We’re back with another monthly edition of Autostraddle’s Most Anticipated Queer Books! March is looking like a great month for LGBTQ book releases, so we’ve picked a handful of our very most anticipated titles for the top of this list, followed by a whopping 41 MORE BOOKS! As a reminder, if you use the links below to order, we get a small kickback from Bookshop.org, and your money also directly supports independent bookstores, which are increasingly important in this age of book bans and censorship. Bookshop.org also has ebooks now! Neat! As always, shout out any books that didn’t make our list that you’re looking forward to!

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Autostraddle’s Top Most Anticipated LGBTQ Books for February 2025

The Unworthy, by Agustina Bazterrica, translated by Sarah Moses (March 4, Horror)

NEW AGUSTINA BAZTERRICA ALERT! I REPEAT: NEW AGUSTINA BAZTERRICA ALERT!!!!! If those words mean nothing to you, then please, I beg of you to read Tender Is the Flesh, easily one of my favorite books from the past five years. Much like Tender Is the Flesh, The Unworthy is a slim horror novel translated from Spanish set in a dystopian and bleak world. But this time, we get LESBIANS and NUNS (and I’m pretty sure lesbian nuns? Matrix but make it horror). It’s also about climate crisis! I’ve never preordered a book faster.

Scorched Earth: Poems, by Tiana Clark (Poetry)

If you’re a big reader but you don’t read poetry, you should change that. Everyone benefits from reading poetry, I promise. And this forthcoming book of poems from Tiana Clark sounds like a great place to start (or a great addition to your poetry shelf if you do already read poetry). Don’t just take my word for it though! This book has a STACKED lineup of enthusiastic blurbs from basically a poetry dream team (Ocean Vuong, Maggie Smith, Jericho Brown, Eileen Myles, Safiya Sinclair). As Clark writes of the book on her website: “I wrote my way out of the ruins with radical love and unabashed self-acceptance, a way to feel possible against all the impossibility that I experienced after the deep loss of my divorce during Covid-19 and the chronic gut-punch of political despair, while trying to grasp for more transgressive joy in my work, contemplating if it was conceivable to transcend pain by reaching for queer, Black bliss.” Get into it, and get into poetry this month! (Next month is National Poetry Month, so stay tuned for more recommendations.)

Liquid: A Love Story, by Mariam Rahmani (March 11, Literary Fiction)

The unnamed Iranian American protagonist of this book embarks on a journey to “marry rich,” as jokingly suggested by her best friend and makes a spreadsheet for her goal of going on 100 dates with people of all genders with the intent to land a marriage proposal by fall. The dates present many (mis)adventures: “martinis sans vermouth with the lazy scion of an Eastside construction empire; board games with a butch producer who owns a house in the hills and a newly dented Porsche; a Venmo request from a “socialist” trust fund babe; and an evening spent dodging the halitosis of a maxillofacial surgeon from Orange County.” I’m hype for this one and also doing the thing I know I’m not supposed to do ([positively] judging the book by its very good cover!).

Stag Dance, by Torrey Peters (March 11, Literary Fiction)

Why choose between a novel and short stories when you can have both? Especially when both are written by Torrey Peters! In her hotly anticipated followup to her debut novel Detransition, Baby, Peters is back with Stag Dance, a novel and three short stories. The titular novel is about lumberjacks and genderfuckery. Real Torrey Peters heads will find the stories that surround Stag Dance familiar, as they’re republished versions of some of Peters’ early novellas, Infect Your Friends and Loved Ones as well as The Masker. The third story, The Chaser, is about a secret romance between Quaker boarding school roommates.

Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One, by Kristen Arnett (March 18, Literary Fiction)

The third novel from bestselling author (and, yes, wife of me, Autostraddle’s managing editor) Kristen Arnett is about a lesbian birthday party clown fucking around AND finding out. If “lesbian age gap situationship between a clown and a magician” speaks to you, well, you’re in for a real treat! I’m biased of course; this is my wife’s novel, but as one of her earliest readers of her work, I can confidently say it’s her best one yet. It’s very much about making art under capitalism and using humor to process grief. And it’s very funny!

And now enjoy the rest of our most anticipated LGBTQ books for March 2025!

