2023 Queer Adult Science Fiction & Fantasy Books

Welcome to my ongoing and somewhat-regularly updated list of queer adult science-fiction and fantasy books published in 2023!

If you haven’t been around for my previous lists, this list and the ones before (see: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019) – are my answer to every, “Where is all the queer/LGBTQIA/QUILTBAG representation in adult fantasy and science-fiction books?”

This is now my fifth (!!) year creating and curating this list and I have to admit, this was the most difficult year by far. The downfall of Twitter has made finding queer authors and books even more fraught. A once simple process of literal call and response has become sorting through publisher catalogues, review sites, individual author blogs, and what feels like thirty separate social media sites. That coupled with ongoing delays and last minute publication date changes has often made me wonder if my time is better spent elsewhere.

But the current political climate is increasingly antagonistic toward queer existence, especially our trans friends, and with an uptick in book bans, challenges, and publishers’ infuriating acquiescence to anti-queer pressure, as well as the chilling affect on authors and editors from all three, it’s more important than ever to spotlight and celebrate queer books.

The list is sorted by publication date. When possible, I included the specific queer rep, along with any side characters. “Queer” here is used as the inclusive umbrella term for anyone on the LGBTQIA+/QUILTBAG spectrum. The representation on this list is gleaned from reviews, readers, and the authors themselves and, even though I try my absolute best to get it right, sometimes I do get it wrong.

Additions and changes can be found in a change-log at the end of this post.

Now that all of that admin stuff is out of the way:
Onto the list!

JANUARY
	THE DAUGHTERS OF IZDIHAR by Hadeer Elsbai: – f/f, disaster bi – looming war, woman’s suffrage, & water magic in a fantastical Egypt – spoiled aristocrat + bookshop keeper??? hmm YES
	THE SAPPHIRE ALTAR by David Dalglish: – sequel to THE BLADED FAITH, which had a sapphic main – rag-tag, older group of revolutionaries use a mask to fake a hero & fight against the invading empire – except the mask is cursed… and whispering
	NOW SHE IS WITCH by Kirsty Logan: – sapphic MC – dark, witchy roadtrip through medieval Europe – with a little murder, as treat – stories within stories within stories
	I KEEP MY EXOSKELETON TO MYSELF by Marisa Crane: – sapphic MC – instead of jail, criminals carry extra shadows to warn others of their misdeeds – what happens when your kid is born with an extra shadow? – tackles grief & shame in an unjust world
	THE INFINITE by Ada Hoffmann: – lesbian MC, come get your neurodivergent gays – the AI gods have withdrawn their protection – rebellion and revolution, but make it interstellar and quantum simultaneously – 3rd in THE OUTSIDE series
	THE BLOODSTAINED SHADE by Cass Morris: – bi MCs – while Discordian magic threatens Aven at home, her best mages are trapped, and her best warriors are fighting distant battles – 3rd in the Aven Cycle, a series reimagining ancient Rome with magic
	THE TERRAFORMERS by Annalee Newitz: – queer MCs – you (& a moose) are part of a team that terraforms to prevent ecosystem collapse – then you realize you work for Capitalism – generations later, you’re still fighting to keep you and yours safe
FEBRUARY
	FRONTIER by Grace Curtis: – f/f – what happens if Earth becomes a Wild West anarchy b/c everybody with means left? – centuries later, those who left attempt to check in, to disastrous results – post-apocalyptic Western, & make it gay
	THE GRIEF NURSE by Angie Spoto: – pan MC – gothic fantasy where grief is an unseemly thing to be sopped up by your resident grief nurse – but in the wake (pun intended) of one wealthy family’s sorrow, the bodies start to pile up
	THE ENDLESS SONG by Joshua Phillip Johnson: – f/f – sequel to THE FOREVER SEA – ships sail upon an endless grassland, but what lies beneath the surface, while a mystery, could be their undoing – pirates and unfathomable plants and magical hearthfires, oh yes
