Welcome to our monthly guide to our Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Book Releases! Did you read and love anything we highlighted last month? Let us know! And of course, let us know if you want to shout out any September releases we didn’t include below! Up top, we’ve got our eight TOP picks for the month, followed by the full month’s slate of releases we’re anticipating the most. Gabe Dunn contributed research to this month’s lineup, which includes a range of genres and definitely some evidence that horror season is right around the corner. Enjoy!

Autostraddle’s Top Most Anticipated LGBTQ Books for September 2025

To the Moon and Back, by Eliana Ramage (September 2, Literary Fiction)

If you pick up just one book from this list, make it this one. Eliana Ramage’s debut novel is about a queer Cherokee young woman who wants to become an astronaut and spans a wide range of time (three decades) and space and tells an intergenerational tale full of familial drama, heartbreak, self-discovery, ambition, complex identity, and more. I’m hoping to publish a full review of this one later this month, so stay tuned.

Algarabía, by Roque Raquel Salas Rivera (September 2, Poetry)

This Puerto Rican trans epic follows Cenex, a trans being living in a colony of Earth in a parallel universe. The book combines poetics and speculative fiction and contends with trans erasure in colonial and anti-colonial literary canons.

Hot Wax, by M.L. Rio (September 9, Literary Fiction)

The main character in this novel is a queer woman in her forties. The story begins in the summer of 1989, when Suzanne is just 10 and drawn to the wild world of her father’s band tour. After witnessing an act of violence, she spends the next 29 years trying to fade away and live a “normal” quiet life in the suburbs. But her father’s death brings the past blazing back, and she hits the road.

Cannon, by Lee Lai (September 9, Graphic Novel)

We’re big fans of Lee Lai’s work, so we’re definitely excited about this new graphic novel about best friends Cannon and Trish who love cooking dinner together and watching niche Australian horror films. The two queer second-generation Chinese nerds from the suburbs of Montreal have been there for each other since high school.

You Weren’t Meant To Be Human, by Andrew Joseph White (September 9, Horror)

Queer and trans horror with a transmasc protagonist, You Weren’t Meant To Be Human is set in a version of Appalachia facing alien invasion. This is the debut adult novel from the trans author of the bestselling dystopian YA novel Hell Followed with Us.

Beings, by Ilana Masad (September 23, Literary Fiction)

A beautifully braided narrative unfolds here, centering an interracial couple who encountered possible extraterrestrial life during an event in 1961. One thread of the novel concerns the husband and wife and the aftermath of their trauma. A second thread looks at queer science-fiction writer Phyllis writing letters to her beloved Rosa. And the third thread is set in present day and follows a chronically ill archivist trying to understand a childhood encounter and becoming increasingly obsessed with Phyllis’s letters and the testimony of the 1961 alien abductees.

I Am You, by Victoria Redel (September 23, Historical Fiction)

A lesbian romance set in 1600s Amsterdam, this novel follows a young girl, Gerta, who disguises herself as a boy to work for a family. The daughter of the family, Maria, catches her and insists she joins her to the city where she’ll be part of the patriarchal art world. Gerta becomes Maria’s muse and lover, but as her own artistic talents grow, things get complicated. The narrative is a queer reimagining of the life of still life painter Maria van Oosterwijck.

Best Woman, by Rose Dommu (September 30, Literary Fiction)

A trans woman returns home to be the “best woman” in her brother’s wedding, traveling from her life in New York to Boca Raton, Florida. Julia thinks she’s handling it all pretty well. She can do a week back home. But then she learns the maid of honor is the girl she crushed on in high school, and when she tells her a little lie, things quickly spin out of control.

And now enjoy the rest of our most anticipated LGBTQ books for September 2025!

September 2

Daddy Issues, by Eric C. Wat (Short Fiction)

This collection of queer Asian American short stories introduces the reader to characters throughout Los Angeles grappling with things like career, family, parenting, money, mental health, gentrification, and more.

Moonflow, by Bitter Karella (Horror)

New queer horror! With an alluring premise and a gorgeous cover! Moonflow features a trans woman protagonist named Sarah, a magical forest, and chills and thrills. It looks like a very immersive new work of literary horror and promises lots of queerness.

Every Step She Takes, by Alison Cochrun (Romance)

Beloved sapphic romance novelist Cochrun is back, this time with a story about 35-year-old Sadie, who ends up on a tour along Portugal’s Camino de Santiago that she doesn’t realize at first is specifically for queer women. Having just recently been hit with a bout of gay panic and awkwardly connecting with her airplane seatmate who turns out to be on the tour as well, this complicates things for dear Sadie.

Crime Ink: Iconic: An Anthology of Crime Fiction Inspired by Queer Icons, edited by John Copenhaver and Salem West (Anthology)

Rules for Fake Girlfriends, by Raegan Revord (YA Romance)

A queer fake dating trope is at the heart of this debut rom-com from Young Sheldon actor Raegan Revord.

The True Story of Raja the Gullible, by Rabih Alameddine (Literary Fiction)

Set in Beirut, this novel contains many queer characters, including 63-year-old protagonist Raja who shares a tiny apartment with his octogenarian mother. Raja receives an all-expenses-paid writing residency in America and embarks on a new adventure of self-discovery and reckoning with family, home, and trauma.

September 9

The Fame Game, by Ronica Black (Romance)

If you’re a fan of queer romances with celebrity characters, you’ll want to check out this one about a grown-up former child actress just getting out of rehab whose manager sets her up with a heartthrob actor but who ends up more interested in his sister.

Everything She Does Is Magic by Bridget Morrissey (Romance)

For gays who love Halloween, this rom-com is about a regular girl named Darcy Keller and a witch named Anya Doyle who team up to help each other with their own ambitions.

