Happy #PrideMonth!
This June, we’re reading with Pride and highlighting inspiring and unique stories that celebrate the world’s LGBTQIA+ communities.
Join the Pride in Your Words Community and discover a curated collection of books by queer voices, about queer experiences.
Living with Pride:
Pretty: A Memoir by KB Brookins
By a prize-winning, young Black trans writer of outsized talent, a fierce and disciplined memoir about queerness, masculinity, and race.
“Pretty is one of the most brilliantly constructed memoirs I’ve read. There is not one wasted paragraph or scene here. The language cradles but never ever coddles. Some art just makes you thankful. I am so thankful.”—Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy
“This book, above all, offers a potent narrative of learning to live authentically, no matter the circumstances and challenges . . . ‘My life’s work is to make Black people, queer people, and masculine people fall in love with who they are and shed the daily violence of betraying themselves and others,’ they write. This book is a powerful testament to that. An inspiring and deeply human work.”—Kirkus Reviews
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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A Product of Genetics (and Day Drinking): A Never Coming-of-Age Story by Jess H. Guitierrez
A frank, raucous, and bawdy collection of essays about coming of age through the oddest jobs, misadventures in queer love, and endearing parenting fails.
“Geriatric Kansan cougars, clandestine backwoods-brothel babysitters, cargo-shorted Midwestern butches on cruise ships, and lesbian Arkansawyer parenting antics aplenty. Just read it.”—Tara Clancy, author of Barnes and Noble Discover Pick The Clancys of Queens
“Jess Gutierrez has a one-of-a-kind talent for showing how hilarious and absurd life can be—and, lucky reader, she is ready to share her escapades with the rest of us. From reading about a bachelorette party fiasco to dating disasters to trying to parent when your kids seem determined to yell inappropriate things in the middle of a Walmart, I couldn’t put this book down.”—W. Kamau Bell, comedian and author of The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell
Available June 18th in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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The Little Book of Pride Heroes: Icons of the LGBTQIA+ Community by Jared Richards; Illustrated by Phil Constantinesco
A celebration of queer trailblazers!
This book is a celebration of LGBTQIA+ activists, artists, comedians, writers, musicians, and pop-culture giants who have shaped our worlds, expanded our horizons, and radically increased queer visibility.
Featuring trailblazing queer icons such as James Baldwin, George Michael, Frida Kahlo, George Takei, Elliot Page, Virginia Woolf, Leigh Bowery, and Divine, The Little Book of Pride Heroes is a colorfully illustrated homage to the power of pride and the enduring legacy of those who have fought for LGBTQIA+ rights.
Available in Hardcover.
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Pride in Fiction:
Nicked: A Novel by M. T. Anderson
From the award-winning and bestselling author of Feed comes a raucous and slyly funny adult fiction debut. Based on a bizarre but true quest to steal the mystical corpse of a long-dead saint, Nicked is a fantastical, genre-defying, and delightfully queer historical romp.
“Miracles, marvels, saints, sinners, love, plague, and treachery! M. T. Anderson has laid out a medieval feast of a novel, stuffed with everything I could have wished for. If I could canonize him for it, I would. But I’ll settle for shouting about how much I love this book.”—Kelly Link, author of The Book of Love
“M. T. Anderson is one of our greatest and most precious voices. His books aren’t just brilliantly witty and vastly entertaining, they’re fixed stars of wisdom and sanity in our increasingly unhinged universe. When lost, I use them to steer by.”—Lev Grossman, author of The Magicians Trilogy
Available July 23rd in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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The Guncle Abroad: A Novel by Steven Rowley
Patrick O’Hara is called back to his guncle duties . . . This time for a big family wedding in Italy.
“Few authors possess the infectious mix of light—and heavy—heartedness that makes every Steven Rowley novel an experience; his gift is to make the reader laugh out loud one minute and clutch their chest the next. . . . Rowley returns to the world of the eponymous gay uncle of 2021’s The Guncle, this time sending sitcom star Patrick to Lake Como for his brother’s wedding.”—Electric Lit
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Check Out More Books in The Guncle Series
Anyone’s Ghost: A Novel by August Thompson
An extraordinary debut novel in which the transforming love and friendship between two young men during one unforgettable teenage summer in rural New England haunts them into adulthood.
