Pride marches first began on June 28, 1970, to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. While the first marches occurred in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, events now take place all over the world during the month of June. In celebration of this momentous month, here’s a roundup of some of this year’s most buzzed about publications featuring LGBTQIA+ authors and/or storylines. After all, what better way to kick off the celebrations than by indulging in a good book?

I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself by Marisa Crane
With a narrative voice that belies the fact that this is Crane’s debut novel, this story of a society in which people are given extra shadows instead of being sent to jail is downright stunning. When her wife dies during childbirth, Kris (a “Shadester”) is left with a newborn baby who also carries around an extra shadow. Together they find a community who helps them fight against a society that will do anything to deny them their humanness.

Flux by Jinwoo Chong
Another jaw-dropping entry by a debut author, this one tells the story of three protagonists: eight-year-old Bo, who lost his mom in a car accident; twenty-eight-year-old Brandon, who lost his job; and forty-eight-year-old Blue, who attempts to regain his lost family. The three storylines begin to intertwine in a masterful blend of sci-fi and neo-noir styles.

Dyscalculia by Camonghne Felix
Told in short bursts with a dazzling array of painfully raw emotions, Felix unfolds the story of her heartbreak using the overarching metaphor of her dyscalculia (a disorder that makes it difficult to learn math) to examine her lost love. Her rhythm and knack for saying just the right word at just the right time helps transport readers into her mind and her heart.

The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor
In this classic story of friendship and chosen family, Taylor manages to add enough twists and turns to keep it interesting. While there are four main protagonists—all students at the University of Iowa pursuing master’s degrees in various subjects—there is a rotating cast of secondary characters that also injects plenty of drama as each student attempts to find their place in a world that consistently provides conflicting messages.

Couplets: A Love Story by Maggie Millner
A beautiful collection of poems that explores everything from queerness to gender identity, polyamory, kink, power, and beyond. Some of the poems are, yes, rhyming couplets, but there are also vignettes in prose scattered throughout that help the volume remain refreshing and surprising.

Homebodies by Tembe Denton-Hurst
Sharp, brisk writing keeps this story hurtling toward its inevitable conclusion in a way that’s very difficult to put down. When Mickey is replaced at her high-profile job in New York City, she angrily releases a letter that reveals all the racism and sexism she consistently experienced as a Black woman in the media. But instead of sparking a larger conversation, her letter is basically ignored. She heads home to Maryland (a place she had previously thought she’d never return to) to try and figure out her next move . . . until a media scandal churns up her old letter and places Mickey in the spotlight—a place she thought she wanted to be. Smart, insightful, and painfully relevant, Denton-Hurst expertly navigates the multiple roles people must often fill in order to just stay afloat.

Dykette by Jenny Fran Davis
From the opening lines, Davis’s novel declares itself funny, biting, and brazenly erotic. Sasha and Jesse join two other couples for a posh getaway that quickly spirals out of control when jealousy, lust, and anger reach a quick boiling point. Taking place over just ten days, the couples’ drama ultimately turns into a sudsy, over-the-top but undeniably fun romp.

Girls Like Girls by Hayley Kiyoko

Based off the iconic song and music video of the same name, Kiyoko has written her debut young adult novel about seventeen-year-old Coley, who struggles with her attraction toward her new friend Sonya. As the two become closer, Coley must come to terms with her feelings of abandonment, unworthiness, and the loss of her mother if she is to ever find love. This is a sweet and nostalgic look at queer love that will make readers instantly want to listen to the song again.

Pageboy by Elliot Page
Actor and trans activist Elliot Page’s memoir details his experience in Hollywood as he was coming to terms with his queerness, gender identity, and the toll that it all took on his mental health in the midst of being an extremely visible celebrity. While his interviews over the years have touched on some of these topics, he delves into much more detail about what it was like to pretend to be someone he wasn’t for so many years. While there are certainly juicy tidbits to be had, the memoir moves far beyond Hollywood gossip, focusing instead on Elliot’s struggle to be different in a professional world that doesn’t really embrace that.

Better Living Through Birding by Christian Cooper
This one hasn’t been released yet (it will be officially released on June 13), but I wanted to include it because it is definitely on my radar. Cooper rose to fame in 2020 after a viral video showed a white woman calling the police to falsely report that Cooper threatened her after he asked her to keep her dog on a leash. Since then, he has gained national attention and is now releasing a book focused on his experiences as a queer Black male birdwatcher. Readers will learn about his childhood, lifelong love of birding, world travels, and more.

Andrea Moran lives outside of Nashville with her husband and two kids. She’s a professional copywriter and editor who loves all things books. Find her on LinkedIn.