42 New Books to Read this Pride Month

This June, as we observe LGBTQ Pride—the annual celebration of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning communities—we wanted to put a spotlight on 42 new books, all published so far this year, for your Pride reading lists!
These titles represent a myriad of experiences across genres and are categorized by fiction & poetry and nonfiction. We hope you discover amazing stories to celebrate this month and beyond.
Take a look at the books below and then add your own recommendations in the comments!
Fiction & Poetry
Nonfiction
Which LGBTQ book would you recommend this Pride Month? Tell us in the comments!
Check out more recent articles:
Celebrate Pride Month with 12 Great Queer Romances
Meet the Authors of June's Best Queer Young Adult Fiction
June's Most Anticipated New Books
Check out more recent articles:
Celebrate Pride Month with 12 Great Queer Romances
Meet the Authors of June's Best Queer Young Adult Fiction
June's Most Anticipated New Books
Comments Showing 1-50 of 58 (58 new)

do i get a month cos Ive got jade curtains ?"
Your ignorance is showing. You should look to that.
I've been oddly interested in Cleanness lately. Sounds interesting.

do i get a month cos Ive got jade curtains ?"
Frankly, that analogy is weak considering no one has ever faced discrimination because of whether or not they have jade curtains. The LGBTQ+ community has gone through so much and deserve to be proud of who they are. If you really want a month for jade curtains you're welcome to celebrate it, just don't come after communities that have suffered enough as it is.




It is probably not as heartfelt - well it is - as some of the other books listed but Carry On is a fantastic book with self discovery, adventure and romance.



Lot by Bryan Washington
Lie with Me by Philippe Besson
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
We Contain Multitudes by Sarah Henstra (YA)
The Heart's Invisible Furies (John Boyne)
The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue, Mackenzi Lee (YA)
For fun--The Will and Patrick series by Blake and Griffiths--wittier dialogue and more charming MCs than your usual MM romance
And an "oldie" but just one of those books everyone has to read: Fun Home by Alison Bechdel


do i get a month cos Ive got jade curtains ?"
For the same reason people of color have Black History Month. They deserve it!

do i get a month cos Ive got jade curtains ?"
Have you ever been oppressed for having jade curtains?



do i get a month cos Ive got jade curtains ?"
Shut the fuck up

do i get a month cos Ive got jade curtains ?"
Well, if you want sure; go ahead and do it. But as to "who" many apparently. I don't see any need though mys..."
Ryan, why do you feel you as an individual don't have any need to participate in Pride Month? Or are you saying that there's no need for anyone to mark this month?

"When did you last read a novel about a young, black, gay, Jehovah Witness man from Wolverhampton who flees his community to make his way in London as a prostitute?"

do i get a month cos Ive got jade curtains ?"
Shut the fuck up"
Shut the fuck up



do i get a month cos Ive got jade curtains ?"
How can you read books and still be this ignorant?

Strongly agree. It's so good!


do i get a month cos Ive got jade curtains ?"
When you get told that you're going to Hell, or people explain in vivid detail how you deserve to die because you have jade curtains, maybe we'll consider. When you get kicked out of your house, disowned by your parents and beaten in the hallway at school because you have jade curtains, perhaps we'll think about giving you a month too. When people with jade curtains have been systematically oppressed for decades, maybe they'll get a celebration too.


Juliet, I've just published a long novel (a sequel) featuring one of the main characters who is bi. He doesn't engage in M/F sex within the context or time period covered in the book, but he alludes to it in the past. There is the suggestion to the reader that he is bi, even as he engages in M/M sex.
I hear you about the negativity directed toward some in the bi community, and it has to improve.

So you are uninterested in pride month and think it's unnecessary, yet keep returning to "42 New Books to Read this Pride Month" to argue with commenters. If you think that the majority of LGBT+ people live in a "friendly" or "neutral" area, then I really urge you to read some of the books on this list. Homophobia and transphobia are alive and well. You know what isn't? Heterophobia. You absolutely reserve the right to decide whether or not your sexuality should be celebrated. It is not up to you to decide what others think is appropriate to celebrate in order to make themselves feel more accepted within a community. You are going out of your way to argue with individuals about topics ranging from what they should find offensive to what they should bother celebrating.
There is a time and a place for everything. This is neither the time nor the place.

do i get a month cos Ive got jade curtains ?"
Did the people meant to protect and love you send you to conversion therapy because you had jade curtains while all your friends, who also had jade curtains, slowly died of an easily preventable illness that the President would not even speak the name of?


As to whether I think people shouldn't celebrate it at all or there's no need; whilst I may think there isn't for myself; I could honestly care less about whether you do it or not. If it's your thing, go ahead and be my guest; I won't go after you for it. Just don't expect me to partake in it, otherwise I'd imagine you'll be rather disappointed."
No, I don't expect you to partake in it; your reasons seem personal to you and you're free to do whatever you want. Not that you need anyone else to tell you that.
I just wanted to provide a different perspective. I think there is a good point to having Pride Month. Maybe where you live and where I live things are pretty peaceful, maybe even positive when it comes to attitudes about LGBTQ+ people. But that's not the case the world over. I think the key to changing attitudes and stopping prejudice is to take away fear of the unknown and educate, and to demonstrate that LGBTQ+ is accepted and celebrated. Even though I could easily say "well, I'm not part of the community so it's nothing to do with me, I'm not going to participate in this". The way I see it the fact that I was born cis-gendered and heterosexual was just random chance, and if I hadn't been it could so easily have been me on the receiving end of vitriol and hate. I think that no one should be discriminated against for something out of their control, and consider that I have a responsibility to stand up for that principle too, so that's why I think the month has a purpose and I choose to partake.

Did you have to be queerphobic? When we queers talk about our community we only include those who identify as queer, which obviously isn't the whole LGBT+ community. Unlike all those pedants who insist on utilizing gay to describe the whole community even though a lot of us aren't gay (aka. an MLM who is exclusively attracted romantically, sexually, or both to men).



Check this one out for beautiful gay romance...a 7-page Single-Chapter Release

Juliet wrote: "Did you have to be queerphobic? When we queers talk about our community we only include those who identify as queer, which obviously isn't the whole LGBT+ community. Unlike all those pedants who insist on utilizing gay to describe the whole community even though a lot of us aren't gay (aka. an MLM who is exclusively attracted romantically, sexually, or both to men)."
Right on.


So I'll just mention Let's Talk About Love (Biromantic Ace) and Every Heart a Doorway (Heteroromantic Ace) both good and the aces are the main characters to boot.

Don't worry dude, literally no gay person wants you at Pride.

do i get a month cos Ive got jade curtains ?"
I can see where you’re coming from, and indeed I once had similar thoughts before I came to terms with aspects of my identity that I previously refused to entertain. I don’t think anyone needs a month of gay per se but it sure is nice to have one, especially for those who struggle with their sexualities/identities too much to give themselves the self-respect and self-love that they deserve. Furthermore, a month of pride to me is more than merely a month of gay. To me, pride month is a month to feel less inferior and downtrodden than I do the rest of the year. I hope a month of pride will give me the strength to come out to my conservative family members, like my mother. But honestly it might take more like a year of pride for that to happen.
do i get a month cos Ive got jade curtains ?"
Looks like you definitely don't. Some other people might. Since it's not mandatory to go through the list and follow any of the suggestions, I guess you could just apply the very simple, common-sense rule of "everybody should just read whatever they please"? As in, you know, what other people read can in no way inconvenience you? Be kind is all...