	WORLD RUNNING DOWN by Al Hess: – trans MC, lotsa queer rep – post-apocalypse, & make it salty < – when a once-powerful AI asks you to find missing androids, you say yes – but when what’s missing wants to stay missing, well…
	THE JAGUAR PATH by Anna Stephens: – multiple bi and gay MCs – sequel to THE STONE KNIFE – Stephens’ classic creepy af fantasy – the Empire of Songs used magical music to bind its people together, but others can sing
	THE CAGE OF DARK HOURS by Marina Lostetter: – bi MC, pan second, queernorm world – done vanquishing a murderous mask? – let’s see what other myths might be true – like these horrors from children’s stories – sequel to THE HELM OF MIDNIGHT
	EMPEROR OF RUIN by Django Wexler: – f/f & m/m, queernorm world – never thought I’d tear down a tyrant fighting side by side with a terrifying warrior magician – how about side by side with a friend? – sequel to BLOOD OF THE CHOSEN
	A DAY OF FALLEN NIGHT by Samantha Shannon: – f/f, casually queer – we’ve been trained to fight dragons, but where are they? – do they even exist, ma – let’s wake them up, I’m sure it’ll be fine – prequel to THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE
MARCH
	THE MIMICKING OF KNOWN SUCCESSES by Malka Older: – f/f – gaslamp mystery, but make it Jupiter – platform-livin’ on a gas giant – cozy Holmes/Watson vibes
	ARCA by G.R. Macallister: – sapphic MCs, pan and nb side characters – picks up where SCORPICA left off – that is, a matriarchical society where politics and magic clash and a fragile peace might soon come undone
	PROUD PINK SKY by Redfern Jon Barrett: – m/m – the alt-historical, glittering queer metropolis of Berlin draws two fleeing gays toward (supposed) sanctuary – but even in a queer utopia, there’s strife and division amongst the gays
	THE FAITHLESS by C.L. Clark: – f/f, poly – sequel to THE UNBROKEN – your uncle is a murderous bastard trying to take your throne but also the only family you have left 😦 – the revolution was hard, but leading is harder – …but at least you’ve got a hot ambassador at your side… right??
	FEED THEM SILENCE by Lee Mandelo: – f/f established couple – hey we can translate wolf speak! – oh, what they’re saying is pretty interesting – let’s just be wolves – well that escalated quickly
	BITTER MEDICINE by Mia Tsai: – bi MCs in a m/f relationship – xianxia-inspired romantic fantasy between a descendant of the Chinese god of medicine and an elf security expert – magical calligraphy, cursed children, & murderous younger brothers
	WE DREAM OF GODS by Devin Madson: – m/m, plus bi characters – puts the epic in epic fantasy – necromancy & tasteful beheadings & empire building, yesss – 4th & final book in the REBORN EMPIRE, which started with WE RIDE THE STORM
	THE BLOOD HOURS by Ann H. Fox: – bi MC – magic-users are marked with how long they’re allowed to live before they’re hunted by priests as sacrifice – MC got 72 years; his sister only 10 – So when his sister enters the hunt, so does he
	LOKI’S RING by Stina Leicht: – many queer POV characters – a crisis team of middle-aged folks are stranded on a planet under quarantine – adopted AI children & alien-made solar systems – same universe as PERSEPHONE STATION
	BLACKHEART GHOSTS by Laure Eve: – f/f – queer Arthurian urban fantasy with motor bikes?? And illegal magic??? – illusionists, betrayal, and half-drowned strangers 🧑‍🍳🤌 – sequel to BLACKHEART KNIGHTS
APRIL
	THE WINTER KNIGHT by Jes Battis: – m/m, trans MCs, queer all-around – the knights of the round table have been reincarnated in Vancouver – and a Valkyrie is investigating the murder of one of them – part murder mystery, part contemp fairytale
	SOME DESPERATE GLORY by Emily Tesh: – f/f – “All her life Kyr has trained for the day she can avenge the murder of planet Earth” UM WHAT – except Earth’s surviving humans are getting in her way – found family, queer space opera
	THE BONE SHARD WAR by Andrea Stewart: – f/f established couple – 3rd in the DROWNING EMPIRE series – a bone construct army has been unleashed – and islands are sinking – and ancient, magical beings are returning – shit’s about to hit the fan
	FURIOUS HEAVEN by Kate Elliott: – f/f – sequel to UNCONQUERABLE SUN – gender-swapped space opera inspired by Alexander the Great!! – wait do I need to say anything else?? srsly??? – space battles and space mysteries and space ambition!
