18 LGBTQ+ books hitting shelves in summer 2025

What makes a restaurant “queer”? New York Times journalist Erik Piepenburg traces the history of LGBTQ+ spaces through a culinary lens.

From Hamburger Mary’s to the queer takeovers of chain restaurants across America, Dining Out leaves no plate untouched in our quest to create community.

Dining Out by Erik Piepenburg, Grand Central Publishing, June 3.

With Tales of the City, Armistead Maupin put San Francisco on the literary map, but he’s certainly not the only author to use the city as a queer romantic backdrop.

Christopher Tradowsky’s debut novel, Midnight at the Cinema Palace, offers a gay coming-of-age story set in 1990s San Francisco during the height of the AIDS crisis and dawn of the tech boom. But its central characters have a fascination with Hollywood’s Golden Age, lending a sweeping romanticism and nuance to this flashback tale of love and loss.

Midnight at the Cinema Palace by Christopher Tradowsky, Simon & Schuster, June 10.

Viva l’Italia! Phil Melanson’s debut novel, Florenzer is set in Renaissance-era Florence, and follows three ambitious men—a banker, a priest, and a gay painter named Leonardo. (Yes… that one.)

For anyone who loves historical fiction, this is your summer must-read.

Florenzer by Phil Melanson, Liveright, June 10.

Sometimes those who push our buttons are the ones who also ignight our hearts. Enter Elfreda Marsden and her nemesis Georgie Redmayne in Joanna Lowell’s historical sapphic adventure, A Rare Find.

The pair joins forces to find an ancient amulet and a “hidden hoard of Viking gold.” And while they’re at it, sparks fly.

A Rare Find by Joanna Lowell, Berkley, June 10.

Bookstagrammer Chip Pons makes a picture-perfect landing with his adventurous gay rom-com, Winging It With You.

Asher Bennett is left hanging when his boyfriend leaves him on the brink of participating in the reality show, The Epic Trek (think The Amazing Race). He quickly recruits recently grounded pilot Theo Fernandez. The sparks fly as the pair fakes it until they make it. And by “make it,” you know what we’re talking about. The perfect beach read for gays headed to Provincetown, Fire Island, or other relaxing summer getaways.

Winging It With You by Chip Pons, G.P. Putnman’s Sons, June 10.

“Overnight success” Jeff Hiller, who we all love and adore from his three-season stint as Joel on Somebody, Somewhere, has been at it for over 25 years. And guess what? He’s got stories.

In Actress of a Certain Age, Hiller taps into his humor to reveal the truth about the Hollywood grind, trials and tribulations growing up in 1980s Texas, and the odd jobs he endured along the way.

Actress of a Certain Age by Jeff Hiller, Simon & Schuster, June 10.

All eyes have been on Floriday since Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill into law in 2023. But guess what? That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the state’s systemic oppression of Black and queer lives.

In American Scare, investigative journalist Robert W Fieseler reveals a decade of oppression and resilience, spearheaded by the Johns Committee, which persecuted suspected homosexual university professors and students, as well as NAACP members.

American Scare by Robert W. Fieseler, Dutton, June 17.

Published in conjunction with an exhibit at the Getty Museum, Queer Lens: A History of Phtography presents an expansive exploration of LGBTQ+ influence and innovation through the lens.

Dozens of lenders have offered their works to create a century-spanning collection, from 1839 to 2020. The eye-catching book is a conversation starter and reflection of disparities even within our own communities, challenging readers to consider the interplay of artists’ works and our collective history.

Queer Lens: A History of Photgraphy, edited by Paul Martineau and Ryan Linkof, J. Paul Getty Museum, June 27.

Trans athletes have ruffled the feathers of more than a few politicians seeking to leverage their participation for political gain. Now, author Benedict Nguyen reclaims their stories in a sporty trans romance following two star indoor volleyball players.

Harper’s Bazaar describes Hot Girls with Balls as an “outrageous, hilarious, and biting social commentary that we need in a time where the government continues to invalidate and target the trans community.”

For those “desperate for a whiff of the sweaty feminine energy that makes that ball thwack with such spectacular force,” this is your summer read.

