatherspoon, whose name you may recognize as being a prolific author of LGBTQ lit herself! You can follow on Twitter at @WOCInRomance, and make sure you check out their Patreon; link is in the pinned tweet!
Black Lesbian Literary Collective – To nab from their site, “The Black Lesbian Literary Collective creates a nurturing and sustainable environment for Black lesbian and queer women of color writers.” Looking for more reviews of Black lesbian fic? Ta da! The site is new, so it’s not packed with posts just yet, but there is already an active radio show linked to it. Find them on Twitter at @LezWriters.
The Brown Bookshelf – this is a site dedicated to Black kidlit; here are the posts that come up if you search LGBT.
Books
*=new additions this year
Middle-Grade
- Hurricane Child by Kheryn Callender (Stonewall Award Winner)
- The House You Pass on the Way by Jacqueline Woodson
Young Adult
- The Weight of the Stars by K. Ancrum*
- This is What it Feels Like by Rebecca Barrow
- A Phoenix First Must Burn ed. by Patrice Caldwell*
- This is Kind of an Epic Love Story by Kheryn Callender
- Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert (Stonewall Award winner)
- Until You Came Back by Jay Coles*
- Jake in the Box by Ryan Douglass*
- Pet by Akwaeke Emezi*
- The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons*
- Full Disclosure by Camryn Garrett*
- The Secrets of Eden by Brandon Goode
- Dread Nation by Justina Ireland*
- A Place for Wolves by Kosoko Jackson
- Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann
- If it Makes You Happy by Claire Kann*
- 37 Things I Love (in No Particular Order) by Kekla Magoon*
- A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney*
- Home and Away by Candice Montgomery (Bi LI)
- By Any Means Necessary by Candice Montgomery*
- The Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Junauda Petrus*
- Odd One Out by Nic Stone*
- Running with Lions by Julian Winters
- How to Be Remy Cameron by Julian Winters*
- The Beauty that Remains by Ashley Woodfolk*
- Black Enough ed. by Ibi Zoboi*
NA/Adult Contemporary
- Once Ghosted, Twice Shy by Alyssa Cole*
- Hamilton’s Battalion by Alyssa Cole, Courtney Milan, and Rose Lerner
- Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn
- Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn*
- For Sizakele by Yvonne Fly Onakeme Etaghene*
- Speak No Evil by Uzodinma Iweala*
- The Spies Who Loved Her series by Katrina Jackson*
- The Welcome to Seaport series by Katrina Jackson*
- She Called Me Woman ed. by Azeenarh Mohammed, Chitra Nagarajan, and Aisha Salau*
- Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta
- When We Speak of Nothing by Olumide Popoola*
- F*ths by G.L. Thomas
- Sugar and Ice by Brooklyn Wallace*
- Tailor-Made by Yolanda Wallace
- Treasure by Rebekah Weatherspoon*
- So Sweet by Rebekah Weatherspoon
NA/Adult (Speculative)
- To Terminator, With Love by Wes Kennedy*
- Shatterproof by Xen Sanders
- An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon*
- The Root by Na’amen Gobert Tilahun*
- Better off Red by Rebekah Weatherspoon*
- Every Dark Desire by Fiona Zedde
Comics
- Bingo Love by Tee Franklin*
Featured Authors
Posts and Featured Authors
Have more to share? Add them in the comments!
Where is the Queer Black Male Voice in YA?
It doesn’t take a lot of in-depth knowledge to know that intersectionality is lacking in the current LGBTQIAP YA market, but there’s perhaps no gaping hole in it quite as glaring as that of the queer Black teen boy perspective. In the past five* years, to the best of my knowledge, there has only been one YA novel released by a major mainstream publisher with an explicitly** Black male narrator, and if you guessed it was by a white woman, you are correct.
Wanna find one by a Black male author by a major mainstream publisher***? You have to go back to Sunday You Learn How to Box by Bil Wright.
Which was published in the year 2000.
Yes, you read that right: the last YA released by a major mainstream publisher with a queer Black male narrator and written by a Black male author is itself already a teenager.
So, hey, that’s pretty messed up! It might almost make you wonder about the queer Black male authors trying to get their #ownvoices stories published, wouldn’t it.
