Today is the start of this year’s Trans Rights Readathon – an event where readers read trans books and, if they can, donate to trans causes and charities. This year the readathon runs from 17th-31st of March!

I don’t tend to do well with strict tbrs, so I’ve instead made a list I can pick and choose from as the mood and whim takes me. All these books are by openly trans or nonbinary authors, and the first bunch are advanced reader copies I should be focussing on!

Pasha the Storm by Linda H. Codega
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: F/NB
Published on: 30th June 2026
Goodreads

Moby-Dick meets The Bone Shard Daughter in this swashbuckling queer fantasy adventure packed with piracy, political intrigue, and the eternal souls of the drowned, for fans of The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi and Black Sun. 

An exiled pirate queen hunts a killer whale on the high seas, while caught between a power-hungry empress and a revolutionary conspiring to end her reign . . .

Pasha the Northern Storm was once the most infamous Meridian pirate who ever sailed the sister oceans. Now, a decade into her exile, Pasha’s afterlife is being held hostage by Atle, an absurdly attractive noble who knows far too much about pirate magic—but not enough about sailing to realize how dangerous Pasha really is.

Minister Atle Itaavar is duty-bound to serve the Kingdom of Garda, but as Queen Thivaldís gathers support for her ambitions of empire, Atle turns to treason to stop her. In order to destroy the Queen’s new necromantic navy, Atle plans to steal the Queen’s flagship, kidnap a washed-up pirate to sail it, and track down a legendary killer whale to bring it down. 

But the hunt for the great undying whale drags Pasha, Atle, and the crew of the Dog into a cosmic reckoning as they face threats from ghosts and gods alike—and the Queen of Garda is close behind.

A few pages into this and I’m already in love! Tons of fascinating worldbuilding.

What We Are Seeking by Cameron Reed
Genres: Adult, Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Bi/pansexual MC
Published on: 7th April 2026
Goodreads

Humanity has scattered around the universe, in fits and starts.

On hostile planets, isolated groups of settlers eke out hardscrabble lives, second class citizens to the network of massive ships who mark their only link to the greater galaxy. John, a doctor from one of these outlying worlds, and Sudharma, his distressingly handsome Jain translator companion, find a world of absurd alien biologies that dazzle the mind… and utterly backwards people.

John’s homeworld developed a communal, matriarchal society to cope with their deadly surroundings, but here, he can’t even go for a walk with a woman without provoking public comment from the powerful religious authorities. His very survival is dependent on maintaining his status amongst this closed, unwelcoming group whose future is not guaranteed, with terrifying Earth, under the thumb of the “aiyi”, developing a looming, alien presence and threatening them all.

Reed’s debut Fortunate Fall was magnificent, so naturally I’m hyped for her sophomore novel – especially since this one takes place on another planet, with lots of alien fauna!

The Felicity Complex by August Clarke
Genres: Adult, Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Sapphic MC/s
Published on: 28th July 2026
Goodreads

Annie Bot meets Fallout in this dystopian six women created in a lab, designed to serve the billionaires of the future in a luxury fallout shelter, rebel against their programming after the end times arrive.

Welcome to the Felicity Complex! Constructed during the height of the Cold War, our unique hotel is prepared to protect you, the billionaire class, from nuclear annihilation! Shielded from radiation and supplemented with closed air systems and hydroponic gardens, this resort bunker offers a prime existence full gymnasium and spa, gourmet meals, top-tier medical care, and the best in entertainment.

Meet Hallelujah! Grown in a lab and educated in the ways of concierge hospitality, she believes in her duty to comfort the Lord-anointed refugees of the apocalypse. (Even if her lover Anastasia disagrees. Even if her creator Dr. Younghusband is disappointed in her.) Don’t worry—everyone is safe from communists in the Felicity Complex!

Look, Hallelujah, guests have finally arrived! Hallelujah and her sister specimens have waited ages for you. Never mind the secrets other rich survivalists may be hiding. Just make sure they don’t notice the violent intentions behind our staff’s wide, wide smiles…

A sendup of traditional womanhood and lampooning the paranoias of the elite, The Felicity Complex questions the ambitions behind the entitled few who plan for the end times—and who truly survives them.

New august clarke?! I’M NOT HYPERVENTILATING YOU’RE HYPERVENTILATING!!!!!!!!!

This sounds so different from any of clarke’s precious books, but that won’t stop me from devouring it! (Also I begin to suspect clarke is one of those authors whose every book will be wildly different from all their others…!)

The Shape of Monsters by Tessa Gratton
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Brown bisexual MC
Published on: 16th June 2026
Goodreads

A talented heretic and the emperor she both loathes and loves will learn what monsters are really made of in the second installment of the Moon Heresies trilogy by New York Times bestselling author Tessa Gratton.
 
