Pride Never Dies: Queer Book Recommendations
- Jay Mullins
- Jul 2
- 9 min read
Ah, wasn’t Pride Month great? A wondrous time where every almost every large corporation suddenly seems to have a marvellous selection of shiny Pride merch and rainbow goodies, but it’s sometimes hard to tell which companies are merely jumping on the rainbow bandwagon to cash in on the pink pound, or for purely performative allyship. Until it gets to July, that is...
Weirdly though, we've now reached July and - shockingly - we’re all still queer. Huh. But if you’re already missing the rainbows and wondering how you’re going to fill that void, then fear not! I’ve taken one thing off your plate and saved you the trouble of searching for your next queer read, by compiling a list of queer books - with the help of my wonderful followers on social media, of course. The books come in all flavours, just like us queer people, so there’s sure to be something to tickle your visual tastebuds.
As well as being queer, all of these books are published by small presses and indie publishers or self-published. If you take a shine to one (or more!) and fancy picking them up, most of them have a link to buy either direct from the publisher or from another alternative source. This ensures the maximum amount of money from your purchase goes to the author and to support a small business, not straight into the already jangling pocket of a billionaire.
Disclaimer: I have not read all of these books, so please do take these recommendations with a pinch of salt. This is not an endorsement of any of the books, characters or issues depicted and I am unable to provide content or trigger warnings for them - so please read responsibly!
1. Jude, by Elin Heron
Fifteen-year-old Nick has just finished his GSCEs and is stuck at home in the seaside village of Brexenham. What starts as a boring summer quickly transforms, as Nick meets Jude Fletcher, a wild and otherworldly boy. Nick is pulled into another world, but the disappearance of local girl, Jemma Cox, hangs over the community, a disappearance that runs farther back than they realise.
Jude is Elin’s first YA novel and was a long time in the making. It features gorgeous artwork from Kamila Krol (Pigeon) and is published by Lucent Dreaming.
2. The Reanimator’s Heart, by Kara Jorgensen
A reluctant necromancer, a man killed before his time, and the crime that brings them together.
Felipe Galvan’s life as an investigator for the Paranormal Society has been spent running into danger. Returning home from his latest case, Felipe struggles with the sudden quiet of his life until a mysterious death puts him in the path of the enigmatic Oliver Barlow.
Oliver Barlow has two secrets. One, he has been in love with the charming Felipe Galvan for years. Two, he is a necromancer, but to keep the sensible life he’s built as a coroner, he must hide his powers. That is until Oliver finds Felipe murdered and accidentally brings him back from the dead.
But Felipe refuses to die again until he and Oliver catch his killer. Together, Felipe and Oliver embark on an investigation that will take them to the darkest corners of New York to uncover a plot centuries in the making. As they close in on his killer, one thing is certain: if they don’t stop them, Felipe won’t be the last to die.
Kara Jorgensen has written several series to date; this is the first book in her current series, The Reanimator Mysteries. Kara’s books are as spooky as they are queer, so please do check the tags on them before you dive in! They are also available in audiobook format.
3. Of Thunder & Lightning, by Kimberley Wang
Corporate magical girls and the apocalypse!
To fight is to live, to fight is to die, to fight is to become something unknown.
In a world where pop media meets military power, two idol-supersoldiers are locked in a world-ending conflict on behalf of their corporate nations. Battles blast across a dying land, both sides convinced of their own righteousness. Ragnarok looms on the horizon. Yet Magni and Dimo—young icons created for the sole purpose of eliminating the other—find their closest reflection in their opposite. Now, completing their mission means destroying the one who understands them most.
Choosing one title out of the incredible selection available from Silver Sprocket is tough, but this one looks amazing (and comes with a free sticker so that’s always going to be a plus!). Of Thunder & Lightning is Wang’s debut, and according to the website “crafts a thrilling two-tone sci-fi graphic novel, growing the seeds of hope from the gravel of apocalypse”. Excellent!