Good news! Here are four such authors with a whole lot of wisdom, thoughts, and experiences to share.
Ryan Douglass
A. Leon Walker
Brandon Goode
Kosoko Jackson
Please introduce yourselves! Who are you, what do you write, and where are you in the publishing journey?
A. Leon: Hello, everyone! Dahlia, thank you so much for this exciting opportunity. This is truly a dream come true. My name is A. Leon Walker (A stands for Anthony), I write fiction, non-fiction, poetry, plays, and am currently unpublished.
Kosoko: Hi! I’m Kosoko Jackson. I write YA novels in every genre, but my bread-and-butter is historical fiction with POC main characters and contemporary novels. I’m currently agented and working with my agent on my debut novel.
Ryan: I’m Ryan Douglass, I write YA horror and thriller and I’m represented by Rena Rossner of the Deborah Harris Agency. We’re still working on my manuscript.
Brandon: Hello! My name is Brandon Goode. I’m from Orlando and I write YA Fantasy and poetry. I’m currently working on my second novel and two books of poetry. Outside of writing I can be found eating sushi while watching Degrassi reruns, shopping at the local thrift stores in Orlando, and popping into the Disney Parks when I can.
Between querying, subbing, and self-pubbing, what are you finding to be the greatest obstacles so far? Any constant refrain in responses?
Kosoko: I think querying was the hardest, but that’s more from a personal level. Agents are the first level of gatekeepers and in many situations, you have to, in your writing, query, etc, prove that your story is something that can make it through all the further gauntlets. Sometimes, it’s the real first time you have someone independently say “This is good” or “this is crap” (hopefully no one says THAT). But nonetheless, that’s hard. Many great stories don’t get published, or even get agents because of this—and sometimes you get little feedback from agents you query. Agenting, to me, is harder because it’s very cut-and-dry, with little insight, and felt, often, like stabs in the dark. I do think that sort of diligence builds a good first skin you need to be a creative POC LGBT person, though.
Ryan: Querying was definitely my biggest hurdle. I wrote three manuscripts before writing the one that landed me my agent! But I needed to write the failures to learn who I was as a writer. My rejections were varied while sending out my last manuscript but for the ones before that, I often heard the stories lacked originality (which they did).
Brandon: I think the one thing I have found to be the greatest obstacle so far was spreading the word about my novel. The Secrets of Eden was released in March of this year and I had to do everything on my own since I self-published this novel. So take that and add in the disaster of a year that 2017 has been so far with social issues, and that’s why it’s been a great obstacle. Twitter has been a great tool in spreading the word and getting my novel out there, but of course I feel like more could’ve been done.
A. Leon: Querying used to be my biggest hurdle. These days, drafting seems to be the beast to conquer. It’s one of the reasons I’ve committed to writing a short story collection; for one thing, I’ve dreamed since I was 20 years old and first read Neil Gaiman’s Fragile Things of composing my own cohesive collection but it has also proven rather useful in keeping me writing. Due to my day job, the one that pays the bills, I’m blessed to afford a four-day weekend every other week, which I spend writing my stories. I’ve a novel building in the subconscious, which will hit the page when I come to it.
So far, two of my shorts have been rejected. I’ve a third on submission. Fingers daily crossed until I hear back.
Even as we start to see more intersectional YA on shelves, the intersection of Blackness, queerness, and masculinity is probably the rarest in the category, especially by queer Black men. Why do you think that is?
Brandon: I think it’s rare first of all because of the stereotypes to be honest. Black men have so many stereotypes about us, that sometimes the truth is rarely given the time of day by a proper audience. Growing up, I couldn’t really identify with many novels that were on the shelves because the characters weren’t black or gay, and I wish there were more novels. I can only speak for myself, but growing up I was taught to never cry. To always “man up” and be tough.
