LGBTQ Literature

From Christopher Isherwood's enduring 20th-century classic Goodbye to Berlin to contemporary titles like Janet Mock's Redefining Realness, the titles in this study guide collection explore a range of ideas, issues, genres, and forms that speak to the LGBTQ community.

The Starless Sea

by Erin Morgenstern

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fate

Tags Fantasy, Magical Realism, Romance, LGBTQ+

Erin Morgenstern, best-selling author of The Night Circus, published The Starless Sea in 2019. This work of magical realism interweaves separate stories with shared plots, themes, and characters. The book addresses ideas such as the concept of story, its meaning, and the nature of beginnings and endings, along with fate, free will, and what it means to become part of a narrative. This guide references the Knopf Doubleday first edition.Plot SummaryZachary Ezra Rawlins, an Emerging... Read The Starless Sea Summary

The Starving Saints

by Caitlin Starling

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Femininity, Politics & Government, Good & Evil, Loyalty & Betrayal, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Horror & Suspense, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, LGBTQ+

Caitlin Starling’s The Starving Saints (2025) is a historical fantasy from the award-winning author of The Luminous Dead and The Death of Jane Lawrence. Starling is known for her atmospheric and psychologically tense books, with previous novels winning the Locus and Bram Stoker Awards. Set within a castle that has been under siege for six months, The Starving Saints follows three women as their society collapses under the pressure of imminent starvation. The novel uses... Read The Starving Saints Summary

The Sun and the Star

by Rick Riordan, Mark Oshiro

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fear, Grief, Memory, Love, Sexual Identity, Coming of Age, Plants, Trust & Doubt, Good & Evil

Tags Fantasy, Mythology, Romance, Action & Adventure, Children`s Literature, LGBTQ+, Depression & Suicide, Mental Illness, Grief & Death, Love & Sexuality, Psychology, Trauma & Abuse

... Read The Sun and the Star Summary

The Sunbearer Trials

by Aiden Thomas

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fear, Hope, Loneliness, Revenge, Shame & Pride, Gender Identity, Coming of Age, Animals, Family, Friendship, Self Discovery, Social Class, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Wins & Losses

Tags Fantasy, LGBTQ+, Mythology

... Read The Sunbearer Trials Summary

The Sweetness of Water

by Nathan Harris

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Guilt, Memory, Masculinity, Race, Sexual Identity, The Past, Marriage, Daughters & Sons, Community, War, Safety & Danger, Plants

Tags Historical Fiction, LGBTQ+, Race & Racism, American Civil War, African American Literature, Grief & Death, US History, Love & Sexuality, Post-War Era, Military & War, World History

... Read The Sweetness of Water Summary

The Tiger Flu

by Larissa Lai

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Good & Evil, Femininity, Environment

Tags Science Fiction, LGBTQ+, Gender & Feminism, Health, Science & Nature, Chinese Literature, Fantasy

The Tiger Flu by Larissa Lai is a work of dystopian speculative fiction first published in 2018 by Arsenal Pulp Press, an independent publisher based in Vancouver, Canada. With its focus on futuristic technologies that merge and manipulate human biology, The Tiger Flu can be subclassified as a cyber/biopunk thriller. The book won the 2019 Lambda Literary Award, which recognizes and celebrates the best LGBTQ books of the year. A Chinese Canadian, lesbian writer, Larissa... Read The Tiger Flu Summary

The Tradition

by Jericho Brown

Publication year 2015

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Race, Politics & Government, Justice

Tags Lyric Poem, US History, Race & Racism, African American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, LGBTQ+, Social Justice

“The Tradition” by Jericho Brown is written from the perspective of a collective “we.” This group planted colorful perennial flowers, including aster, nasturtium, and delphinium (Line 1); filmed the flowers they planted blooming; then watched this video on fast forward (“Sped the video to see blossoms / brought in seconds,” Lines 11-12). At the end of the poem, the reader discovers that the collective “we” narrating the poem are Black men, and the sped-up video... Read The Tradition Summary

The Unworthy

by Agustina Bazterrica, Transl. Sarah Moses

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Forgiveness, Grief, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Hope, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Regret, Revenge, Shame & Pride, Femininity, Gender Identity, Sexual Identity, Death, Future, Self Discovery, Community, Good & Evil, Power & Greed

Tags Science Fiction, Horror & Suspense, LGBTQ+

... Read The Unworthy Summary

The Well of Loneliness

by Radclyffe Hall

Publication year 1928

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love

Tags Romance, Classic Fiction, LGBTQ+, Gender & Feminism, World History, Historical Fiction

The Well of Loneliness is a 1928 novel by British author Radclyffe Hall. Banned upon publication due to its lesbian theme, it tells the story of Stephen Gordon, an upper-class Englishwoman and who struggles as a lesbian with the confines of society. A subsequent obscenity trial generated significant publicity for the book, and it has since become a landmark of lesbian fiction.  Plot SummaryAfter 10 years of marriage, Sir Philip and Lady Anna Gordon are... Read The Well of Loneliness Summary

The Writing Retreat

by Julia Bartz

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Sexual Identity, Femininity, Coming of Age, Self Discovery, Religion & Spirituality, Fame, Loyalty & Betrayal, Literature

Tags Horror & Suspense, LGBTQ+, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

... Read The Writing Retreat Summary

They Both Die at the End

by Adam Silvera

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Action & Adventure, LGBTQ+, Science Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Fantasy, Romance

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera is a young adult, science fiction novel published in 2017. Set in a dystopian alternate version of New York City in September 2017, the book follows two teenagers, Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio, who both have been notified by Death-Cast that they will die by the end of the day. Death-Cast, the defining feature of Silvera’s dystopia, is a company that predicts citizens’ deaths and notifies... Read They Both Die at the End Summary