In celebration of LGBTQ+ Pride Month, Emory Libraries is proud to highlight 10 powerful and poignant books published within the past year that explore queer lives, histories, and futures. These titles – now available in our collections – span genres and geographies, offering fresh perspectives on identity, love, resistance, and community. Whether you’re looking for lyrical fiction, historical insight, or bold new voices, these books reflect the vibrant diversity of LGBTQ+ literature today.
- The Emperor of Gladness, by Ocean Vuong
Vuong’s second novel tells the story of Hai, a young man on the brink of despair, and Grazina, an elderly woman with dementia who becomes his unlikely companion. Set in a post-industrial Connecticut town, this tender, poetic narrative explores chosen family, memory, and the redemptive power of care.
In this bold follow-up to “Detransition, Baby,” Peters presents a novel and three novellas that push the boundaries of trans storytelling. The title story, set in a logging camp, explores gender, desire, and rivalry with surreal flair, while the accompanying tales delve into apocalypse, adolescence, and identity.
- Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson, by Tourmaline
This definitive biography of the legendary Black transgender activist brings Marsha P. Johnson’s life into vivid focus. Drawing on archival research and oral histories, Tourmaline honors Marsha’s activism, artistry, and enduring impact on the LGBTQ+ movement.
Set in a fabulist 1950s New York, this experimental novel follows a cast of butch dykes and Yiddish anarchists through a never-ending Friday night of music, politics, and queer camaraderie. Levene’s debut is a jazz-inflected, genre-bending celebration of lesbian bar culture and radical imagination.
In this emotionally rich novel, a gay asylum lawyer and his estranged mother must confront a long-buried trauma that has shaped their lives. Haslett masterfully explores themes of queerness, family estrangement, and healing, set against the backdrop of contemporary immigration struggles.
A searing love story set in Cameroon, where same-sex relationships are criminalized, this novel follows Bessem’s search for her lost lover Fatima, 13 years after a brutal police raid. Told through undelivered letters and memory, it’s a haunting meditation on love, loss, and resilience.
Published posthumously, this raw and poetic novel captures the queer underworld of 1960s London. Leda, a drifter and dreamer, navigates a world of fleeting lovers, bohemian artists, and existential longing in a narrative that blends gritty realism with lyrical introspection.
Set during a sweltering London weekend in 2019, this debut novel follows a group of friends whose secrets and desires collide at a warehouse party. With echoes of Sally Rooney and Torrey Peters, McKenna explores queer identity, millennial malaise, and the search for connection in a fractured world.
A poet’s sudden medical crisis becomes the catalyst for a profound journey through memory, art, and mortality. Greenwell’s luminous prose captures the fragility of the body and the redemptive power of love and beauty in this intimate, philosophical novel.
A queer reimagining of Shakespeare’s “Henriad,” this stylish debut follows Hal Lancaster, a disaffected heir navigating privilege, trauma, and queer desire in contemporary London. Bratton’s wit and emotional depth make this a standout exploration of legacy and selfhood.
The links provided will work for Emory students, staff and faculty, but members of the public can search their county libraries or favorite bookseller for these books. We invite you to explore these works and celebrate the voices that continue to shape and expand the landscape of LGBTQ+ literature.
—Russ Peterson, head of instruction and engagement and LGBTQ+ studies librarian, Robert W. Woodruff Library