Recommended GLBT Reading and Resources

Classic GLBT Fiction

• Baldwin, James. Giovanni’s Room, 1956

The life-changing adventures of a young American expatriate who becomes romantically involved with both a woman and a man in 1950s Paris.

• Brown, Rita Mae. Rubyfruit Jungle, 1973.

The trailblazing tale of a Southern girl growing up a lesbian in America---and living happily ever after.

• Forster, E.M. Maurice, 1914, c.1971

The controversial story of teenage boys experiencing same-sex love at an English boarding school.

• Hall, Radclyffe. The Well of Loneliness, 1928

Impetus for the most famous obscenity trial in British legal history and one of the earliest lesbian classics, in which “Stephen” comes of age in a stifling upper-class environment and falls in love with another woman.

• Harris, E.Lynn. Invisible Life, 1991

The first of Harris’s popular novels exploring issues surrounding alternative sexual lifestyles within the African-American community.

• Holleran, Andrew. Dancer From the Dance, 1978

Depicts a young man’s obsessive search for love in the gay world.

• Maupin, Armistead. Tales of the City, 1978

Interconnected stories of San Francisco friends and lovers, their joys and sorrows. Inspiration for an acclaimed public television dramatic series.

• Miller, Isabel. Patience and Sarah, 1967

A historical romance set in 19^th-century America, between a free-spirited woman artist and a cross-dressing female farmer, who leave their native Connecticut to build a life together in upstate New York.

• Morgan, Claire. The Price of Salt, 1952

A lesbian love story involving a married woman and a shopgirl. Written by mystery author Patricia Highsmith, using a pseudonym.

• Vidal, Gore. The City and the Pillar, 1948

A man’s quest to recreate his first moment of sexual awakening, spent years ago with another teenage boy.

• Warren, Patricia Nell. The Front Runner, 1974

Groundbreaking story of an adolescent track star, and the coach who falls in love with him.
 

• White, Edmund. The Beautiful Room Is Empty, 1988

The sequel to A Boy’s Own Story, as the author’s protagonist begins an odyssey of sexual awakening.

• White, Edmund. A Boy’s Own Story, 1982

A teenage boy’s account of discovering and accepting his homosexuality.

• Winterson, Jeanette. Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit, 1985

Award-winning tale of a British adolescent girl who embraces her unorthodox sexuality while coping with the demands of her adoptive evangelical family.

Contemporary GLBT Fiction

• Bram, Christopher. Father of Frankenstein, 1995.

The fictionalized final days of James Whale, famed gay director of the horror classic Frankenstein. Basis for the Ian McKellan film Gods and Monsters.

• Bram, Christopher. Lives of the Circus Animals, 2003.

Kaleidoscopic tale of several days and nights in the interlocking lives of New York City “theatre people”.

• Dawesar, Abha. Babyji, 2005.

The emotional journey of a precocious New Delhi, India honor student as she joyfully embraces her burgeoning sexuality.

• Griffith, Nicola. The Blue Place, 1998.

Featuring a Norwegian-American lesbian sleuth, in a gripping psychological thriller.
 

• Griffith, Nicola. Stay, 2002.

Sequel to The Blue Place, as the main character deals with the death of her partner and the search for a missing child.

• Malloy, Brian. The Year of Ice, 2002.

A Minnesota teenage boy’s struggle to accept his homosexuality in the midst of family strife and challenging friendships.

• Peters, Julie Anne. Luna, 2004.

Award-winning story of a transgender teenage boy and the impact of his personal struggle upon his family and peers. Additional novels by Peters: Keeping You a Secret and Far From Xanadu.

• Revoyr, Nina. The Necessary Hunger, 1997.

Two female teenage basketball players coming to terms with family pressures and their unexpected emotional attachment.

• Sinclair, April. Coffee Will Make You Black, 1994.

A young black lesbian coming of age in South Chicago during the heyday of the civil rights movement.

• Waters, Sarah. Affinity, 2000.

Historical fiction set in Victorian London, where an upper-class woman forms a surprising connection with a female inmate in one of the city’s grimmest prisons.

GLBT Mystery

• Clare, Baxter. Bleeding Out, 2000

Debut installment in hard-boiled crime series starring “Franco,” lesbian Los Angeles chief of detectives. Later volumes: Cry Havoc; Street Rules; and Last Call.

• Forrest, Katherine V. Hancock Park, 2004

Starring “Kate Delafield,” Los Angeles police detective. Preceded by Murder at the Nightwood Bar, and many others.

• Hansen, Joseph. Country of Old Men, 1991

Concluding entry in legendary “Dave Brandstetter” series, featuring one of the first openly gay sleuths. Many additional series titles also available.

• Hart, Ellen. The Iron Girl, 2005

Starring Minnesota-based lesbian restauranteur “Jane Lawless,” solving crimes with companion sleuth, theatrical “Cordelia Thorn”. Latest in multi-volume “cozy” mystery series.

• James, Dean. Baked to Death, 2005

Part of the “Simon Kirby-Jones” series, featuring a gay vampire as sleuth.

• Raphael, Lev. Tropic of Murder, 2004.

Mystery series set in small-town-college academia, featuring a gay professor couple as sleuths. Additional titles: The Edith Wharton Murders and Let’s Get Criminal.

• Scoppettone, Sandra. Everything You Have Is Mine, 1991.

Starring “Lauren Laurano,” New York City lesbian investigator, in a series with both suspense and humor. Other titles: Gonna Take a Homicidal Journey and I’ll Be Leaving You Always.

• Sims, Elizabeth. Easy Street, 2005

Featuring sleuth “Lillian Byrd,” a Detroit lesbian freelance writer and street mandolin player. Previous series titles: Damn Straight; and Lucky Stiff.

• Wilson, John Morgan. Rhapsody in Blood, 2006

Part of the celebrated “Benjamin Justice” series, with a gay Los Angeles ex-journalist struggling to reconstruct his life as main character. Many additional series titles also available.

• Zubro, Mark Richard. File Under Dead, 2004

Continuing the “Tom & Scott” mystery series, with a coupled Chicago teacher and a professional baseball player as sleuth team.

• Zubro, Mark Richard. Nerds Who Kill, 2005

The latest “Paul Turner” series entry, featuring gay Chicago police detective and his straight, wise-cracking sleuth colleague.

GLBT Romance