Lady Like by Mackenzi Lee (Historical Fiction, Romance)

Two complete opposite women decide the same duke is the ideal man to marry —which they each have their own reasons for. But instead of merely competing for his hand, they find themselves falling for each other.

The Most Unusual Haunting of Edgar Lovejoy by Roan Parrish (Fantasy, Romance)

Transmasc character Jamie Wendon-Dale designs haunted houses in New Orleans for a living but doesn’t believe in ghosts. This becomes complicated when their path crosses with Edgar Lovejoy, who has quite literally been haunted by ghosts his entire life. Opposites WILL attract in this cozy paranormal romantasy.

The Maiden and Her Monster by Maddie Martinez (Fantasy)

Sapphic romance and immersive folklore collide in this tale about a healer’s daughter who finds a monster in the woods.

Middle Spoon by Alejandro Varela (Literary Fiction)

The narrator of this polyamory novel has a husband, two children, a comfortable life, and a hot young boyfriend. But the boyfriend dumps him, and heartbreak is difficult to navigate as he butts up against a world that still doesn’t fully have the tools and language for polyamorous relationships. The story is full of heart and humor.

Girl Next Door by Rachel Meredith (Romance)

A freelancer is shocked to discover that a bestselling romance novel written under a pen name appears to be a love story about her and her childhood neighbor, who is likely the real author behind the book. So she returns to her childhood hometown to try to figure out if that really is the case.

The People’s Project: Poems, Essays, and Art for Looking Forward, curated by Saeed Jones and Maggie Smith (Nonfiction)

Authors and poets Saeed Jones and Maggie Smith have combined their brilliant brains to curate this collection of work that looks to our collective future. Contributors include Alexander Chee, Chase Strangio, Tiana Clark, Hala Alyan, Danez Smith, Ada Limon, and more.

Nearly Roadkill: Queer Love on the Run, by Kate Bornstein and Caitlin Sullivan (Sci-Fi, Romance)

This 1990s cyber-romance cult classic is getting a special re-release! In it, characters Scratch and Winc meet and fall in anonymous love online. The novel offers a prescient critique of the internet, capitalism, and government control. Readers are likely to find it just as urgent and relevant now as it was then.

A Hexcellent Chance to Fall in Love, by Ann Rose (Romance)

Here’s a paranormal romance that sort of riffs on the magical appearing/disappearing act of Spirit Halloween with its tale of The Dead of Night, a Halloween store that shows up in a new location before Halloween undetected and then promptly vanishes two days after the holiday. Pepper White knows the store’s secret, particularly because she suffers from its same curse and only appears when the store does. Soon, she hopes to extend her time in the world after meeting a charming new customer in Christina Loring. I’m truly charmed by this entire premise.

September 16

Runs In The Blood, by Matthew J Trafford (Short Fiction)

Satirical and at times speculative, this collection of super gay short stories includes tales of a lesbian mother fretting over taking her daught to a princess party, a grieving man going on a date with a centaur, and a queer couple using unconventional methods to make a baby. It sounds like quite the romp. I know, I know, don’t judge it by this, but it’s safe to say I’m obsessed with the cover.

The Golden Boy’s Guide to Bipolar, by Sonora Reyes (YA)

From the same author of The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School comes this new YA release about a young bipolar queer boy named Cesar Flores.

A Murderous Business, by Cathy Pegau (Historical Fiction)

A mystery set in 1912, A Murderous Business is about Margot Baxter Harriman, a woman proprietor who finds her deceased father’s former assistant dead in the office and suddenly has a murder mystery to solve.

Slashed Beauties, by A Rushby (Horror)

Body horror abounds in this revenge tale about three hyperrealistic wax figures of women coming to life to murder the men who have done them wrong. Set in both present-day Seoul and 1763 London, the past and present intersect and merge.

Teenage Girls Can Be Demons, by Hailey Piper (Short Fiction, Horror)

The author of the recent erotic-horror novel A Game in Yellow now delivers a collection of 13 stories full of queer horror. This sounds extremely up my alley, and maybe it’s up yours, too!

September 23

Bi The Way, I Love You: A Charity Anthology of Diverse Bi+ Love Stories, by multiple authors (Anthology)

Raising money for organizations like Rainbow Railroad, this anthology features nine bi love stories from nine bi writers.

Scarlet Morning, by ND Stevenson (Childrens, Fantasy)

The bestselling author and illustrator of Nimona (not to mention the showrunner for She-Ra and the Princesses of Power) is back with an illustrated kids book about friendship and adventure.

Try Your Worst, by Chatham Greenfield (YA Romance)

Combining YA romance and cozy mystery, here’s a tale of two rivals duking it out to be valedictorian. But then they’re accused of a series of serious pranks and have to team up to find out who’s framing them.

September 30

Thank You, John, by Michelle Gurule (Memoir)

This debut memoir, described as a tragi-comedy of errors, follows Michelle Gurule’s life as a stripper and sugarbaby in 2010s Denver. I love the cover, and it’s adorned with blurbs from queer authors I really trust, so I’ll definitely be diving into this one.

The Shocking Experiments of Miss Mary Bennet,by Melinda Taub (Fantasy)

A queer mishmash of Pride and Prejudice and Frankenstein, this novel reimagines Mary Bennet as a wild experimenting scientist who makes a monster to save herself from a spinster fate.

The Sovereign, and Fate’s Bane, by C.L. Clark (Fantasy)

We’ve got a C.L. Clark twofer to close out the month, including the conclusion to her queer political fantasy trilogy and a tragic sapphic adventure novel.

The Transition, by Logan-Ashley Kisner (Horror)

A transmasc teen is recovering from top surgery when he’s inconveniently bit by a werewolf.

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

Join AF+!