	PEACHY by Camri Kohler: – queernorm/tastic – a vampire killed her grandmother and now Frankie’s out for blood – and possibly causing unspeakable horrors – gallows humor + body horror + messy queers = oh yes!
	THE LIVES OF PUPPETS by T.J. Klune: – m/m – queer, sci-fi retelling of Pinocchio – but make it about robots: anxiety-riddled, mysterious, murderous robots – and make it Klune: heart-felt, cozy, and all things familial
	THE WARDEN by Daniel M. Ford: – f/f – become one of the only female necromancers: check – graduate from magic college: check – achieve greatness: …? – well I guess we have time to investigate mysteries in a small town and make some friends 🙂 🙂 nothing could go wrong 🙂 🙂 🙂
	THE REMARKABLE RETIREMENT OF EDNA FISHER by E.M. Anderson: – fully queer cast – someone needs to stop an evil sorcerer, so of course the Chosen One is… an 83-year-old retiree – a vengeful teenager, dragon-fighting knights, and knitting needles – is it really the sorcerer who’s evil, or the knights?
	DEATH BY SILVER by Melissa Scott, Amy Griswold: – m/m – queer gaslamp murder mystery – we help people find solutions to their magical problems! – even you, old high school bully 😦 – friends to lovers
MAY
	DRAGONFALL by L.R. Lam: – bi, pan rep – chosen one story, but make the chosen one a dragon hellbent on revenge – just have to convince this human to trust him long enough so they can both betray all of humankind – oh no – i think I love the human
	SEASON OF SKULLS by Charles Stross: – bi MC – third in a new Laundry Files trilogy, where the Prime Minister is an eldritch horror and everyone’s manifesting powers – and Eve still has to deal with her ex-husband, whom she murdered
	BANG BANG BODHISATTVA by Aubrey Wood: – trans MC – hacker-for-hire framed for murder must clear her name with the help of a stuffy PI – come for the dystopian cyberpunk, stay for the stubborn defiance
	TRIALS OF THE INNERMOST by Jonathan Fuller and Kristina Kelly: – bi, gay, and ace MCs – the world was shattered into 3 – regular trials of their best warriors keeps the peace – but when one of those warriors might harbor a consuming darkness,,, well
	THE BATTLE DRUM by Saara El-Arifi: – f/f – myth and conspiracy merge in a blood-caste-segregated empire – they’ve succeeded, but their world still threatens to unravel – war is coming – sequel to THE FINAL STRIFE
	WITCH KING by Martha Wells: – queer MC, f/f married side, queernorm world – a demon is murdered and left in an unbreakable trap – so of course when he breaks out, he’s a bit mad – epic fantasy with soul-eating, over-throwing of Empire, and your best friends turned traitors
JUNE
	TRANSLATION STATE by Ann Leckie: – nonbinary MCs – once human, Translators have been changed to serve as spokespeople for an alien race – but one Translator wants More, and sets off in search of their own life – adventures and mysteries ensue
	MORTAL FOLLIES by Alexis Hall: – f/f – balls & fashion are bad enough, but when you also have to deal with gods & sorceresses?? – when a curse goes from annoying to deadly, it’s time to befriend the grumpy lady who might have done a murder
	THE FIRST BRIGHT THING by J.R. Dawson: – f/f – wives who circus together, – travel the midwest in an alt post-WWI world together – magical circus vs magical circus, but make it dark
	THE SURVIVING SKY by Kritika H. Rao: – queer MCs in a m/f relationship – floating jungle city above a raging Earth – magical architects keep it afloat, until suddenly they can’t – a struggling marriage, illegal magic, and misplaced reverence!