“Anyone’s Ghost is about so very many things: the pains of growing up, friendship and pining, drugs, sex, the frustrations of masculinity and the thrill of testing death itself. But more than any of that, it is an overwhelmingly beautiful love story. This book will make you cry.”—Jonathan Safran Foer
“You know those books that you take with you everywhere? That you won’t stop talking about to your friends? That bring it all back? That change you? Anyone’s Ghost is that book. Thompson has fired a literary flare into the black night of the universe and the illumination is spectacular.”—Junot Díaz
Available July 9th in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Housemates: A Novel by Emma Copley Eisenberg
Two young housemates embark on a road trip to discover themselves in this “beautiful novel about art, community and connection” (Rachel Khong) in a fractured America, by the award-winning author of The Third Rainbow Girl.
“A wise, beautiful, and gorgeously gay exploration of America, art, and the rugged, vast country that is love itself.”—Sarah Thankam Mathews, author of All This Could Be Different
“The brilliant, queer, abundant, art-drunk, soulful, sexy American road-trip novel we’ve needed for so long.”—Stacey D’Erasmo, author of The Complicities
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Four Squares: A Novel by Bobby Finger
From the beloved author of The Old Place comes a tender, funny, and fresh novel about a gay writer in New York City whose life is irrevocably altered, and then again thirty years later.
“Four Squares had my heart in its hands from the first page . . . It’s a celebration of the power of community to uplift and heal us, and a testament to the necessity of keeping queer stories alive. It’s also uproariously, side-splittingly funny.” —Grant Ginder, author of Let’s Not Do That Again
“Five stars for Four Squares! A beautiful and immersive story of often achingly relatable moments of being gay and longing for love during trying times. This journey of a writer seeking to perfectly capture imperfect joys of friendships and family—trying to put words to life’s sometimes indescribable experiences—is hopeful, insightful, and absolutely delightful.” —Byron Lane, author of Big Gay Wedding
Available June 18th in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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But How Are You, Really?: A Novel by Etta Dawson
A burned-out bisexual confronts old demons, her estranged chosen family, and the ex she maybe shouldn’t have walked away from when she attends her five-year college reunion.
“Sharply funny and observant, But How Are You, Really managed to make me nostalgic for places I’ve never been and people I’ve never met. It is easily one of the best books I’ve read in a long time.”—Alicia Thompson, USA Today bestselling author of With Love, from Cold World
“But How Are You, Really reminds us with humor and grace that growing up isn’t something that happens all at once, but sloppily, gradually, and beautifully. Dawson has a tender eye for detail, renders Charlotte and her world relatable, heartbreaking shades. A wonderful book that will have you aching for every one of your past selves.”—Jean Kyoung Frazier, author of Pizza Girl
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Hombrecito: A Novel by Santiago Jose Sanchez
A novel by a brilliant new voice, Hombrecito is a queer coming-of-age story about a young immigrant’s complex relationships with his mother and his motherland.
“Sanchez’s powerful first novel follows a young boy from Colombia to the United States and back again as he struggles with abandonment issues, acclimating to a new homeland and grappling with his own queer sexual awakening.”—The Washington Post
“Dynamic, electrifying, and oh so tender, Hombrecito is the rare kind of page-turner I devoured in two sittings. Utterly American and Colombian, this is a magnificent story for anyone on a mission to redefine home, loss, and love in all its complicated forms and sources.”—Xochitl Gonzalez, author of Olga Dies Dreaming
Available June 25th in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Loving with Pride (Romantic Reads):
Looking for a Sign: A Novel by Susie Dumond
A newly single queer woman moves to New Orleans and sets off on a mission to find her most compatible match by going on a date with someone of each astrological sign in this rom-com from the Lambda Literary Award-nominated author of Queerly Beloved.
“A sweet and spicy story about found family, taking chances on love, and getting through your Saturn return.”—Elissa Sussman, bestselling author of Funny You Should Ask
“Looking for a Sign is perfect for anyone who’s ever had to brave the queer dating scene—and is ready to laugh about it . . . Even if you don’t believe in astrology, this book will make you believe in love.”—TJ Alexander, author of Chef’s Kiss and Chef’s Choice
Available in Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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We Could Be Heroes: A Novel by Philip Ellis
Not all heroes wear capes. Some wear high heels and a wig.