I’ve gone on four cross-country road trips in my life so far. Once from Long Island, down the east coast to Virginia, cutting across Tennessee and doing the southbound route largely dominated by big ass Texas, ending in Los Angeles. Once from Los Angeles to Virginia, driving in a straight line across the middle of the country. Once from Florida, along that southbound route again, to Vegas and then back with a slightly altered route to avoid Albuquerque after some superstition following a cursed night there. I’m sure I’ll do it again. I love long road trips. I’m sure I get it from my mother, who would always rather drive 16+ hours between destinations than catch a flight. I’m a pro at car snacks.

I don’t necessarily see any long car rides in my immediate future, but in the meantime, I can recommend some LGBTQ+ books that prominently feature road trips in their plot. Turns out there are quite a few of them! Road trips in general are fertile with potential for great fiction, much like dinner parties. Throw two characters in the confines of a car — or someone solo — and watch tensions simmer, realizations come to the surface, and changing surroundings shaping how people see and engage with themselves and the world. Here’s a smattering of road trip reads to perhaps bring on your next road trip or just escape into from the comfort of home.

A quick note: There is a tremendous amount of road trip queer erotica out there, to the point where I felt out of my depth recommending anything without having a chance to read them first, but search “queer” (or m/m or f/f or wlw etc, depending on what you’re looking for) and “road trip” on Goodreads lists, and you’ll find a treasure trove of self-pub and pulp erotica set around road trips out there!

This list was originally published in March 2023 and has been updated in August 2025.

Tramps Like Us by Joe Westmoreland

This queer cult classic road trip novel recently got a new re-release with an introduction by Eileen Myles. It was originally published in 2001 and follows a gay man who graduates from his Kansas City high school in 1974 and then hitchhikes across the country with Ali, a fellow queer outcast from his hometown. Their adventures take them to New Orleans as well as San Francisco. Friendship, self-discovery, hedonism, and community are all destinations on this wild road trip.

Make Sure You Die Screaming by Zee Carlstrom

With dark and humorous twists on the American road trip novel, Make Sure You Die Screaming sees its nameless nonbinary protagonist on a journey from Chicago to Arkansas on a search for their conspiracy theorist MAGA father who has gone missing. I mean it has one of the best blurbs of all time from Torrey Peters (“It’s Fear and Loathing for the generation devastated by the generation that brought us Fear and Loathing“). And if you’re not instantly hooked by the title alone, I cannot relate. Read more about it in our review.

How Does That Make You Feel, Magda Eklund? by Anna Montague

While going through her late friend Sara’s old journal, Magda discovers Sara’s grand plans for a big friendship road trip for Magda’s upcoming 70th birthday. So Magda takes the urn of Sara’s ashes with her on the road to do the adventure they never got to do together and uncovers secrets about herself, Sara, and the real depths of their relationship.

Girls Girls Girls by Shoshana von Blanckensee

I love how so many road trip novels are set in the past. This one is set in the summer of 1996, when two best friends and secret girlfriends Hannah and Sam decide to drive away from Long Beach, New York all the way to San Francisco.

The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith

Obviously! An iconic lesbian road trip tale! I want to go on the Carol road trip and eat every place where they eat in the film. For now, I’ll just re-read the book.

Nevada by Imogen Binnie

Another iconic entry on this list, Nevada recently received a much deserved flashy re-release from FSG and continues to be a seminal work of trans fiction. You can read Niko Stratis’ interview with Imogen Binnie for Autostraddle as well as Drew Burnett Gregory’s essay about the novel.

Love Is an Ex-Country by Randa Jarrar

This memoir by queer Muslim author Randa Jarrar follows her journey on a road trip from Los Angeles to her parents’ place in Connecticut. She writes on single motherhood as a queer parent, domestic violence, fat bodies, American racism, and so much more.

Flaming Iguanas: An Illustrated All-Girl Road Novel Thing by Erika Lopez

Playful in story and form, Flaming Iguanas is an illustrated book that follows Tomato Rodriguez as she rides her motorcycle all over, meeting girls, good post offices, and endless adventures along the way.

Are You Listening? by Tillie Walden

This speculative graphic novel sees two young women, Bea and Lou, thrown together on a trip through West Texas, accompanied by a curious cat and haunted by dangerous men. It’s gorgeous and heartbreaking and alive in its art and language. It’s technically young adult, but I don’t read a ton of YA or a ton of graphic narratives, and I found myself completely immersed in this.

Melt With You by Jennifer Dugan

Speaking of YA, there are a lot of queer YA road trip books out there! This one follows Chloe and Fallon on a best friends to hookup to enemies to lovers journey as they drive around the country to various food truck festivals for the gourmet ice cream truck they work in together. Miscommunications! Tensions! Roadside side-adventures!

A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend by Emily Horner

When Cass’s best friend Julia is unexpectedly killed in a car crash, Cass becomes determined to still go on the road trip she and Julie had been planning — only, instead of taking a car, she only has her bike. And instead of having her best friend with her, she has her ashes. The book is about grief, friendship, and theater, Cass also keeping alive the project of the musical Julia had been writing when she died.

Kings of B’More by R. Eric Thomas

Another YA adventure, Kings of B’More is a Stonewall Honor Book about Black queer best friends Harrison and Linus, who embark on a mini road trip after Linus delivers the devastating news that he’s moving out of the state. R. Eric Thomas is also the author of the fantastic essay collection Here for It: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America.

Love, Misha by Askel Aden

While we’re on the YA train, consider this YA graphic novel mystery about Audrey, mother to nonbinary child Misha. They head on a road trip together meant to let them bond, but both are struggling to connect with each other and really see each other for who they are. Their parent/child journey gets a lot more complicated when a wrong turn leads them to the Realm of Spirits.