4. The Left Hand Of Dog, by Si Clarke
Escaping intergalactic kidnappers has never been quite so ridiculous.
When Lem and her faithful dog, Spock, retreat from the city for a few days of hiking in Algonquin Park, the last thing they expect is to be kidnapped by aliens. No, scratch that. The last thing they expect is to be kidnapped by a bunch of strangely adorable intergalactic bounty hunters aboard a ship called the Teapot.
After Lem falls in with an unlikely group of allies – including a talking horse, a sarcastic robot, an overly anxious giant parrot, and a cloud of sentient glitter gas – the gang must devise a cunning plan to escape their captors and make it back home safely.
But things won’t be as easy as they first seem. Lost in deep space and running out of fuel, this chaotic crew are faced with the daunting task of navigating an alien planet, breaking into a space station, and discovering the real reason they’re all there…
This is the first in the Starship Teapot series by Canadian author Si Clarke. Reviews range from “A fantastically fun space adventure! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️” to “woke agenda ⭐️⭐️” which – let’s be honest – is about the highest praise an irreverent queer book can get these days. I’m certainly going to be checking this one out!
5. Tree Gods, by R. Lee Fryar
Once, we Drus were as the Dryads: eternally in our roots, one forever with the forest. But we were not content. We longed for form, to set us apart from the trees. So the Dryads gave us the bodies of men, and trapped our spirits in mortal flesh…
Holly Hillwalker has never dealt well with the curse of the Drus. He hates his humanity, and never more than now, when the magic of the forest is failing and it’s up to him to save his people. Tristan Grueder, part-owner of the local sawmill is coming back to town, and a cloud of blood and death follows in his wake. Holly will do everything he can to stop him.
Tristan has no idea of the hatred the forest holds for him and his family. They’re just trees. And his sister’s business is in trouble. He’s going to help her get their company on solid financial ground again and then he’s leaving. Tennga, Georgia has never felt like home to him, and there’s nothing that could ever convince him to put down roots there. Until he meets Holly Hillwalker.
It’s a bad time for a lonely man to find his soulmate. It’s a terrible time for a would-be King of Trees to fall for a human. And if there’s one thing the enchanted forest won’t tolerate, it’s a human and Drus in love. The forest issues an ultimatum.
He who is to be king must bring the man here to the sacred spring to die…
It’s hard to choose just one book from LGBTQIA publisher Midnight Meadow, but for this list I’ve picked Tree Gods. This book is one of those I’ve followed from pitch to page, having been in a Twitter pitch party support group with the author back when our respective projects were in their infancies. Fryar has a knack for telling wonderfully bizarre stories that immediately hook you, with characters so 3D you could go for a pint with them.
It's definitely worth checking out the rest of the Midnight Meadow catalogue, too; they’re a fabulous queer and ND run small press based in the US with a wide range of titles across a variety of genres. They do subscription boxes too - perfect for those of you who prefer to be saved the hassle of having to decide on your next read. And you could always pre-order The House Of Mages while you’re at it…
6. The Audacity Omnibus, by Carmen Loup
Rocket racing can be deadly, but working in food service is worse!
May’s humdrum life is flung into hyperdrive when she’s abducted, but not all aliens are out to probe her. She’s inadvertently rescued by Xan, an “I Love Lucy” obsessed alien with the orangest rocket ship in the universe. But you still have to eat in space, and rocket racing is a quick, if life-threatening, way to make a living. Finally, May has a career she loves and a friend to share her winnings with. Until a Chaos goddess possessing Xan’s ex decides to start a cult on Earth and threatens to turn the planet into her den of destruction.
The Audacity Omnibus includes all three installations of The Audacity space opera novel and comic series. It’s published by Space Wizard Press who are another LGBTQIA+ publisher, with a catalogue ranging from somewhat silly and cosy fantasy to hard sci fi.
