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People Want To Ban My Book for Only Gay Reasons. Nobody Ever Mentions the Cannibalism.

I never intend this newsletter to be pushing 2k words, but here we are. There’s just so much happening in the world of queer books. And while we’re currently seeing a backlash in the form of censorship, it’s worth acknowledging the progress we’ve made, too. I hope that censorship corner shrinks soon, but either way, there’s no reversing how much more read and celebrated queer books have become in just the last handful of years.

Let’s make the world better. Here’s somewhere to start: LGBT Books to Prisoners is a “trans-affirming, racial justice-focused, prison abolitionist project” that gets LGBTQ books into the hands of incarcerated LGBTQ people in the U.S. You can donate money or books, or you can buy books off their wishlists at Amazon or Room of One’s Own.

Read Harder Challenge: LGBTQ Edition

We’re nearing the end! This is my mini series where I endeavor to make the Read Harder Challenge even queerer. Next week will finish off all the challenges! Some were a little harder than others to come up with queer options (looking at you, political thrillers), but most had lots to choose from. Let’s get into this week’s challenges!

Make sure to get your own Read Harder Book Journal from Book Riot to track your reading for the year!

18) Read a “Best _ Writing of the year” book for a topic and year of your choice.

I have to admit, I thought this challenge might get me, but I was able to find 6 year-specific all-queer anthologies! Let me know if you’re aware of any more, especially ones that are ongoing.

While these almost all include stories by authors of color, most of the editors are white (though the 1997 Best Lesbian Erotica of the Year is edited by Jewelle Gómez, and that sounds amazing).

the cover of the Heiresses of Russ 2014 anthology, showing a woman in a spacesuit holding a phaser floating above a planet and being shot at

Heiresses of Russ: The Year’s Best Lesbian Speculative Fiction (2011-2016)

Did I pick this partly because of the cover? Of course. But this series is also edited by a legend in lesbian sci fi, Melissa Scott, known best for Trouble and Her Friends. There are also stories from well-known authors like Zen Cho (2011), Ellen Kushner (2011), Amal El-Mohtar (2012), Nalo Hopkinson (2012), Jewelle Gomez (2013), Malinda Lo (2013), Ken Liu (2015), Darcie Little Badger (2015), Seanan McGuire (2015), and more. PLUS: they’re all only $1 each as ebooks!

More LGBTQ best ___ of the year anthologies:

19) Read a horror novel by a BIPOC author.

The Gilda Stories cover

The Gilda Stories by Jewelle L. Gómez

I went back and forth a little bit about whether to include this title, because I don’t really think of it as horror — but vampires get a free pass into the horror genre, I think. This is a classic not just of lesbian literature, but of literature in general. It follows Gilda as an enslaved woman in 1850s Louisiana through her becoming a vampire and centuries of her undead life — ending in 2050! It’s a set of interrelated short stories, all in different time periods and settings. It explores racism and homophobia throughout time, and it’s a gorgeous, thought-provoking read.

More queer horror by BIPOC authors:

20) Read an award-winning book from the year you were born.

I can’t give a rec for each year you were all born, but I can give you some awards to check out!

Of course, the easy answer is Lambda Literary. It’s been going since 1988, and they have an previous winners page that allows you to search by year and category! So as a 1990s baby, I might read New, Improved Dykes To Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel (Humor) or Her by Cherry Muhanji (Lesbian Debut Fiction).

Another option is the Stonewall Book Awards, which have been given out by the American Library Association since 1971. The very first award was given to Patience and Sarah by Isabel Miller, which is a favorite of mine! A recent award-winner was Cantoras by Carolina De Robertis — which, if you read out loud to your 2020 baby, totally counts.

The Triangle Awards also began in 1988. Unfortunately, you have to click through each individual award to see previous winners: there isn’t a list of all of them in one place.

The Golden Crown Literary Awards would only be an option for young teens: it started in 2005.

If you were born before 1971, this will be a tricky challenge, unfortunately. Queer books have only started getting public recognition in the last few decades. One option may be picking another significant date (your graduation year, wedding anniversary, etc) instead.

21) Read a queer retelling of a classic of the canon, fairytale, folklore, or myth.

