A Small Sampling of Queer Spec Fic You Can Read Right Now!
I’ve compiled this list both because I love queer spec fic, and because I have a point to prove: it’s out there, there’s tons of it, and it’s easy enough to find. The process for compiling this list was simple. Here’s the tweet I sent out:
Hey nerds, I’m makin’ a list. If you a) are queer and b) have written queer spec fic, TELL ME. Even if you’re 100% sure I know.
— Cecil Wilde (@softestpunk) June 4, 2016
It got a massive response–some from people who didn’t have anything published, some from people who only had shorts in anthologies, but also: a bunch from people whose work you can go consume immediately. I present the latter category here, in all it’s wondrous glory (in order of response).
Alison Evans – Wolfskin
Kelly Haworth – Negative Y
Emily Skrutskie – The Abyss Surrounds Us
Alaya Dawn Johnson – a literal treasure trove of queer spec fic
Heidi Belleau – The Druid Stone, The War at the End of the World, Hawaiian Gothic
Lev Mirov – A ton of queer sff poetry
Emily Singer – Kitsune Tales, Parmeshen (webcomic!)
Shira Glassman – so much happy queer fantasy
E. E. Ottoman – lots of queer spec fic
Sam Schooler – The Practical Guide to Trying Not to Die, Writing Your Own Ransom Note, Blasphemer, Sinner, Saint
Andrea Speed – many queer zombie books
Elliot Cooper – The Clockwork Menagerie, Junk Mage
Kirby Crow – a ton of fantasy and horror/paranormal titles
Pat Schmatz – Lizard Radio
J. K. Pendragon – much queer spec fic
Caitlin Ricci – do you like shifters? (Who doesn’t?)
Ada Hoffmann – The Scrape of Tooth and Bone, other works in anthologies
Amal El-Mohtar – assorted short spec fic for days
Alicia E. Goranson – Supervillainz
Cathy Pegau – Rulebreaker, Deep Deception
Dylan NDR Edwards – Valley of the Silk Sky (webcomic!), many other cool comics
Devin Harnois – Double-Souls, How to Make Friends and Not Incinerate People
I have preferred Goodreads pages where possible, because they allow for further exploration of an author’s works (and the works of similar authors, though the algorithm is imperfect).
I don’t intend to keep this list updated, but do feel free to make a comment to add yourself to it if you and your works qualify! This is intended to be a proof of concept, more than anything else. If you want queer spec fic, ask. It’s out there. People will excitedly tell you about it with very little provocation.
If you want to connect with a bunch of creators (some of whom didn’t have work that was readily available and linkable), I’ve also got a twitter list of queer SFF creators.
