Authors aren’t often created overnight; they’re born, they live amongst readers, and the stories they grow to tell are inspired by and built from the experiences that shaped them.
An intricately bound family of authors is found within the LGBTQIA+ community, which grows more each year. Literature from LGBTQIA+ authors is not only important for representation, perspective, and education, but it’s also a pivotal turning point in the self-discovery and exploration of generations, both young and old, throughout the history of time.
To celebrate Pride Month, I’ve built a list of my favorite recently-released and upcoming novels written by LGBTQIA+ authors (with a special Pride Month message from some of them too!).
Fantasy LGBTQIA+ Authors
To kick off our June TBR, we have our Fantasy shelf!
Holly Dunwall
Author Holly Dunwall (she/they) is from New Zealand but currently lives in the USA with their feline friends.
Dunwall is open about their autism on Instagram, where they share their most recent releases and upcoming works in progress. They cover genres beyond fantasy, including romance, and have plus-size and neurodivergent representation in their stories.
When asked for a quote about her connection to Pride Month, Dunwall had this to say:
“Pride month is a month of celebrating being yourself without fear of judgment, something I’ve struggled with for a long time. Surrounding myself with queer stories and interacting with other queer people has been amazing.”
I also got the opportunity to ask Dunwall how she honors herself or others during Pride Month to celebrate.
“I love writing about sapphic romance! Working on my stories and reading sapphic romance books is what I do. I’m currently reading Honeybloods by I.S. Belle!”
Dunwall’s latest release, Freaks of Honor, was released in January 2024 and follows a father-daughter duo tasked with leading the daughter of a king to the capital as they try to rebuild their family name. The story blends fantasy, romance, and sapphic romance all into one perfect story.
Aiden Murray
Next, we have Aiden Murray, author of Knight of Elysia, which was released in August 2022. Murray (he/him) is a lover of fantasy and romance stories, which led to his crafted Elysia series.
When speaking about his gratitude for Pride Month, Murray explained:
“Pride is a time to live loudly and honestly for those who cannot. It’s a celebration of all the community has overcome, and for me, it’s a time to be thankful for being able to live authentically. I always live my truth, but I walk a little taller and present more confidently during Pride Month. I am very proud of who I am and share it through my writing so others may feel comfortable living their truth.”
Murray’s role as an author proves itself as he describes his love for writing LGBTQIA+ and non-binary characters to lead his stories. His story, Knight of Elysia, features a couple doomed to defend their home amid their wedding planning and keeping their families at bay. Tasked with defeating not only fantastical creatures but the threats rising between them, they must come together to save their home of Elysia.
Romance LGBTQIA+ Authors
Leaving our bookish fantasyland, we have our pipeline to our romance authors!
Heather Novak
The first romance book to join our Pride Month TBR is Blood Thinners by Heather Novak (she/her). Novak is an award-winning romance author who does everything she can to represent not only the LGBTQIA+ community but also the hypopara community. Novak was diagnosed with the rare disease, hypopara, back in 2003, but she has never let it hold her back. As a trailblazer in the bookish community, Novak had this to say about Pride Month:
“Pride month is a time for me to recharge with my queer community. This year (2024) was the first time I was healthy enough to attend my local Pride, and I had the beautiful experience of my books being featured in our local, queer bookstore tent (Sidetrack Bookshop). Signing my books during the event was the best way to celebrate! I’ll continue celebrating by supporting local queer events and charities, sharing the history of Pride through my advocacy work, and making space to try new opportunities for my writing career.”
Blood Thinners is a part of Novak’s Love Me Dead paranormal-romance series, which follows a supernatural investigator as her career is interrupted by her vice president-turned-dream girl who needs her help. When met with chaos between the supernatural and human worlds, she has to decide whether to leave her job behind or forget the girl and get back to the ghosts.
Colby Wilkens
Not enough paranormal romance for you? Lucky for you, we have another!
