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March 31 is International Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV). When I consider this vacation, the phrase “celebration” involves thoughts. Often, life as a transgender particular person is lowered by media depictions to overcoming challenges and struggling. And whereas trans and non-binary individuals do face important challenges and discrimination, TDOV is to me a reminder to acknowledge and recognize the fulfilling lives and contributions transgender individuals and communities have discovered regardless of insistence by others that such issues are unattainable to seek out.
Read on to seek out 22 must-read works of literature by transgender and non-binary authors. I’ve organized the record by age group in addition to fiction and nonfiction to assist readers greatest discover what they’re on the lookout for.
Consider this record a place to begin somewhat than a complete record of notable work by trans and non-binary authors. For extra suggestions, take a look at Book Riot’s LGBTQ archives. There you’ll discover curated lists on quite a lot of queer themes, together with The Best LGBTQ Books of 2022.
Once you’ve discovered new books to seek out at your native library or bookstore, learn this essay on the expansion of transgender illustration in literature. In it, the creator displays on their expertise studying Little Fish by Casey Plett and the way it resonated with them as a author.
YA Fiction by Transgender and Non-Binary Authors
When the Moon was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore
Ever since Miel magically appeared out of a water tower as a baby, she and Sam have been inseparable greatest buddies. Now youngsters, they understand that they’ve fallen in love.
But each are in peril. Miel can develop roses from her wrists, and the Bonner sisters — who many of their city consider to be witches — need to take her flowers for themselves. And Sam, who’s transgender, dangers being outed if he tries to guard her.
Mooncakes by Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker
When teen witch Nova Huang reconnects together with her childhood greatest good friend Tam Lang, she discovers that they’re a werewolf — and they’re in hassle. A darkish magic is focusing on the close by forest, and Nova could be the solely one who can defend Tam and their New England city.
The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester by Maya MacGregor
Autistic non-binary teen Sam and their dad Junius transfer to small-town Oregon after they’re the goal of a hate crime. Amidst making new buddies, Sam quickly learns a couple of decades-old unsolved homicide that occurred of their house and is compelled to resolve it.
Being Emily by Rachel Gold
Emily, a trans teen in Minnesota, has grown up with no helps and the insistence from her therapist, household, and girlfriend that she ought to ignore her gender dysphoria. But when she meets a lady named Natalie and will get a brand new therapist, Emily finds confidence in who she is and was meant to be.
Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
Felix Love is what one would possibly name a hopeless romantic. Although he’s by no means been in love, he hopes to seek out somebody who might love him for who he’s: a Black transgender particular person.
When an nameless particular person at his college begins sending him transphobic messages and leaking photos of him earlier than he transitioned, Felix seeks revenge. Along the way in which, he finds a higher sense of self-acceptance.
YA Nonfiction by Transgender and Non-Binary Authors
Continuum by Chella Man
In his debut memoir, artist Chella Man examines the intersection of his identities as a Deaf, genderqueer, biracial Jewish particular person. He displays on the significance of having the ability to reside authentically with out stress to cover any a part of who he’s.
Growing Up Trans: In Our Own Words, Edited by Lindsay Herriot and Kate Fry
In this anthology of visible artwork, poetry, and private essays, transgender teenagers share their very own ideas and experiences. Included are epiphanies about who they’re, how they really feel in regards to the world they reside in, and what helps and actions from others make them really feel accepted.
Adult Fiction by Transgender and Non-Binary Authors
The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar
An unnamed transgender Syrian-American man navigates following his creative goals whereas caring for his sick grandmother Teta. When he finds the journal of a lacking artist named Laila, who was as soon as a tenant in his residence complicated, he discovers that she as soon as painted the identical uncommon chicken that his late ornithologist mom as soon as fought to avoid wasting.
As he searches for a duplicate of Laila’s portray, he unravels secrets and techniques about his mom’s previous and discovers a reputation for himself.
Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
Shizuka Satomi is the Queen of Hell. Damned for a Faustian deal she made in life, she should persuade seven musicians to promote their souls to earn her freedom.
But her seventh scholar, a transgender runaway named Katrina Nguyen, and the bond she makes with starship captain and donut store proprietor Lan Tran make Shizuka query every little thing she’s been working to perform. What good is life when you can’t spend it with these you care about?
