8 Books by Queer Authors to Read for the 2024 Read Harder Challenge
For all of those participating in the 2024 Read Harder Challenge, you might have noticed the small text at the bottom of the list that says, “Bonus task: complete all tasks with LGBTQ authors.” In case you’re attempting that bonus task, I’ve put together a list of eight books by queer authors that check off Read Harder tasks.
One thing I want to emphasize about this bonus task is that it shouldn’t be used as an excuse to out people or to interrogate anyone about their sexuality or gender identity. This is about highlighting authors who publicly identify as queer, trans, nonbinary, etc, as these authors do. Please don’t message strangers asking them to tell you their sexuality or gender.
With that out of the way, here are eight books you can read for tasks that are by queer authors, several of which check off multiple tasks. Most of these I personally have read for Read Harder, because most of my reading is queer — there’s a reason I write the Our Queerest Shelves newsletter. Let me know in the comments which books you’d add to this list!
Jasmine is Haunted by Mark Oshiro
This one comes out tomorrow, and I just finished reading it! It’s a middle grade book about Jasmine, who has to keep changing schools and houses because she’s haunted by a disruptive ghost. In her new school, she meets a couple of friends in the GSA and finds out that they’re both interested in the paranormal, so they decide to investigate what’s going on with Jasmine. All three of the friends are queer (one is genderfluid and changes pronouns throughout the book). This completes task #3: Read a middle grade horror novel, and task #6: Read a middle grade book with an LGBTQIA main character.
Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings
This year, I’ve learned I love romances between two neurodivergent women. In this one, Opal just won the lottery, so she spontaneously decides to buy a flower farm and live on it while making her art. The problem is that Pepper already lives on the farm: her con artist mother sold it out from under her. Now, they’re living together as they figure out a solution. While they’re both neurodivergent (Pepper is autistic, Opal doesn’t have a definitive label), they have very different communication styles: Opal is bubbly and chatty, and Pepper is more guarded and suspicious. This often puts them in conflict, but they also have an undeniable attraction. I appreciated the realistic obstacles to their relationship, and I was rooting for them the whole time. As you have probably put together, this completes task #19: Read a romance with neurodivergent characters.
The Memoirs of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle by Kent Monkman and Gisèle Gordon
This is a queer Cree telling of the history of Turtle Island, particularly “Canada,” written by Two-Spirit artist Kent Monkman. It’s funny, heartbreaking, and educational, packed full of citations but told through the fictional figure of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, a shapeshifting queer form who guides us through this history. Interspersed are paintings by Kent Monkman, like the one on the cover. It’s a history book narrated by a fictional character, so I think it works both for task #4: Read a history book by a BIPOC author, and task #10: Read a historical fiction book by an Indigenous author.
Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
Since Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant has written a ton of genre (SFF and horror) books, you could read any number of her titles for task #12: Read a genre book (SFF, horror, mystery, romance) by a disabled author. I have to recommend the Wayward Children series, though, which I have really enjoyed making my way through. They’re packed with queer characters and disabled characters, too.
The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen
I’ve heard such great things about this book, but I was still blown away when I actually read it. The artwork is stunning, and I loved that this wasn’t just about Tien trying to come out to his mother, but also about his mother’s experiences as an immigrant from Vietnam. It’s a beautiful graphic novel that I think is a new classic. This checks off task #13: Read a comic that has been banned.
Flamboyants: The Queer Harlem Renaissance I Wish I’d Known by George M. Johnson
You could read several of George M. Johnson’s books for task #15: Read a YA nonfiction book, including All Boys Aren’t Blue, but I’m most excited to read this new release. It discusses the queer and Black icons of the Harlem Renaissance, accompanied by beautiful illustrations by Charly Palmer.
Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne
I couldn’t tell you why, but cozy fantasy is a very queer subgenre, so it’s easy to complete task #1, Read a cozy fantasy book, with a book by a queer author. This one is about a powerful mage and one of the Queen’s private guards who just want to open a bookstore together, but they keep getting reluctantly pulled into adventures. Also check out book two in the series A Pirate’s Life for Tea, where this sapphic couple takes to the sea and is joined by a couple of disaster lesbians in a relation-shipwreck.
Finna by Nino Cipri
There’s always time to squeeze in a novella, so task #5, Read a sci-fi novella, is a fairly easy one. Finna is about two employees of a not-quite-Ikea furniture company who are working together when a portal opens up and swallows a customer, an elderly woman. Management makes them go through after her to retrieve the customer. It’s bad enough that they’re risking their lives for a retail job and gift cards, but they also just broke up with each other. This is a wacky sci-fi adventure with a solid emotional grounding in their relationship.
What book would you add to this list? Let’s chat in the comments!
Check out all the previous 2024 Read Harder posts here.
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