Colby Wilkens (she/her) is a romance and horror author currently anticipating two new releases! Wilkens loves reading, writing, and a good autumn-themed Instagram feed.
Both of Wilken’s new releases have LGBTQIA+ characters at their forefront and have been several years in the works! When describing how her upcoming projects surround her own experience in the LGBTQIA+ community, she said:
“I didn’t come out until well into my twenties, and I never officially came out to my family; they just sort of saw my social media posts about the queerness in my debut, If I Stopped Haunting You! So for me, Pride is a time where I get to finally celebrate being bisexual on the cusp of what I’d argue is the most gorgeous season in the PNW.”
Her debut, If I Stopped Haunting You, is expected to be released in October 2024 and will follow two enemies-to-lovers authors who are forced to spend some time together and may enjoy each other’s company more than they let on. Will fate push them together, or do the ghosts chasing them need to give more than just a shove?
Rachel Lacey
To wrap up our romance shelf, we have Rachel Lacey's (she/her) Cover Story, which she released in March 2024, as the perfect adult contemporary romance for the season.
Lacey is an award-winning author who debuted in 2014 with her M/F romance novels that she’s in the process of republishing under R.S. Lacey! Lacey also enjoys traveling, spending time with her family, and cuddling up with her rescued furry friends.
While I didn’t get the chance to connect with Lacey during Pride Month, in the past she described her experience with coming out and how she discovered she was bisexual. What surprises her the most is that the reading and writing of sapphic romance had a lot to do with her realizing she had never explored her identity but only assumed she was straight, as she never had any personal experience that led her to believe otherwise. Lacey explained that it wasn’t until she was almost 40 years old that she began identifying as bisexual.
Lacey’s most current release, Cover Story, follows an injured security guard who, instead of resting, hops at the chance to give security to one of her favorite celebrities. To keep her safe, they must masquerade as a couple and try not to fall head-over-heels for each other before the “job” is done. Where does the line between a romantic partner and a platonic protector end? Lacey will most definitely help you find it!
Horror LGBTQIA+ Authors
If you’re less of a paranormal or romance reader and prefer straight-up horror reads, we’ve got you covered too!
Amanda Weaver
Author Amanda Weaver (she/her) writes LGBTQIA+ horror, which features POC main characters and mythical creatures. When she's not writing, Weaver also spends time reading and making YouTube videos on her YouTube channel, Amanda Thee Author, which are so refreshing to watch!
When I got the chance to ask Weaver about her connection to Pride Month, she expressed:
“For me, Pride means celebrating all my queer elders who came before, especially those who are black and brown, who fought to ensure we could be more present and open as we are now. It means educating myself on queer history and reveling in all the wonderful art we create, and I include myself in that! I honor myself this month, which is also my birthday month, by doing whatever makes me happy at the moment as much as possible.”
To give Amanda the greatest birthday gift of all, consider adding her latest release, No One’s Gonna Take Her Soul Away, which was released in April 2024, to your TBR!
Weaver’s new release follows a POC woman who is killed and mistakenly sent to Pandemonia (Weaver’s version of Hell) as she fights her way back to the human world to find her killer and escape the nightmare she’s faced with.
Rin Chupeco
To wrap up our heart-racing horror shelf, we have The Sacrifice by Rin Chupeco (they/them), which was released in September 2022. Chupeco is currently living in the Philippines, and they are a descendant of the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, and China.
Although I didn’t get the chance to chat with Chupeco regarding their personal experiences during Pride Month, in the past they’ve noted that their identity and sexuality work themselves into their novels very naturally and without thought. Chupeco has also mentioned wanting to focus more on non-binary protagonists for their future projects.
The Sacrifice depicts a Phillipino island with generations of lore and legends haunting it. While locals won’t dare to go near it, a Hollywood film crew believes nothing can stand in their way. As the island proves itself deadly within minutes of their arrival, the crew decides the only person they can trust to guide their way is a local teen who knows the history of the land they’re taunting.
