Where the 2024 list focused on “The Evolution of Queer Spaces,” 2025’s theme moves forward with a hopeful yet critical lens on the future. We’ll highlight works that look ahead, whether by challenging contemporary norms, engaging with futurism and speculative worlds, or imagining transformative social and political landscapes. This year’s selections include a mix of fiction and nonfiction that center diverse voices across the queer spectrum—trans, nonbinary, BIPOC, and global authors—ensuring readers experience a breadth of visions for tomorrow.
In this 2025 list, the thread connecting each title is the act of imagining and forging what lies ahead. From speculative worlds to re-envisioned histories, these works prompt readers to consider the shape of LGBTQ+ liberation and identity beyond today’s horizons. They celebrate queer resilience, center intersectional perspectives, and challenge us to envision—and ultimately help create—a more expansive, inclusive tomorrow.
Fiction (Speculative, Literary, Contemporary):
- “Sorrowland” by Rivers Solomon (2021)
- A genre-bending story blending Gothic, speculative, and Afrofuturist elements, examining identity, power, and bodily autonomy.
[Publisher link: https://www.mcdbooks.com/books/sorrowland/]
- A genre-bending story blending Gothic, speculative, and Afrofuturist elements, examining identity, power, and bodily autonomy.
- “Light From Uncommon Stars” by Ryka Aoki (2021)
- A novel that merges sci-fi and magical realism while centering a trans violinist and the transformative power of chosen family.
[Publisher link: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250789068]
- A novel that merges sci-fi and magical realism while centering a trans violinist and the transformative power of chosen family.
- “Boys, Beasts & Men” by Sam J. Miller (2022)
- A short story collection by a queer, award-winning speculative fiction writer, exploring transformation, resistance, and belonging in near-future and fantastical worlds.
[Publisher link: https://tachyonpublications.com/product/boys-beasts-men/]
- A short story collection by a queer, award-winning speculative fiction writer, exploring transformation, resistance, and belonging in near-future and fantastical worlds.
- “A Psalm for the Wild-Built” by Becky Chambers (2021)
- A hopeful sci-fi novella centering a nonbinary tea monk and a curious robot, questioning what it means to be human—and what a sustainable, caring future can look like.
[Publisher link: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250236210]
- A hopeful sci-fi novella centering a nonbinary tea monk and a curious robot, questioning what it means to be human—and what a sustainable, caring future can look like.
- “The Thirty Names of Night” by Zeyn Joukhadar (2020)
- A story traversing generations and geographies, centering a Syrian American trans narrator unraveling family and community histories, pointing toward a liberated, self-determined future.
[Publisher link: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Thirty-Names-of-Night/Zeyn-Joukhadar/9781982121495]
- A story traversing generations and geographies, centering a Syrian American trans narrator unraveling family and community histories, pointing toward a liberated, self-determined future.
- “Empress of Salt and Fortune” by Nghi Vo (2020)
- A lush fantasy novella by a trans author, weaving political intrigue and queer desire, showing how storytelling can reshape power and possibility.
[Publisher link: https://tordotcomPublishing.com/empress-of-salt-and-fortune-by-nghi-vo/]
- A lush fantasy novella by a trans author, weaving political intrigue and queer desire, showing how storytelling can reshape power and possibility.
- “Black Sun” by Rebecca Roanhorse (2020)
- An epic fantasy with rich queer and nonbinary representation. Set in a pre-Columbian-inspired world, it imagines how spiritualities and societies can evolve beyond current constraints.
[Publisher link: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Black-Sun/Rebecca-Roanhorse/Between-Earth-and-Sky/9781534437678]
- An epic fantasy with rich queer and nonbinary representation. Set in a pre-Columbian-inspired world, it imagines how spiritualities and societies can evolve beyond current constraints.
- “Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl’s Confabulous Memoir” by Kai Cheng Thom (2016)
- A surreal, poetic “memoir” blending myth and narrative, envisioning self-invention and community building beyond oppressive systems.
[Publisher link: https://metonymypress.com/shop/fierce-femmes-and-notorious-liars/]
- A surreal, poetic “memoir” blending myth and narrative, envisioning self-invention and community building beyond oppressive systems.
- “Cemetery Boys” by Aiden Thomas (2020)
- A groundbreaking YA fantasy from a trans Latinx author, capturing how younger generations might reframe cultural traditions and define their own futures.
[Publisher link: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250250469]
- A groundbreaking YA fantasy from a trans Latinx author, capturing how younger generations might reframe cultural traditions and define their own futures.
- “Patience & Esther: An Edwardian Romance” by S.W. Searle (2021)
- A graphic novel featuring a historical setting but a forward-facing lens, this romance between two women of different social classes subtly asks: how do we shape a more just tomorrow?
[Publisher link: https://onipress.com/products/patience-esther]
- A graphic novel featuring a historical setting but a forward-facing lens, this romance between two women of different social classes subtly asks: how do we shape a more just tomorrow?