Hot Girls with Balls, by Benedict Nguyen, Catapult, July 1.

What will the world look like in 2073? If you’re in the head of author Claire Barner, we’re on a lunar colony focused on mutagenetic food to save the earth (which, of course, we’ve destroyed due to climate change—not too hard to imagine.)

Moonrising features an array of multicultural and queer characters, struggling to make the best choices for themselves and the future of the planet.

Moonrising by Claire Barner, Diversion Books, July 8.

Rural private investigator Mel Tillman is called to join a case with a terrifying past—one she’s all too familiar with. Author Tess Sharpe (The Girl in Question) is back with another action-packed thriller where the past and present collide.

No Body No Crime goes off the grid in the Canadian wilderness, as Mel reconnects with Chloe Harper, whom she hasn’t seen since a fateful 16th birthday party and a backwoods burial that’s come back to haunt them.

No Body No Crime by Tess Sharpe, MCD, July 15.

James Beard-nominated author Rax King returns with another collection of essays, and she’s not holding back.

Sloppy follows King’s sobriety and reluctant attempts at self-improvement through a collection of 17 stories, which explore topics from shoplifting and mental health to her failures as a waitress. Described by the Washington Post as Bettie Page meets Carrie Bradshaw, King tackles with unflinching honesty the foibles of sobriety in modern-day life.

Sloppy by Rax King, Vintage, July 29.

Queer Korean creators are having a moment, with Maybe Happy Ending winning six Tony Awards (including Best Musical), and now, Cheon Seon-Ran’s best-selling book, The Midnight Shift, finally arriving stateside with a new English translation by Gene Png.

Who doesn’t love a neck-biting vampire thriller? Seon-Ran sets the book in a hospital, where an alarming number of elders are throwing themselves out of a sixth-floor window. Officer Su-Yeon gets involved and discovers more than she bargained for when vampire hunter Violette enters the scene.

The Midnight Shift by Cheon Seon-Ran, Bloomsbury Publishing, August 12.

Set in modern-day Ukraine, Sam Wachman’s debut novel, The Sunflower Boys, combines the devastating impact of an invaded country with the love and lost innocence of a boy as he discovers his identity.

“Wachman’s writing is exactly what we need right now, says Grant Ginder, author of The People We Hate at the Wedding, “a shot of hope, delivered straight to the heart.” 

The Sunflower Boys by Sam Wachman, Harper, August 12.

The first major biography about James Baldwin to be written in the last 30 years, Nicholas Boggs’ Baldwin: A Love Story draws from newly discovered archival material, research, and interviews that offer mesmerizing insight into one of the most influential authors and playwrights of the 20th century.

Boggs traces Baldwin’s global journey throughout the U.S., Europe, and Africa through a lens both personal and prolific.

“Here is the whole loveable man,” says author Zadie Smith, “the radical and the celebrity, the civil rights hero and the downtown playwright, the cosmopolitan jet-setter and the son of East Harlem.”

Baldwin: A Love Story by Nicholas Boggs, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, August 19. 

Marissa Higgins’ “lesbian screwball comedy”, Sweetener, is just what your iced tea needs for the perfect beach read.

Recently separated wives (both named Rembecca), end up dating the same woman—what could go wrong? The three women navigate motherhood, sobriety, and modern dating in a sapphic summer romp.

Sweetener by Marissa Higgins, Catapult, August 19.

Who says Matteo Lane is the carb-loving gay who can write a cookbook? Enter Danny Freeman, whose Instagram account, @dannylovespasta, has amassed nearly half a million followers.

Italianish offers 100 easy-to-follow recipes, and if it’s anything like his Insta, they’ll be filled with plenty of personality as well as flavor. After all, who doesn’t need a meatball index in their culinary repertoire?

Italianish by Danny Freeman, DK, August 26.

A Swedish star hockey player and his physical therapist are the central characters in Emily Rath’s international man-on-man romance, Pucking Strong.

Six years later, and now a doctor, Teddy O’Connor reconnects with Henrik Karlsson. (Could Rath conceive of a better name for a Swedish star forward?) The pair ends up in a “fake” marriage, but as we all know, love always wins.

Pucking Strong by Emily Rath, Kensington. August 26.