This list includes exceptional works about Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender experience. Authors are usually limited to one title. All available public domain works (Shakespeare, Whitman, Wilde, many more) link to free, unabridged copies. For biographical and historical information, see the glbtq encyclopedia. And don't forget to check out 100 best gay and lesbian books.
[visit GLBT Literature for more info]
Genre Literature | ||
Andersen, Hans Christian | Fantasy – gay author of such beloved, and disturbing, stories as "Princess and the Pea," "Little Mermaid," "Ugly Duckling," "Thumbelina," "Emperor's New Clothes," "Red Shoes," and "Little Match Girl;" 1835 | |
Barker, Clive | Imajica | Horror – epic quest with gender-switching assassin; 1991 |
Barrie, James M. | Fantasy – adventures of a boy who never grows up; 1904 | |
Beckford, William | Fantasy – a Gothic, Arabian Nights-style adventure; 1786 | |
Bram, Christopher | Hold Tight | Suspense – WW II thriller set in a gay NYC brothel; 1988 |
Brite, Poppy Z. | Drawing Blood | Horror – two gay boys and many kinds of ghosts; 1993 |
Burroughs, William S | The Wild Boys | Science Fiction – gay freedom fighters in fascist near future; 1971 |
Butler, Octavia | Kindred | Science Fiction – modern black woman sent back to antebellum South to save her white, slave-owning ancestor; 1979 |
Capote, Truman | In Cold Blood | Suspense – "true crime" novel of Midwestern murder; 1966 |
Carter, Angela | Infernal Desire Machines of Dr. Hoffman | Science Fiction – gay mad scientist alters the laws of space, time, and reality; 1972 |
Delany, Samuel R. | Triton | Science Fiction – intergalactic quest for the Holy Grail; 1976 |
Du Maurier, Daphne | Rebecca | Suspense – romantic thriller about the two Mrs. DeWinters, one of whom is dead; 1938 |
Gomez, Jewelle | Gilda Stories | Horror – African-American lesbian vampire; 1991 |
Hansen, Joseph | Fadeout | Suspense – first book in series about a gay investigator; 1970 |
Harris, Thomas | Silence of the Lambs | Suspense – young woman FBI agent needs help of a sociopathic doctor to track a serial killer; 1988 |
Highsmith, Patricia | Strangers on a Train | Suspense – gay villain plots "crisscrossed" murders; lesbian author also wrote classic Price of Salt; 1949 |
Jackson, Shirley | The Haunting of Hill House | Horror – psychic investigators, at least one a lesbian, explore the ultimate evil haunted house; 1959 |
James, Henry | Horror – unnerving, multi-layered ghost story; 1898 | |
Kafka, Franz | Metamorphosis | Fantasy – terrifying, metaphorical "coming out" story?; 1915 |
Kipling, Rudyard | The Jungle Book [free online] & The Second Jungle Book [free online] | Fantastical tales of a boy raised by animals in the forests of India; 1894 & 1895 |
LeFanu, J.S. | Horror – lesbian vampire and her "victim;" 1872 | |
Lewis, M.G. | Horror – infamous novel defined Gothic horror; 1795 | |
Lovecraft, H.P. | Horror – this great horror novella can also be read as a weirdly affirmative coming out story; 1931 | |
Maguire, Gregory | Wicked | Fantasy – The Wizard of Oz retold, for adults, from the fascinating perspective of the woman who grows up to become the Wicked Witch of the West; basis for the hit Broadway musical; 1995 |
McHugh, Maureen | China Mountain Zhang | Science Fiction – SF adventure with gay Chinese protagonist; 1992 |
Moriarty, Chris | Spin State | Science Fiction – Post-human spy thriller featuring a love story between a bi woman and a transgendered artificial intelligence; 2003 |
Nava, Michael | The Little Death | Suspense – First in outstanding series about gay Latino attorney; 1986 |
Rice, Anne | Interview with the Vampire | Horror – begins series with erotic GLB vampires, replete with mystery, romance, & blood; 1976 |
Russ, Joanna | The Female Man | Science Fiction – A woman exists in four parallel worlds; 1975 |
Stoker, Bram | Horror – genre-defining vampire novel; 1897 | |
Warner, Sylvia T. | Lolly Willowes | Fantasy – spinster becomes a feminist witch; 1926 |
Wilde, Oscar | Horror – terrible price of remaining 'fabulous' forever; 1890 | |
Woolf, Virginia | Orlando | Fantasy – s/he lives for centuries, changes genders; 1928 |
