Built on imagination and hope for the future, the Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror genres provide the perfect environment for telling fresh, exciting LGBTQ+ stories. And what could be better than uplifting multiple LGBTQ+ authors at once? Anthologies offer the chance to do just that, combining several stories into one collection built around a common theme. Add a little rainbow to your TBR with these extraordinary anthologies of LGBTQ+ stories. Ranging from the sweetest of fairy tales to the spookiest of ghost stories, read on to dive into this list of fantastical tales.
Xenocultivars: Stories of Queer Growth by Isabela Oliveira and Jed Sabin
This diverse collection of stories centers around the theme of queer growth, featuring stories like that of a Trans girl and her pet aloe, an artist conjuring up a flower spirit, and more. The LGBTQ+ community knows a little something about growth — growing up feeling alienated, growing into their own identities, and growing in a different direction than expected of them — and Xenocultivars highlights that with words from diverse authors.
Being Ace: An Anthology of Queer, Trans, Femme, and Disabled Stories of Asexual Love and Connection by Madeline Dyer
This anthology highlights identities across the asexual spectrum through tales of romance and adventure. Full of mermaids, graveyards, water spirits, and beyond, this collection threads together Sci-fi, Fantasy, and Contemporary stories. The theme at its purple heart? Asexuality is an infinite, magical spectrum!
We Mostly Come Out at Night: 15 Queer Tales of Monsters, Angels & Other Creatures by Rob Costello
This YA anthology represents the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community with fifteen stories from trans and queer authors. With each story centering a familiar or all-new monster or creature — werewolves, sirens, and Mothman included — fans of the spooky and the strange will rejoice. In equal parts, a celebration of queerness and cryptids, this anthology is perfect for YA readers hoping to spook thems(h)elves!
Other Ever Afters: New Queer Fairy Tales (a Graphic Novel) by Melanie Gillman
Unlike the other anthologies on this list, Other Ever Afters is a collection of new fairy tales all from one Stonewall Honor-winning author and artist — and it’s a graphic novel! Gillman sets out to rewrite the endings for many favorite fairy tale characters forgotten or sidelined throughout literary history. You can expect to find all manner of queer, feminist tales in this delightful anthology, including but not limited to the princesses, knights, and giants from once upon a time.
We’re Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2021 by L.D. Lewis and Charles Payseur
Spanning the rainbow of LGBTQ+ identities and genres — from Sci-fi and Fantasy to Horror and beyond — We’re Here rounds up sixteen extraordinary and epic shorts for your enjoyment. With a mission to amplify queer author voices, this collection promises queer shape shifters, magic onions, and more.
Night of the Living Queers: 13 Tales of Terror & Delight by Shelly Page and Alex Brown
A YA anthology hellbent on reviving and diversifying horror tropes and tales, Night of the Living Queers features stories from beloved authors such as Kaylynn Bayron, Kosoko Jackson, and Trang Thanh Tran. Each story follows a BIPOC teen protagonist on Halloween night, and readers will find themselves asking, what fresh, queer hell is this?
This Pride Month and always, amplify LGBTQ+ voices and stories by adding these anthologies to your TBR! Which one caught your eye?
For 5 AAPI Sci-Fi Books to add to your TBR, click here.
To browse these anthologies and other LGBTQ+ reads, click here.