After the Parade by Lori Ostlund

Lori Ostlund’s debut novel is about a forty-year-old man named Aaron in a relationship with an older partner named Walter for the last twenty years. Aaron leaves Walter in New Mexico on a path of self-discovery and reckoning with his past in the Midwest, traveling to a new life in San Francisco. I am also a big fan of Lori Ostlund’s queer short fiction.

We All Loved Cowboys by Carol Bensimon, translated by Beth Fowler

This short work in translation is a novel about recently fallen out friends Cora and Julia coming back together for a road trip throughout Brazil. It’s a queer coming-of-age tale and a debut novel steeped in themes of friendship, change, and self-exploration.

The Remainder by Alia Trabucco Zerán, translated by Sophie Hughes

A group of three friends in Chile embark on a road trip up the Andes cordillera after one of their mother’s remains goes missing in transit. The book touches on death, second-generation trauma, and friendship. Indeed, stories of intense friendship is a major recurring motif in these road trip books.

Have other queer road trip books you’d like to shout out? Drop them in the comments!

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

Join AF+!

Happy new book Tuesday! And happy August! Or, if you’re feeling ambivalent about August, then here we have something to actually get excited about: New queer books! So many of them! It has been a splendid summer for queer and trans book releases, and August is no exception. There’s a lot of great sounding new queer horror coming our way this month, so if you’re looking to celebrate spooky season a bit early, you’re in luck! There’s something for everyone’s shelves on the list below, which starts with our top anticipated picks for the month before moving into the rest of the slate. As a reminder, if you use the links below to shop via Bookshop.org, you’re supporting both independent bookstores and also us!

Have something you want to shout out that didn’t make the cut? Drop it in the comments!

Autostraddle’s 11 Top Most Anticipated LGBTQ Books for August 2025

Ghost Fish, by Stuart Pennebaker (August 5, Literary Fiction)

Protagonist Alison is grieving the tragic death of her younger sister, who drowned at sea. She moves from Key West to NYC’s Lower East Side and tries to scrape by as a hostess at a restaurant. She becomes convinced her sister has returned in the form of a ghost fish. The publisher provides Sweetbitter and my beloved Our Wives Under the Sea, but I’m picking up on notes of We Were the Universe. I love sister grief novels, especially when they’re queer.

Black Flame by Gretchen Felker-Martin (August 5, Horror)

Felker-Martin is BACK with more queer horror sure to sink into your skin. When an exploitation film thought to be destroyed by Nazi fire resurfaces 50 years later, lonely and closeted archivist Ellen Kramer starts restoring it, awakening dark desires inside her. Felker-Martin’s Manhunt and Cuckoo are both incredible queer horror novels, and we can expect another one here!

Extinction Capital of the World: Stories, by Mariah Rigg (August 5, Short Stories)

Mariah Rigg’s debut collection humors and haunts in its gorgeous exploration of Hawai’i. From the deep and violent impacts of imperialism to young queer love to breakups, daddy issues, and eco-horror, like any good short fiction collection, this one will take you on a complex journey of emotions and curiosities. I’ve been looking forward to this one’s release for a long time.

Trying: A Memoir, by Chloe Caldwell (August 5, Memoir)

From the author of the beloved cult queer novella Women comes a new memoir about infertility, queer desire, and real-time self-discovery. You can read about how fertility treatments got Caldwell back in touch with her queerness in this essay we published in 2022.

Both/And: Essays by Trans and Gender-Nonconforming Writers of Color, edited by Denne Michele Norris and Electric Literature (August 12, Essay Collection)

Oh I’m so thrilled for this book! It features some names you likely know and love, including Autumn Fourkiller, Akwaeke Emezi, Raquel Willis, Tanaïs, A.L. Major, and more! The connective tissue of the anthology is right there in the title, as the novel explores all the kaleidescopic ways of moving through the world as a trans or gender nonconforming person of color.

The Midnight Shift, by Seon-Ran Cheon, translated by Gene Png (August 12, Horror)

A Korean queer horror novel about vampires?! Oh I’m so in. Su-Yeon begins investigating a series of mysterious and violent deaths at the same hospital and encounters a mysterious woman named Violette at the latest crime scene. Violette is a vampire hunter looking for her ex Lily. I saw A Certain Hunger in the comp titles, and I ride hard for that novel.

The New Lesbian Pulp, by Sarah Fonseca and Octavia Saenz (August 12, Fiction Anthology)

“Lesbian pulp” may conjure book covers of the past, but Fonseca and Saenz have revived the genre for the modern sapphic reader with this anthology collection of work from the likes of Sarah Schulman, Grace Byron, Shamim Sharif, Lorraine Hansberry, and more. It’s pulp for the modern day, and it’s edgy, sexy, and above all: GAY GAY GAY. Can’t wait to get into bed with this one!

Transanything: Essays, by Ever Jones (August 15, Essays)

An essay collection chronicling midlife transition experiments with unconventional nature writing that probes colonial violence and challenges American myth. Queerness and transness come alive in this wild and fragmented narrative that lives in the in-between.

Lessons in Magic and Disaster by Charlie Jane Anders (August 19, Fantasy)

I’ve long been a fan of the way Charlie Jane Anders approaches and talks about queer and trans speculative fiction. In this new novel, protagonist Jamie is a powerful witch who teaches her grieving mother —who lost her wife —how to use magic. Here is an intergenerational queer story about love, loss, and healing. Stay tuned for an upcoming essay by the author about some of the themes of the book!

Sweetener by Marissa Higgins (August 19, Literary Fiction)

From the author of A Good Happy Girl comes a humorous lesbian novel in which two recently separated wives who are both named Rebecca end up dating the same artist. One Rebecca is trying to foster a child and needs the other Rebecca to pretend to still be with her for parenting classes as part of the approval process. Things, naturally, get messy.

