14 Queer Authors You Need To Add To Your Radar

One of the first names in queer literature and narratives is Sappho. Sappho's 'Fragment 31' shows her anguish and pain towards her 'object of desire' — her female companion — who is supposedly marrying a man. This 'Fragment' of hers is considered pioneering in the history of queer studies. It paved the path for many upcoming queer writers and inspired them to show their trials and tribulations through their narratives. 

Notable work: Ode to Aphrodite, Fragment 31 

I discovered Selvadurai's writing during college, and his work still stands as one of my all-time favourites. He is a Sri Lankan-Canadian novelist who migrated to Canada during the Sinhalese and Tamil conflict crises. His novel 'Funny Boy' not only deals with coming-of-age notions vis-a-vis homosexuality but also sheds light on social prejudices and shows the navigation and infringement of queer desire in the everyday world. This novel has also won the LAMBDA award, with the prose being light, simple, structured, and nuanced. 

Notable work: Funny Boy, Mansions Of The Moon, Storywallah!

'The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name' is one of the most iconic statements that is still widely used today. A prime literary figure of the 19th century, Oscar Wilde stands as an example of hiding queer themes and love in literature from the fear of being censored. His famous portrait with 'green carnations' is again a statured code in the queer understanding of things, where the term 'pansy' was also derived later on. His original version of 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' was censored for being too scandalous and was later published with many updates. His famous trial for his relationship with Douglas still is a topic of much discussion, remaining an iconic figure in queer history. 

Notable work: The Importance of Being Earnest, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Ocean Vyoung is a Vietnamese American poet who needs no introduction to today's readers. His much-beloved novel, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, is considered one of the best-written books in recent times and has earned him great recognition. His novel not only explores gender and sexuality but is said to have some autobiographical nuances. His works 'Time is A Mother' and 'Night Sky With Exit Wounds' are also wonderful pieces of literature that one should read.

Notable work: On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, Time Is A Mother, Night Sky With Exit Wounds

In 2020, Cemetery Boys by Aidan Thomas became a New York bestseller, which is centred around a trans character. Thomas is an openly trans author who then won several accolades and made powerful strides in the LGBTQIA+ movement. His work not only showed queer love with great possibility but also represented the great perseverance that all queer folks have embodied throughout their existence. His other novel, Celestial Monsters, also created a buzz and is definitely on our reading list.

Notable work: Cemetery Boys, Celestial Monsters

Bell Hooks has remained a very influential figure in the movement against racism and class while also being a much-celebrated literary figure. She identified herself as 'queer pas gay', borrowing 'pas' from the French language, meaning 'Queer Pat Gay'. She emphasises her queer subjectivity as not something relating to physical and sexual needs but as a dimension of her self, where 'everything seems at odds around her', as they thrive there to make it their own. Her famous book All About Love captures race, class, justice, and morality in all its contrasting isolation, yet shows great themes in a meshed and intertwined layout. 

Notable work: All About Love

One of the most important figures of the Civil Rights movement and considered an ambassador of Black identity, James Baldwin's understanding of the deeply rooted institutionalised racism and his understanding of what it means to become a man is still the most important theory and critical framework we have towards this subject. History books have regarded him as a bisexual icon, and his novel, The Fire Next Time, is one of the best interpersonal works of crisis and coping of the Black subjectivity told with a nuanced prosaic language. 

Notable work: The Fire Next Time

An openly lesbian writer, Patricia Nell Warren's The Front Runner is not only a bestseller but one of the most celebrated queer romances of all time. The novel captures a budding romance between a football player and his coach, who is one of the most prominent figures in the contemporary gay movement. She still works as an editor, journalist, and essayist and has pioneered the hopeful romance genre for queer stories and retelling.

Notable work: The Front Runner

Renowned as modern India's first openly gay poet, Hoshang Merchant is a cornerstone in gay liberation in India. His work with anthologies like Yaraana: Gay Writing from India opened Indian poetry and prose to the possibility of queer literature. His works often involved sexuality, death, war, and the influence they had on him. He studied Anais Nin and other poets to understand how best to express his sexuality as a gay person. His poems in My Sunset Marriage talk about his sexuality and how the blending of spirituality and love is palpable. 

Notable work: My Sunset Marriage, To An Absent Lover

In 2002, David Levithan wrote Boy Meets Boy and caused a beautiful social upheaval. Based on his own friend's struggle with disclosing his sexuality, this biography of sorts blew up on the internet one fine day and changed the reality of many people on the spectrum. His other book, Two Boys Kissing, was the first YA novel to have a graphic of two boys kissing as its cover. He changed the YA publishing industry by making it more open to queer stories and made it easier for stories about the LGBTQIA+ community to be picked up by publishers. 

Notable work: Boy Meets Boy

If this name seems familiar, it is because they are the author of the bestselling book and now movie, Red, White And Royal Blue. In her 'coming out' story, Casey briefs that it took them 19 years to understand they were queer. They further emphasise that coming out is just the end of their first act. Casey, through 13 years of being a repressed queer kid on the block, soon became the go-to person in their circle, to talk about it. Their other books, One Last Stop, I Kissed Shara Wheeler, The Pairing, all have queer romances set in different timelines and countries, and are YA novels that helped normalise queer romance. 

Notable work: Red, White And Royal Blue

You might know them from their bestselling trilogy, Heartstopper. Their other book, Loveless, talks about their personal experience of coming to terms with the labels 'asexual' and 'aromantic' when they first heard them at university. Many of their characters fall on the spectrum, being demisexual (Aled in Radio Silence) and asexual (Tori and Isaac in Heartstopper). Their books were my induction into queer romance and I have seen many in my peer group reflect on their writings and open up their minds beyond stereotypes and boxing people out. 

Notable work: Heartstopper, Radio Silence

Often quoted as the 'godfather' of gay literature, he is a prominent sci-fi voice in the queer literary community. His works reflect on his own experiences and perspectives on queerness, and are greatly influenced by the gay culture of the 60s and the Stonewall uprising. His work, The Motion of Light and Water, describes his life as an openly gay science fiction writer. He also wrote to defamiliarising what the society believed was 'normal,' and is known to have 'queered' the science fiction genre. 

Notable work: Babel-17, Dhalgren, The Einstein Intersection

In his popular book Ana On The Edge, A. J. Sass draws from his own experiences of being non-binary but not knowing what the term meant when he first came out as trans. Being a figure skater, his book is intended to make the community more inclusive, so that every skater feels safe and comfortable being themselves, on and off the ice. This YA novel is a valuable resource for cisgender readers, helping them to better understand gender identity, particularly nonbinary experiences, while also making nonbinary people feel seen and heard. 

Notable work: Ana On The Edge