Iriset—prodigy, outlaw, now sunderer—has broken the Moon-Eater god’s prison at the heart of the empire. But the consequences of her actions land her in a city of monsters where the heretical magic of human architecture is freely practiced, and the only person she knows—and can trust—is Lyric, the emperor she’s lied to and loved in equal measure. As scheming kings and capricious gods drive them towards different extremes, they soon realize that to find their way home, they must remake the world…at the risk of breaking it forever.

Praise for the Moon Heresies
 
"Laced with a vivid sensuality." —Jacqueline Carey, New York Times bestselling author of Kushiel's Dart 

"A beautiful, elegant, passionate novel. A triumph and a delight from start to finish." —Antonia Hodgson, author of The Raven Scholar 

“Sensual and suspenseful.” —Publishers Weekly
 
"A lush story of dangerous intrigue in an intricate and utterly unique world." —C. S. Pacat, author of Captive Prince 
 

Again: the sequel to Mercy Makers?! I’M NOT HYPERVENTILATING YOU’RE HYPERVENTILATING

Princeweaver by Elian J Morgan
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: M/M
Published on: 16th April 2026
Goodreads

Their marriage is to save a warring kingdom. But in the process, it might destroy them both…

Born with forbidden, nature-infused magic in an occupied land, anxious apothecary Meilyr survives by keeping his head down. Until he ends up engaged to invading prince Osian in order to save his brother’s life. Now, he is in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse to hide his true self.

When nobles in Osian's court are gruesomely murdered by the same magic that flows through his veins, Meilyr realises someone is seeking revenge for his homeland. As suspicion towards him grows, he and the prince work together to uncover the killer, or risk losing the crown - or their lives.

Between court politics, unwieldy magic and a murderer on the loose, Meilyr must keep his wits about him. Especially as his feelings for Osian grow deeper with every passing day...

Folkloric and with a slow-burn romance at heart, fans of A Taste of Gold and Iron, C. S. Pacat and Rebecca Ross will love this debut. Princeweaver is the first book in a brand new romantic fantasy trilogy.

This is supposed to have a very Welsh feel and I’m excited about it! How often do we see Welsh-flavoured fantasy? NOT OFTEN ENOUGH

Canon by Paige Lewis
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Trans and nonbinary MCs
Published on: 19th May 2026
Goodreads

Two unlikely heroes embark on quests to win God’s favor in this outrageously entertaining, profoundly heartfelt novel that announces an ingenious new voice in the tradition of Chain-Gang All-Stars, No One Is Talking About This, and Martyr!

Yara can’t comprehend why God has chosen them to slay Dominic, the ruthless leader of the army of Bad Guys. Cast out by their family and reeling from a destructive relationship, Yara has never felt weaker—but with nothing left to lose, they strike a deal. Abandoning their solitary days of embroidery and obsessive cleaning, Yara reluctantly embarks on a perilous odyssey designed to prepare them for the daunting mission ahead.

Meanwhile, Adrena, a disillusioned prophet with a terrifying secret power, is determined to become the hero of this story. Desperately seeking the glory of God’s approval and the promise of heaven, where she hopes to reunite with her beloved mother, Adrena must first persuade Harpo, the leader of the Good Guys, that her plan is God’s will.

As their journeys unfold in a series of unforgettable adventures, Yara and Adrena are propelled toward each other and transformative revelations about life, death, and destiny in this intensely captivating, irreverent epic from a singularly brilliant new voice in fiction.

Everything about this seems completely bonkers and I’m here for it.

Opal and Oestre by Liza Olson
Genres: Adult, Queer Protagonists, Science Fantasy
Representation: Trans MC
Published on: 20th March 2026
Goodreads

In the far future, a newly out trans technowitch named Opal finds a phial of estradiol in a dusty old drawer while scavenging for relics.

After meeting the Pagan goddess Oestre who's the namesake for this wonderful elixir, she and her robot cat Remee set out on a quest to synthesize more, share it with other trans magech girls, and find the community she's always wanted.

Science-fantasy with a trans witch on a mission from a goddess? Um, YES PLEASE.

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon
Genres: Adult, Horror, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Queer Black albino MC
Goodreads

Vern - seven months pregnant and desperate to escape the strict religious compound where she was raised - flees for the shelter of the woods. There, she gives birth to twins, and plans to raise them far from the influence of the outside world.

But even in the forest, Vern is a hunted woman. Forced to fight back against the community that refuses to let her go, she unleashes incredible brutality far beyond what a person should be capable of, her body wracked by inexplicable and uncanny changes.

