July is the month of Norwich Pride, and to mark the occasion, the NCW team have compiled a list of our favourite LGBTQ+ reads to help you celebrate queer literature all year long. With everything from gentle science-fiction to vibrant romantic comedies, this pride reading list spans genres, decades, and identities, with each recommendation honouring LGBTQ+ voices and experiences.

Vicki, our Programme Officer, recommends Mongrel by Hanako Footman.  

Set between Japan and London, this book explores identity and heritage, love and lust, trust and grief. I loved the totally luscious language and the way the stories of Mei, Yuki, and Haruka are interwoven. I listened to the audio version of this novel, which is narrated by the author and really added an extra dimension to the writing. A word of warning, though, this book does tackle difficult subjects including the loss of a parent, sexual assault and violence, and racism. 

Katie, our Heritage Engagement Coordinator, recommends Nightwood by Djuna Barnes.

 The novel is a beautifully written and exquisitely dressed trip through queer Paris in the 1920s by one of the greatest Modernist authors. Barnes’ creates queer characters which are at once inspiring, tragic and filled with depth and complexity, and weaves a story through the highs and lows of a community which was both a secret society and absolutely living out their lives and desires in plain sight. Bewitching! 

Steph, our Senior Communications & Marketing Manager recommends Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield.

Our Wives Under Sea sits at a strange and fantastical intersection between romance, fairytale, and horror. I loved following the painfully tender journey of Miri and Leah’s relationship after Leah returns from deep-sea mission and undergoes a radical transformation. As a reading experience it is tense, eerie, and sad, but ultimately very rewarding. Armfield always writes so beautifully! 

Annie, our Emerging Translator Mentorships Programme Manager, recommends Experienced by Kate Young.

I’ve just finished Kate Young’s debut novel, a joyful and satisfying romp of a romcom, following Bette as she goes on a (reluctant) dating odyssey, trying to catch up on the decade of dating experiences she missed before she came out. This might be the first romance I’ve read where the characters’ hang-ups actually felt relatable: it’s less ‘oh no! I haven’t had a date in a whole 6 months! the horrors!’ and more ‘how do we actually muddle through this? How do you tell someone what you want, or what you think you might want, or that you don’t know what you want?’ And yet for all this, it is fun and flirty and, quite honestly, hot. 

Christina, our Events Manager, recommends A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers.  

This is a gentle sci-fi novel set aboard the Wayfarer, a hyper-space tunnelling ship. Rosemary Harper, a Mars-born Human, joins Wayfarer’s diverse crew as a clerk, and gets more than she bargained for as the embark on a perilous secret mission – the long way round. 

This beautifully written, unique novel quietly explores its ensemble cast of characters and their relationships, in a classic story of found family that will resonate with many. Plus, it’s the first in a series, so readers can further explore the stories of the Wayfarers and the Galactic Commons Universe when they inevitably want more of this book. 

Ruby, our Communications & Participation Assistant, recommends Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson.

This is a really fun modern, urban fantasy book by trans author Juno Dawson. The book follows an underground UK-based coven, preparing for the attack of the demon Leviathan, the prophecy of the Sullied Child, and the destruction of witches.  I loved all the characters, action, and magic, plus Juno Dawson does a great job at exploring friendship, sisterhood, identity and chosen family.   

Peggy, our Chief Executive, recommends Figuring by Maria Popova.

This is a book full of complexity and wonder that I have returned to again and again. In its own words –  

Figuring is asking big questions ‘about the measure of a good life and what it means to leave a lasting mark of betterment on an imperfect world’ by exploring the interwoven lives of several historical figures across four centuries — beginning with the astronomer Johannes Kepler and ending with the marine biologist and author Rachel Carson. Stretching between these figures is a cast of artists, writers, and scientists — mostly women, mostly queer — whose public contribution has risen out of their unclassifiable and often heartbreaking private relationships to change the way we understand, experience, and appreciate the universe.

This book opened new doors in my mind and gave new ways of seeing, thinking and understanding: what more could one ask of a book? 

Ellie, our Programme Officer, recommends Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz.

I discovered this novel at university and it was my favourite throughout my three years there. This is a lyrical coming of age tale centred on the beautiful and heartbreaking friendship between Dante and Ari. It’s best summed up by Publishers Weekly: “a tender, honest exploration of identity and sexuality, and a passionate reminder that love—whether romantic or familial—should be open, free, and without shame.” 

Caitlin, our Communications Assistant, recommends We Could Be Heroes by PJ Ellis.

We Could Be Heroes is a hilarious and touching romantic comedy about a secret romance between a closeted actor and a drag performer. Described as ‘an ode to queer joy’, the book beautifully explores queer identities, chosen families, and the British drag scene. I found it to be an excellent depiction of queer Britain and loved that it addresses and celebrates the heroism of being out and proud. It was a total delight to read, and an even bigger delight to speak with PJ on our podcast, The Writing Life! 

At Norwich Pride on Saturday 27 July, we asked members of the public to recommend their favourite LGBTQ+ reads. Here’s a list of their picks:

• Untamed by Glennon Doyle
• Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle
• All for the Game by Nora Sakavic
• A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers
• The First Sister by Linden A. Lewis
• Proud by Juno Dawson
• History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera
• Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg
• They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
• Coming Out Stories by Emma Goswell and Sam Walker
• Heartstopper by Alice Oseman
• Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
• Henry Henry by Allen Bratton
• Sirens & Muses by Antonia Angress
• Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
• Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown
• Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
• Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
• Wavewalker by Suzanne Heywood
• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
• Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson
• The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst
• The Pink War by Graham Stuart Tuckley
• Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
• Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
• Greta and Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly
• Nothing Burns as Bright as You by Ashley Woodfolk