	THESE BURNING STARS by Bethany Jacobs: – f/f – a secret can bring down a genocidal, imperial family – only if the thief who stole it can stay free – spy vs spy vs spy or maybe it’s con artist vs family heir vs mysterious haunt coming for them all
	SAVAGE CROWNS by Matt Wallace: – enby and bi MCs – an ostensibly utopian nation has been exposed as anything but – now the rebels who would remake their country meet on the battlefield to decide its future – 3rd in SAVAGE REBELLION series
	THE GHOSTS OF TRAPPIST by K.B. Wagers: – queernorm world, queertastic cast – Coast Guard but make it spaaaace – ships are going missing and even the pirates are a bit scared – ghost ships and voices and mysterious songs – oh my – 3rd in NeoG series
	IF FOUND, RETURN TO HELL by Em X. Liu: – queer MC – magical emergency services, but make it corporate call center culture – accidental demon prince possession becomes accidental demon prince friend – Hell’s bureaucracy doesn’t hold a candle to ours
	THE INFINITE MILES by Hannah Fergesen: – pan MC – her best friend disappears for 3 years only to return and demand they find the hero of a fictional TV show, who happens to be real, – strands the MC in 1971, – and *then* things get weird
	THE ARCHIVE UNDYING by Emma Mieko Candon: – gay MC, queer cast – massive AI cities/gods ruled the land – but corrupted and went mad – their still-living pieces scavenged and hunted by the surviving humans – but what is god and what is human?
JULY
	THE SAINT OF BRIGHT DOORS by Vajra Chandrasekera: – gay MC – there are doors everywhere that don’t open – but are worshipped & shunned, and the source of many religions – one of which is led by a man whose son has been raised to kill him
	ETHERA GRAVE by Essa Hansen: – ace MC, enby and genderfluid side characters – breathtaking epic space opera with bubble universes and truly unique physics – (queer) found family against a multiverse-spanning evil – last in THE GRAVEN trilogy
	BLACK SAILS TO SUNWARD by Sheila Jenne: – lesbian and bi MCs – aid in the war effort and join the Navy… in spaaaace – when your ex-childhood best friend reveals they’re a pirate and kidnap you… just go with it – zero-g sword fights!!
	THICK AS THIEVES by M.J. Kuhn: – f/f – the heist succeeded 🤝 the heist failed – can the team of queer misfits work together long enough to undo the damage they’ve done? – sequel to AMONG THIEVES
	EMERGENT PROPERTIES by Aimee Ogden: – enby MC – in a corporation-controlled dystopian version of the future, – an AI investigative reporter has zir memory erased – and must retrace zir steps to find out what happened
	THE SUN AND THE VOID by Gabriela Romero-Lacruz: – f/f – inspired by 1800s S America – a creepy manor with an ancient god in its foundations – a dark sorceresses who can retrieve hearts – and a noblewoman and servant girl pining for each other
	THE JUDAS BLOSSOM by Stephen Aryan: – sapphic MC – multi-POV epic reimagining of the Mongol Empire’s invasion of Persia – sieges and magic and secret societies and assassinations — this one’s got it all, folks
AUGUST
	LABYRINTH’S HEART by M.A. Carrick: – queer POV, queernorm world – when you’re a con-artist, famous heir, political rebel, and a vigilante… you might be juggling too much – Venetian-inspired fantasy – 3rd in Rook & Rose series
	THE MIDNIGHT KINGDOM by Tara Sim: – sapphic & queer – the mortal heirs of the gods’ have been scattered and must overcome their own weaknesses – and gods – on their own – necromancy and politics and god-inflictions, oh my – 2nd in Dark Gods series
	THE WATER OUTLAWS by S.L. Huang: – sapphic MC – inspired by Chinese classic, WATER MARGIN – bawdy bandits and genderqueer martial artists ready to break the law – Wuxia fantasy at its finest
	HE WHO DROWNED THE WORLD by Shelley Parker-Chan: – genderfluid, gay, & sapphic MCs – queer political machinations in a reimagining of ancient China – if you thought SWBTS was dark… – 2nd in Radiant Empire series
