Collection: Shop Queer

*A Zibby's Most Anticipated Book of 2023*
*A "Next Big Idea Club" Must-Read Book for January*
*An Essence "Books by Black Authors to Read This Winter" Pick?*
*An Ebony Entertainment "Required Reading" Book for January*
*A Lambda Literary "Most Anticipated LGBTQIA+ Literature" for January*
*A Southern Review of Books Best Book of January*

A piercing collection of essays on racial tension in America and the ongoing fight for visibility, change, and lasting hope

"There are stories that must be told."

Acclaimed novelist and scholar Daniel Black has spent a career writing into the unspoken, fleshing out, through storytelling, pain that can't be described.

Now, in his debut essay collection, Black gives voice to the experiences of those who often find themselves on the margins. Tackling topics ranging from police brutality to the AIDS crisis to the role of HBCUs to queer representation in the black church, Black on Black celebrates the resilience, fortitude, and survival of black people in a land where their body is always on display.

As Daniel Black reminds us, while hope may be slow in coming, it always arrives, and when it does, it delivers beyond the imagination. Propulsive, intimate, and achingly relevant, Black on Black is cultural criticism at its openhearted best.

Fate does not choose the weak. Fate chooses the ready.

Illustros is a cursed realm ruled by the ruthless Gods of Fate, and no one understands the Fates' wrath more than Calliope Rosewood. Blessed with unspeakable powers that terrify even the most dangerous witches and fae, Calla hides her forbidden magic in shame and fear that one wrong touch could send her to her death. With only her two best friends in tow, Calla deserted her coven and has been on the run ever since.

Worse, Calla is concealing an even darker secret: fate has chosen her as the final prophesied Blood Warrior, the being destined to start the Fates' War, which will decimate her people and eradicate their magic.

After a betrayal from her infuriating ex Ezra leads her one step closer to fulfilling that age-old prophecy, Calla is desperate to do whatever it takes to reset her fate. So when a mysterious and charming witch offers to help Calla do just that, she immediately agrees to his plan. Only catch? That plan includes journeying into the deadly Neverending Forest with Ezra and said witch, who just so happens to be Ezra's tempting older brother. Torn between her past desires and alluring new possibilities, Calla brings along her best friends to fight what lies ahead.

As the group ventures into the enchanted woods together, they'll all soon learn that choosing your destiny comes with dire consequences . . . and the Fates are not to be tested. Calla believes the Fates have it out for her, while others believe they have chosen her for a reason. But in the end, Calla will have to fight to forge her own destiny and decide if the risk of choosing herself is worth the possibility of damning everyone else.

"A joyous tribute to LGBTQ families." --Publishers Weekly

A must-have primer for young readers and a great gift for pride events and throughout the year, beautiful colors all together make a rainbow in Rainbow: A First Book of Pride.

This is a sweet ode to rainbow families, and an affirming display of a parent's love for their child and a child's love for their parents. With bright colors and joyful families, this book celebrates LGBTQ+ pride and reveals the colorful meaning behind each rainbow stripe in a simple and engaging format for young readers. Readers will celebrate the life, healing, light, nature, harmony, and spirit that the rainbows in this book will bring.

"A single-celled organism doesn't toil. It doesn't stare at the ceiling and cry. It doesn't have ill-fitting clothes. It doesn't do anything, that's the whole point. It just is."

Sydney and Laurelie are best friends searching for the contentment of oblivion. Failing that, they'd like to be adored. Laurelie, by their caustic boyfriend Trip, and Sydney by Laurelie. On a typical night partying in the woods, Sydney grows frustrated with their unrequited obsession for Laurelie, and asks for a wish to be granted by the curious cosmic creature Starman. Not only will Laurelie love Sydney, but Laurelie will be dependent on them -- will need to be saved by them. When the wish becomes deadly serious, Sydney and Trip will be forced to figure out how to save Laurelie for real, or risk losing the person most important to them both.

A beautifully illustrated graphic novel about sickness, ennui, romance, and finding meaning in one's own self.