Three Parties, by Ziyad Saadi (August 26, Literary Fiction)

In a modern day reimagining of Mrs. Dalloway, a queer Palestinian refugee wakes up on his 23rd birthday determined to make moves toward actually coming out. But his careful coming out party planning is of course thrown off course by the whims and uncertainties of life. It promises to upend the Western coming-out narrative while injecting mordant humor into its sharp and emotionally rich tale.

And now enjoy the rest of our most anticipated LGBTQ books for August 2025!

August 5

A Tale of Mirth & Magic by Kristen Vale (Romantasy)

Promising both a spicy and cozy tale, this is about a magical jeweler on the run with a purple half-giant. Both main characters are bi/pan, and it’s set in a queer normative world.

This is My Body, by Lindsay King-Miller (Horror)

Queer horror hive rise! This novel is about Brigid, a gay single mom to a young daughter who cuts ties with her Catholic family. But then her daughter starts showing signs of demonic possession, sending Brigid home to uncover long-held secrets about her uncle, Father Angus, who performed an exorcism in her childhood. Tackling religious drama and shame, this release definitely has this queer Exorcist fan’s interest piqued.

The Faceless Thing We Adore, by Hester Steel (Horror)

More horror! This one promises a Lovecraftian twist on Eat, Pray Love, seeing main character Aoife through a bad breakup and off to a hedonistic secluded community that, of course, also harbors twisted secrets.

The L.O.V.E. Club, by Lio Min (YA Fantasy)

For gay gamer girls, this YA novel follows three estranged young friends who get pulled into the depths of a video game after their friend disappears.

Verity Vox and the Curse of Foxfire, by Don Martin (YA Fantasy)

Here is a cozy magical book that follows a young witch who has to end an old curse and find a missing girl. It’s set in a speculative rendering of Appalachia.

Well, Actually, by Mazey Eddings (Romance)

At the center of this romance is a bi4bi couple with black cat/golden retriever dispositions who embark on a second-chance romance plot.

Automatic Noodle, by Annalee Newitz (Sci-Fi, Novella)

A novella set in the near future, Automatic Noodle is about a group of previously deactivated robots that are rebooted in their ghost kitchen and start making hand-pulled noodles for the war-torn people of San Francisco.

Mad Sisters of Esi, by Tashan Mehta (Sci-Fi)

Steeped in meta-fantasy, this novel tracks the lore surrounding “the mad sisters of Esi.” Their story is told over and over by many, but what is the real story? Myth, folklore, storytelling, and dreams are at the heart of this sci-fi novel’s sprawling narrative.

August 12

Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle (Horror)

I mean, you can expect hilarious, strange, irreverent, campy humor-horror from any Chuck Tingle release. This one takes place four years after a bizarre event during which eight million humans died under over-the-top, cartoonish circumstances. Existential horror with a high dose of bisexuality! What’s not to love?

A Game in Yellow, by Hailey Piper (Horror)

Carmen and Blanca are a kinky couple who have been in a bit of sex rut. But then Blanca comes across a strange play that can lead to madness if you read too much of it. But just a bit will inject a dose of euphoria. Carmen and Blanca embark on a sexy, dangerous game with the play. Horror and the erotic collide here, so you know I’m interested.

Alchemy and a Cup of Tea, by Rebecca Thorne (Fantasy)

This is the fourth and final book in the sweet cozy lesbian fantasy series Tomes & Tea. Expect baby dragons, magic, and bookstores!

Marisol Acts the Part, by Elle Gonzalez Rose (YA Romance)

Teen actress Marisol Polly-Rodriguez is determined to prove she isn’t in her flop era. She books a role on the same buzzy drama as her ex-boyfriend, and then things get complicated when she starts crushing on his scene partner.

Toni and Addie Go Viral by Melissa Marr (Romance)

A Victorian history professor sells an instantly popular lesbian detective novel that’s immediately optioned and developed as a series, the swiftness of which makes me want to classify the book as FANTASY since these processes are typically laborious and labyrinth, but alas, I’ll allow. Oh and the lead actress of the series is the professor’s former one night stand lol. Juicy!

The Sun and the Moon, by Rebekah Faubion (Romance)

The park ranger daughter of a psychic mom and the pilot daughter of a single dad collide when their parents start dating. They’re suspicious of their parents’ union, but along the way, they find chemistry with each other.

Death Valley Blooms, by S.M. Mack (Fantasy, Novella)

Part of the Neon Hemlock Novella Series, this ethereal tale deals with death, family, and Death Valley super blooms powered by a woman’s life.

Hotshot: A Life On Fire, by River Selby (Memoir)

After a complicated and often volatile life, River Selby became a wetland firefighter and learned a lot about the environment, fires, climate, the politics of wildfires, and more along the way. This is their blazing story about their experiences. Sounds like it could be a contender as an addition to my list of queer climate crisis books.

Semi Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything: A Memoir, by Alyson Stoner (Memoir)

Actor, dancer, and all around cool and talented queer star Alyson Stoner pens their story of growing up a child star and navigating religious trauma, eating disorders, and familial violence.

August 19

Leaving the Station by Jake Maia Arlow (YA Romance)

A cross-country TRAIN romance! Protagonist Zoe thought she’d find herself as a newly minted lesbian in college but is having trouble settling into herself and shedding her past. So she books a train ticket from NYC back home to Seattle. On the train, she meets her opposite in Oakley. But both their lives are going off the rails, so they might as well lean on each other, right?

Yuli, by S. Jae-Jones (YA Fantasy)

This is the third book in the Guardians of Dawn series and centers Princess Yulana on the precipice of civil war. She also faces her former best friend turned rival.