	IN THE ROSES OF PIERIA by Anna Burke: – sapphic MC – an archivist gets the job of her dreams, but her employer is a little… wrong – dark academia with fungal fae & plant horrors
	PROPHET by Sin Blaché and Helen Macdonald: – bi & gay MCs – a weapon that uses your happiest memory to also do murder – former rivals must team up to stop the weapon – but first they must overcome their own troubled past
	THE DEVIL’S GUN by Cat Rambo: – sapphic MC, queer cast – when your space restaurant is overtaken & your lover’s been kidnapped by a pirate king & your AI ship is learning how to human, you… – open a pop-up restaurant? – sequel to YOU SEXY THING
SEPTEMBER
	GODKILLER by Hannah Kaner: – queer MCs + disability rep – let’s go kill some gods! – wait why can’t I kill this one – oh shit this god is a cute little girl – dark fantasy adventure a la the Witcher, but make it feminist
	A MARKET OF DREAMS AND DESTINY by Trip Galey: – m/m – in a faery market, all things are for sale – including your freedom – runaway princesses, market politics, the destiny of London, and tricky contract language
	THE FREE PEOPLE’S VILLAGE by Sim Kern: – queer MC, queer cast – what if Gore won the 2000 election? – climate change has been tackled head-on, but we live in a messy, bleak future b/c we’re still grappling with a carceral, capitalist state – clifi, but make it punk
	THE DEATH I GAVE HIM by Em X. Liu: – m/enby – scifi revisioning of Hamlet, plus a locked-room mystery – when your scientist dad is murdered and his lab is on lockdown, you gotta work with your AI buddy to uncover his late secrets and also enact a little revenge
	MAMMOTH AT THE GATES by Nghi Vo: – enby MC – a wandering cleric, away gathering stories, has returned home to sorrow – their mentor is dead, but worst, their entire family has shown up & are threatening to destroy the clerics’ hard-won histories – 4th in Singing Hills Cycle
	THE UNDETECTABLES by Courtney Smyth: – queer MC group – be gay, solve crime, take naps? book it, sold – ok, fine: fantasy murder mystery with a detective agency run by three witches & a ghost in a cat costume in an occult small town – hypnotic whistling & magical carvings are the only clues
	THE SALVATION GAMBIT by Emily Skrutskie: – lesbian MC, queer cast – a crew of con women who never get caught, until… – when your last con goes so bad, you end up imprisoned in an ancient ship controlled by an AI with delusions of godhood and a punitive bent
	THE POMEGRANATE GATE by Ariel Kaplan: – queer MC – in an alt 15th century Spain, the Inquisition is still a threat and Jews are forced to flee – but magic is real and there’s a secret gate between worlds – and the otherworldly immortals found there are equally dangerous
	THE FRACTURED DARK by Megan E. O’Keefe: – queer MC, trans & enby sides – a blight is killing planets; a revolutionary & the heir to the dynasty she hates find themselves entangled in discovering why – body-hopping & other fun horrors – 2nd in the Devoured Worlds series
	THE VALKYRIE by Kate Heartfield: – sapphic MC – a fallen Valkyrie and a princess, need I say any more? – ok, there’s dragon slaying, 5th century politics, quests and battles galore – queer retelling of Norse myth
OCTOBER
	A NECESSAR CHAOS by Brent Lambert: – gay MCs – two mages assigned to spy on each other – catch feelings instead – ok but now they’ve been told to kill each other – spy vs spy but make it hot
	PLURALITIES by Avi Silver: – trans & enby – a burned-out retail employee grapples with gender feels – an alien prince runs off with his sentient spaceship – and despite their distances, their stories overlap
	THE DEAD TAKE THE A TRAIN by Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey: – f/f, bi MC – when the guardian angel you summon is actually an elder god who wants to destroy the world – and you’re already on the disaster bus… welp. – bizarre, grotesque, visceral? let’s go!