Nonfiction (History, Activism, Analysis):
- “The Transgender Issue: An Argument for Justice” by Shon Faye (2021)
- A bold intervention into current debates, imagining a future that fully respects trans lives.
[Publisher link: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/675836/the-transgender-issue-by-shon-faye/]
- A bold intervention into current debates, imagining a future that fully respects trans lives.
- “We Are Everywhere: Protest, Power, and Pride in the History of Queer Liberation” by Matthew Riemer & Leighton Brown (2019)
- A richly illustrated history of queer activism across decades, fueling future imaginings by showing where we’ve been and what’s still possible.
[Publisher link: https://www.ten-speed.com/books/we-are-everywhere/]
- A richly illustrated history of queer activism across decades, fueling future imaginings by showing where we’ve been and what’s still possible.
- “Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States” by Samantha Allen (2019)
- Exploring LGBTQ+ communities in places often overlooked, highlighting grassroots resilience and future potential in unexpected corners of the country.
[Publisher link: https://www.littlebrown.com/titles/samantha-allen/real-queer-america/9780316516013/]
- Exploring LGBTQ+ communities in places often overlooked, highlighting grassroots resilience and future potential in unexpected corners of the country.
- “Making Love with the Land” by Joshua Whitehead (2022)
- A collection of essays by a Two-Spirit, Indigenous scholar and author exploring how language, place, and story can create more sustainable, equitable futures.
[Publisher link: https://www.universityofminnesotapress.org/9781517913474/making-love-with-the-land/]
- A collection of essays by a Two-Spirit, Indigenous scholar and author exploring how language, place, and story can create more sustainable, equitable futures.
- “Nepantla: An Anthology Dedicated to Queer Poets of Color” edited by Christopher Soto (2018)
- A poetry collection that envisions new worlds through the lyrical voices of QTBIPOC poets, providing a cultural blueprint for a more inclusive future.
[Publisher link: https://nightboat.org/book/nepantla/]
- A poetry collection that envisions new worlds through the lyrical voices of QTBIPOC poets, providing a cultural blueprint for a more inclusive future.
- “The Freezer Door” by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore (2020)
- A memoir in fragments, reflecting on belonging and alienation in rapidly changing urban landscapes—asking how we can carve out more human, queer-centered futures.
[Publisher link: https://www.semcoop.com/freezer-door]
- A memoir in fragments, reflecting on belonging and alienation in rapidly changing urban landscapes—asking how we can carve out more human, queer-centered futures.
- “No Modern Love: Fiction by Gay Writers” edited by Young, Preston, and Mercado (Check availability or consider “Queer Love in Color” by Jamal Jordan, 2021)
- Consider “Queer Love in Color” (2021) by Jamal Jordan: A photographic celebration of queer couples of color. Its portraits and stories imagine love as a vital force shaping our tomorrows.
[Publisher link: https://www.ten-speed.com/books/queer-love-in-color/]
- Consider “Queer Love in Color” (2021) by Jamal Jordan: A photographic celebration of queer couples of color. Its portraits and stories imagine love as a vital force shaping our tomorrows.
- “Stonewall: A Building. An Uprising. A Revolution.” by Rob Sanders & Jamey Christoph (YA/Children’s) (2019)
- A look back at an event that sparked a movement, inspiring younger readers to envision the next generations of queer liberation.
[Publisher link: https://randomhousebooks.com/books/599557/]
- A look back at an event that sparked a movement, inspiring younger readers to envision the next generations of queer liberation.
- “Real Life” by Brandon Taylor (2020)
- Although fiction, included here as a bridge text: set in a contemporary academic setting, it examines how present tensions and power structures can be dismantled, allowing better futures for queer, Black communities.
[Publisher link: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/611970/real-life-by-brandon-taylor/]
- Although fiction, included here as a bridge text: set in a contemporary academic setting, it examines how present tensions and power structures can be dismantled, allowing better futures for queer, Black communities.
- “In the Dream House” by Carmen Maria Machado (2019)
- A genre-defying memoir reflecting on intimate violence and survival; this narrative inventively reimagines storytelling itself, broadening the blueprint for what queer futures might be.
[Publisher link: https://graywolfpress.org/books/dream-house]
- A genre-defying memoir reflecting on intimate violence and survival; this narrative inventively reimagines storytelling itself, broadening the blueprint for what queer futures might be.
- Read Out 2024: The Evolution of Queer Spaces
- https://stonewallcolumbus.org/the-read-out-list-2024/
- Read Out 2023: Transcendent…
- https://stonewallcolumbus.org/the-read-out-list-2023/
- Read Out 2022: Lesbians Are Here!
- https://stonewallcolumbus.org/the-read-out-list-2022/
- Read Out 2021: Pride and Prejudice
- https://stonewallcolumbus.org/the-inaugural-read-out-list/
