To honor Pride month, stack your to-read list with these standout works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry by LGBTQ+ authors who have ties to California. From a biography of the first openly gay politician in the country to a nonbinary archivist and from a retelling of the Cupid-Psyche myth to a Hollywood fixer, these are books we think you’ll love any time of year.
BEINGS, BY ILANA MASAD
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THE PALACE OF EROS, BY CARO DE ROBERTIS
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GAY BAR: WHY WE WENT OUT, BY JEREMY ATHERTON LIN
THE NATURAL ORDER OF THINGS, BY DONIKA KELLY
THE FUTURE OF ANOTHER TIMELINE, BY ANNALEE NEWITZ
ALL THE BIRDS IN THE SKY, BY CHARLIE JANE ANDERS
NATURE POEM, BY TOMMY PICO
HARVEY MILK: HIS LIVES AND DEATH, BY LILLIAN FADERMAN
VILLA COCO, BY ANDREW SEAN GREER
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THERE’S ONLY ONE SIN IN HOLLYWOOD, BY RASHEED NEWSON
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GODS OF WANT: STORIES, BY K-MING CHANG
CREEP: ACCUSATIONS AND CONFESSIONS, BY MYRIAM GURBA
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VALENCIA, BY MICHELLE TEA
A TINY UPWARD SHOVE, BY MELISSA CHADBURN
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100 BOYFRIENDS, BY BRONTEZ PURNELL
YR DEAD, BY SAM SAX
ARE YOU HAPPY?, BY LORI OSTLUND
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MARRIAGE TO THE SEA: LINKED NOVELLAS, BY SARAH STONE
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Anita Felicelli is Alta Journal ’s books editor and the author of How We Know Our Time Travelers, Chimerica, and Love Songs for a Lost Continent.