An interracial friendship between two teenaged girls goes tragically wrong in this powerful historical novel set in the Jim Crow South.

For Lamb follows a family striving to better their lives in the late 1930s Jackson, Mississippi. Lamb's mother is a hard-working, creative seamstress who cannot reveal she is a lesbian. Lamb's brother has a brilliant mind and has even earned a college scholarship for a black college up north-- if only he could curb his impulsiveness and rebellious nature.

Lamb herself is a quiet and studious girl. She is also naive. As she tentatively accepts the friendly overtures of a white girl who loans her a book she loves, she sets a off a calamitous series of events that pulls in her mother, charming hustler uncle, estranged father, and brother, and ends in a lynching.

Told with nuance and subtlety, avoiding sensationalism and unnecessary brutality, this young adult novel from celebrated author Lesa Cline-Ransome pays homage to the female victims of white supremacy.

A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year
A Horn Book Fanfare Book
A Booklist Editors' Choice
A CSMCL Best Multicultural Children's Book of the Year
A BookPage Best Young Adult Book of the Year
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

It's too late for a Sweet Sixteen, but what if Mahalia had a coming-out party? A love letter to romantic comedies, sweet sixteen blowouts, Black joy, and queer pride.

"A perfect ode to romantic comedies, wrapped in a dazzling rainbow dress." --Rachael Lippincott, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Five Feet Apart and She Gets the Girl

Mahalia Harris wants.

She wants a big Sweet Sixteen like her best friend, Naomi.
She wants the super-cute new girl Siobhan to like her back.
She wants a break from worrying--about money, snide remarks from white classmates, pitying looks from church ladies . . . all of it.

Then inspiration strikes: It's too late for a Sweet Sixteen, but what if she had a coming-out party? A singing, dancing, rainbow-cake-eating celebration of queerness on her own terms.

The idea lights a fire beneath her, and soon Mahalia is scrimping and saving, taking on extra hours at her afterschool job, trying on dresses, and awkwardly flirting with Siobhan, all in preparation for the coming out of her dreams. But it's not long before she's buried in a mountain of bills, unfinished schoolwork, and enough drama to make her English lit teacher blush. With all the responsibility on her shoulders, will Mahalia's party be over before it's even begun?

A novel about finding yourself, falling in love, and celebrating what makes you you.

"Mahalia's story lives, breathes and glows. I'm in love with it every day of the week!" --Becky Albertalli, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homosapiens Agenda

Meet Ezzy, an adventurous child dealing with emotions that have begun to feel like monsters. Can Ezzy use mindfulness to make peace with those feelings? Find out in "Be Mindful of Monsters," a brand new early reader by registered play therapist Lauren Stockly.

"Be Mindful of Monsters" follows Ezzy on an important journey toward accepting uncomfortable emotions. Written to help children understand and cope with powerful feelings, the book pairs therapeutic purpose with a compelling story and beautiful illustrations that demonstrate how mindfulness can be an essential tool for emotional acceptance. With universal themes, diverse characters and a gender-neutral protagonist, "Be Mindful of Monsters" can resonate with any child, regardless of their specific circumstances.

Ezzy's story is designed to meet a wide range of needs, from reading for fun to targeted therapy, and is crafted to spark dialogue between children and their caregivers. While the importance of accepting uncomfortable emotions rather than pushing them away can be very challenging for kids, "Be Mindful of Monsters" shows rather than tells, providing readers with vivid metaphors of how emotions work in the brain.

In addition to its therapeutic narrative, "Be Mindful of Monsters," includes beautiful illustrations by celebrated artist Ellen Surrey, the creator of several books whose work has also been featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker and The Wall Street Journal. The story's visual elements are influenced by the drawings of real kids.

Be sure to check out "Mindful Monsters," an accompanying workbook full of fun and unique interventions that are designed to bring home the lessons of the book. Both books are sure to be welcome additions to any child or therapist's library.

Bestselling and Goodreads Choice Award-winning author Trista Mateer returns with another mythical approach to self-care in her newest poetry collection, Persephone Made Me Do It.