A Queer Year of Love Letters: Alphabets Against Erasure, edited by Nat Pyper (Nonfiction)

Queering typeface design! I’m fascinated by this project, which presents openly downloadable typeface fonts by alphabet artist Nat Pyper.

Voidwalker, by S.A. Maclean (Romantasy)

Spicy fantasy and intricate worldbuilding scaffold this romantic tale about a smuggler.

The Seven Miracles of Beatrix Holland, by Rachael Herron (Fantasy)

Beatrice doesn’t believe in magic or miracles, even though a psychic told her she’d experience seven of them. Then, well, sure enough, miracles start happening —including Beatrice suddenly reuniting with her mother and twin sister who supposedly died when she was young. Weird!

Pink Elizabeth Swear’s eulogy for her rescue cat Sweet Potato Grace is interrupted by the arrival of a bunch of barefoot followers who look straight out of the 1970s. Who are they? Pinky, who had just been about to come out when they arrived, can’t be sure! But she sure is going to find out.

Positive Obsession: The Life and Times Of Octavia E. Butler, by Susana M Morris (Nonfiction)

Susana M. Morris tracks the life and work of Octavia Butler and how her story fits into and informs various sociopolitical contexts, including women’s liberation, Black Power, queer rights, etc. History heads, get into this one!

Patchwork, by Tom Comitta (Literary Fiction, Novella)

For fans of strange and hard to categorize fiction, this new novella out of Coffee House Press combines love story, throwback thriller, and absurdist humor for, well, a patchwork approach to fiction and narrative.

Whites, by Mark Doten (Short Stories)

This political and sharply satirical short fiction features characters like a nonbinary sneaker podcaster turned Jan 6 insurrectionist, an anti-vax nursing home employee, a gay White supremacist, and a demonically possessed cookie manufacturer.

August 26

This Vicious Hunger by Francesca May (Fantasy)

Dark academia vibes abound in this gothic fantasy about a woman grappling with the sudden death of her husband when she gets a chance to study botany under an esteemed professor. There, she meets a mysterious young woman, and obsession blooms.

Roar of the Lambs, by Jamison Shea (YA Fantasy)

A 16-year-old psychic who works in an oddities shop making lucrative money off her customers is at the heart of this YA fantasy mystery.

Lady Dragon, by A.M. Strickland (YA Fantasy)

The last war between humans and dragons left their respective leaders dead, and ever since, both queendoms have been operating under a truce. Expect succession drama, battles featuring DRAGONS, and a slow-burn romance.

The Devil’s in the Dancers, by Catherine Yu (YA)

Queer dance thriller alert! Mars Chang gets a scholarship to an elite dance summer intensive and is assigned to room with Alex Bechler, the best dancer at the academy who also, Mars notes, is quite attractive. Bechler’s great aunt runs the program and entices Mars to swap out Alex’s supplements for a secret and experimental new pill that could have dangerous side effects.

The Secret Crush Book Club, by Karmen Lee (Romance)

If this new release is anything like Karmen Lee’s previous 7-10 Split, then you can guarantee the sapphic sex scenes will be HOT. It’s about Dani, a single mom, and Zoey, the new to town librarian. They both end up in the same book club, and sparks fly.

Empty Heaven, by Freddie Kölsch (YA Horror)

Queer monster horror! Darian Sabine Arden is haunted by a monster who turns out to not just be the stuff of superstition. Tucked in this monster tale is also a story of young queer love.

Sea. Mother, Swallow, Tongue, by Kim de l’Horizon, translated by Jamie Lee Searle (Literary Fiction)

As their grandmother falls into dementia, the narrator of this novel tries to ask questions in order to fill in long-held silences and gaps in their childhood memories and their generational trauma. Here is an expansive and imaginative approach to family narrative.

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

Join AF+!

June was of course a very busy month for LGBTQ+ book releases, but we still have a decent amount of new queer and trans books coming your way in July, too! Because it turns out gay people still exist after Pride month! Who knew! Below, find our top picks for the month, followed by the rest of our mostly anticipated queer books for July 2025. And feel free to shoutout additional books in the comments!

Autostraddle’s Top Most Anticipated LGBTQ Books for July 2025

Hot Girls with Balls by Benedict Nguyễn (July 1, Literary Fiction)

Hilarious in its excavations of internet fame and the content-ification of relationships, Hot Girls with Balls follows Six and Green, two late-twenties Asian trans women on rival teams in the men’s pro indoor volleyball league. The influencer athletes have a massive platform where they document their long-distance relationship and often disagree about how much to make public and keep private. It’s a great “internet novel” and specifically a queer internet novel, so it’s extremely up my alley and I think if you get your book recommendations from Autostraddle dot com, it’ll be up yours, too.

No Body No Crime, by Tess Sharpe (July 15, Thriller)

Nothing bonds two girls quite like burying a body in the woods. Chloe Harper and Mel Tillman end up in a secret relationship after they spend a night in the woods burying the body of teen drug dealer Toby Dunne on Chloe’s 16th birthday. Six years later, Chloe has left town for the Canadian wilderness and Mel is working as a rural PI. Danger resurfaces from their past and brings the two women back together again.

The Other Wife, by Jackie Thomas-Kennedy (July 15, Literary Fiction)

Zuzu feels like an outsider growing up biracial in her small, rural town, but she finds deep friendship in her best friend Cash, whom she longs for but never pursues outright romance with. Now nearing her forties, she’s married to her wife Agnes while still yearning for Cash, who she reconnects with when a sudden loss brings her back to her hometown.

