One of the reasons I gravitated towards the fantasy and sci-fi genres as teen was because I felt less lonely in the company of aliens, monsters, and other strange characters. Back then, I was still figuring myself out, unsure about my gender and sexuality and what it meant to be queer. By following different protagonists on their perilous journeys as they overcame obstacles, fell in and out of love, and rediscovered who they really were, I was offered a roadmap to understand my own desires, preferences, and motivations.
Back then, most speculative fiction exploring queer themes did so rather subtly, but that’s no longer the case. Be it writing about fierce and feisty MCs who are openly trans or non-binary or depicting the highs and lows of polyamorous relationships, authors are unabashedly designing queer-normative fantastical worlds or bravely challenging queerphobia in their fiction and real life. So if you’re looking for #OwnVoices fantasy and sci-fi debut books with queer characters by queer authors, add these books to your TBR pile ASAP!
Iron Widow
Xiran Jay Zhao’s (they/them) debut novel Iron Widow is quite the angry novel that tackles patriarchal inequalities, female rage and queer relationships in a fantastical world where transforming robots called Chrysalises tirelessly battle alien mechas. Heavily inspired by medieval Chinese history, Iron Widow effortlessly blends in futuristic elements as it challenges toxic power structures where young women are systematically sacrificed to power the Chrysalis driven by male pilots—until the eighteen-year-old Zeitan unintentionally kills her male co-pilot and emerges as the Iron Widow.
As she climbs the ranks and uncovers the deep-rooted misogyny of her society, she also enters a secret polyamorous relationship, challenging conventional definitions of love and commitment.
Her Body and Other Parties
Bisexual writer Carmen Maria Machado’s (she/her) debut collection of short stories Her Body and Other Parties is an absolute stunner, brimming with evocative prose, visceral emotions and a heady dose of surrealism. From subverting fairytales to a novella that reimagines episodes from Law and Order: SVU, the book skillfully delves into repressed female desires, queer urges, childhood trauma and all the insidious ways power structures keep such systems in place.
Critically acclaimed, Her Body and Other Parties is perfect for lovers of dark fantasy and electric prose, written in a literary vein.
She Who Became the Sun
She Who Became the Sun is the first half of the thrilling Radiant Emperor duology by genderqueer author Shelley Parker Chan (they/them). It’s essentially a gender-swapped retelling of the young peasant rebel who became the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty. With an intricate plot and well-rounded characterization, the novel doesn’t shy away from tackling themes relating to queer sexuality, gender and identity, and questions what it means to be a hero or a villain from the perspective of the storyteller recording a tale for posterity.
Fierce and brilliant, She Who Became the Sun is a marvelous novel filled with political and emotional intrigue.
Cemetery Boys
Aiden Thomas (he/they) is a trans author of Cuban and Mexican heritage and his debut novel Cemetery Boys features Latino characters grappling with their queer/trans identities and magical abilities. The story follows Yadriel who tries to summon the ghost of his murdered cousin and ends up with the school’s resident bad boy, Julian Diaz who is determined to tie up some loose ends before exiting this plane.
Heartfelt and hilarious, this YA novel is about friendship, family and community—and accepting oneself.
Docile
K.M. Sparza (he/his/himme) is a queer trans writer whose debut novel Docile tackles generational debts, consent and privilege within a capitalist framework, set in an alternative dystopian future. Szpara skillfully balances thoughtful commentary with explicit gay sex scenes making Docile quite the uncomfortably compulsive read, exploring exploitation and tenderness in equal measure.
If you’re looking for something refreshing yet raw, written with an honesty that feels like a gut-punch, let Docile be your next read.
Alchemised
For many of us, fandom and fanfiction facilitated our first encounter with queerness. Imagining one’s favorite characters as trans, gay or bisexual and exploring how queerness impacted one’s sense of identity and understanding of the world at large, is something that fanfic writers do very well. SenLinYu (she/they) is a nonbinary writer who became famous on the internet with “Manacled”—a Dramione fanfic that amassed several million downloads.
That fic provided the foundation for Alchemised, a dark fantasy novel that begins with a premise similar to that of The Handmaid’s Tale and explores war, violence, misogyny and resistance with a scintillating, slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance making up the heart of the narrative. Spanning over a thousand pages, Alchemised is perfect for all the queer bookworms who stay up all night reading/writing fanfic searching for the perfect happily-ever-after.
The Bruising of Qilwa
Finally, if you’re looking for a shorter read, you can check out Naseem Jamnia’s debut book The Bruising of Qilwa that was a finalist for the Locus and World Fantasy Awards. Naseem Jamnia (they/them) is a queer nonbinary trans Muslim author born to Iranian immigrants and raised in Chicago and The Bruising of Qilwa is their debut fantasy novella. The storyline follows a nonbinary refugee healer whose adept at blood magic as a mysterious illness breaks out in their city. Fascinating and compelling, The Bruising of Qilwa can be devoured in a single sitting or two!