An already queer challenge! There are so many fantastic queer retellings out there — especially of fairy tales — that I had trouble narrowing it down, but here are just a handful.

the cover of The Magic Fish

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen (“The Little Mermaid”)

This is a Book Riot favorite, and it won the 2021 Harvey Award for Book of the Year. It also appeared on the best books of the year lists in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, the New York Public Library, and more. It’s a YA graphic novel about a Vietnamese American teen trying to come out to his mom. There’s also a legendary tweet from the author: “People wanna ban my book for only gay reasons, nobody ever ever mentions the cannibalism 😔”

More queer retellings:

For even more, check out 10 Great Queer Retellings of Classics and 30 Must-Read Queer Fairy Tale Retellings.

Censorship Corner

All the Links Fit to Click

LGBTQ Book Riot Posts

New Releases This Week

Some of the most anticipated and exciting 2022 releases are all out this week! It’s so exciting!

Cover of Dead Collections by Isaac Fellman

Dead Collections by Isaac Fellman (Queer and Trans Fiction)

Elsie’s wife was a semi-famous television writers, so Elsie decides to donate her papers after her death. There, she meets the archivist, Sol, and they soon begin falling for each other. On top of the usual complications of falling in love while living with grief, there are also the added hurdle of Sol living with vampirism. This is a surreal, multi-layered story that’s part office love story, part vampire novel, part exploration of transphobia. It comes highly recommended by the authors of Confessions of the Fox and Several People are Typing, so that gives you some sense of the tone!

cover of I'm So (Not) Over You by Kosoko Jackson

I’m So (Not) Over You by Kosoko Jackson (M/M Romance)

One of the most anticipated queer releases of 2022, this is an M/M fake dating second chance romance! When Hudson’s ex Kian asks him to pretend to be his boyfriend while his parents are in town, he reluctantly agrees — he even goes along as a plus one to a family wedding, since it will also give him an opportunity to network with some big names in media. Unsurprisingly, though, this fake relationship is beginning to feel like less and less of an act…

the cover of manhunt

Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin (Trans Horror)

This is another one that has had me counting down the days until the release date! While there have been plenty of post-apocalyptic stories that are gender-based, they usually either ignore trans people or only include a passing mention. Manhunt is about a sickness that affects people with high testosterone and follows a group of trans men and women who will do anything it takes to survive — which unfortunately means harvesting organs.

Son of Sin by Omar Sakr (Bisexual Literary Fiction)

The Verifiers by Jane Pek (Sapphic Mystery)

cover of The Verifiers by Jane Pek

Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake (Bisexual and Lesbian Romance)

The Last Laugh by Eva Muñoz (F/F Romance)

Scorpica (The Five Queendoms #1) by G.R. Macallister (Sapphic Fantasy)

Inheritors of Power (The Broken Trust #3) by Juliette Wade (Asexual Sci Fi)

Sisters of the Forsaken Stars (Our Lady of Endless Worlds #2) by Lina Rather (Sapphic Sci Fi)

Little Mushroom: Judgment Day by Shisi, translated by Xiao (M/M Sci Fi)

the cover of Delilah Green Doesn’t Care

Tripping Arcadia by Kit Mayquist (Bisexual F/F Gothic)

Extasia by Claire Legrand (Sapphic YA Horror)

Big Wig written by Jonathan Hillman and Illustrated by Levi Hastings (Gender Nonconforming Picture Book)

Destiny, NY, Vol 1: Who I Used To Be by Pat Shand, Manuel Preitano, Elisa Romboli (Sapphic Graphic Novel)

Alice In Leatherland by Iolanda Zanfardino and Elisa Romboli (Sapphic Erotic Graphic Novel)

semelparous, Vol. 2 by Jun Ogino (Yuri Manga)

cover image for Tripping Arcadia

Monologue Woven For You, Vol. 1 by Syu Yasaka (Yuri Manga)

I’m in Love with the Villainess (Light Novel) Vol. 4 by Inori and Hanagata (Yuri Light Novel)

Next Time There’s a Pandemic (CLC Kreisel Lecture Series) by Vivek Shraya (Trans Memoir)

In Sensorium: Notes for My People by Tanaïs (Queer Memoir)

Queer Data by Kevin Guyan (Queer Nonfiction)

Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity by C. Riley Snorton (Trans Nonfiction) (Audiobook Rerelease)

Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!

That’s it for me this week! Until next time, you can find me at my bi and lesbian book blog, the Lesbrary, as well as on Twitter @danikaellis. You can also hear me on All the Books or you can read my Book Riot posts.

Happy reading!

Danika