Masculinity is something that was shoved down my throat by my mother and father. My dad was never really in the picture, but the times I did see him it was the same masculinity hype over and over. Being black and gay and trying to be “masculine” in the eyes of my family was tough and was something that I have shut away in the past. I’ve evolved into the person I’m supposed to be through all of those experiences, but for those who don’t know what it’s like they can’t try to fake it in literature. I honestly think that even within certain corners of the black community, queerness is still a taboo topic. I always found it hypocritical for those within all communities, especially the black community, to turn their nose up at queerness. Everyone in this country, one way or the other, has faced some sort of inequality a time in their life. The Civil Rights Movement, Women’s Suffrage, etc. all happened in American history and someone on the other side had to believe in those movements in order for equality to blossom. That same support needs to be given to the LGBTQIAP community. Until these conversations start happening more frequently, allowing those who are growing up or surrounded by it the proper push to share their voice, then those types of YA won’t exist. Even for those who are adults now, until they feel that their voice will be received then those books won’t come.
There’s a moment I remember breaking out of what I thought was a hold on me from being myself, but not everyone is surrounded with love and support being Black and queer. That’s why YA is important to share those stories. That’s why we have to cultivate this platform and provide the necessary support to those who aren’t receiving it.
Ryan: It’s hard to get Black stories in the mainstream publishing sphere and for queer, Black stories it’s even harder. Maybe the industry doesn’t think the stories will sell. On the writers’ side, there’s a strong possibility Black, queer writers are afraid to tell their own stories because they have no examples of their stories on shelves yet. It can feel like compromising your chances of success as a writer to write something there’s no precedent for. I used to think I had to write about straight, white people or I couldn’t be an author. But we won’t know if the stories will sell until we give them a chance, will we? There is also still a lot of pressure on Black men in the community to be masculine and heterosexual. Some Black writers could be closeted and writing about straight characters, which is okay and how I wrote my first two books.
Kosoko: I think, honestly, it’s because of the number of intersections. It’s easy to say “no” in the publishing world. The data is just starting to back the statement that “POC/LGBT stories have a place in our canon”. That’s because of successes like Angie Thomas, Jason Reynolds, and Nic Stone—and people like Adam Silvera. For each success, it’ll get easier, but there are still many reasons to say no from the publishing side. The whole conversation has to be shifted from “what sold before” to “what is needed now.” YA literature should reflect the times and the need of the youth who read it and as our society becomes more and more intersectional, we need more intersectional literature. That should, in my opinion, be reason enough.
A. Leon: My thoughts on this subject are too voluminous to sum up here; I’ll do my best to keep things brief. While masculinity, in and of itself, bears great privilege in all of society, therefore dominates the literary landscape despite the overwhelming female presence of the YA category and the romance genre (both outsell every single genre in the business, including thrillers—a male-driven genre), add anything to that algorithm other than white or hetero and issues abound. Black male, queer male, black queer male—each requires some deterioration to the male ego before your audience even begins engagement. Because we’ve all met black men, right? We’ve all met queer men? We’ve all met queer black men? Okay, then: we know how they act. There they must stay. Black men, you get to be Native Son and Invisible Man. Queer men, you get to be Boy Meets Boy and A Little Life. Black queer men, you get to be Giovanni’s Room. So when people read, unless you happen to disturb the male algorithm in some way, you don’t really ask yourself questions such as: Where all the black folks at? Where all the black queers at? This, of course, is just the beginning; to ask such questions means you’ve done little more than left the tarmac. Action, particularly on the part of writers and reviewers and critics, is due. Overdue, in my opinion.
Obviously, we’re seeing a tremendous push for diversity from advocates. How much do you feel like that’s making a difference? What actions do you feel would make a difference, and like to see more people engaging in?
Ryan: I feel like it’s making a difference in the types of books the community is paying attention to. For a long time black stories were relegated to the “black section” and gay ones to the “gay section”, et cetera, as if those stories could onIy be appreciated by those groups. I see these stories being normalized now and more people are open to reading them. I would love to see more people engaging in conversations about the content of books by marginalized authors and what is being taught through these narratives. In the YA community it can feel dangerous to admit you don’t know or understand something about an experience outside of your own because you risk being called problematic. But I think what we’re doing in writing books about our experiences is teaching, so it’s normal to learn and discuss a changed perspective. I think we should approach these conversations in open ways.