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March 4

Fable for the End of the World, by Ava Reid (YA Sci-Fi)

Combining science-fiction and romance, the bestselling author of the novel A Study in Drowning pens a dystopian world where one corporation runs society by luring the lower classes into huge amounts of debt. Sounds like real life! At its core is a sweet sapphic love story between Inesa, a girl in a half-sunken town who runs a taxidermy shop with her brother, and Mel, an assassin for the aforementioned evil corporation.

They Bloom at Night, by Trang Thanh Tran (YA Horror)

The bestselling author of She Is a Haunting is back with another work of queer YA horror! A monster lurks beneath the surface of the sea in Mercy, Louisiana, which has been contending with a strange algae bloom ever since a devastating hurricane. Protagonist Noon is tasked with capturing the monster, which has been drowning people in town, by the harbormaster and finds an unexpected ally in his daughter. Sounds like this one could be for fans of Our Wives Under the Sea who want more of a YA vibe. Ocean horror! I personally love it!

Love Points To You, by Alice Lin (YA Romance)

Here’s a rivals-to-lovers romance about 16-year-old Lynda Fan who has the skills and drive to get into RISD’s prestigious arts program but not the money. Her rich asshole classmate Angela Wu hires her to design characters for an otome game, presenting an opportunity to make some money so she can follow her dreams. Of course, she also stumbles into love along the way.

The River Has Roots, by Amal El-Mohtar (Fantasy Novella)

This fantasy book falls under one of my favorite specific subgenres: queer books about sisters! It’s set in the town of Thistleford and about sisters Esther and Ysabel whose lives are upended when Esther rejects her intended suitor and takes a lover from the nearby land of Faerie.

Woodworking, by Emily St. James (Literary Fiction)

Set in Mitchell, South Dakota, this debut novel from one of our greatest living culture writers and critics Emily St. James is about 35-year-old trans divorcée Erica Skyberg who is closeted and teaches by day while directing community theater by night. Seventeen-year-old out trans girl Abigail Hawkes enters Erica’s life and shakes everything up.

Say A Little Prayer, by Jenna Voris (YA Romance)

Where my ex-church girls at? This YA romance is about Riley, who quit going to church when she realized she was bi only to find herself forced to attend church camp to avoid suspension after she slaps a girl for badmouthing her older sister who got an abortion. It’s there at church camp that she decides to commit all the seven deadly sins. She’s also there with her best friend and the pastor’s daughter, Julia. I think you can probably see where this is going.

The Boxcar Librarian, by Brianna Labuskes (Historical Fiction Thriller)

Based on true events, this novel is about Millie, a Works Progress Administration (WPA) editor who travels to Montana for work and finds herself embroiled in the mystery of Alice Monroe, a librarian who started the Boxcar Library to deliver books to mining towns with the help of Colette Durand, a miner’s daughter. But on their first journey out, Alice came back and Colette did not. What really happened to her? I bet Millie is going to find out!

My Little Golden Book About Pride, by Kyle Lukoff and Michelle Jing Chan (Childrens)

If Little Golden Books don’t immediately send you into a nostalgia vortex, then I cannot relate! Now we have a sweet little gay one that goes through the meaning of the rainbow flag and provides a kid-friendly introduction to LGTBQ life and diversity.

Kirby’s Lessons for Falling (in Love), by Laura Gao (YA Romance Graphic Novel)

Kirby Tan is forced to join the newspaper club for extra credit when her career as the school’s top rock climber comes to an end after an injury. Bex Santos —whose interests include tarot and crystals —recruits Kirby to help her with an astrology-based love advice column. A slow-burn, coming-of-age queer love story, Laura Gao’s latest graphic novel explores romance written in the stars.

Tomes & Tea #3: Tea You at the Altar, by Rebecca Thorne (Romantasy)

This is the third book in this series about lesbian pirates. Yes, lesbian pirates! In this one, they’re getting married! So if a wedding of lesbian pirates sounds like the book for you, get into this one.

March 11

Homegrown Magic, by Jamie Pacton & Rebecca Podos (Romantasy)

Two YA authors make their adult debut with a cozy, magical read of queer romance and plant witches.