YA LGBTQIA+ Authors
For me, celebrating pride is about feeling full of life, full of youth, and full of endless stories. To encapsulate that feeling best, I’ll be closing out our Pride Month TBR with three of my favorite YA novels that have (kinda) recently hit the shelves.
James L. Sutter
For starters, author James L. Sutter (he/him) and his BRAND new release, The Ghosts of Us, which was released in June 2024!
Sutter loves comics and video games and is an award-winning YA and fantasy author based in Seattle, USA. He’s also spent time performing with musical acts ranging through a variety of genres.
Before his new release, I was able to speak to him about his feelings towards Pride Month and his point of view as an LGBTQIA+ author, which he described:
“As a bisexual, I worried for a long time that Pride wasn’t for me—that I was only *halfway* queer and thus didn’t belong the way my gay or trans friends do. But queerness shouldn’t be a contest. If you’re queer, you’re queer, and you belong here. So for Pride Month, I try to remember that younger version of me and speak up to let the folks who worry they’re not queer enough to claim the label know that it’s okay—you're in the family. Welcome home.”
Sutter’s new release, The Ghost of Us, follows a high school ghosthunter who wants nothing more than documented proof of ghosts. Her mission comes to an interesting challenge when she connects with the spirit of a passed upperclassman from her high school, who gives her the most promising deal of all: help him cross to the afterlife by ensuring his younger sister is cared for and happy. If she can’t convince his sister to be with her, she’ll lose her once-in-a-lifetime chance at proof of the supernatural.
Morgan Vega
Next on our YA list is Sleeping Around by award-winning author Morgan Vega (she/her), which was released in August 2021. Online, Vega shares her love for running, rollerblading, and reading, and she’s also transparent about her struggles with anxiety, OCD, and depression, which is extremely admirable.
Although Vega did share that she is working on her second novel, she also spends time working as a book editor for other authors in her downtime.
Her debut, Sleeping Around, follows a teen violinist who dreams of trading her foster home life for a dream-filled college experience where she can study music and escape her troubles. What she ends up finding is a trouble-filled roommate and the notice that she wasn’t *actually* assigned to a dorm because she hasn’t officially been accepted, so she’ll be forced to couch-hop through the semester if she wants to stay.
Dahlia Adler
To close out this Pride Month TBR list, we have Going Bi-Coastal by Dahlia Adler (she/her), which was released in June 2023. Adler is not only an author but also an editor, freelance writer, and anthologist in her spare time.
She's also the founder and writer for LGBTQReads.com, which features articles like author spotlights, exclusive author cover reveals, author interviews, gift guides, trailer reveals, and more! Oh and they also have a newsletter!
When reaching out to Adler about Pride Month, she commented:
“I have to admit, I’m not the best author for this question because I blog about queer books year-round and get overwhelmed with books during Pride Month that I wish I’d known existed six months ago.”
She went on to explain that at times, Pride Month feels like the world is catching up to the media, pop culture, literature, and overall struggles that the LGBTQIA+ community deals with year-round in, more often than not, silence.
Adler specified, “Pride Month to me means the rest of the world catching up and taking interest in what I wish they were reading, watching, and otherwise internalizing year-round.”
She continued, “I don’t know if it’s considered honoring myself, but I work extra hard on my website, LGBTQReads, and also have book releases in June, which is a lovely way to celebrate!”
Without these authors, their individual stories, and their overall views of the world, we wouldn’t receive the beautiful, diverse world of queer literature that grows with each Pride.
While this TBR list will initially be posted during Pride Month, the celebration doesn’t have to end. Every book I’ve listed today is available year-round, and the authors are thrilled to share their stories no matter what time of year.
My goal with this article is to focus on the sheer idea that someone in the LGBTQIA+ community shouldn’t have to release a book, be famous, or save the world for us to recognize them, hear them, and help them feel seen and welcome not only in the Bookish community but in the world.
If you’d like to get some more book recommendations to read during Pride and beyond, you can find some here.
I wish everyone a lifetime of Pride and happy reading!
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