Top gay books
(A time capsule of lgbtq+ opinion, from the slow 1990s)
The Publishing Triangle complied a selection of the 100 best lesbian and gay novels in the late 1990s. Its purpose was to broaden the appreciation of lesbian and gay literature and to promote discussion among all readers gay and straight.
The Triangle’s 100 Best
The judges who compiled this list were the writers Dorothy Allison, David Bergman, Christopher Bram, Michael Bronski, Samuel Delany, Lillian Faderman, Anthony Heilbut, M.E. Kerr, Jenifer Levin, John Loughery, Jaime Manrique, Mariana Romo-Carmona, Sarah Schulman, and Barbara Smith.
1. Death in Venice by Thomas Mann
2. Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
3. Our Lady of the Flowers by Jean Genet
4. Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust
5. The Immoralist by Andre Gide
6. Orlando by Virginia Woolf
7. The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall
8. Kiss of the Spider Woman by Manuel Puig
9. The Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar
10. Zami by Audré Lorde
11. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
12. Nightwood by Djuna Barnes
13. Billy Budd by Herman Melville
14. A Boy’s Own Story by Edmund White
15. Dancer from the Dance by A
Today on the site I’m delighted to welcome Rebecca Bendheim, author of the upcoming lesbian Middle Grade When You’re Brave Enough, which releases April 7, 2026 from Viking Books for Young Readers! Here’s the story:
A heartfelt, gorgeously written debut middle grade novel about best friends, first crushes, and coming out—perfect for fans of Kyle Lukoff and Jake Maia Arlow.
Before she moved from Austin to Rhode Island, everybody knew Lacey as one half of an inseparable duo: Lacey-and-Grace, best friends since they were toddlers. Grace and her moms were practically family. But at university, being lumped together with overeager, worm-obsessed, crushes-on-everyone Grace meant Lacey never quite fit in—and that’s why at her new middle school, Lacey plans to reinvent herself. This period, she’s going to be cool. She’s going to be normal.
At first, everything seems to go as planned. Lacey makes unused friends right away, she finds a rabbi to help her prepare for the bat mitzvah that got deprioritized by her parents in the chaos of the move, and she even gets cast in the lead role of the eighth-grade musical. Which is when things start to get stressful, because it turns out
Visibility. It’s one of the most crucial needs of the queer community. To be understood, to be accepted, the LGBTQIA+ people needs first to be seen. This has meant that centuries of authors writing about the experiences, love, and pain of the queer community contain been crucial in making progress towards a revolutionary acceptance.
From the delicate art form of the semi-autobiographical novel — a experience story veiled behind make-believe names and twists — to the roar of poetry to a thick dive into the history that has too often been erased and purged, queer literature has helped to challenge, move, and shape generations of readers.
As a pansexual, demisexual cis woman on my way into another Lgbtq+ fest Month, researching and crafting this list was a singular joy. I hold many books to place on hold at my local library. Many stories to encounter. Many histories to educate myself on.
Because queer texts aid to increase our awareness to the “outside” society, but they also expand internal visibility and acknowledgment. Today, transphobia is rampant among the queer people, and there are still plenty of issues (biphobia, acephobia), histories, and experiences that the best-educated gender non-conforming pers
60 LGBTQ+ Books That Reaaally Deserve a Spot on Your Shelf
1
Your Driver is Waiting, by Priya Guns
This gender-flipped reboot of the iconic 1970's film Taxi Driver follows a rideshare driver who is barely holding it together on the hunt for love, dignity, and financial security...until she decides she's done waiting.
2
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
When magazine whistleblower Monique Grant is summoned by aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo, she's determined to use this opportunity to jump-start her career. Evelyn is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life, which includes tales of ruthless ambitio
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