Girl Falling, by Hayley Scrivenor (Thriller)

The author of Dirt Creek is back with a new queer mystery/thriller novel. Finn is excited for a rock climbing excursion in the cliffs of her Australian town, even though she’s somewhat pulled between her best friend Daphne and her girlfriend Magdu, who are also joining her. When Magdu tragically falls to her death, it opens up a can of past traumas and difficult questions for Finn, especially when the police suspect foulplay.

Rehearsals for Dying, by Ariel Gore (Memoir)

Author Ariel Gore tracks her wife Deena’s cancer diagnosis and the long and often perplexing journey of medical tests, treatments, and insurance hoops in this expansive memoir, which weaves together “the story of Deena’s experience, her own role as a caretaker, narratives from others living with breast cancer, literary reflections on illness, and reportage on the history of breast cancer and the $200 billion industry that capitalizes on and profits from breast cancer screenings and treatments.”

Shoot Your Shot, by Lexi LaFleur Brown (Romance)

A hockey romance with a chaotic bisexual tattoo artist!

Paper Doll: Notes From a Late Bloomer, by Dylan Mulvaney (Memoir)

THE Dylan Mulvaney has written a memoir about coming out as trans, her rise to social media flame, and the shock of the conservative online backlash that led to a harrowing press cycle. She’s here to complicate the image of the “It Girl,” in her own words.

How to Survive a Slasher, by Justine Purcella Winans (YA Horror)

Fans of meta horror in the style of Scream will perhaps find plenty to scream about in this YA novel about a girl named CJ who survived her town’s lethal Wolf Man attacks only to be forever haunted by her own trauma, packaged as a popular true crime series for others’ entertainment.

Glitch Girl! by Rainie Oet (Middle Grade)

We always love to recommend some LGBTQ middle grade and children’s books for the younger readers you may have in your life, and this is a middle grade novel in verse about a young trans girl who loves a computer game.

Arrangements, by Esther Kondo Heller (Poetry)

A hybrid textual and visual text that experiments with form, Esther Kondo Heller’s debut collection sounds extremely cool. It explores grief, colonialism, medical racism, and Black queer life in Berlin, Mombasa, and London.

The Usual Family Mayhem, by HelenKay Dimon (Mystery)

Protagonist Kasey begins to suspect her grandmother and her grandmother’s live-in “best friend” might be baking poisoned pies and distributing them to the wives of abusive husbands in an elaborate pie murder scheme. Potentially murderous elderly lesbians with a pie business? Sounds sweet!

Idolfire, by Grace Curtis (Sci-Fi/Fantasy)

Here we’ve got a sci-fi sapphic road trip book, so if you’ve been waiting for a sci-fi sapphic road trip book, baby you’ve got it!

March 18

Killer Potential, by Hannah Deitch (Thriller)

Protagonist Evie finds herself at the center of a nationwide manhunt when she accidentally stumbles upon a gruesome murder scene at the house of a super wealthy family and discovers a mysterious crying woman who refuses to speak who she brings along with her on her little spree across the U.S., her face plastered on the covers of magazines and newspapers as she’s credited with wanting to start a class war.

Murder by Memory, by Olivia Waite (Sci-Fi)

This novel puts a queer sci-fi spin on the cozy mystery formula and comes from the romance fiction columnist for the New York Times Book Review.

13 Ways To Say Goodbye, by Kate Fussner (YA Romance)

Nina is about to turn 13, the age her older sister never reached. Determined to complete all the things on her sister’s secret Before Birthday list and still wracked with grief from losing her, Nina sets off on a wild adventure of self-discovery, all the while crushing on her classmate Sylvie.

Lonely Planet The LGBTQ+ Travel Guide, by Alicia Valenski (Nonfiction)

Featuring more than 50 destinations across the U.S., South America, Europe, South Africa, Asia, Canada, and Australia, this travel guide seeks to highlight LGBTQ experiences beyond pride parades across the globe, all guided by the communities that actually live there. It’d make a good gift for the gay frequent flyer in your life.

A Fairytale for Everyone, by Boldizsár M. Nagy, illustrated by Lilla Bölecz, and translated by Anna Bentley (Childrens)

An LGBTQ-inclusive collection of fairytales! The Hungarian author reimagines classic tales in 17 short stories.

