And with that, March has come and gone.
Here we are in April. The sun shines longer, the weather is getting warmer, and there is a bountiful list of new LGBTQ literature waiting to be read.
Take a moment to appreciate poetry this April with National Poetry Month. There are a great number of collections being released, like Gabby Loomis-Amrhein’s debut evening primroses. Loomis-Amhrein addresses trans struggle and liberation in the context of rural living to create a guide for growth and change within that space.
Kayleb Rae Candrilli’s Water I Won’t Touch was written while healing from a double mastectomy and is delicate while desperate for change. Their poetry is concerned with the vitality of trans people living in dangerous situations. By focusing on what has been lost and gained, Candrilli imagines a happier, queer future that will only continue to grow.
Meld the profane with the sacred in Lambda fellow JD Scott’s debut Mask for Mask. An act of queer myth-making in poetry, Scott’s personae are motivated by lust and longing on fantastical quests that tackles wounds unable to be healed.
Enter the world of Dean Foster in Between Perfect and Real. He knows he’s a trans guy, but his entire high school thinks he’s a lesbian. After being cast as a “nontraditional” Romeo in his school’s play, Dean realizes he can’t wait to come out, he wants everyone to truly see him for who he is.
Read Boy-Wives and Female Husbands: Studies in African Homosexualities by Stephen O. Murray and Will Roscoe to fight the myth that homosexuality and gender diversity are absent in Africa. This piece of LGBTQ Studies documents relationships and diversity in around fifty societies in every region of the continent south of the Sahara and is aided by oral histories and folklore to demystify African relations.
Learn about the infamous cult The Children of God from ex-member Lauren Hough. Her personal essays have been collected into Leaving Isn’t the Hardest Thing, sharing her many identities as an adult, something she never experienced as a child in the cult. Hough’s essays are brave, funny, queer, personal, and stories of survival.
Witness the horrible breakup of Catrin and her holographic wife of ten years in Lonely Receiver by Zac Thompson. Without warning, Catrin’s wife disconnects a bond that was meant to last for life. Alone for the first time in years, she is driven to near insanity struggling to cope with her loss.
Read the letters of a great twentieth-century poet in A Whole World: Letters from James Merrill. He shares stories of his curiosity, lovers, the spirit world and Ouija boards, and even moral dilemmas to his friends and family. Merrill is self-critical, gossipy, and poignant, giving readers a chance to be closer to a celebrated poet.
There are so many exceptional books to chose from this month. Relish in April’s most anticipated books, and, as always, if our list is missing an author or a book, or if you have a book coming out next month, please email us.
Bio/Memoir
- All the Powerful Invisible Things: A Sportswoman’s Notebook by Gretchen Legler, Trinity University Press
- Broken Horses: A Memoir by Brandi Carlile, Crown Publishing Group
- How to Fail as a Popstar by Vivek Shraya, Arsenal Pulp Press
- How Y’All Doing?: Misadventures and Mischief from a Life Well Lived by Leslie Jordan, William Morrow & Company
- I’m a Wild Seed by Sharon Lee De La Cruz, Street Noise Books
- Immoral, Indecent, and Scurrilous by Gerald Hannon, Cormorant Books
- The Lavender Blade: Delights and Desires by Angus Whyte, Whyte Light Press
- Leaving Isn’t the Hardest Thing: Essays by Lauren Hough, Vintage
- Living and Loving in the Age of AIDS: A Memoir by Derek Frost, Watkins Publishing
- Men I’ve Never Been by Michael Sadowski, University of Wisconsin Press
- Plastic: an Autobiography by Allison Cobb, Nightboat Books
- Testing the Wind by Peter Ilgenfritz, Coffeetown Press
Fiction
- A Blind Eye by David Jackson Ambrose, NineStar Press
- Accidental Desperados by Lee Lynch, Bold Strokes Books