“Ellis creates a winning world full of snappy banter, drag queens fighting for justice, and found family . . . A fun and hopeful romance, perfect for superhero fans and comics readers.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Comforting and scintillating all at once, We Could Be Heroes is a joyful romance that had me laughing, crying, and rooting for these heroes from page one.”—Ashley Herring Blake, author of Delilah Green Doesn’t Care
Available in Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Making It: A Novel by Laura Kay
From the author of Wild Things comes a heartwarming and relatable queer rom-com about an isolated young woman whose artistic celebration of her pet chinchilla suddenly launches her into the professional art world, reality TV fame, and first love.
“A masterful love letter to queer joy. It’s witty, uplifting, and tackles tricky situations with a wonderfully warm touch. Kay’s talent shines on this one. She really is the future of queer rom-coms.”—Justin Myers, author of Leading Man
“I adored Making It. Brilliantly and truthfully rendered friendships, flirtations, and workplace dramas . . . but also a truly nuanced, sensitive, and warm-hearted portrait of living with mental illness.” —Emma Hughes, author of No Such Thing as Perfect
Available July 2nd in Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Cash Delgado Is Living the Dream: A Novel by Tehlor Kay Mejia
A small-town bartender juggles motherhood and a sexual awakening in this heartwarming queer friends-to-lovers romance from the author of Sammy Espinoza’s Last Review.
Cash Delgado has a good life in the quaint town of Ridley Falls. She has Joyce’s Bar, where she manages a familiar group of regulars and emcees the ever-popular Karaoke Thursday. She has her six-year-old daughter, Parker, whose spunky attitude always keeps life interesting. And she has her best friend, Inez O’Conner, who improves Cash’s sometimes overly responsible outlook with one full of joy and potential.
But change is on the horizon when Chase Stanton, the former bar manager at Joyce’s (not to mention Cash’s last hookup), returns to town with business prospects that could threaten the local institution and all of Cash’s plans to someday bring new life to the place. And if that isn’t enough, Cash starts having very intimate dreams of Inez. Dreams that could threaten the foundation of her well-ordered life. As Cash embarks on a reluctant journey of self-discovery, she’s forced to confront all the ways she’s been hiding in her own life. But will she choose to remain the same, or will the desire for love (even a love that looks different than she ever imagined) prove worth the risk?
Available July 2nd in Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Hot Summer: A Novel by Elle Everhart
Sparks fly when a young woman finds herself cast on a Love Island-inspired reality show and has to choose between her heart and her strategy in this sizzling new queer romantic comedy from the beloved author of Wanderlust.
“Everhart’s romance is made of reality TV dreams: juicy gossip, hot hookups, and drama, drama, drama. Cas and Ada are the fan-made stars of Hot Summer’s very own Hot Gay Summer, and their chemistry is both refreshing and steaming off the pages. With reality TV theatrics and a heartfelt queer romance, this is a can’t-miss book. Love Island meets its match in this steamy summer romance.”—Kirkus Reviews
Available June 25th in Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Director’s Cut: A Novel by Carlyn Greenwald
After taking a guest teaching gig, Oscar-winning Valeria Sullivan finds herself trapped in a battle of wits with her sexy co-professor, but can she keep her cool when things heat up in and out of the classroom?
“With a gripping and passionate sapphic love story and an authentic, honest behind-the-scenes look at the life of a Hollywood starlet, Director’s Cut is a showstopper of a romance. Crafted with a deep love for film and storytelling, Val and Maeve’s academic rivals-to-lovers relationship will have readers swooning and glad they have a front-row seat to watch them fall in love.”—Mallory Marlowe, author of Love and Other Conspiracies
“With Greenwald in the director’s chair, one-of-a-kind voice and sharp Hollywood detail light up this fun and passionate romance. Val and Maeve’s relationship is at once resonant with meaningful questions and utterly charming. Vivid, steamy and smart, Director’s Cut is a rom-com to remember.”—Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka, authors of The Breakup Tour
Available in Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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