Queer Books to Read this Black History Month, and More LGBTQ Book Links
Here’s all the latest queer book news and reviews from across the internet, including how to fight censorship of trans books, queer books to read this Black History Month (and the other eleven months), a Two-Spirit memoir in the 2025 Canada Reads competition, the new patron saints of lesbian fiction, and more.
How to Fight Book Bans and Censorship of Queer Books
In absolutely shocking news, this administration is not particularly concerned with book bans. In fact, the Department of Education put out a statement calling book bans a “hoax” and dismissed all outstanding complains about them. By any metric, book challenges have shot up dramatically in recent years, and diverse books are the target—particularly, queer books, BIPOC books, and sex education books. Check out Kelly Jensen’s article How to Critically Read a Press Release From the Federal Government for a thorough refutation of this press release, and sign up for her Literary Activism newsletter to stay informed.
The Trans Literature Preservation Project: A Practical Guide to Resisting Censorship offers some tips on how to fight censorship of trans books in particular. Personally, I’d push readers to think about systemic change first: keeping a collection of trans literature does very little to help the most marginalized readers, while attending school board and library board meetings and speaking up for trans literature has a much bigger impact.
For the author side of things, Maia Kobabe, author of Gender Queer—one of the most banned and challenged books of recent years—has posted a comic about why authors should join Authors Against Book Bans.
Queer Books to Read This Black History Month
Dahlia Adler at LGBTQ Reads has put together a post for Black History Month with a list of queer books by Black authors out this year. You can also click through to see the previous years’ Black History Month posts. As Dahlia says, “Like the other eleven months, it’s an excellent time to buy queer books by Black authors!”
Over at the Lesbrary, my sapphic book blog, I also put together a couple lists for Black History Month. First is 25 Black Sapphic Books Out in 2025 to Preorder Now, and then there’s Reading Black Joy: 31 F/F Romances by Black Authors.
A Two-Spirit Memoir is a Canada Reads Selection
Despite how much I talk about U.S. politics, I actually live in Canada. And almost nothing is bigger in the Canadian book world than Canada Reads. Every year, CBC (Canada’s public broadcaster) hosts a “battle of the books,” where celebrities each champion a book they think all Canadians should read. For 2025, the theme is “One book to change the narrative.”
This year, a Two-Spirit memoir is in the mix! The book is A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder by Ma-Nee Chacaby, and it’s represented by Shayla Stonechild, Red River Métis and Nehiyaw iskwew (Plains Cree woman) from Muscowpetung First Nations. She is a podcaster, wellness advocate, and global yoga ambassador for Lululemon.
I’m excited for Canada Reads to bring more attention to this memoir, and I am rooting for it! The Canada Reads debates will take place March 17-20.
More Queer Book News, Reviews, and Recommendations
Because I can’t stop there, please enjoy this potpourri of queer book links, including recommendation lists, essays, reviews, news, and more.
- Queer Books About the Environment for When All You Can Think About Is Climate Crisis
- 40 Years Ago, Lesbian Erotica Magazine ‘On Our Backs’ Paved the Way for Horny Sapphic Art
- Meet the new patron saints of lesbian fiction, who champion “plotless fiction”
- Bob The Drag Queen Heading Out On Book Tour For Harriet Tubman: Live In Concert
- Jennifer Boylan’s new book Cleavage: Men, Women, and the Space Between Us was reviewed at The New York Times, but after decades in the spotlight as a trans woman, she’s ready for someone else to take the mic
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