In March, I put together a list of sapphic books by trans and nonbinary authors for the Trans Rights Readathon, but we don't need a readathon to read trans books!
For each of these, I tried to verify that the author publicly identifies as trans or nonbinary, but if I've made a mistake, please let me know and I'll edit the post! I'm also using the broadest definition of sapphic in order to talk about as many books as possible, but if you're an author who would rather their books aren't categorized that way, let me know and I'll remove it.
Some of these have trans main characters, some don't, but all of them are by trans or nonbinary authors. Most of them have Lesbrary reviews linked, because so many of our favourite sapphic book are by trans authors!
Fiction:
by Imogen Binnie ( review): one of my favourite books, following a trans lesbian who steals her ex-girlfriend's car and goes on a road trip. It's introspective, sarcastic, and unforgettable-and it recently got republished!
Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg ( review): It's hard to overstate the important of Leslie Feinberg's work in queer and trans literary history. You can download this for free on hir website.
The Collection: Short Fiction from the Transgender Vanguard edited by Tom Léger ( review): this is a great way to be introduced to a bunch of trans authors, and it includes several F/F stories.
A Dream of a Woman: Stories ( review) and A Safe Girl to Love ( review) by Casey Plett: beautiful literary short stories, most with sapphic trans women main characters.
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters: this won the PEN/Hemingway Award along with many other honours and became an instant classic of trans literature.
Romance:
Chef's Kiss by TJ Alexander: an F/NB romance with a foodie element.
Who We Could Be ( review) and many more by Chelsea Cameron: this is a grown up Anne of Green Gables-inspired romance (between Anne and Diana, obviously), but Chelsea Cameron writes lots of "tropetastic sapphic romances"!
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Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror:
Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson: a fantasy trilogy following witches who fight the patriarchy and also fight TERFs.
Unwieldy Creatures by Addie Brook Tsai: "a biracial, queer, nonbinary retelling of Mary Shelley's classic novel Frankenstein."
Graphic Novels:
I Was Kidnapped By Lesbian Pirates From Outer Space!!! by Rosalarian, writing as Megan Rose Gedris: I'm linking a pirate website (appropriately) because the rights to this comic were essentially stolen from the author and it's no longer available legitimately, sadly.
Young Adult:
The Never Tilting World by Rin Chupeco: a sapphic YA fantasy dulogy pitched as Frozen meets Mad Max.
Dreadnought ( review) and ( review) by April Daniels: a trans lesbian YA superhero story-but do be prepared for a lot of transphobia included in the story.
A Dark and Hollow Star by Ashley Shuttleworth: an urban YA fae fantasy with four queer teen main characters.
YA Graphic Novels:
Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms by Crystal Frasier, illustrated by Val Wise: an F/F YA graphic novel about two cheerleaders, one a trans girl.
YU+ME: dream by Rosalarian, writing as Megan Rose Gedris: this began as a webcomic in 2004 and ended in 2010, and there are some very big changes that happen in between. It's a teenage love story-that then turns fantastical and experimental.
The Avant-Guards, Vol. 1 by Carly Usdin and Noah Haye: the adventures of a ragtag college basketball team.
Heavy Vinyl, Vol. 1 by Carly Usdin and Nina Vakueva ( review): it's like Fight Club, but teenagers at a record store.
Middle Grade:
Ellen Outside the Lines by A.J. Sass: a sapphic middle grade contemporary with an autistic main character and nonbinary side character.
Lumberjanes series by N.D. Stevenson ( review): a fun and silly fantasy graphic novel set at a summer camp, with several queer characters and trans characters.
Nonfiction:
Tomboy Survival Guide by Ivan Coyote ( review) and Gender Failure by Ivan Coyote and Rae Spoon ( review): you should read everything Ivan Coyote writes, for beautiful thoughts about gender, love, and being a human in the world.
How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler: one of my favourite reads of last year! It beautifully weaves together Imbler's memoir, including being Asian and nonbinary in the U.S., with science writing. I can't recommend this highly enough.
This isn't a complete list! Let me know in the comments which books I've missed that have sapphic content and trans/nonbinary authors.