	MENEWOOD by Nicola Griffith: – queer MC – war is coming and the King’s calculating seer is now the Lady of Elmet – the old king needs his supernatural advisor back, but what had once been a politically tricky tightrope walk is now a chaotic dance toward total war – sequel to HILD
	TRAITOR OF REDWINTER by Ed McDonald: – bi MC – those that see the dead are stoned, so you can imagine what happens to those that wanna necromance – but maybe this cursed book I can’t remember finding will help! – dark magic, politics, and everybody seems to think you’re *their* weapon
	DARK MOON SHALLOW SEA by David R. Slayton: – m/m – the moon’s been trapped in the underworld and now the dead linger in deadly miasmas that attack anyone who sheds blood – I found a dude! in a box!! can I kiss him – and we’re being chased by those who banished the moon??? oh noes
	LAST TO LEAVE THE ROOM by Caitlin Starling: – f/f – the city is sinking, and you’re a horrible goose scientist – now there’s a door in the basement that wasn’t there before – and your eerily sweet doppelgänger on the other side – part horror, part thriller, 100% creepy sci-fi
	BONE RITES by Natalie Bayley: – sapphic MC – either the lovely tale of a devoted sister and her dearly departed brother – or the story of a deranged, dark-magic practicing nurse during WWI and her imminent hanging – why not both?
	A FIRE BORN OF EXILE by Aliette de Bodard: – f/f – Count of Montecristo in SPACE – revenge is the plan, but falling for the Prefect’s daughter… complicates things – set in the Vietnamese-inspired Xuya Universe
NOVEMBER
	IN THE PINES by Mariah Stillbrook: – pan MC – witches and curses and secrets, oh my – two sisters must unravel the curse that has plagued their family for generations before it claims them, too
	TONIGHT, I BURN by Katharine J. Adams: – bi MC, queernorm world – in a world of witches, some patrol the veil between worlds – all are bound by a tyrant to servitude – that is, until one witch doesn’t return from the veil – intricate magic and worldbuilding against a dystopian backdrop
	BOOKSHOPS & BONEDUST by Travis Baldree: – sapphic MC – a young mercenary orc is wounded and forced to recuperate in a sleepy seaside town – but her temp job at a bookshop is soon interrupted by all manner of nonsense, including gnomes, suspicious outsiders, and skeletons – prequel to Legends & Lattes
	A POWER UNBOUND by Freya Marske: – m/m – done with magic, except for unraveling this one last dangerous ritual – and of course the prickly, yet handsome thief is the only one who can help – champagne, secrets, and bloody sacrifice, anyone? – final in THE LAST BINDING trilogy
	THE DARKNESS BEFORE THEM by Matthew Ward: – sapphic MC – a magical mist is devouring the land and the immortal king don’t care – a thief able to talk to spirits is going for One Last Heist – yet winds up enmeshed in a rebellion and court intrigue
	WE ARE THE CRISIS by Cadwell Turnbull: – queer, poly MCs – humanity grapples with the existence of monsters – through political debate about monster rights – meanwhile werewolves are disappearing without a trace – sequel to No Gods, No Monsters
	SHADOW BARON by Davinia Evans: – gay MC – the planes have been stabilized, but that’s just the beginning – magic has returned and with it, strange creatures are popping up all over town and myths are beckoning from shadows – swashbuckling, opera, and shady card deals: yes. – sequel to NOTORIOUS SORCERER
	WARRIOR OF THE WIND by Suyi Davies Okungbowa: – bi/pan MC, enby side character – a little bit of a magic, a little bit of heist, a whole lot of trouble – epic fantasy inspired by the pre-colonial empires of West Africa – sequel to SON OF THE STORM
DECEMBER
	ALL THE HIDDEN PATHS by Foz Meadows: – m/m – married the brother instead of the sister, now we gotta navigate the political ramifications – nascent relationship tested by court drama and intrigue – and by someone trying to murder them ❤ – sequel to A Strange and Stubborn Endurance
	A RIVER OF GOLDEN BONES by A.K. Mulford: – enby MC – queer Sleeping Beauty retelling – but with secret twins, wolves, and shape-shifters – come for the adventure, stay for the gender exploration and evil sorceresses