- All I Ask by Eva Crocker, House of Anansi Press
- The Groundhog Forever by Henry Hoke, WTAW Press
- Hot Stew by Fiona Mozley, Algonquin Books
- The Kingdom’s Sandcastle by Luai Qubain, Rare Bird Books
- Rising and Other Stories by Galey Massey, Bronzeville Books
- The Ruination of Dylan Forbes by Chad Bordes, D.X. Varos, Ltd
- Thick Skin by N/A Oparah, KERNPUNKT Press
- The Violence Almanac by Miah Jeffra, Black Lawrence Press
Nonfiction
- A Whole World: Letters from James Merrill by James Merrill, Knopf Publishing Group
- An Open Secret: The Family Story of Robert and John Gregg Allerton by Nicholas L. Syrett, University of Chicago Press
- Our Work is Everywhere: An Illustrated Oral History of Queer and Trans Resistance by Syan Rose, Arsenal Pulp Press
LGBTQ Studies
- Boy-Wives and Female Husbands: Studies in African Homosexualities by Stephen O. Murray & Will Roscoe, State University of New York Press
- Case Studies in Clinical Practice With Trans and Gender Non-Binary Clients: A Handbook for Working With Children, Adolescents, and Adults by Lore M. Dickey, Jessica Kingsley Publishers
- Constructions of Masculinity in the Middle East and North Africa: Literature, Film, and National Discourse by Mohja Kahf & Nadine Sinno, American University in Cairo Press
- Family of Origin, Family of Choice: Stories of Queer Christians by Katie Hays & Susan A. Chiasson, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
- Form and Foreskin: Medieval Narratives of Circumcision by A.W. Strouse, Fordham University Press
- The Gayborhood: From Sexual Liberation to Cosmopolitan Spectacle by Christopher T. Conner & Daniel Okamura, Lexington Books
- Gender Pioneers: A Celebration of Transgender, Non-Binary, and Intersex Icons by Philippa Punchard, Jessica Kingsley Publishers
- Inceptions: Literary Beginnings and Contingencies of Form by Kevin Ohi, Fordham University Press
- Maid to Queer: Asian Labor Migration and Female Same-Sex Desires by Francisca Yuenki Lai, Hong Kong University Press
- Pediatric Collections: LGBTQ+: Support and Care (Part 2: Health Concerns and Disparities) by American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics
- Queer Exposures: Sexuality and Photography in Roberto Bolaño’s Fiction and Poetry by Ryan Long, University of Pittsburgh Press
- Queer London by Alim Kheraj, Acc Art Books
- The Routledge Handbook of Male Sex Work, Culture, and Society by John Geoffrey Scott, Christian Grov, & Victor Minichiello, Routledge
- The SAGE Encyclopedia of Trans Studies by Abbie Goldberg & Genny Beemyn, SAGE Publications, Inc
- Sand, Water, Salt: Managing the Elements in Literature of the American West, 1880-1925 by Jada Ach, Texas Tech University Press
Romance
- A Fae Tale by Genevieve McCluer, Bold Strokes Books
- Across the Hall by Kat Jackson, Bella Books
- All the Way Out by Ingrid Sterling, Literary Wanderlust
- Always Believe by Aimée, Bold Strokes Books
- Artifacts by Bailey Bradford, Pride & Company
- Best of the Wrong Reasons by Sander Santiago, Bold Strokes Books
- The Call of the Triple Spiral by Lisa Saffron, Lisa Saffron
- Courage by Jesse J. Thoma, Bold Strokes Books
- Cure for Insomnia by Laina Villeneuve, Bella Books
- The Hate Project by Kris Ripper, Carina Adores
- Holding Onto Light by Lucien Grey, Pride Publishing
- Is There Still Room In Your Life For Me? by Will Manwill, Will Manwill
- The Prince of Mirrors by Alan Robert Clark, Fairlight Books
- The Queen Has a Cold by Jane Kolven, Bold Strokes Books
- The Secret Poet by Georgia Beers, Bold Strokes Books
- When Sparks Fly by Kristen Zimmer, Bookouture
- Words Unsaid by KG MacGregor, Bella Books
- You Again by Aurora Rey, Bold Strokes Books
Mystery/Thriller
- Department of Death: A Nick Hoffman Mystery by Lev Raphael, Perseverance Press
- Finding the Vein: A Mystery by Jennifer Hanlon Wilde, Ooligan Press
- The Gilded Madonna: A Clyde Smith Mystery by Garrick Jones, MoshPit Publishing
- Lies With Man by Michael Nava, Amble Press
- Meet Me in Another Life by Catriona Silvey, William Morrow & Company
