The best books by queer POC authors to read right now
IMAGE VIA @READMYBLURB/INSTAGRAM
WORDS BY IZZY WIGHT
Books at the intersection of race, gender, sexuality and mental health.
While this year’s Pride may have just ended, now is the perfect time to continue the momentum of queer celebration. To do this, we should be looking to the plethora of LGBTQIA literature from Australia and beyond. We’re so lucky to have an accessible selection of graphic novels, essay anthologies and memoirs from talented queer POC authors. And if you don’t know where to start in your post-Pride month education, the duo behind Amplify Bookstore can steer you in the right direction.
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Created with a dream to “diversify your bookshelf”, Amplify Bookstore is run by two WOC, Marina and Xuan. Together, the duo has curated a collection of books that champion POC stories and the history behind them. In honour of Pride, Marina and Xuan have selected seven of their favourite books by queer POC authors. Read on for their recommendations.
The Fat Lady Sings by Jacqueline Roy
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The Fat Lady Sings follows two patients in a psychiatric unit, drawn to each other by a mutual sense of hope for the future. This book explores intersections of race, gender, mental health and sexuality. Its author, Jaqueline Roy, is a Jamaica-born, London-raised former English lecturer and postcolonial literature and creative writing professor. These themes greatly inform her work, and this book has been described as “groundbreaking”.
Get it here.
Love After Love by Ingrid Persaud
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Born in Trinidad, Ingrid Persaud won the Commonwealth Short Story Prize in 2017 and the BBC Short Story Award in 2018. Love After Love is her highly-anticipated debut novel. Set in Trinidad and Tobago, this “brave and brilliant” book follows the life of Betty Ramdin, her son Solo and their lodger, Mr Chetan. As Claire Adam, the author of Golden Child says, “This book teems with real, Trinidadian life: neighbours so nosy they know your business before it happens; descriptions of food that’ll have you googling recipes; feting and liming and plenty of sex”.
Get it here.
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
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This is the first Australian novel to be nominated for a Hugo, an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. “[This is by a] Melbourne-based genderqueer author and went TikTok viral for generally being very gay,” the Marina explains. Parker-Chan’s debut historical fantasy novel She Who Became the Sun was a number-one Sunday Times bestseller and has been translated into 12 languages.
Set in a science-fiction alternate China, She Who Became the Sun is described as “Mulan meets The Song of Achilles”. The story is a reimagining of history, following the rags-to-riches rise of the Ming Dynasty’s founding emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang. It’s about love, loss, gender roles and queer romance.
Get it here.
Against Disappearance edited by Leah Jing McIntosh and Adolfo Aranjuez
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“This is one of the best essay collections I have ever read,” Marina explains. “With experimental forms and a range of voices and experiences, the essays it contains expand and explode what we know as ‘the archive’ and our place in it. Against Disappearance is one to take your time with and savour every moment.” The anthology, edited by Leah Jing McIntosh (the founding editor of Liminal Magazine) and Adolfo Aranjuez, champions First Nations writers and writers of colour as they bend and shift the boundaries of tradition, politics and place.
Get it here.
A History of my Brief Body by Billy-Ray Belcourt
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Another collection of essays, A History of my Brief Body is a personal anthology by First Nations Canadian writer, Billy-Ray Belcourt. It draws on his experiences growing up in the hamlet of Joussard, Alberta, and on the Driftpile First Nation. It’s about violence and the joy that can prevail over it; a story of memory, anger and love.
Get it here.
Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel
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According to the Xuan, Kaikeyi is “a feminist fantasy retelling of the Ramayana, [with] an asexual main character”. It tells the story of Kaikeyi, who is the only daughter of the kingdom of Kekaya. She is told her worth lies in the marriage alliance she can secure, but Kaikeyi is desperate for independence. So how far will she go? As author Rebecca Kuang says, Kaikeyi is “Mythic retelling at its best”.
Get it here.
Our Work is Everywhere by Syan Rose
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If you’re into graphic non-fiction and vibrant visuals, Our Work is Everywhere is the queer text for you. Created by illustrator and curator Syan Rose, this book depicts a diverse history of queer and trans resistance. The themes covered include Black femme mental health, Pacific Islander authorship, fat queer performance art, disability and health care practice and sex worker activism (to name a few).
Get it here.
Browse the Amplify Bookstore collection here.
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