This year commemorates the 50^th anniversary of the first Pride march, but with social distancing measures in place across the world Pride as we know it is looking a lot different this year. Some cities have taken the celebration online, some have organized marches in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter protests. Regardless of how Pride is being honoured and celebrated during Pride Month, it is always a good time to read books written by LGBTQ+ authors. So here is a collection of some of our favourite books by LGBTQ+ authors to read and celebrate Pride throughout the year.

Fiction

Mostly Dead Things – Kristen Arnett
Queer love and taxidermy in Central Florida, what more could you possibly want?

Red White and Royal Blue – Casey McQuiston
A president’s son, the prince of Wales, enemies to lovers, a fake relationship, this book has everything.

Less – Andrew Sean Greer
Avoiding an awkward wedding by travelling the world is both a tactic I wish I could employ and the plot of this Pulitzer Prize winning novel.

Difficult Women – Roxanne Gay
A collection of beautiful and haunting short stories about women living in modern America.

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet – Becky Chambers
A ragtag crew of humans and aliens take a chance on the job of a lifetime: building a hyperspace tunnel to a distant planet.

Real Life – Brandon Taylor
A powerful coming-of-age novel that tackles intimacy, violence, and the price of overcoming private wounds.

The Subtweet – Vivek Shraya
An examination of making art in a modern era from a wildly talented multidisciplinary artist.

Jonny Appleseed – Joshua Whitehead
The young Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer Jonny has seven days left in the big city before returning home to the “rez” for a funeral in this story filled with love, trauma, sex, kinship, ambition, and loss.

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous – Ocean Vuong
This award winning novel about a letter from a son to a mother is both a brutally honest exploration of race, class, and masculinity and a stunningly beautiful book about the power of telling one’s own story.

Nonfiction

Transgender History – Susan Stryker
An in-depth chronological look at Trans history, covering major events, movements, and writings.

Fairest – Meredith Talusan
A stunning coming of age memoir about a precocious boy with albinism from a rural Philippine village, who would grow up to become a woman in America.

Sissy – Jacob Tobia
A self-proclaimed “Coming of Gender Story”, Sissy follows the author from childhood to adulthood, as they navitaged bullying and trauma to reach a place of self acceptance.

Wow, No Thank You – Samantha Irby
A collection of autobiographical essays that will make you literally laugh out loud.

Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls – T Kira Madden
A memoir that tackles queerness, racial disparities, addiction, and love that will stay with you for a long time after you’ve finished the final page.

Stonewall – Martin Duberman
Dubbed the definitive account of the Stonewall Riots, Stonewall is an intimate retelling of those fateful nights at the Stonewall Inn, the activists who fought for LGBTQ+ rights, and the first gay rights march.

How We Fight for Our Lives – Saeed Jones
A stunning and haunting memoir about a young, black, gay man from the South trying to fight for a place for himself within his own family, and within his country.

Something That May Shock and Discredit You – Daniel Mallory Ortberg
Both laugh out loud funny and immensely thoughtful, this essay collection combines pop culture history with personal history in way that’s frankly unforgettable.

Save Yourself – Cameron Esposito
A young Catholic girl wants to grow up to be a priest but instead ends up joining the circus and becoming a professional comedian. Trust me: you want the audiobook for this one.

YA

The Black Flamingo – Dean Atta
An uplifting coming-of-age novel about cultural and sexual identity and the power of drag.

All Boys Aren’t Blue – George M. Johnson
A series of personal essays about the trials and triumphs faced by Black queer boys.

Anger is a Gift – Mark Oshiro
A powerful and novel about a family affected by police brutality, a group of students who push back against an administration supported by the police, and a teenager who must realize that anger can be a gift.

Con Quest! – Sam Maggs
Siblings at a comicbook convention, an impossibly weird scavenger hunt, and more nerdy easter eggs than I can count – if you’re missing Con Season this year this is a must read.

Pet – Akwaeke Emezi
A riveting debut fantasy novel about saving the world from monsters no one will admit exist.

Ash – Melinda Lo
A lesbian retelling of Cinderella that unfolds the connections between life and love, and solitude and death.

Full Disclosure – Camryn Garrett
A love story about an HIV-positive teen learning how to live her truth in a world full of hurtful stigmas and stereotypes. Truly a love letter to inclusivity and acceptance.

More Than This – Patrick Ness
After he drowns, Seth suddenly finds himself awake, alive, and searching for answers in this riveting dystopian tale.

Hideous Beauty – William Hussey
A story about queer young love that will tug at your heartstrings. Bring tissues.

Poetry

Pansy – Andrea Gibson
Equal parts political rallying cry and celebration of wonder and love, Pansy is an exploration of what it means to truly heal

NDN Coping Mechanisms: Notes From the Field – Billy-Ray Bellcourt
Using the modes of accusation and interrogation, this genre-bending collection takes on the political demands of queerness, love and its discontents, and mainstream portrayals of Indigenous life.

Tongue Breaker – Leah Lakshmi Pipzna-Samarsinha
The cover copy says it best: An exploration of “the collective trauma of these troubled times from a queer brown disabled perspective”

Comics & Graphic Novels

Lumberjanes – Noelle Stevenson, Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Brooke A. Allen
Five best pals at summer camp are determined to have the best time and they’re not gonna let a magical quest or supernatural critters get in their way.

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me – Mariko Tamaki
Teen heartbreak, friendship, laughs and self-discovery.

Bury the Lede – Gaby Dunn
A college intern at a premiere newspaper races to a crime scene looking for a scoop but instead finds herself in a game of cat and mouse with the prime suspect: a celebrity socialite who will change her life forever.