Following her previous work in this series, Mateer weaves together mythology, tarot, poetry, and conversation to reveal a new side of a very old story. Alternating between the perspectives of poet and goddess, Persephone's lore is explored, related to modern issues, and ultimately reclaimed.

"You want to talk about duality? You want to talk about love? Let us speak instead of chaos."

In this new collection of art and feminist verse from Trista Mateer, Persephone might have flowers in her hair--but she is out for blood.

"Honest, vulnerable, delightful and disturbing." -David Hayward, NakedPastor

If you doubt and you're angry, if you're confused and hurting, if Sundays feel weird and you want something more, this book is for you.

As millions exit the church due to its politics and treatment of LGBTQ people, Brandon Flanery brings us Stumbling: A Sassy Memoir about Coming Out of Evangelicalism, an LGBTQ memoir that gives us a glimpse into why he and others are leaving and to show us the hope he's found on the other side.

Flanery drank deep of the evangelical waters: growing up in a megachurch, working as a missionary and pastor, all while wearing a purity ring and Relient K t-shirt. Flanery gave his life to the church, but everything changed once he came out. Using moving and candid anecdotes, Flanery shares stories of hitchhiking and sex, betrayal and forgiveness, despair and hope, all with a sarcastic-yet-sincere humor that brings refreshing levity to pain.

Stumbling is a story of rediscovery and forging oneself after Christian deconstruction, inviting you to find your own way, a way that's absolutely not perfect but definitely good. Happy stumbling.

Paris Review Staff Pick

A Book Riot Must-Read Poetry Collection

Soft Science explores queer, Asian American femininity. A series of Turing Test-inspired poems grounds its exploration of questions not just of identity, but of consciousness--how to be tender and feeling and still survive a violent world filled with artificial intelligence and automation. We are dropped straight into the tangled intersections of technology, violence, erasure, agency, gender, and loneliness.

"Choi creates an exhilarating matrix of poetry, science, and technology." --Publishers Weekly

"Franny Choi combines technology and poetry to stunning effect." -BUSTLE

"...these beautiful, fractal-like poems are meditations on identity and autonomy and offer consciousness-expanding forays into topics like violence and gender, love and isolation." -NYLON

A witchy, atmospheric lesbian contemporary romance set in Salem--from the acclaimed author of Fans of the Impossible Life. Perfect for fans of Nina LaCour and Becky Albertalli.

Seventeen-year-old Eleanor is the last person in Salem to believe in witchcraft--or to think that her life could be transformed by mysterious forces. After losing her best friend and first love, Chloe, Eleanor has spent the past year in a haze, vowing to stay away from anything resembling romance.

But when a handwritten guide to tarot arrives in the mail at the witchy souvenir store where Eleanor works, it seems to bring with it the message that magic is about to enter her life. Cynical Eleanor is quick to dismiss this promise, until real-life witch Pix shows up with an unusual invitation. Inspired by the magic and mystery of the tarot, Eleanor decides to open herself up to Pix and her coven of witches, and even to the possibility of a new romance.

But Eleanor's complicated history continues to haunt her. She will have to reckon with the old ghosts that threaten to destroy everything, even her chance at new love.

Improbable Magic for Cynical Witches is an atmospheric and romantic coming-of-age about learning to make peace with the past in order to accept the beauty of the present.

Eighteen-year-old Rory Quinn-Morelli doesn't want to die; she wants refuge from reality for even a minute: the reality where she survived the car crash eight months ago, and her best friend, Liv, didn't. Yet her exasperating mother won't believe the Xanax incident was an accident, and her therapist is making it increasingly hard to maintain the detached, impenetrable "cold girl" façade she adopted from Liv. After she unintentionally reconnects with Liv's parents, Rory must decide: will she keep Liv's and her secrets inside, or will she finally allow herself to break? And if she breaks, what will she unearth amid the pieces?

In defiance of the brutal military government that took power in Uruguay in the 1970s, and under which homosexuality is a dangerous transgression, five women miraculously find one another--and, together, an isolated cape that they claim as their own.