A. Leon: A greater sense of urgency, in terms of lacking queer voices, couldn’t hurt. Not only black queerness but Muslim queerness & Latin@ queerness & Biracial queerness & Asian queerness & international queerness. More & more & more & more. Variety, depth, nuance. This isn’t just dependent upon writers. It begins with critics & reviewers. We need thinkpieces, Op-Eds, reviews pointing out the absolute absence of diverse queer representation, even (or especially) within books written by white gays. Let’s look at the greater culture for a moment here as an example: Moonlight was the first-ever QUILTBAG+ film to win Best Film at the Academy Awards, although Brokeback Mountain got snubbed. This is significant. But why aren’t we hearing about it in droves? How many more people preferred La La Land because it was the one they saw as opposed to genuinely believing it the superior film? Writers of all forms need to take a closer probing glimpse at this lack, question and force others to question why we’re still stuck on white maleness as the paradigm within an already oppressed community.
Brandon: I think it’s great to have diversity! This world is one giant melting pot, and if there isn’t representation then people are excluded which isn’t right. I think that it’s a great idea, but I want to see more authors of color getting their recognition and their works published and publicized. I feel that authors who aren’t of color get more recognized for “diverse” stories as opposed to those who really should. There should be more LGBTQIAP authors and authors of color getting their moments in the spotlight as well. I think in order to further make a difference, pushing diversity needs to be championed more. I love things like #DVPit, Diverse Book Bloggers, etc. that are opening the doors for diversity, but there should be resources for diverse authors. Diversity isn’t a gimmick and people need to remember that.
Kosoko: Overall, the trends are slowly moving towards more representative societal reflections in literature, in my opinion. That doesn’t mean it’s happening fast enough. Outspoken advocates like Justina Ireland, Dhonielle Clayton & L.L. McKinney have really helped us push the conversation and narrative forward, but I think sometimes that get’s lost in the mix. We think because the conversations are happening on Twitter, and the likes/retweets are high, there’s actual change going on, and there isn’t…not in the way we need.
Nicole Brinkley has a great thread on twitter where she shows the Publisher’s Weekly sales and compares the POC sales to the POC percentage of the US. It’s usually about 66% lower than the percentage of POCs in the US.
If you asked me one way to change that? I’d say we need more POC/LGBT people in publishing. Not just more agents, we need more editors and more POC/LGBT people in all positions. We need these people in the room where it happens (ha, Hamilton), and our presence to be reflective of society. I’d also like to see more POC LGBT writers, writing their own stories. I struggled with that for years–about 3–and though I’m not saying they HAVE TO, or should be forced to, I certainly think there should be a bigger push to have those stories. But that’ll only happen when there is a safety feeling in the YA community…
…and safety in YA is a COMPLETELY different topic.
What’s really important to you in the publishing staff that works with you and your books, especially you work that features queer Black boys?
A. Leon: First and foremost: all my work features queer Black boys. It’s the one subject I cannot avoid, despite how hard (in the early days, especially) I’ve tried. That being said, a deep understanding of the great necessity for wider, deeper, more nuanced representation within queer literature is something publishing staff working with my oeuvre must understand. Otherwise, they’re not going to get it. Most beta readers who’ve not addressed these questions within themselves tend not to sit well with my work. They say things like, “This is good. Really good, in some places. But can’t you write about something other than gay sex?” Or they’ll say, “You don’t believe in writing stories with white guys or straight guys in them, do you?” I need desperately NOT to work with publishing staff who even consider questions like this as valid.
Kosoko: To me, it’s important to find like-minded individuals in the publishing world who understand that the single narrative of POCs, Queers, and that intersection isn’t the only story…and continuing to perpetuate that single story, does more harm than good. It’s important queers of color see a wide range of authentic stories that reflect a wealth of backgrounds. Personally, I’m a queer POC who hasn’t faced the disownment of my family that is so commonly associated with the story of queer POCs. I don’t relate as strongly to that sense of story, but I identify stronger with stories where the character has to struggle with the split identity of self. Someone else will say the reverse. Having publishers and those in the industry who understand, champion, and advocate this is important.
I think it’s also important POCs, and queer POCs, are given the same leeway as our white, straight counterparts. Think about the “quiet” YA novels. That same freedom isn’t often given to queer POCs, and that’s a disservice to the community as a whole.
