Pride Month is not the only time you should be reading books centering LGBTQ+ identities.  Especially in a time where the books being banned often center queer and trans identities, one of the ways to counter this homophobic and transphobic rhetoric is to make these LGBTQ+ books accessible to readers everywhere. These books help people feel seen and help us build empathy and expand our minds. It’s time to celebrate Pride year-round, as we read about queer characters falling in love, discovering new aspects of their identity, and just embracing joy. Whether it’s a contemporary or fantasy ..read more

Realizing that you may be queer is such a deeply personal experience, and one that can sometimes be confusing or challenging–especially if you’ve never seen yourself represented in the world. Luckily, these days there are many books, movies, and TV shows with queer characters, but we still have such a long way to go to reach equal (and positive!) representation in media. After discovering who you are, choosing to come out as queer is another deeply personal choice—yet also, in its nature, a very public thing. It may be scary or unsafe (if so, please visit The Trevor Project or a similar organ ..read more

When it comes to the historical fiction genre, there is something remarkably compelling and comforting about exploring those stories through a queer lens. Whether set in the 1800s, the 1950s, or even 1999 (are the late 90’s truly considered historical fiction now? *sigh*), it’s always lovely to see stories with LGBTQ+ representation and fleshed-out characters that we can relate to. Despite the fact that issues like homophobia, racism, and, sexism tend to be more prevalent the farther back we go in history, queer people have always existed. Stories like these are all the more important for tha ..read more

LGBTQ+ themes (and queer creators) have always been present in horror. Think of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818), Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897), and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890). The genre has long provided writers the space to share LGBTQ+ stories at times when they weren’t allowed the freedom to—by thinly veiling themes as monsters in the shadows, these are stories in which members of the queer community can see themselves in. Perhaps Harry Benshoff explains it best in his book Monsters in the Closet: Homosexuality and the Horror Film, “While straight participants in suc ..read more

Pride Month is over, but that’s no reason to stop celebrating LGBTQIAP+ books, authors, and stories! We love when queer characters grace the pages of everything from contemporary, fantasy, historical, and everything in between–and we love it even more when they’re the star of the show. In order to keep Pride going day after day, month after month, we’ve compiled a list of LGBT books you can preorder right now. Which are you going to pick up? Take a look and let us know!   25 Queer Books to Preorder ADD THESE TO YOUR TBR   1. Stars, Hide Your Fires by Jessica Mary Best A wanted thi ..read more

Happy Epic Pride! We celebrate Pride all year long here at Epic Reads, and June is an especially important time. We’ve shared a ton of LGBTQ+ book recommendations for your 2022 reading lists, some YA books specifically celebrating bisexual characters, books with trans and non-binary characters, and ways to support LGBTQ+ owned bookstores all year. And today, we want to talk about an important topic often overlooked during the month: the history and influence of Black, indigenous, and other people of color on queer liberation and Pride. In June 1969, an anti-LGBTQ+ police raid at The Stonewall ..read more

I’m begging Hollywood to let the sapphics smile https://t.co/2X51Gg56qq — Leah Johnson (@byleahjohnson) August 25, 2020 Look, we get it. Sometimes, you want a hard-hitting, gut-wrenching story. Sometimes you want to feel ALL the feelings, including sadness. But when it gets to the point where it seems like that’s all that’s out there for LGBTQ+ folks, especially for WLW—that’s not our joy. If Hollywood won’t deliver, we certainly will! We’ve rounded up some of our favorite joyful* (*read: non-depressing, no-bury-your-gays-here) YA books about queer women. Full of laughs, love, and some ..read more

There are few things we love more than a good fantasy or sci-fi book with positive LGBTQ+ representation. It’s a combination we simply can’t get enough of. Everyone deserves to see themselves represented on the page, which is why we love these genre books with LGBT characters and romances. Readers who identify as queer haven’t always had the same level of representation in popular books, but the stories in the list below are some we CAN’T GET OVER. Searching for fantasy or sci-fi books with queer characters? In the mood for fabulous LGBTQ+ romances? These books are just the tip of the iceberg ..read more

Whether you’re reading this during Pride Month, Bisexual Awareness Day, or any damn day of the week, we’re talking bi pride and bisexual representation. The B in LGBTQIAP+ doesn’t stand for “bees,” thank you very much! While there are many jokes that bisexual people tell about themselves that are hilarious, bisexuality is (still, in the year 2023!) an oft-mocked, misunderstood, and maligned identity. Truly, imagine being biphobic? Couldn’t be us. So, in honor of of bisexuality, we’re bringing you some of our favorite YA books with bisexual characters that you should read now and all year ..read more

If you’re an avid reader, it can be difficult to feel like you’re not represented (or represented well) in the broad selection of books available in the YA genre. For those in the LGBTQIA+ community, books containing well-written, full of depth characters and storylines have seen an emergence that, while still has a ways to go, is also worth celebrating. It’s encouraging, then, to see more books include characters that identify as asexual (people who do not experience sexual attraction) and aromantic (people who do not experience romantic attraction). Additionally, more stories are acknowledg ..read more