House of Beth by Kerry Cullen (July 15, Literary Fiction)

This twisty novel centers bisexual literary agency assistant Cassie Jackson, who flees Manhattan for her New Jersey hometown following the gruesome death of her boss, which also causes her harm OCD to flare up. There, she reconnects with her high school best friend Eli, who is a widowed father of two, and Cassie slides easily into his life as a new stepmother. But things get a little…messy…when the ghost of Eli’s dead homemaker wife Beth starts haunting the woods surrounding her home.

Subterrane, by Valérie Bah (July 17, Speculative Fiction)

Humor and political commentary collide in this kaleidoscopic work of speculative fiction featuring a chorus of Black and queer voices set in the fictional world of New Stockholm, a North American metropolis defined by class stratification. Zeynab is making a government-funded abstract documentary about the creatives and anti-capitalists of one of New Stockholm’s polluted and industrial neighborhoods, one of the last areas where housing is affordable.

Necessary Fiction, by Eloghosa Osunde (July 22, Literary Fiction)

The author of the outstanding Vagabonds! is back with another gorgeous literary exploration of queer life, family, friendship, desire in Nigeria. Featuring more than two dozen characters across generations and scattered throughout Lagos, it’s simultaneously sprawling and intimate.

First Time, Long Time, by Amy Silverberg (July 22, Literary Fiction)

A young aspiring writer moves to Los Angeles while grieving her dead brother and ends up in a relationship with a famous older radio host named Reid Steinman, beloved by her father and late brother. But things take an interesting turn when she ends up having an affair with his adult daughter Maddie.

Simplicity, by Mattie Lubchansky (July 29, Sci-Fi, Graphic Novel)

Whether you know her from her brilliant horror graphic novel Boys Weekend or just from her hilarious comics online, Mattie Lubchansky is a shining voice with a signature style in the queer and trans graphic narrative space, and you’re not going to want to miss her latest, an immersive and speculative story about Lucius Pasternak, who is hired by the Museum of the Former State of New York in 2081 to study a group called The Spiritual Association of Peers from the 1970s that took over a summer camp in the Catskills and called it Simplicity. Strangeness ensues. Expect sharp socio-political commentary wrapped up in eerie dystopian-horror imagery. And humor of course!

Lonely Crowds, by Stephanie Wambugu (July 29, Literary Fiction)

Set in the early-90s art world of NYC, this novel is about two friends: Ruth and Maria. Ruth is an only child of immigrants to New England attending a Catholic girl’s school on a scholarship, and Maria is an orphan whose Panamanian mother died by suicide and is being raised by her aunt and also on a scholarship to the school. They strike up an intense friendship. Ruth follows charming and free Maria, who embraces her sexuality and drive for an art career, to college and then NYC, where ambition and competition threaten their friendship. Toxic friendship novel, yes PLEASE!

And now enjoy the rest of our most anticipated LGBTQ books for July 2025!

July 1

Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe, by CB Lee (YA Romance/Fantasy)

A geeky science-lover and a prophesied Chosen One’s paths collide, and they start to fall for each other, but there’s one problem: They come from literally different universes. Second dates become a lot more complicated when they require a portal. For readers of sapphic cozy YA fantasy!

The Original, by Nell Stevens (Literary Fiction)

A suspenseful, gothic work of historical fiction, The Original follows Grace, who has predilections for art, forgery, and other girls. She’s saving up money in hopes of one day leaving her family for far away, but a letter from a long-presumed dead cousin staking potential claim in the family’s wealth complicates matters for Grace and the other members of her Oxfordshire estate.

Human Rites, by Juno Dawson (Fantasy)

This is the third book in the Her Majesty’s Royal Coven trilogy. Five witches — Niamh, Ciara, Leonie, Elle and Theo — are chosen by Lucifer the demon of desire to fulfill a dark prophecy. Uh oh.

Tenderly, I Am Devoured, by Lyndall Clipstone (YA Romance)

Lacrimosa Arriscane AKA Lark is expelled from her boarding school and finds her family in financial ruin, so she accepts a marriage of convenience to a chthonic god, as one does. She becomes entangled in a sibling love triangle with a brother and sister. Romantic folk horror that promises a polyamorous bisexual romance!

Call Your Boyfriend, by Olivia A. Cole and Ashley Woodfolk (YA Romance)

This young adult sapphic rom-com follows Beau Carl, who is trying to figure out if Maia Moon, the popular girl she has been secretly hooking up with, really likes her. At the last big party before prom, Beau sees Maia about to kiss Charm Montgomery, who is thrilled that the vibes she has been picking up on in her tutoring sessions with Maia haven’t just been in her head. But then Beau interrupts the kiss, Maia accepts a promposal from her shitty boyfriend, and both Beau and Charm are left bereft. Beau and Charm team up to enact their revenge, but they start slipping into something sweeter along the way.

Am I Having Fun Now? Anxiety, Applause and Life’s Big Questions, Answered, by Suzi Ruffell (Memoir)

Comedian Suzi Ruffell writes humorously and authentically on masking anxiety with musical theater, coming out, falling in love, and becoming a parent.

July 8

The Gryphon King, by Sara Omer (Fantasy)

This is the first book in a fantasy trilogy inspired by Southwest Asian mythology. Ghouls, deadly monsters, and characters with dubious morals clash in a dynastic tale of romance, fantasy, and adventure.

Moonrising by Claire Barner (Sci-Fi)

The year is 2073, and agronomist Dr. Alex Cole moves to the first lunar colony where she falls in love. If you’re both a space nerd and a romance lover, the premise here sounds like it’ll be just for you. There’s also significant themes of climate horror and dystopia.

The Key To Everything: May Swenson, A Writer’s Life, by Margaret A. Brucia (Biography)

Whether you love lesbian poetry or lesbian literary history, you’re gonna want to get your hands on this biography of May Swenson, which pulls from her unpublished diaries as well as letters to people like fellow lesbian poet Elizabeth Bishop. The 20th century was such a fascinating time for lesbian poets, and this book particularly focuses on Swenson’s life from 1936 to 1959, during which she came of age and into her poetic voice in NYC.

