Happy Pride Month and Juneteeth! If you regularly follow Waking Writer, you know that I’m an indie author of fantasy, paranormal, and sci-fi novels that center queer Black women. I’m hyper aware of how invisible Black queer authors are, whether indie or traditionally-published. But we’re out here, y’all, if you look hard enough.
The fact is it’s challenging to find novels that center the lives of queer Black folks in fantasy and sci-fi settings. A quick Google search will yield some results, but it takes some digging and you still may end up asking yourself, “Where are the novels about queer Black folks engaged in magical hijinks, wielding superpowers, battling dragons, and leading wonderously magical lives?” These novels exist but are marginalized within mainstream spaces (i.e. traditional publishing, BookTok, Goodreads, etc.).
Because the traditional publishing industry still centers whiteness, you often have to turn to indie spaces to find queer Black novels and voices. Even in the world of BookTok and Goodreads, where readers often curate “best of” lists, white authors tend to receive all the coverage. In the quest for visibility, all authors have a steep mountain to climb, but that mountain is a helluva lot steeper when you’re Black and queer.
So, in the spirit of Juneteenth and Pride Month, let’s diversify those book lists! Here are five interesting fantasy novels by Black authors with queer leads and/or main characters.
In the House of Transcendence by Amanda Ross
“Amanda Ross delivered on what she said she would in this book! There was mystery, rivalry, sexy burlesque dancing, Witchy vibes, and Queer Black realness.” – Mel, Goodreads
What’s it about?
Zora is a necromancer. Some say she’s gifted, others say she’s cursed, but her abilities always terrify her. Hoping to start a new life, she flees her childhood home and travels to Savannah, but she soon learns that some things can’t be changed.
There, she meets an alluring and powerful witch named Birdie. She offers Zora a proposition: she’ll give Zora a place to stay, a job dancing at a magical burlesque club called Nightingale’s, and help controlling her powers if Zora can solve her lover’s murder…
Get it from: Author | Amazon
Bones to the Wind by Tatiana Obey
“Bones to the Wind is everything I didn’t know I needed from a coming-of-age fantasy. It’s fierce, brutal, unapologetic and overall just extremely fun.” – Esmay Rosalyn, Goodreads
What’s it about?
A New Adult coming-of-age fantasy adventure.
Rasia is determined to destroy her old man’s record in the Forging, a trial each child must succeed to come of age. All Rasia needs to do is hunt down a gonda, hitch its tentacle ass to her windship, and haul it back home in record time. Easy. Or it would be if Rasia wasn’t stuck on the same team as Nico—a know-it-all, spoiled, grubworm who never does anything Rasia tells her to do.
Nico doesn’t care about Rasia’s egotistical dreams of glory. This is her brother’s last chance to pass the Forging or her father is going to banish him from the family. She needs to scour the desert to find whatever team the bones placed him on and help him kill a gonda before it kills him.
Get it from: Author | Amazon
Debate and Decadence by Sula Sullivan
“Super cute, really fast, just a cozy witchy story about two Black femmes falling clumsily in love. Perfect if you just want something sweet and easy to fall into.” – Blade Bailey, Goodreads
What’s it about?
Like any good mysterious witch, Amaya seldom ventures further than the woods that surround her cottage. She fills her days with foraging, spell testing, and reading. Amaya would happily spend all her days and nights curled up with a steaming mug of tea or playing her harp. Anything would be preferable to trying to contain Rue, the chaotic runaway bride who suddenly appears on her doorstep insisting they’re fated, mates. Rue is determined to take charge of her life and by extension Amaya’s. She’s convinced all she has to do is miss her own wedding, learn how to cook a decent stew and show Amaya what fate has in store.
Get it from: Amazon
Cinder Ella by S.T. Lynn
“This story made me so happy! It was Cinderella but it wasn’t. It has some of the basic themes, but stands on its own.” – Pike Martell, Goodreads
What’s it about?
Ella is transgender. She’s known since she was young; being a woman just fit better. She was happier in skirts than trousers, but that was before her stepmother moved in. Eleanor can’t stand her, and after Ella’s father passes she’s forced to revert to Cole, a lump of a son. She cooks, she cleans, and she tolerates being called the wrong name for the sake of a roof over her head. Where else can she go?
An opportunity to attend the royal ball transforms Ella’s life. For the first time, strangers see a woman when she walks down the stairs. While Princess Lizabetta invited Cole to the ball, she doesn’t blink an eye when Cinderella is the one who shows. The princess is elegant, bold, and everything Ella never knew she wanted. For a moment she glimpses a world that can accept her, and she holds on tight.
Get it from: Author | Amazon
Darknesses by Lachelle Seville
“This book is hilarious, violent, sexy, and fun. I’ve honestly never read anything else like it and I’m begging for someone to adapt it for film. I hope this author writes innumerable books – I will read them all.” – Oliver Cole, Amazon
What’s it about?
Oasis left Blessed Falls with wings carved into her back and delusions of being an angel’s vessel.
A year later, she’s still struggling to feel human again – until she meets Laura, a mysterious and mesmerizing woman who makes her feel closer to found than lost. But soon, Oasis learns the truth.
Laura is the most recent face of the eternal Count Dracula, ruler of the shadows, chimera of the Devil, and embittered victim of libel.
The Van Helsing Institute have been waiting for a glimpse of the dragon’s underbelly, and eagerly approach Oasis for her help in a ploy to kill Dracula for good. But not all of the wounds from Blessed Falls have cicatrized, and Oasis realizes she may be a danger to Laura – and to herself.
Get it from: Amazon
These are just handful of fun Black queer fantasy and speculative fiction novels you can add to your reading list this summer. I’ll shamelessly plug my own books again for those who want a slgihtly cerebral dose of Black queer fantasy, magical realism, and paranormal fiction. If you like introverted queer heroines with messy love lives and who make poor decisions that’ll have you yelling, “Why, girl?! Why would you do that?!” then my novels are right up your alley.
For more sci-fi and fantasy books by Black indie authors, check out this Goodreads list. Black queer fantasy stories exist, whether you’re looking for a cozy romance, a coming-of-age witch tale, a series about fugitives with superpowers, a quiet paranormal novel, a trans fairytale, or a vampire horror. Now is the time to elevate your book list and jump into some exciting Black queer fantasy and sci-fi!
Remember, if you can’t afford to buy a book, then check it out from or request it at your local library! Here are two great e-book library resources: Hoopla | Libby.
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