As the days are getting longer and snippets of sunshine are threatening to peek through, here are some recent releases and upcoming queer books to delve into this summer! From non-fiction guides to historical horror, this list incorporates a wealth of wonderful LGBTQ+ stories. As well as enjoying these phenomenal narratives, we get to support our queer writers and local bookshops and libraries in the process!
So without further ado, let’s dive in.
No Fats No Fems
By Max Hovey
Written by London-based writer, advocate, and sex educator Max Hovey, this non-fiction book is a guide to queer empathy and an examination of internalised prejudices within the community. With a mixture of personal testimonies and research surrounding intersectionality, body image, and sexual liberation, this book offers an affirmative, future-oriented model for building an inclusive community. It will be released late this May.
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Jaw Filler
By Charlier Markbreiter and Maz Murray
A phenomenal work of detective fiction, Jaw Filler was released at the end of 2025. The protagonist of the novel ends up in the First Trans Commune in Sim World, blending the mystery story with commentary on the digital age. It is a trans novel with a purpose, using a neo-noir, cyberpunk backdrop to do so. Be sure to add it to your list of queer books to devour this summer!
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Q is for Garden
By Jenny Chamarette
Part memoir, part nature writing, and part cultural criticism, Chamarette’s book examines how we inhabit land, culture, and each other. It is both hopeful and enriching, looking at the history of queer gardeners, botanists, artists, and agriculturalists, a heritage to which Jenny themselves belong. It will be published this July.
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Greta and Valdin
By Rebecca K Reilly
The debut novel from New Zealand author Rebecca Reilly, Greta & Valdin was released in paperback in 2025 to critical acclaim. Following two queer siblings navigating love, loss, and the chaos of their 20s, it is both a heartwarming and profound story, perfect for an engaging summer read!
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Red X
By David Demchuk
Initially published in Canada in 2021, this delicious horror story is being released internationally in June, having gained rave reviews from its earlier readers. Set in Toronto in the 1980s, this novel is perfect for fans of historical horror with a queer political edge. Blending fact and fiction, the novel’s commentary on queer experience is both explicit and powerful. Author Sam J. Miller describes it as “exactly the book we need right now: scary, angry, horny, and packed with memorable monsters both supernatural and systemic”.
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Tell Me What’s Right
By R.N Cogley
Published just this March, Tell Me What’s Right is a tension-filled romance novel from Irish author R.N. Cogley. Set in a high-pressure legal environment, the story tracks two lawyers with a workplace rivalry, leaning into the romance tropes we’ve come to know and love!
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Love in the Lav: A Social Biography of Same-Sex Desire in Ireland, 1922-1972
By Averill Earls
In this non-fiction text, historian Averill Earls reconstructs the queer experience in Dublin between 1922 and 1972. Sketching together this social biography using the margins of history to which queer existence has been pushed, the book took 10 years to research and write. Using court and police records as well as family history archives, Earls looks at sex work, subcultures, and the historical governing of same-sex desire.
The Queer Thing About Sin: Why the West Came to Hate Queer Love
By Harry Tanner
Released last year in hardback, the paperback version of this fascinating book will be published in May. Tracking queer love from Ancient Greece to the present day, Tanner looks at the origins of homophobia in the Western world and how it took root with religion and political ideologies.
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How An Egg Saved My Life
By Mikey Bell
This fun and thoughtful food memoir from gay Welsh food columnist Mikey Bell is sure to strike a chord with readers. Blending humour, honesty, and the occasional recipe, it is centred on the struggle of discovering that life rarely unfolds as you expect, and will be released this July.
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Unsuitable: A History of Lesbian Fashion
By Eleanor Medhurst
This comprehensive non-fiction book charts sapphic style across centuries and countries, from ‘Gentleman Jack’ in the 19th century to the Harlem Renaissance. Celebrating trans lesbian style, Black lesbian style, and gender nonconformity, this book is a fascinating history of fashion!
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Bridget and Gabe Are Not Okay
By Lex Croucher
As the sequel to Gwen and Art Are Not in Love, this fun and innovative YA novel is set to drop in August. As a queer retelling of the story of King Arthur and Gwendolyn, it promises lots of wit, energy, and lavender marriages to boot! In Between Drafts describes it as “A humorous and charming ode to found family and true love, this queer YA novel is a perfect find for fans of Merlin and Alice Oseman novels.”
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Mixed Up: An Irish Boy’s Journey to Belonging
By Leon Diop
Although not specifically a queer text, this extraordinary memoir about growing up mixed-race in Ireland speaks to the marginalised experience. Diop, founder of the hugely impactful Black & Irish advocacy group, writes about growing up mixed-race in Ireland and learning to embrace his own identity, inspiring others along the way. Aimed at children and young adults, this wonderful book is both sincere and necessary.
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If you’re looking for more queer books to add to your summer list, read our previous round-up here!
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