Queer Authors on Queer Romance: Part 1
By: Seth Betzler
For Pride Month I wanted to celebrate queer romance via the authors who write these stories, the ones who bring LGBTQ+ stories to us. Below you will find some of your favorites discussing queer romance, the industry, as well as the community around queer romance. This article will appear in two parts, ten authors in the first, and ten in the second, so stay tuned!
Note: answers have been edited for clarity.
Deanna Grey—author of Outdrawn, Team Player, Sunny Disposition, and the upcoming Safety Net
Deanna Grey—author of Outdrawn, Team Player, Sunny Disposition, and the upcoming Safety Net
1. What is important to you about writing queer romance?
DG: It's important that my writing reflects my personal experience being a queer person. When I was in college, I was saved by two queer artists who were honest about their personal experiences about being queer in their work. I'd never seen anyone be so open and fearless. They gave me permission to do the same. I've known since then I needed to pass on that feeling of freedom. The best way I know how is by following their lead and writing about queerness through my lens.
2. How have you seen queer romance change over time?
DG: Queer romance has been more joyful. Fluffy, sweet, lighthearted stories are being pushed and celebrated. And as someone who is Black and queer, it's revolutionary to see joy being centered.
3. What do you wish the publishing industry would do better to help uplift queer voices? And what can readers do to advocate for queer authors?
DG: Though it's incredible to have a whole month dedicated to queer voices, it often feels like the industry forgets our stories exist outside of Pride Month. Outside of Pride, the industry could and should constantly include queer books in their promotions.
Readers can continually remind their local bookstores and libraries that they're interested in queer authors by requesting books. When booksellers and librarians see consistent demand, they'll want to meet it. Also, word of mouth is everything. Doesn't matter how much you've spoken about a book, each time you tell someone new (online or off) you keep the fire burning.
4. Where do you see queer romance going in the future?
DG: I see it growing to the point where readers will be able to walk into any bookstore and not have to hunt for a small selection of stories. Every shelf will have multiple queer books for readers to choose from.
5. What is your favorite part of the queer romance community? What has being a part of the community meant to you?
DG: My favorite part is the genuine excitement and support everyone has to offer one another. Anytime I've interacted, I've always felt my stories mattered and my voice would be heard. Being a part of this community means everything. It's a safe space amidst the chaos. I've found I can let down my guard. I can be the person I used to try to hide in fear of rejection.
6. What is a queer romance book you recommend?
DG: If you're down for something steamy, Simone Says by Terri Ronald is a must-read. And The Balance of Fates by Raquel Raelynn is a wonderful fantasy romance!
Chip Pons—author of You and I Rewritten and the upcoming Winging It With You
Chip Pons—author of You and I Rewritten and the upcoming Winging It With You
1. What is important to you about writing queer romance?
CP: For me, writing queer romance is about centering joy. It’s about creating space for queer characters to laugh, fall in love, mess up, make grand gestures, and get their happy endings. As a gay man, I spent so much of my early life craving stories where people like me weren’t just tolerated, but celebrated. Queer romance lets us be the emotional center, the main character, the one who gets the swoony kiss and the soft landing. And that's something I don’t take for granted. I write these stories because I believe in the power of seeing ourselves fully...in love, in laughter, and in the lightness of life.
2. How have you seen queer romance change over time?
CP: There’s been a real shift from stories rooted in trauma to ones grounded in joy. That’s not to say the hard stories aren’t still important—they absolutely are—but I’ve loved seeing the genre expand to show the full spectrum of queer life. We’re no longer just telling stories of survival. We’re telling stories of celebration, softness, silliness, intimacy, and community. Queer romance has grown bolder, funnier, steamier, more expansive. And more and more, we’re seeing queer stories that aren’t just about being queer, but they’re about love, identity, and humanity in all its messy beauty.
3. What do you wish the publishing industry would do better to help uplift queer voices? And what can readers do to advocate for queer authors?
CP: I wish the industry would take more chances on queer joy. There’s still this tendency to expect queer stories to carry a certain amount of pain or hardship, as if joy isn’t profound enough. But joy is profound. I’d love to see more queer romcoms, genre mashups, and fantasy love stories. Books that allow queer authors to explore the full range of creativity and identity without being boxed in.
