While Pride Month has become an annual tradition to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, its origins date back to June 28, 1969. That was the day of the Stonewall Riots, a series of confrontations at the Stonewall Inn, a well-known gay bar in New York City. At the time, LGBTQ+ people faced frequent police harassment, often under pretexts such as laws requiring people to wear a certain number of “gender-appropriate” articles of clothing. However, during the Stonewall uprising, patrons fought back against the police, marking a pivotal moment in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights.
In June 1999, President Bill Clinton officially recognized “Gay and Lesbian Pride Month”. Subsequently, Barack Obama expanded it to Pride Month in 2009, and Joe Biden continued this tradition, issuing proclamations to recognize the month. Celebrate Pride Month with this list of books that shine a light on the diverse voices and experiences that shape our world.
- Postcolonial Love Poem by Natalie Diaz (Graywolf Press, 2020) – Postcolonial Love Poem is an anthem of desire against erasure. Natalie Diaz’s brilliant second collection demands that every body carried in its pages—bodies of language, land, rivers, suffering brothers, enemies, and lovers—be touched and held as beloveds.
- A Gentleman’s Gentleman by T.J. Alexander (Vintage, 2025) – A slow burn romance from TJ Alexander, A Gentleman’s Gentleman follows Lord Christopher Eden, a man known for his eccentricities. He prefers to live his life outside the public eye, but when his late father’s will reveals that he must find a wife by the end of the season, he must face two roadblocks. He isn’t attracted to women, and if he wants to fulfill this, his best chance is to move to London. In this endeavor, he meets James Harding, a handsome valet, and must face the challenges that come with his new circumstances or else he will lose his family’s fortune.
- Pretty: A Memoir by KB Brookins (Knopf, 2024) – From the mind of black trans queer writer, KB Brookins comes Pretty: A Memoir. In this work, KB Brookins shares their experiences in Texas growing up under the lens of someone who does not fit the common mold of society. It is a work that dives deep into their experiences with various parts of society, including their insights into what it means to be a gender nonconforming person in the South and the challenges that come with it. Even as it shines light on the beauty and toxicity of Black masculinity from a transgender perspective—the tropes, the presumptions—Pretty is as much a powerful and tender love letter as it is a call for change.
- A Queer History of the United States by Michael Bronski (Beacon Press, 2012) – Throughout history, various queer people have existed and shaped American Culture and history as we know it. In the 1620s, Thomas Morton established Merrymount, a safe haven for those that didn’t follow the norms, Charlotte Cushman was a lesbian and Shakespearean actor, and more. Michael Bronski constructed this work to give the spotlight over to the queers of history that others may have forgotten, or perhaps never knew about.
- We Are Okay by Nina LaCour (Dutton Books for Young Readers, 2019) – Months had passed since Marin had left her life on the California coast behind. With nothing but her phone, wallet, and a picture of her mother, she made her way to a college in New York in hopes of starting a new life. No one knows the truth about her final weeks, but when her best friend Mabel says she’s coming to visit, during winter break, Marin has to finally confront what she had left unsaid in her old life.
- All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2020) – The story of a black queer person, George M. Johnson shares their story in this best-selling memoir that explores their life from childhood to college years. Johnson’s story encompasses various facets of their life, including gender identity, family, and toxic masculinity. A tale that explores the darkness and the light of their life, Johnson bares their soul in this story of someone finding their way in the world.
- The Lilac People by Milo Tod (Counterpoint Press, 2025) – The Lilac People follows the journey of a trans man named Bertie and his friends as they go from a life of carefree nights at the Eldorado Club in Berlin to a life on the run from not only the rising threat of Hitler, but also the discrimination brought on by the allied forces. Bertie and his girlfriend Sofie, along with a young trans man who escaped a holocaust camp must make their journey to flee to their one hope of salvation, the United States.
- Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2018) – Following the story of the titular character, Jonny Appleseed is a story that follows a young two-spirit Indigiqueer who left the reservation in hopes of finding love and a new life in the big city as a cybersex worker. In this endeavor, he finds that he has one week before he must return to the reservation to attend his stepfather’s funeral. What follows is a series of events that see Jonny try to put his life together before his return home.
- The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar (Tor, 2025) – In the town of Thistleford, the Hawthorn family can be found tending to the willow trees. In this family, Esther and Ysabel are the most devoted to the ancient tradition of singing to the magical willow trees, but when Esther rejects a local man named Pollard in favor of a fairy named Rin, it severely costs her. After being saved by a local witch, Rin and Ysabel go on a journey to save Ester from Pollard.
- Loveless by Alice Oseman (HarperCollins Children’s Books, 2018) – Loveless follows a college freshman named Georgia Warr. Georgia has never kissed anyone, nor has she ever had a crush on anyone. As such, when she enters university, she hopes it will awaken these feelings within her. After all, she happens to love reading fanfiction, so surely she has these feelings. Loveless explores her journey of self discovery as she tries to find out why these feelings escape her.
- GOOD GRIEF by SG Huerta (fifth wheel press, 2025) – GOOD GRIEF is a collection of flash essays about grief in all of its ugliness and goodness. These essays explores grief due to racism and queerphobia, a father lost to suicide, an adolescence lost to assault, and their bipolar disorder.
- Are You Listening? by Tillie Walden (Macmillan, 2019) – Bea is on the run. And then, she runs into Lou. This chance encounter sends them on a journey through West Texas, where strange things follow them wherever they go. The landscape morphs into an unsettling world, a mysterious cat joins them, and they are haunted by a group of threatening men. To stay safe, Bea and Lou must trust each other as they are driven to confront buried truths.
This list was compiled by Gemini Ink marketing intern Morgan Moctezuma.