7. A Study in Black Brew, by Marie Howalt
“They say life is a string of chances held together with grit and guided by passion, and who am I to disagree?”
Kellieth ReinAraneinth was headed for a career as a field chemist on a newly settled planet when their dreams and ambitions were crushed by coincidences and chronic illness.
They return broke to the wendek homeworld, Ganmak, where everyone’s basic needs are covered, but import luxuries like Kellieth’s favorite human-made beverage, black brew, is costly.
While piecing together a new life and recovering from their ordeals, Kellieth ends up sharing lodgings with the attractive, enigmatic, and infuriating Raithan WeinZalneinth.
When a human is found dead next to an alarming message on the wall in an empty house, Kellieth gets caught up in a gruesome mystery involving Raithan and the local peace corps.
Who is the human? How did he die? What is Raithan hiding? And when will Kellieth have the time to catch their breath?
A Study In Black Brew is Howalt’s latest novel, freshly released a month ago and billed as a Sherlock Holmes retelling in which humans are the aliens. The reviews are spattered with words like “wonderful”, “charming”, “clever” and “highly entertaining”, so I’d say this one is well worth checking out!
8. When I Was Me: Moments of Gender Euphoria, an anthology edited by Eve Greenwood and Alex Assan
"Gender euphoria" is the overwhelming feeling of joy a gender-non-conforming person feels when their gender is explored, validated, and celebrated. From being called the right name, to photoshoots with friends, to performing as a different gender in a play; gender euphoria is something that can result from an infinite number of experiences.
When I Was Me is a collection of autobiographical comics about the joyful and euphoric experiences of being transgender, featuring stories from trans people with a wide range of gender identities, ages, and backgrounds! 100% of the team working on When I Was Me fits under the trans umbrella, from pre-press to artists. With 12 interior illustrations and over 60 comics, this book is a wonderful reminder that the trans experience is full of beauty and happiness.
When I Was Me is an anthology curated by Quindrie Press, an indie comic publisher based in Scotland that’s been going since 2020. It received Broken Frontier’s Award for Best One-Shot Anthology in 2021, and 50% of all sales are donated to organisations that support young trans people in the UK.
9. The Hiding, by Alethea Lyons
"A surreal supernatural murder mystery through the streets of an alternate York, woven with chilling prose, throat-rending creatures, and a found family to triumph over all."—S. A. MacLean author of The Phoenix Keeper
Arcane archivist Harper has always been plagued by dreams of grotesque creatures and bloody deaths. When she bumps into a ghostwalker in the Shambles and has a visceral experience of his execution, she knows it’s a foretelling. Yet fear of the Queen’s Guard stops her speaking out. When her vision indeed comes true, the unusual markings on the ghostwalker’s corpse, combined with his neatly excised vocal cords, send a ripple of terror through York.
The witch hunt is on. As the body count rises, Harper knows her magic is the only way to find the killer – if she can avoid being hanged as a witch. To protect both human and supernatural, Harper walks the thin line between their worlds. She and her demonhunter foster-sister form a multi-faith team with a forensic scientist, a spirit Harper accidentally summoned, and a techno-witch, to catch the killer before more people die.
The Hiding is the first in the Seer of York series by Alethea Lyons, who – unsurprisingly – is based in the north of England. I had the honour of being featured in Thea’s newsletter a few months back, when my character Julius from my upcoming release The House of Mages visited her character Legend for a chat and a cup of tea at the Teashop Between Worlds. I’m also super excited for zir standalone cyberfae novel Legend of the Bard, where you’ll be able to find out more about Legend, in 2026.
The Seer of York series is published by Brigids Gate Press, an indie publisher started in 2021 with a focus on horror, dark fantasy, poetry, and romance; so if you’re after something kooky and spooky, they’re bound to have a book for you!
Don't forget to leave a review if you enjoyed any of these books, and make the author's day twice over!
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