To understand her metamorphosis and to protect her small family, Vern has to face the past, and more troublingly, the future - outside the woods. Finding the truth will mean uncovering the secrets of the compound she fled but also the violent history in America that produced it.

Rivers Solomon’s Sorrowland is a genre-bending work of gothic fiction. Here, monster’s aren’t just individuals but entire nations. This is a searing, seminal book that marks the arrival of a bold, unignorable voice in American fiction.

All right, that’s enough arcs, now onto the already-published stuff! I’ve been meaning to read Sorrowland for YEARS and it’s past time I actually get to it – especially since I’ve loved all this author’s other books!

Revenant Gun (The Machineries of Empire, #3) by Yoon Ha Lee
Genres: Adult, Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Goodreads

Machineries Of Empire, the most exciting science fiction trilogy of the decade, reaches its astonishing conclusion!

When Shuos Jedao wakes up for the first time, several things go wrong. His few memories tell him that he's a seventeen-year-old cadet--but his body belongs to a man decades older.  Hexarch Nirai Kujen orders Jedao to reconquer the fractured hexarchate on his behalf even though Jedao has no memory of ever being a soldier, let alone a general.  Surely a knack for video games doesn't qualify you to take charge of an army?

Soon Jedao learns the situation is even worse.  The Kel soldiers under his command may be compelled to obey him, but they hate him thanks to a massacre he can't remember committing.  Kujen's friendliness can't hide the fact that he's a tyrant.  And what's worse, Jedao and Kujen are being hunted by an enemy who knows more about Jedao and his crimes than he does himself...

I have no idea how this trilogy is going to wrap up, and also I don’t want it to be over. IT’S A PROBLEM.

Resurrections (Rhapsody of Blood, #3) by Roz Kaveney
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Sapphic MCs
Goodreads

The worst days of their lives... Mara, immortal huntress of murderous gods, has told Aleister Crowley many stories. Now he persuades her to tell the stories she does not want to tell - of Josh and Judas, the charming clever boys she and her sister/lover Sof protected and taught in Alexandria, and of Hypatia, Sof's last incarnation before madness took her. Mara cannot save everyone and these are the tales of her worst failures... Emma is in danger. Lucifer has carried her beloved Caroline off to Hell and Jehovah wants Emma dead and his servant. She and her mysterious employer Josette journey to Hell to rescue Caroline, but what they have to deal with there is beyond Emma's ready wit and Josette's powers of intrigue... The third volume of Roz Kaveney's four-part novel of the fantastic RHAPSODY OF BLOOD, RESURRECTIONS is her darkest and most daring book yet.

This would be a reread, but it’s one I definitely need to reread before jumping into the next book of this series, which I somehow haven’t gotten to yet!

The Deep and Shining Dark (Marek #1) by Juliet Kemp
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Goodreads

You know something’s wrong when the cityangel turns up at your door

Magic within the city-state of Marek works without the need for bloodletting, unlike elsewhere in Teren, thanks to an agreement three hundred years ago between an angel and the founding fathers. It also ensures that political stability is protected from magical influence. Now, though, most sophisticates no longer even believe in magic or the cityangel.   

But magic has suddenly stopped working, discovers Reb, one of the two sorcerers who survived a plague that wiped out virtually all of the rest. Soon she is forced to acknowledge that someone has deposed the cityangel without being able to replace it. Marcia, Heir to House Fereno, and one of the few in high society who is well-aware that magic still exists, stumbles across that same truth. But it is just one part of a much more ambitious plan to seize control of Marek.   

Meanwhile, city Council members connive and conspire, unaware that they are being manipulated in a dangerous political game. A game that threatens the peace and security not just of the city, but all the states around the Oval Sea, including the shipboard traders of Salina upon whom Marek relies.   

To stop the impending disaster, Reb and Marcia, despite their difference in status, must work together alongside the deposed cityangel and Jonas, a messenger from Salina. But first they must discover who is behind the plot, and each of them must try to decide who they can really trust.

Book 1 of Juliet Kemp’s gripping new series

The “absolutely gorgeous” cover artwork is by renowned artist Tony Allcock

I’ve picked this up a dozen times, I swear, and somehow I always end up wandering away from it again, distracted by something else. Hopefully this time I can actually finish it!

The Scandalous Letters of V and J (French Letters, #1) by Felicia Davin
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Trans MC, nonbinary MC
Goodreads

Paris, 1823. Victor Beauchêne has led a stifling existence, unrecognized for both his cleverness and his gender, except in the pages of his meticulous diary. Abruptly cut off from his family’s fortune, he takes the opportunity to start a new life in a shabby boarding house with his beloved spinster aunt Sophie. There, he stumbles upon two kinds of magic: a pen with eerie powers of persuasion and a reserved, alluring art student named Julien.