Beyond Personhood: An Essay in Trans Philosophy, by Talia Mae Bettcher (Nonfiction)

This University of Minnesota Press release presents a “new philosophical approach to trans experience, trans oppression, gender dysphoria, and the relationship between gender and identity.” It looks like another great addition to the expanding canon of trans philosophical texts.

Animal Instinct, by Amy Shearn (Sci-Fi)

A recent divorcée and mother of three living in Brooklyn goes on a bisexual online dating and sex spree in the spring of 2020. She also creates an AI chatbot named Frankie in an attempt to program the middle aged dating fantasy of her dreams, a fantasy that naturally swiftly unravels as reality comes crashing back in.

Aunt Tigress, by Emily Yu-Xuan Qin (Romantasy)

Chinese and First Nation mythology infuse this romantasy-horror tale with a sapphic romance and a play on the Aunt Tiger/Auntie Tigress Taiwanese folktale. It sounds like it fits in one of my favorite niche subgenres: queer cannibal horror.

We Contain Landscapes by Patrycja Humienik (Poetry)

More poetry! Tin House puts out some really great poetry books, and this one is about desire, borders, bodies, land, and “the illusion of national belonging,” from daughter of Polish immigrants, Patrycja Humienik.

The Prince Without Sorrow, by Maithree Wijesekara (Fantasy)

This is the first book in a planned fantasy trilogy that pulls inspiration from the Mauryan Empire of Ancient India. It promises witches, romance, and power struggles.

Camila Núñez’s Year of Disasters, by Miriam Zoila Pérez (YA Romance)

About a young queer Cuban American girl, this YA novel weaves tarot into its narrative, the protagonist’s card reading on her 16th birthday all coming devastatingly true as her year unfolds.

Serial Killer Support Group, by Saratoga Schaefer (Mystery Thriller)

When Cyra’s younger sister is murdered by a serial killer, she infiltrates a serial killer support group in order to try to find her sister’s killer.

Overtime, by Tracey Richardson (Romance)

Yet another sapphic romance hockey book! Should we make a full list of these?

March 25

Trauma Plot: A Life by Jamie Hood (March 25, Memoir)

A followup to her debut memoir how to be a good girl, Jamie Hood’s next book Trauma Plot fills in some of her first book’s margins, detailing three decades of sexual violence and challenging dominant narratives of how a rape survivor should be and act. She combines literary criticism, pop culture analysis, and personal narrative as part of this difficult but clear-eyed interrogation.

Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert, by Bob the Drag Queen (Literary Fiction)

Yes, Bob the Drag Queen wrote a novel! It’s set in a speculative world where figures from history have returned to the present to shake things up. Harriet Tubman and four enslaved people she helped lead to freedom decide to make a hip-hop album and live show about her life.

Black. Fat. Femme: Revealing the Power of Visibly Queer Voices in Media and Learning to Love Yourself, by Jonathan P. Higgins and Latrice Royala (Nonfiction)

A mixture of self-help and media criticism come together in this tome about Black, fat, femme lived experience and representation.

Reprise: Poems and Photographs, by Golden (Poetry + Photography)

Black and gender-nonconforming poet Golden presents an interdisciplinary collection of poems and photographs tackling topics like the global pandemic, anti-trans backlash, and national uprisings. I love that this list has not one but two works of textual + visual hybrid poetry books! March is gonna be a good month for LGBTQ poetry it seems!

Exquisite Ruin, by AdriAnne May (Romantasy)

This dark romantasy reimagines the Minotaur myth and comes from a queer author, featuring a bisexual male main character.

Blood On Her Tongue, by Johanna van Veen (Horror)

A queer gothic horror-fantasy tale, Blood on Her Tongue is about twin sisters Lucy and Sarah and is set in the Netherlands in 1887.

Cover Story, by Celia Laskey (Romance)

The author of queer novel-in-stories Under the Rainbow is back, this time with an adult romance about an anxious publicist tasked with keeping a gay starlet in the closet who she falls in love with. Drama!

Leafskin, by Miranda Schmidt (Literary Fiction)

In this lyrical debut, a poet is undergoing fertility treatments with her husband but also questioning her decision to have a baby in the thick of a bad wildfire season. Her artist ex-girlfriend comes crashing back into her life. As someone getting very into queer ecology, I can’t wait for this one.