Putafeminista, by Monique Prada, translated and edited by Amanda De Lisio (Nonfiction)

Activist and sex worker Monique Prada pens a work of sex-worker-centric feminism from Brazil, centering an anti-colonial and anti-whorephobia working women’s movement.

Climate, by Whitney Hanson (Poetry)

This is a revised re-release of Hanson’s collection, which features a new introduction and more than a dozen new weather-centric poems.

Sunburn, by Chloe Michelle Howarth (Literary Fiction)

This gorgeous novel about two girls falling in love in small-town Ireland in the 1990s is finally getting a U.S. publication after capturing hearts in the UK in 2023.

July 15

Wayward Girls, by Susan Wiggs (Historical Fiction)

This novel follows six different girls who have been locked away in the 1968 nun-run institution Good Shepherd for the mere facts of being pregnant, gay, or otherwise difficult.

Hit Me With Your Best Charm by Lillie Vale (YA Fantasy/Romance)

Nova Marwood has long been haunted by the tragedy of her missing father hiker but has become accustomed to pretending she’s okay. She’s also very good at pretending she doesn’t have a crush on the girl she pretends to hate. Nova ends up accidentally laying a hex on said faux-nemesis.

Climate of Chaos, by Cassandra Newbould (YA Sci-Fi)

July is disability pride month, and this book features a disabled protagonist navigating a dystopian world of climate crisis and medical debt, set in a near-future Seattle ravaged by storms and a virus. Healthcare can only be earned by logging hours in the pharmaceutical factories run by society’s resident evil corporation Aegis Corp.

The Club: Where American Women Artists Found Refuge in Belle Epoque Paris, by Jennifer Dasal (Nonfiction)

Hello history heads! Here is the clandestine history of a residence for American women artists in Paris from 1893 to 1914. The American Girls’ Club in Paris opened in 1893 and housed a generation of artist and activist expatriate American women during Belle Époque Paris. This meticulously researched book looks at the community that formed there and the legacy of its women.

Get it Out: On the Politics of Hysterectomy, by Andrea Becker (Nonfiction)

Get it Out offers an inclusive study of the hysterectomy and includes medical history as well as qualitative data gathered from 100 participants, including trans men and nonbinary people in addition to cis women. It looks at how gender and race impact access to reproductive healthcare and the pushback people seeking hysterectomies often receive.

Taste the Love, by Karelia Stetz-Waters and Fay Stetz-Waters (Romance)

A sapphic rom-com for foodies, Taste the Love centers eco-chef Alice Sullivan and social media and food truck sensation Kia, who go from complicated culinary school rivals to…a public fake marriage in an attempt to save both their careers.

July 22

The Library at Hellebore, by Cassandra Khaw (Horror Fantasy)

I had a lot of fun with Khaw’s Nothing But Blackened Teeth, and the author is back with a dark academia novel about the Hellebore Technical Institute for the Gifted, a prestigious academy for the “dangerously powerful,” including anti-christs, ragnaroks, world-eaters, and apocalypse-makers. In other words: school from hell.

Daughters of Flood and Fury, by Gabriella Buba (Fantasy)

This is a sequel to Saints of Storm and Sorrow and continues the saga’s exploration of Filipino-inspired fantasy, featuring magic, pirates, moon-eating dragons, and sapphic romance.

Volatile Memory, by Seth Haddon (Sci-Fi Romance)

This debut is a sapphic sci-fi/action-adventure novella with cyberpunk vibes.

Nothing Compares To You: What Sinead O’Connor Means to Us, edited by Sonya Huber and Martha Bayne (Nonfiction)

A group of women and nonbinary artists and writers come together to remember the legacy of Sinead O’Connor in this anthology.

Evil-ish by Kennedy Tarrell (YA Fantasy Graphic Novel)

Hawthorne Vandercast wants to join the Brigade of Shade and leave behind their life as a potions barista. But their pursuit of villainy proves more complicated than they hoped.

Sky on Fire, by E.K Johnston (YA Sci-Fi)

A space fantasy that combines Arthurian myth and the history of North Atlantic fisheries — two things I bet you didn’t think could combine to compelling effect, but here we are! For readers of queer sci-fi/fantasy tales.

So What If I’m a Puta, by Amara Moira, edited by Amanda de Lisio, and translaed by Bruna Dantas Lobato (Essay Collection)

This essay collection from Feminist Press touches on transition, safe sex, desire, whorephobia, consent, and the history and current contexts of Brazil’s violence against trans women.

July 29

The Memory Hunters, by Mia Tsai (Romantasy)

A slow-burn romantasy with climate dystopia and dark academia vibes, this novel centers Kiana Strade, who has a special talent for collecting memories but refuses her post leading the temple she’s supposed to and instead does research for the Museum of Human Memory.

We Are The Match, by Mary E Roach (Romance)

Here we have a contemporary and queer reimagining of the Helen of Troy myth with Grecian mob families and a tale of murder and revenge.

The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World, by J.R. Dawson (Fantasy)

A Midwestern fantasy tale, this novel features a waystation for the dead on the shores of Lake Michigan in Chicago. Every night, the dead travel through the city to this waystation, guided by the titular lighthouse, where they must reckon with their lives before moving on into the great beyond, ushered by the ferryman of the dead. That ferryman’s daughter Nera notices one night that something is afoot. A living girl named Charlie has somehow boarded the boat looking for someone she has lost.

Donut Summer, by Anita Kelly (YA Romance)

Two teens working at a donut shop for the summer band together to save it and fall in love along the way in this YA debut.

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

Join AF+!