Brandon: I think allowing the authenticity of an experience or story that you want to incorporate into your novel to stay intact. Being a gay Black male, I have experienced many things from pitfalls to triumphs, heartbreaks and falling in love, and anything else of the like that I can morph into a plot line for a novel to motivate someone is very important to me. I want my voice to be a voice that they can trust, and that comes from being real and vulnerable with my work.
Ryan: It’s so important to me that my work is not sanitized to push an agenda for what queer Black boys (or just Black boys or queer boys) should look like. I think there’s pressure when writing marginalized characters to make them paragons of nobility because a lot of people think victimhood makes someone inherently noble and likable. My characters are imperfect because they’re human. They’re also victims. I don’t want my work censored. The harshness of what happens to my characters is very important to me because it’s realistic, and my work usually has elements of horror to it, so it’s supposed to be uncomfortable. I really don’t want to see that damaged.
There’s been some really incredible success for authors of color in the past couple of years, including Black authors Angie Thomas, Jason Reynolds, Tomi Adeyemi, and Nicola Yoon. Is there a deal or award or other event that really stuck out to you as being an inspirational kick in the butt?
A. Leon: Two things: N.K. Jemisin winning the Hugo Award two years in a row for her best work to date. She’s the first black author to do so, despite the current wealth of black SF out there right now. So that’s been hugely inspiring! Also, encountering the work of Kai Ashante Wilson, whom everyone should read. Like, right now.
Kosoko: This is small, but being Nicola Yoon’s Everything, Everything as a movie meant a lot to me. Seeing a black girl on a poster, was something I never really saw before unless it was about some gang movie or some violent movie. To see black kids having that kind of inspiration; to be happy, to live their authentic lives, and to take chances and risks for their own happiness? That mean’s a lot to me. When I was younger, seeing something like that on the big screen would have influenced my writing, and been pivotal to becoming an author. I have a feeling it’ll do the same for other kids, and movies like The Hate U Give and Children of Blood and Bone will have similar results. And I’m so excited for that.
I mean, hell—they inspire ME.
What’s the first book you ever remember reading with a queer Black character? What about other media?
Ryan: I think it was Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda! The first one I saw on TV was Lafayette from True Blood. I was obsessed with that show back in the day.
A. Leon: The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin. The book with the most significant impact on me was Sorcerer of the Wildeeps and A Taste of Honey by Kai Ashante Wilson. Sorcerer of the Wildeeps stars a gay black wizard in probably the deepest read about masculinity I’ve ever read; A Taste of Honey is a fantasy romance of epic proportions, addressing queerness of all types and including women in the conversation of masculinity. Obviously, Moonlight was an impactful film; my best friend from high school refers to me as Titus Andromedon (from The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt); and there’s a great gay black cop with a beautifully complex perspective in HBO’s Six Feet Under.
Brandon: The first book I read with a queer Black character was If This World Were Mine by E. Lynn Harris. Mr. Harris has many books on my bookshelf because growing up, there really weren’t any other books featuring Black queer characters that I could find or have access to. Thinking back to other media, the one show that sticks out for me is Noah’s Arc from creator Patrik-Ian Polk. It was like the black and gay version of Sex and the City. This show provided me with some of the inspiration I needed to become comfortable in my own skin and to live life to the fullest!
Of the LGBTQIAP YA that exists right now, what book(s) is closest to your heart?
Ryan: More Happy Than Not changed my life and what I thought was possible in LGBTQ fiction. It felt like receiving an undeserved present to have a gay character who was also a character of color and from a lower class background. But it is deserved. Everyone should be able to see themselves. I think that’s the first time I experienced that feeling of immediate connection that straight white people are getting when they read the majority of books.
Brandon: The book that is closest to my heart is Hero by Perry Moore. I read this book my senior year of high school and I have a tradition now of reading it once a year. This book really showed me that we could have YA novels where a gay character was the main character and not supporting. This novel also tackled topics of acceptance, family, loss and it touched me so much that I actually reached out to Perry Moore and had the honor and privilege of interviewing him before he passed away. Because of this experience, this novel became a part of me.
A. Leon: What They Always Tell Us by Martin Wilson. There’s a beautiful relationship at the center of that novel between the main white gay character and his PoC boyfriend. That shower scene makes me want to have sex in the shower, even though I hate sex in the shower. I read that book every year. (Not just for the sexy shower scene.)
