Belonging to the Air is an exceptional and unique novel, rich in texture and filled with beauty and emotion. Its profound emotional landscape will resonate with readers for generations to come. It is destined to become a classic.

--Crystal Wilkinson, author of Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts and editor of the Screen Door Press imprint

The historical fiction lesbian and queer women need urgently today. Bird's matriarchal family, rooted in its namesake Illinois town, Bennettsville, provides her the roots for belonging and the wings for air. This multigenerational queer story is vivid and compelling from the very first page.

--Julie R. Enszer, editor and publisher of Sinister Wisdom

Avery Irons's sexy and gripping historical fiction debut unapologetically elevates the strength and brilliance of Black queer women throughout history--women who faced hatred and death to prevail, create community, and ultimately, belong to the air. Irons urges us all to be as brave, true, and full of love and healing as our heroines.

--R. Erica Doyle, author of proxy, winner of the Poetry Society of America's 2014 Norma Farber First Book Award

With her confident prose and surefooted narration, Avery Irons brings us Honest "Bird" Bennet's memorable journey toward independence, love, and acceptance. I savored Bird's every step: her triumphs, her setbacks, her heartbreak; her tenacious determination to survive and find peace despite a world equally determined to deny her identity and her truth. Bird is a revelation, and so is this wonderful novel. Belonging to the Air is an absolute knockout!

--David Haynes, author of Martha's Daughter: A Novella and Stories

Where queer Black women's stories from a century ago remain largely untold, Avery Irons is filling the void . . . . This isn't just another historical novel. It's an act of preservation, a defiant reclamation of joy in the face of erasure, and a love letter to the queer Black ancestors whose stories were never allowed to be told.

-- "Rolling Out"

A Black girl comes of age, refining her conceptions of love and family, in Avery Irons's incandescent historical novel set amid the Great Migration. . . . A lovely bildungsroman, Belonging to the Air is about family, community bonds, forgiveness, and love.

-- "Foreword Reviews"

Publisher: Screen Door Press

Pub date: 2026-02-03

Length: 296 pages