As for readers: buy the books, preorder when you can, leave reviews, shout from the rooftops about the queer stories that move you. Word of mouth is powerful. Readers have more influence than they think, especially when they use their voice to uplift marginalized authors.
4. Where do you see queer romance going in the future?
CP: I think queer romance will keep growing wider and weirder in the best way. We’ll see more intersectional stories, more genre experimentation, more nuanced representation across gender and sexuality. I hope we continue making room for joy, mess, softness, and big sweeping love. I see the future of queer romance as vibrant, expansive, and unapologetically fun.
5. What is your favorite part of the queer romance community? What has being a part of it meant to you?
CP: Queer romance readers and writers are some of the most generous, supportive, hilarious, and heartfelt people I’ve ever met. Being part of this community has reminded me that storytelling is about connection. It’s about sharing joy, building safe spaces, and helping each other feel seen. I wouldn’t be where I am without the love and support of this community, and I feel endlessly lucky to be a small part of it.
6. What is a queer romance book you recommend?
CP: I can’t recommend I Think They Love You by Julian Winters enough. It’s full of warmth, humor, and heart, with a fake-dating setup that’s both clever and incredibly tender. The chemistry between Denz and Braylon is so genuine, and the story beautifully explores identity, vulnerability, and second chances. It’s the kind of queer romcom that makes you laugh, swoon, and feel deeply seen all at once.
Rebekah Faubion—author of The Lovers and the upcoming The Sun and the Moon
Rebekah Faubion—author of The Lovers and the upcoming The Sun and the Moon
1. What is important to you about writing queer romance?
RF: It is important to me that my queer romance books are places of joy and comfort for queer readers, as well as accurate and nuanced explorations of the queer experience. I am kind of obsessed with authenticity, so I approach every story I write with the goal that it feel truthful to me, and hope that will resonate with others.
2. How have you seen queer romance change over time?
RF: There is more of it! Even though queer romance is still a small (too small IMO) percentage of the market, the boom we have seen over the last 5+ years has been a game changer. I also think there has been a push toward a broader kind of queer romance story being published. We’re getting books about being and living the queer identity that aren’t as much centered around coming out or facing oppression—joyful books that show how diverse and beautiful the queer love experience really is.
3. What do you wish the publishing industry would do better to help uplift queer voices? And what can readers do to advocate for queer authors?
RF: I feel like there aren’t enough BIPOC queer books being published by trad publishing houses and I think that needs to change! I would love to see more queer books get the fancy treatment that big cishet books receive by way of marketing support, book clubs, and special editions. Readers can help all of this become reality by diversifying their own bookshelf, talking loudly (and often) about underrepresented voices, and sharing love on social media for a diverse collection of queer titles! Show publishers you want more!!
4. Where do you see queer romance going in the future?
RF: I want to see market growth for queer writers who are writing from their own identity. I would love to see queer books in every subgenre and space! Queer humans are nuanced and contain multitudes, and so should the books that represent them.
5. What is your favorite part of the queer romance community? What has being a part of the community meant to you?
RF: When someone tells me they feel seen in my work. Representation can be the catalyst to unlocking the confidence to take action in your own life, and if I can give that to someone then that makes everything worth it. Reading queer books has given that to me.
6. What is a queer romance book you recommend?
RF: I am fully obsessed with Anywhere You Go by Bridget Morrissey!
KT Hoffman—author of The Prospects
1. What is important to you about writing queer romance?
KT Hoffman—author of The Prospects
KH: Queer life is so rich and so varied. I love getting to explore both the difficult aspects and the beautiful aspects of existing as a queer person, all within a genre that promises a certain level of closure and happiness for its characters. Joy and hope—I think, frankly, far more so than sadness or anger or hopelessness—are so difficult to convey in a way that feels true and earned. I love that challenge. Those emotions deserve more respect.
Also, I really do love getting to write about trans characters as fully realized people, with rich inner lives, who can desire and be desired without being made into objects of pity or fetishization. I think that’s important when we live in a society that often tells us transness is a tragedy or a threat.
2. How have you seen queer romance change over time?
KH: The biggest thing to me is just that there’s more of it now, which is beautiful—it allows us to tell a broader range of stories, about a broader range of queer people, without any one book needing to do or be everything (which is, of course, an impossible thing for any piece of art to do or be).
