Must-Read Literature by Transgender and Non-Binary Authors

Shizuka Satomi is the Queen of Hell. Damned for a Faustian deal she made in life, she must convince seven musicians to sell their souls to earn her freedom.

But her seventh student, a transgender runaway named Katrina Nguyen, and the bond she makes with starship captain and donut shop owner Lan Tran make Shizuka question everything she’s been working to accomplish. What good is life if you can’t spend it with those you care about?

Despite the differences in their musical careers — with one on the rise and the other losing relevance — Neela Devaki and Rukmini become close friends. Until a single tweet calls the futures of their friendship and careers into question with the entire internet watching.

Set in New York City during the early 2000s, this novel follows genderqueer bookbinder Dawn Levit. After discovering a love letter in a lesbian pulp novel, Dawn sets out to find the author and return it to them. Amidst this search, Dawn also seeks a better understanding of her gender identity and the ways expectations from her job and her partner stifle it.

After her grandmother passes away, Wendy Reimer is shocked to discover that her grandfather may have considered himself transgender, if he’d had the words and opportunities to explore the disconnect he felt with his assigned gender in rural Canada. The more she learns about her grandfather, the more she contemplates her own experiences as a transgender woman.

Grieving the loss of her cousin, Mei moves into his empty home in small-town Canada. Here, she can’t help but reflect on the past — both her cousin’s and her own — as well as the family secrets she uncovers after moving back.

In post-apocalyptic Utah, transgender salvager Valentine takes dangerous missions to earn enough money to gain citizenship in Salt Lake City. When he meets Osric, an AI steward trapped in an android body, he accepts a gig with a reward large enough to change his life — if he survives, and if the person behind the gig is telling the truth.

In the first installment of this legal thriller series written by a real-life lawyer, attorney Erin McCabe defends Sharise Barnes — a young trans woman accused of murdering the son of a New Jersey senator. McCabe, who is also a transgender woman, soon finds herself in the midst of a political firestorm that threatens her and her client’s safety.

In a series of comics, artist Julia Kaye records the first months after she begins taking hormone replacement therapy — both the joyful and challenging moments. As she reflects on her gender transition, she comes to a better sense of self-acceptance and appreciation for who she has become.

In their epistolary memoir, Nigerian author Awaeke Emezi writes a series of letters on spirituality, creativity, and gender identity. Each chapter is addressed to a different person, including friends, family, colleagues, romantic partners, and inspirations.

GLAAD award-winning journalist Samantha Allen embarks on a road trip across red states to interview the queer people who live there. Along the way, she reflects on her experiences growing up transgender in Utah and finds hope in the chosen family LGBTQ communities create in the places they call home.

Actor and producer Jacob Tobia reflects on their early life as a closeted teen in North Carolina where they were often labeled as “sissy” by others and the moments that offered them clarity and confidence in their genderqueer identity.

Blending memoir and pop culture commentary, author and advice columnist Daniel M. Lavery’s essay collection snarkily reflects on a variety of topics that interest him, from transgender identity to The Golden Girls.

What are life’s milestones if not shaped by those we have loved? In this memoir, trans activist and New York Times columnist Jennifer Finney Boylan reflects on key moments in her life and how the dogs she’s adopted both defined those moments and helped her better understand how to love others and herself.