From Christopher Isherwood's enduring 20th-century classic Goodbye to Berlin to contemporary titles like Janet Mock's Redefining Realness, the titles in this study guide collection explore a range of ideas, issues, genres, and forms that speak to the LGBTQ community.
Publication year 2013
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, LGBTQ, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2013
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Sexuality, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Society: Community
Tags LGBTQ, Romance, Race / Racism, British Literature, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Siblings, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Mothers
Tags Historical Fiction, LGBTQ, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World
Publication year 2017
Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Society: Class, Identity: Sexuality, Society: Community, Relationships: Friendship, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Relationships: Siblings, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Art, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Mothers, Identity: Race, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Relationships: Fathers
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Realistic Fiction, LGBTQ, Arts / Culture
Publication year 1997
Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction
Themes Identity: Sexuality, Relationships: Siblings, Relationships: Family, Identity: Mental Health
Tags Humor, LGBTQ, Biography
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Relationships: Siblings, Relationships: Family, Identity: Race, Society: Class, Relationships: Friendship
Tags Race / Racism, Poverty, LGBTQ, Black Lives Matter, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 1936
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Mothers
Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Psychological Fiction, LGBTQ, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), American Literature, History: World, Classic Fiction
Nightwood, by Djuna Barnes, was first published in 1936. It tells the story of Robin Vote and the lives of those she becomes entangled with as she struggles with her desires and need for freedom. While set mostly in 1930s Paris, the novel is cosmopolitan in nature, with action also taking place in Vienna, Berlin, and various parts of America. This book is an example of modernist literature from the period between world wars and... Read Nightwood Summary
Publication year 2015
Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Identity: Sexuality, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil
Tags Fantasy, LGBTQ, Humor, Action / Adventure, Fairy Tale / Folklore
Nimona is a young adult graphic novel created by N. D. Stevenson and published in 2015 by HarperCollins. It is based on Stevenson’s webcomic, also titled Nimona, which was published in 2012 and earned Slate magazine’s 2012 Cartoonist Studio Prize for Best Web Comic of the Year. The graphic novel adaptation also received critical acclaim, earning the 2016 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album: Reprint and becoming a 2015 National Book Award Finalist.Nimona is a... Read Nimona Summary
Publication year 1987
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Mothers
Tags Afro-Caribbean Literature, Race / Racism, Education, Education, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, LGBTQ
No Telephone to Heaven is the critically-acclaimed 1987 sequel to Michelle Cliff’s first novel, Abeng. This novel continues the semi-autobiographical story of Cliff’s Jamaican-American heroine, Clare Savage. Clare—just as Cliff—was born in Jamaica, moved to New York, and pursued university studies in London.The novel opens with Clare traveling across the Jamaican countryside with a revolutionary resistance group. The group members have settled on farmland formerly owned by Clare’s grandmother. They use this land to grow food... Read No Telephone to Heaven Summary
Publication year 1930
Genre Poem, Fiction
Tags Lyric Poem, LGBTQ
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: Politics & Government, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Mothers, Identity: Sexuality, Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: Colonialism, Society: Economics
Tags Realistic Fiction, LGBTQ, Class, Finance / Money / Wealth, History: U.S., Natural Disaster, Parenting, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance
Publication year 1976
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Life/Time: The Past, Identity: Language
Tags Lyric Poem, American Literature, Arts / Culture, LGBTQ, Classic Fiction, Biography
Throughout her life, Elizabeth Bishop (1911-1979) suffered many losses. Her father died before her first birthday and her mother entered a mental institution when Bishop was only five, leaving her to the guardianship of maternal and paternal grandparents. Later, Bishop’s lover committed suicide in Brazil, prompting Bishop’s return to the US. “One Art” (1976) alludes to several of these prominent losses, though the poem objectively approaches loss. “One Art” defines loss as a special form... Read One Art Summary
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief
Tags LGBTQ, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Raised by his mother, Rose, and his grandmother, Lan, Little Dog grows up in a lower working-class neighborhood of Hartford, Connecticut, beginning in the early 90s. Troubled by loss and abuse, Little Dog, at age 28, decides to write a letter to his illiterate mother, using it as a method of exorcising his demons, exploring the loss and trauma that shaped his and his family’s lives, and the love and beauty that defines their lives... Read On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous Summary
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Identity: Sexuality, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Identity: Gender
Tags Romance, LGBTQ, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Humor, Magical Realism, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2013
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Identity: Language, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Society: Community, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Equality
Tags LGBTQ, Politics / Government, Immigration / Refugee
Publication year 1985
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Identity: Sexuality, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Mothers
Tags LGBTQ, Auto/Biographical Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Gender / Feminism, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction, Religion / Spirituality
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is the debut novel of Jeannette Winterson, originally published on March 21, 1985 by Pandora Press in London. The story is a semi-autobiographical novel that closely follows the childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood of Jeanette, who, like Winterson, is adopted into a Pentecostal Evangelist household and raised in the church. As she grows, she comes to terms with her sexuality as a lesbian and faces condemnation and judgment from... Read Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit Summary
Publication year 1928
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Literature, Identity: Gender
Tags Gender / Feminism, LGBTQ, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction, British Literature, Modernism, History: World, Fantasy
Orlando: A Biography is a novel published in 1928 by the English author Virginia Woolf. It tells the story of Orlando, a member of the English nobility who is born a male in 16th century England. Around the age of 30, Orlando mysteriously changes into a woman and lives for centuries without visibly aging. Author Jeanette Winterson called Orlando “the first trans novel in English.” (Winterson, Jeanette. “’Different sex. Same person’: How Woolf’s Orlando became... Read Orlando Summary
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Language, Society: Colonialism, Values/Ideas: Fate, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Romance, LGBTQ, History: World
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Marriage, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Appearance & Reality
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, LGBTQ, Modern Classic Fiction, Gothic Literature
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: Community, Identity: Gender, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags Western, Action / Adventure, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Historical Fiction, LGBTQ, Gender / Feminism, Love / Sexuality, American Literature, History: World