Kosoko: The Love Interest by Cale Dietrich, Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy, If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan, and Looking for Group by Rory Harrison. Each of them has things I love in books and things I can identify with in my own life. I also won a preorder give away of They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera, so I’m pretty excited for that!
What’s your dream conference panel to sit in on? To be on?
Brandon: I would LOVE to sit on a #BlackBoyJoy panel for YA literature. I think it would be neat to sit alongside other black male authors, whether LGBTQIAP or not, and share our stories and successes to inspire the next generation of authors and readers. Adversity is an obstacle that many may feel that they can’t overcome, but showing them that light always triumphs over the darkness will help push them forward in their individual journeys.
Kosoko: I’d LOVE to be on a panel at FlameCon or World Con, especially since World Con 2019 is in Dublin, Ireland—one of my favorite cities in the world—and speaks heavily to my desire to make more LGBT POC YA stories international. It kills 2 birds with one stone. FlameCon would be amazing because it’s so many awesome LGBT creators in one space of all types.
A. Leon: I want to play the 92Y. Roomful of deeply thinking people waiting to hear my deep thoughts. Yeah, that.
Ryan: I’d love to be on a panel with other queer writers of color, any of the wonderful authors I’ve connected with on Twitter, or any of my influences. Neal Shusterman is my biggest influence but if I shared a panel with him I would not be able to talk or breathe.
What’s on your bookish bucket list, i.e. something book/publishing-related you dream of achieving at some point?
Kosoko: I don’t know if one exists but I’d love to sit on a panel/be on the steering committee devoted to POC creators in the creative arts (if there is one—tell me if not; I’d love to work with someone to create it). Conversations and topics are different when they center around POCs—like the POC version of Sirens—and I think that space really is needed. So I’d love to be a part of that, steering committee, etc.
A. Leon: Bestseller. And a whole shelf of books written by me that readers adore, whether they sold well or not. Some prize-winners in there, or at least nominated. Prize of choice: Michael Printz Award. Also, I just want to keep writing and publishing. I wish to leave behind shelves of books across all ages, platforms, techniques.
Ryan: International book tours because I love to travel and talk about myself.
Brandon: One day I hope to have one of my works produced for either television or film. I understand that not everyone enjoys reading, and some prefer watching great stories instead of reading them. So in order to reach that audience, a show or movie would do just that.
Got any words of inspiration for aspiring queer Black authors out there, and/or for your future readers?
Ryan: To queer, Black authors: write your stories. Don’t be afraid to write them. Write boldly and without fear. Include the ugly, the sexy, the awkward, the scary, the honest. We need your vulnerability! Things are changing and people are starting to listen. If you’re not ready to be open about your sexuality, write whatever you want.
To readers: I write what I know and do my best to make a narrative compelling and characters relatable. Everyone’s experience is different but marginalized people are often treated as a monolith and a lot of pressure is put on us to write for the whole community. I hope we can all give writers space to write their individual stories without having to speak for everyone at once. I hope you like my creepy work because it’ll only get creepier.
Brandon: If I could give any words of inspiration it would be, “Love yourself more than anyone else. YOU are the most important person in your life and you and your dreams DO matter. Never give up until you reach the finish line, and even when you do that, drink more water and keep going!”
Kosoko: As a POC you have to work twice as hard as your white counterparts. As someone LGBT, you have to work twice as hard as your straight counterparts. As both? You need to work four times as hard. Don’t let that deter you. The harder the opposition, the more reason for you to keep sweating, keep shedding blood, and most of all—continuing to write.
A. Leon: Read others’ work. Write your work. Be relentless.
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*It was actually more than five years ago, as the Stonewall Honored Gone, Gone, Gone by Hannah Moskowitz was published in April 2012.
**Proxy and Guardian by Alex London feature a dark-skinned male character one who might absolutely be read as Black, but it is not explicitly stated as such. Ditto Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. And yes, still white authors.
***Of course, it always behooves to support authors who are publishing through other means, so while you wait for these authors to grace your shelves, note that you can already buy The Secrets of Eden by Brandon Goode and check out the work of Craig Laurance Gidney.