The Subtweet by Vivek Shraya
Despite the variations of their musical careers — with one on the rise and the opposite shedding relevance — Neela Devaki and Rukmini turn out to be shut buddies. Until a single tweet calls the futures of their friendship and careers into query with your complete web watching.
Endpapers by Jennifer Savran Kelly
Set in New York City in the course of the early 2000s, this novel follows genderqueer bookbinder Dawn Levit. After discovering a love letter in a lesbian pulp novel, Dawn units out to seek out the creator and return it to them. Amidst this search, Dawn additionally seeks a greater understanding of her gender id and the methods expectations from her job and her accomplice stifle it.
Little Fish by Casey Plett
After her grandmother passes away, Wendy Reimer is shocked to find that her grandfather could have thought-about himself transgender, if he’d had the phrases and alternatives to discover the disconnect he felt together with his assigned gender in rural Canada. The extra she learns about her grandfather, the extra she contemplates her personal experiences as a transgender girl.
Small Beauty by Jia Qing Wilson-Yang
Grieving the lack of her cousin, Mei strikes into his empty house in small-town Canada. Here, she will be able to’t assist however replicate on the previous — each her cousin’s and her personal — in addition to the household secrets and techniques she uncovers after transferring again.
World Running Down by Al Hess
In post-apocalyptic Utah, transgender salvager Valentine takes harmful missions to earn sufficient cash to achieve citizenship in Salt Lake City. When he meets Osric, an AI steward trapped in an android physique, he accepts a gig with a reward massive sufficient to alter his life — if he survives, and if the particular person behind the gig is telling the reality.
By Way of Sorrow (Erin McCabe #1) by Robyn Gigl
In the primary installment of this authorized thriller sequence written by a real-life lawyer, lawyer Erin McCabe defends Sharise Barnes — a younger trans girl accused of murdering the son of a New Jersey senator. McCabe, who can also be a transgender girl, quickly finds herself within the midst of a political firestorm that threatens her and her shopper’s security.
Adult Nonfiction by Transgender and Non-Binary Authors
Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity by C. Riley Snorton
Historian C. Riley Snorton confronts the erasure of Black transgender individuals from queer U.S. historical past, in addition to the intersection between anti-Black and anti-transgender laws. In analyzing the lives of Black transgender individuals via historic information from the nineteenth century to the current, Snorton hopes for a future the place Black trans individuals can reside in security.
Super Late Bloomer: My Early Days in Transition by Julia Kaye
In a sequence of comics, artist Julia Kaye information the primary months after she begins taking hormone substitute remedy — each the joyful and difficult moments. As she displays on her gender transition, she involves a greater sense of self-acceptance and appreciation for who she has turn out to be.
Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir by Akwaeke Emezi
In their epistolary memoir, Nigerian creator Awaeke Emezi writes a sequence of letters on spirituality, creativity, and gender id. Each chapter is addressed to a distinct particular person, together with buddies, household, colleagues, romantic companions, and inspirations.
Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States by Samantha Allen
GLAAD award-winning journalist Samantha Allen embarks on a highway journey throughout pink states to interview the queer individuals who reside there. Along the way in which, she displays on her experiences rising up transgender in Utah and finds hope within the chosen household LGBTQ communities create within the locations they name house.
Sissy: A Coming-of-Gender Story by Jacob Tobia
Actor and producer Jacob Tobia displays on their youth as a closeted teen in North Carolina the place they had been usually labeled as “sissy” by others and the moments that provided them readability and confidence of their genderqueer id.
Something That May Shock and Discredit You by Daniel M. Lavery
Blending memoir and popular culture commentary, creator and recommendation columnist Daniel M. Lavery’s essay assortment snarkily displays on quite a lot of subjects that curiosity him, from transgender id to The Golden Girls.
Good Boy: My Life in Seven Dogs by Jennifer Finney Boylan
What are life’s milestones if not formed by these now we have beloved? In this memoir, trans activist and New York Times columnist Jennifer Finney Boylan displays on key moments in her life and how the canine she’s adopted each outlined these moments and helped her higher perceive find out how to love others and herself.
Interested in additional e book suggestions? Check out these YA books written by trans and non-binary authors, together with The (Un)standard Vote by Jasper Sanchez.
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