June is Pride month. At the Center, we stand with the LGBTQIA community this month and every month, because dignity is being able to live and belong as you are, trans rights matter, and love is love.
This Pride month, we encourage you to buy books by LGBTQIA authors from LGBTQIA-owned bookstores. As always, Bookshop.org is an invaluable resource for both; unless otherwise noted, all book links in this post lead to Bookshop.org, where your purchases support independent bookstores across the U.S.
Here is Bookshop’s complete PRIDE 2023 curated list (plus 20% discount code through June 30), with some of our favorites in more detail below.
Happy reading, and happy Pride!
Books to read during Pride month and through summer 2023
Detransition, Baby (bestseller fiction)
Since this novel came out in fall 2021, it’s collected praise from every corner of the literary world, from a PEN/Hemingway Award to New York Times Editors’ Choice and Roxane Gay Audacious Book Club picks, and was named one of the Best Books of the Year by more than 20 big-name publications. It’s quite possible you’ve already read it, given that kind of visibility—but if not, grabbing a copy seems like a great way to kick off PRIDE month. TIME Magazine summarizes Torrey Peters’ national bestselling debut: “The lives of three women—transgender and cisgender—collide after an unexpected pregnancy forces them to confront their deepest desires…” And if you want more after you’ve purchased your copy to support this promising author, she’s offering two previous novellas for free via her website.
Sister Outsider (classic essays)
For anyone interested in the literature of social movements and cultural criticism, Audre Lorde is essential reading. The acclaimed Black lesbian writer and activist is one of the most important voices of the 20th century, and Sister Outsider collects in one volume her most prominent essays and speeches, marked by an awareness of trauma and violence but also hope for a better future. Originally published in 1984, the 2007 edition includes a foreword by Lorde scholar Cheryl Clarke. According to The New York Times, these classic Lorde essays are “important to those truly interested in growing up sensitive, intelligent, and aware.”
Once & Future (YA)
The grand and beloved tale of King Arthur, reimagined with a teenage girl as the protagonist on the hero’s journey? Yes, please. This young adult novel by A.R. Capetta and Cory McCarthy is a fresh retelling that garnered ALA Rainbow List selection and was a finalist for the New England Book Award. For teens who are into speculative fiction, adventure, and genderqueer romantic storylines—and for adults who want to see a favorite “uniting the people” story through a new lens—this book might be the Holy Grail of summer reading. Spoiler: Merlin is a teenager, too.
You Better Be Lightning (poetry)
Andrea Gibson has been publishing and performing poetry and engaging in gender identity activism for more than two decades. Among many awards and accolades, they were the first person to win the Women of the World Poetry Slam (in 2008). If you like to listen to poetry instead of or in addition to reading it on the page, and you like to feel big feelings, please seek out this poet. You might start with their most recent reading for Button Poetry, a stunning piece called “Say Yes.” To hear from Gibson directly, check out the June 1 episode of the podcast We Can Do Hard Things wherever you listen to podcasts. And if you need to hold their work in your hands—and after listening for even a few moments, we’re sure you will—their most recent book is You Better Be Lightning. Get it at Bookshop at the link above, or from Gibson directly.
Pageboy (memoir)
Elliot Page is one of the more known names in the trans community, after a public coming-out in late 2020 that coincided with his character’s transition in season three of the Netflix series The Umbrella Academy. An award-winning actor, producer, and director, Page’s debut memoir is being heralded as “a love letter to the power of living fully.” Pageboy is one of the most anticipated books of the year, according to Salon, Elle, and more. Read this book to understand more about the challenges of being in the public spotlight while trying to be your authentic self.
Have you or will you read any of these books this summer? Share with us in the comments.
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