- Murder at Honeybee Lake (Shadow of a Doubt) by Jessica Aiken-Hall, Moonlit Madness Press
- Zero Chill by Carolyn Elizabeth, Bella Books
Fantasy/Horror
- A Natural History of Transition by Callum Angus, Metonymy Press
- The Cleveland Heights LGBTQ Sci-Fi and Fantasy Role Playing Club by Doug Henderson, University of Iowa Press
- Evolved by Michelle Schad, Chaos Publications
- First, Become Ashes by K.M. Szpara, Tordotcom
- The Galaxy, and the Ground Within: A Novel by Becky Chambers, Harper Voyager
- Girl by Liz DeJesus, Tivshe Publishing
- Hellfire by Michelle Schad, Chaos Publications
- The Light of the Midnight Stars by Rena Rossner, Redhook
- Local Star by Aimee Ogden, Interstellar Light Press
- Lonely Receiver by Zac Thompson, Aftershock Comics
- Magic and Misrule by KM Merritt, Blue Fyre Press
- Malice: A Novel by Heather Walter, Del Rey Books
- The Princess and the Odium by Sam Ledel, Bold Strokes Books
Young Adult and Children’s Literature
- Adventures with My Daddies by Gareth Peter, Peachtree Publishing Company
- Anna K Away by Jenny Lee, Flatiron Books
- Between Perfect and Real by Ray Stoeve, Amulet Books
- Blessed Monsters by Emily A. Duncan, Wednesday Books
- Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope by Jodie Patterson, Crown Books for Young Readers
- Grandad’s Camper by Harry Woodgate, Little Bee Books
- Green Glass Ghosts by Rae Spoon, Arsenal Pulp Press
- I Am Chris by R Kent, Bold Stroke Books
- In Deeper Waters by F.T. Lukens, Margaret K. McElderry Books
- Kate in Waiting by Becky Albertalli, Balzer & Bray/Harperteen
- The Key to You and Me by Jaye Robin Brown, HarperTeen
- Middletown by Sarah Moon, Levine Querido
- No Way, They Were Gay? Hidden Lives and Secret Loves by Lee Wind, Zest Books
- Queerly Autistic: The Ultimate Guide for Lgbtqia+ Teens on the Spectrum by Erin Ekins, Jessica Kingsley
- Queeroes, Volume 1 by Steven Bereznai, Jambor Publishing
- Queeroes, Volume 2 by Steven Bereznai, Jambor Publishing
- She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen, Roaring Brook Press
- Sink or Swim by Tash McAdam, Orca Book Publishers
- The Sky Blues by Robbie Couch, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
- Take Three Girls by Cath Crowley, Simmone Howell, & Fiona Wood, Sterling Teen
- These Feathered Flames by Alexandra Overy, Inkyard Press
- Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff, Dial Books
- Youth by Curt Pires, Dark Horse Books
Poetry
- A Better Life: Poems by Randall Mann, Persea
- All the Rage by Rosamond S. King, Nightboat Books
- Awâsis – Kinky and Dishevelled by Louise B. Halfe-Sky Dancer, Brick Books
- Catcalling by Soho Lee, Open Letter
- Creep Love by Michael Walsh, Autumn House Press
- Dear Birch by Margaret Christakos, Palimpsest Press
- Duct-Taped Roses by Billeh Nickerson, Book*hug Press
- evening primroses by Gabby Loomis-Amrhein, Recenter Press
- The Gravity Inside Us: Poetry and Prose by Chloë Frayne, Andrews McMeel Publishing
- Ghost in a Black Girl’s Throat by Khalisa Rae, Red Hen Press
- How to Be Better by Being Worse by Justin Jannise, BOA Editions Ltd.
- Iron Goddess of Mercy by Larissa Lai, Arsenal Pulp Press
- Last Days by Tamiko Beyer, Alice James Books
- Lost Family: A Memoir by John Barton, Signal Editions
- Manic. By Angela Solis, Angela Solis
- Mask for Mask by JD Scott, New Rivers Press
- Moldovan Hotel by Leah Horlick, Brick Books
- The Naomi Letters by Rachel Mennies, BOA Editions Ltd.
- The Neon Hollywood Cowboy by Matt Mitchell, Big Lucks
- Pelted By Flowers: Poems by Kali Lightfoot, CavanKerry Press
- Permafrost by Eva Baltasar, translated by Julia Sanches, And Other Stories
- Pine by Julia Koets, Southern Indiana Review
- Tender the River: Poems by Matt W. Miller, Texas Review Press
- This is Not About Love: Poems by Krystal a Smith, BLF Press LLC
- Trans: Poems by Hilda Raz, University of Nebraska Press
- Water I Won’t Touch by Kayleb Rae Candrilli, Copper Canyon Press
- What Are the Men Writing in the Sugar? by Matty Bennett, Queer Mojo