Brilliant, unconventional Julien is also Julie, a person whose magical paintings can transform their body or enchant viewers. Haunted by a terrible episode in their past, they’ve come to Paris for artistic success—the ordinary, non-magical kind. Victor, too handsome and far too inquisitive, is a dangerous distraction from their ambitions.

Drawn to each other, Victor and Julie strike up a cautious correspondence of notes slid under doors. It soon unfolds into a passionate romance. Outside the bedroom, their desires clash: Julie wants to distance herself from the world of magic and Victor wants to delve deeper. When the ruthless abuser from Julie’s past resurfaces, he aims to take control of her powers and ruin more lives. Victor and Julie are the only ones who can stop him. Do they trust each other enough to survive the threat to their love and their lives?

The Scandalous Letters of V and J is a historical fantasy romance with two nonbinary main characters, told primarily in letters and diary entries. It is approximately 100,000 words long and sexually explicit.

I admit, I DNFed this one, but I’ve loved this author’s other series and everyone says the subsequent books in this series are even better, so clearly I must try again! (Because I can’t skip it. Noooooo. Doesn’t matter that it’s a series of standalones. I read in order or not at all!)

Shadebloom (The Gardener's Hand, #3) by Felicia Davin
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Faceblind sapphic MC, F/F, possible F/F/M polyamory
Goodreads

Separated from her companions and abducted, Alizhan is delivered back to Laalvur, right into Iriyat’s clutches. Iriyat has tightened her hold on the city in Alizhan’s absence, magically manipulating the other Council members and further charming the public. No one believes her capable of plotting an experiment that could destroy cities. All alone, what hope does Alizhan have to convince Laalvur of the truth?

Half a world away, Ev and Thiyo are adrift at sea. In the wake of their monstrous encounter, they receive an unlikely rescue, but neither of them emerges from the water unharmed. They must survive to warn the world of what Iriyat is planning—and to find Alizhan before it’s too late.
As Iriyat’s plans come to fruition, how far will Alizhan, Ev, and Thiyo go to defeat her?

Alternatively, I might try finishing this series of Davin’s, at last!

The World Within by Dani Finn
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Trans MC, F/F
Goodreads

Lila’s life is almost perfect.

She’s finally opened her luxury sex shop and wellness center in a rehabilitated ancient temple. The painted faces are lining up to buy the new alchemical vibrators and unwind in the spa and baths. And she gets to work with her two best friends every day.

So why is there an empty place in her chest?

Enter Avisse, the delivery woman, a single mom with a quick smile and eyes that flash from hard to soft in an instant. There’s a spark, and a kiss, and a promise of dinner next time Avisse is in town.

Until then, Lila’s got her hands full with the shop, not to mention the mystic portal she’s discovered in the temple basement. What lies beyond will turn their lives—and the World Within—inside out.

This steamy sapphic fantasy romance stars a transfeminine heroine and includes meditation magic, alchemical trans healthcare, and family lost & found.

The World Within is intended for an adult audience. Content warnings include explicit, consensual sex scenes, societal transphobia, and child peril.
It’s set in the Weirdwater universe and includes some characters from The Living Waters and Unpainted but is meant as a standalone.

Another that’s been on my tbr forever, and sounds wonderful! Much cosier than anything else on this list, from the sound of things.

Before We Were Trans: A New History of Gender by Kit Heyam
Genres: Nonfiction
Goodreads

A groundbreaking global history of gender nonconformity  

Today’s narratives about trans people tend to feature individuals with stable gender identities that fit neatly into the categories of male or female. Those stories, while important, fail to account for the complex realities of many trans people’s lives.  
 
Before We Were Trans illuminates the stories of people across the globe, from antiquity to the present, whose experiences of gender have defied binary categories. Blending historical analysis with sharp cultural criticism, trans historian and activist Kit Heyam offers a new, radically inclusive trans history, chronicling expressions of trans experience that are often overlooked, like gender-nonconforming fashion and wartime stage performance. Before We Were Trans transports us from Renaissance Venice to seventeenth-century Angola, from Edo Japan to early America, and looks to the past to uncover new horizons for possible trans futures.  

I’m very bad at sitting down and reading nonfic, but just the opening pages of this one rewrote my brain, so I’m dying to read the rest of it!

If you’d like to peruse a loooong list of SFF by trans and nonbinary authors, I have an extensive rec list here!

Anyone else taking part in the readathon? What will you be reading if so???

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