Over the next thirty-five years, they travel back and forth from this secret sanctuary, sometimes together, sometimes in pairs, with lovers in tow or alone. Throughout it all, they will be tested repeatedly--by their families, lovers, society, and one another--as they fight to live authentic lives.

A groundbreaking, genre-defining work, Cantoras is a breathtaking portrait of queer love, community, forgotten history, and the strength of the human spirit.

A teen finds himself in a race against time when he learns he's given away more years than he has left to live in this thought-provoking speculative romp.

It's been one year since Hazeem's father passed away unexpectedly, and one year since Hazeem got his special ability: He can grant any living thing extra time. Since then, he's been randomly granting people more years to live: his old friend Holly, his study buddy Yamany, his crush Jack. . . . The only problem is, none of them wanted to spend any of that time with Hazeem.

Now, Hazeem spends most of his days with his grandmother. When she experiences a heart attack, Hazeem is quick to use his power to save her--until Time themself appears and tells Hazeem he has accrued a time debt, having given away more life than he has left to live and putting the entire timeline in serious danger of collapse. In order to save the timeline and himself, Hazeem must take back some of the life he has granted other people. Suddenly, Hazeem is on a journey through and against time, but as he confronts the events of the past, he must confront the mistakes he made along the way. Hazeem will come to realize that when it comes to time, quality is more important to quantity--but is it too late to reclaim the life he's given away so he can really start living?

No Time Like Now is timely twist on A Christmas Carol that takes readers on a thought-provoking adventure, asking what matters most in life.

Brian and Ezra's story continues in the moving sequel to Thanks a Lot, Universe, which New York Times bestselling author Nic Stone called "a glorious ode to the beauty of preteen friendship."

Brian knows that anxiety and depression aren't things that are magically fixed overnight, but he still doesn't understand why it's all hitting him so hard right now. Sure, his dad is still in prison and middle school is still stressful, but he's seeing a therapist, he's got good friends, and he's doing really well on the basketball team. He should be fine, so why does he feel too tired to get out of bed some days? And why does he turn into "Cursed Monster Brian" and snap whenever someone asks him what's wrong?

Ezra is trying his best to look out for Brian, but he's not sure that he's actually helping. Sure, they're still best friends, but as Ezra starts preparing for the talent show, he also starts talking with Victor--the kid who relentlessly bullied Brian last year. It seems like Victor's changed, and whenever he and Ezra hang out and make music together, Ezra's stomach feels a little bit swoopy. But even if he likes making music and talking with Victor, he still feels like he's betraying his best friend whenever they're together. And he worries that he's falling for another boy who won't return his feelings . . .

Earnest, heartfelt, and full of humor, Chad Lucas's You Owe Me One, Universe explores the nuances and complications of middle school relationships--and shows how sometimes the smallest acts of caring can be the ones that matter most.

"A gorgeously kind, wonderfully gentle, and unfailingly compassionate depiction of OCD...bursting with light."
-- Ashley Woodfolk, critically acclaimed author of NOTHING BURNS AS BRIGHT AS YOU

Exploring the harsh reality of OCD and violent intrusive thoughts in stunning, lyrical writing, this novel-in-verse conjures a haunting yet hopeful portrait of a girl on the edge. From the author of Dear Medusa, which New York Times bestselling author Samira Ahmed called "a fierce and brightly burning feminist roar."

Ariel is afraid of her own mind. She already feels like she is too big, too queer, too rough to live up to her parents' exacting expectations, or to fit into what the world expects of a "good girl." And as violent fantasies she can't control take over every aspect of her life, she is convinced something much deeper is wrong with her. Ever since her older sister escaped to college, Ariel isn't sure if her careful rituals and practiced distance will be enough to keep those around her safe anymore.

Then a summer job at a carnival brings new friends into Ariel's fractured world, and she finds herself questioning her desire to keep everyone out--of her head and her heart. But if they knew what she was really thinking, they would run in the other direction--right? Instead, with help and support, Ariel discovers a future where she can be at home in her mind and body, and for the first time learns there's a name for what she struggles with--Obsessive Compulsive Disorder--and that she's not broken, and not alone.