Upcoming LGBTQIA+ Literature in 2023
By Becca Binnie, Emily Myhill and Katrina Reed
Happy new year! We’ve collected just a few of the upcoming LGBTQIA+ book releases to look out for this year.
Choosing Family: A Memoir of Queer Motherhood and Black Resistance
Release Date: 7 February
Author: Francesca Royster
Publisher: Abrams Press
Told against the backdrop of Chicago’s North and South Sides, Royster’s book is an enlightening memoir of family, race and heritage. In this lyrical memoir, Francesca Royster describes navigating family life with her wife and daughter. Royster describes her journey to motherhood and experiences of being part of a multiracial family on the North Side of Chicago. Royster reveals memories of matriarchs and views of inclusive, fluid family dynamics from the South Side.
Embedding queer theory and work from key queer thinkers, including Audre Lorde, Royster explores how Black families often hold “queer” attitudes towards family. Ones that deconstruct the white hetero-normative mould.
This powerful work is about accepting the flexibility of family identity. Royster highlights the importance of living with joy and fighting to claim it from a society built to keep it from you.
My Dear Henry: A Jekyll & Hyde Remix
Release Date: 7th March
Author: Kalynn Bayron
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan)
This fantasy young adult historical fiction sees seventeen year old Gabriel Utterson return to London in 1885 after watching a scandal destroy his friend Henry Jekyll and getting expelled from medical school. Despite the opportunity for a fresh start, Gabriel can’t move on without Henry. Once correspondence with his friend halts, Gabriel begins to monitor the Jekyll home. Receiving the cold shoulder from Henry, and running into Henry’s new apparent friend Hyde, leaves Gabriel with questions. The answers, however, lead to a complicated mystery, one that must unravel for Gabriel to find the truth.
Bestselling author of Cinderella is Dead, This Poison Heart and more, Kalynn Bayron reveals another remix of a classic tale, one that is sure to be exciting, inspiring and dynamic.
Ace & Aro Journeys
Release Date: 21 April
Author: The Ace and Aro Advocacy Project
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
This important book acts as a guide to embracing asexual or aromantic identities. Often underrepresented, the book aims to empower and educate. Suitable for both individuals exploring their own identity and others looking to support loved ones or learn more about the scale of sexuality. With heaps of honest and poignant testimonies, the Ace and Aro Advocacy Project sets out to prove no one is alone.
Highlighting the importance of embracing personal identity and reaching out to support networks, this educational and touching guide is one to look out for!
Six Times We Almost Kissed
Release Date: 2 February
Author: Tess Sharpe
Publisher: Hachette Childrens
From the bestselling author of The Girls I’ve Been comes a fresh young adult LGBTQIA+ romance centred around Penny and Tate, two girls who have been forced to hang out since birth as their mums are...friends. They, however, are definitely not friends. They think they hate each other, but after a few almost-kisses and some lip-gloss stealing, Penny and Tate must face the fact they don’t actually hate each other… not even a little bit!
A gorgeous, angst filled will-they-won’t-they romance with plenty of sparks, drama and fun, Six Times We Almost Kissed is the perfect enemies-to-lovers lesbian romance you need to start the year off with a bang! Perfect for fans of Casey McQuiston, Sophie Gonzales and Adam Silvera.
After Sappho
Release Date: 24 January (extended publication, first published 6 July 2022)
Author: Shelby Wynn Schwartz
Publisher: Liveright Publishing Corporation
After Sappho is a sapphic historical fiction which involves many women and is told in cascading vignettes. The book begins with three women: Lina Poletti (Italian poet), Rina Faccio (Italian writer), and Anna Kuliscioff, who was born in Ukraine but studied medicine in Italy, becoming one of Italy’s first doctors and a strong voice across Europe.
Poetic and funny, Schwartz creates a tale of women and trailblazers of the past whose narratives converge as they forge queer identities and claim the rights to their own lives. Schwartz’s story offers hope for our present and future in creativity, education and identity.
The Immeasurable Depth of You
Release Date: 7 March
Author: Maria Ingrande Mora
Publisher: Peachtree Teen
The Immeasurable Depth of You is Maria Ingrande Mora’s second novel. It follows fifteen-year-old Brynn as she battles severe anxiety. After seeing some concerning content on Brynn’s blog, her mother decides she can spend the summer with her dad, “unplugged.” Brynn is plagued by feelings of hopelessness until she meets confident and athletic Skylar, with whom she feels at home. As her feelings develop, Brynn learns more about Skylar’s dark situation and decides she must help – even if that means confronting her worst fears.
Goodreads describes this novel as being in line with the “devastating but uplifting tradition of Adam Silvera.” Look out for this queer coming-of-age supernatural fiction as it hits the shelves later this year!