3. What do you wish the publishing industry would do better to help uplift queer voices? And what can readers do to advocate for queer authors?
KH: I wish more people—publishers, readers, even other authors—would talk a bit more about queer books on their own merit. Sometimes, with books about any marginalized group, it feels like most of what you hear is a list of the characters’ identities, and while I understand that can be useful information to have and to share (my book is a trans book, it is a gay book, those elements are very important and I certainly don’t want to hide them), it often leaves a lot out. I want to hear more about how it felt to read the story, or whether the prose is especially funny or poignant, or which characters and scenes and moments really left an impact. All the stuff that makes a book memorable beyond a list of labels! I’d like to be able to talk about queer books less like homework or educational tools and more like art, because they are art.
4. Where do you see queer romance going in the future?
KH: I don't know about where it IS going, but I HOPE queer romance gets less white, less cis, and less tidy.
5. What is your favorite part of the queer romance community? What has being a part of the community meant to you?
KH: I spent a lot of years being told that happy or hopeful stories about queer characters were unimportant, unrealistic, or both. It really is healing, in a way, to share space with people who don’t feel that way, and who care about moving in a different direction.
6. What is a queer romance book you recommend?
KH: Rachel Runya Katz’s Whenever You’re Ready—I’ll never not eat up semi-estranged-friends-to-lovers!! Rachel calls their books rom-traum-coms, and that is such an apt description. Coincidentally, it’s exactly what I want in a romance! It also always feels to me like their characters truly see each other, if that makes sense. I think that’s often the secret sauce to a superb romance, but it can be quite hard to pull off! Rachel does it beautifully. I’m really looking forward to their 2025 book, Isn’t It Obvious?
J.S. Jasper—author of Perfectly Candid, Spring Awakening, Season’s Hatings, Just A Pretty Face, Bite Me Twice, The Last Good Thing, Storm Cloud, and the upcoming Summer Breakdown
J.S. Jasper—author of Perfectly Candid, Spring Awakening, Season’s Hatings, Just A Pretty Face, Bite Me Twice, The Last Good Thing, Storm Cloud, and the upcoming Summer Breakdown
1. What is important to you about writing queer romance?
JJ: Everything! I want people to be able to see themselves in all kinds of books. Not just dramatic ones, not just self-help books. Fluffy romances with no plot! Ten book romantasy series! Books that are a little mediocre! More than one book with the same trope! I want everyone to be able to list about ten books immediately with a character just like them.
2. How have you seen queer romance change over time?
JJ: Mainly that I’ve seen it at all! I feel like it’s pretty easy to see a queer romance book at the moment—online or in bookstores (even if I think they need to be included more often with special editions/PR/book lists/readers top picks, etc.)
3. What do you wish the publishing industry would do better to help uplift queer voices? And what can readers do to advocate for queer authors?
JJ: I wish they’d give equal treatment to all queer books. Not just white, slim characters. I’d like to see fat characters. Studs, butch, black, POC, people with disabilities that have disabilities casually—not that it’s their entire personality. Trans characters.
Readers can actively try and read queer romances without saying, “I don’t know if the author/character is queer, I just read the book” but, like, why not? Research! Read outside of Pride month! Read more than just the one book.
4. Where do you see queer romance going in the future?
JJ: Everywhere—hopefully, now more than ever—I wanna see the girls, the gays, and the theys.
5. What is your favorite part of the queer romance community? What has being a part of it meant to you?
JJ: Seeing people exactly like me: bi black women. Black lesbians. People that know what it means to grow up struggling to find someone that just looked like you, let alone liking the same gender too. I like how kind everyone is the moment they find out you’re queer. Like they have to give a little extra love because they know the world is harsh.
6. What is a queer romance book you recommend?
JJ: Outdrawn by Deanna Grey everytime.
Zakiya N. Jamal—author of If We Were A Movie and the upcoming Sparks Fly
Zakiya N. Jamal—author of If We Were A Movie and the upcoming Sparks Fly
1. What is important to you about writing queer romance?
ZJ: There are so many straight romances, and don't get me wrong I love them, but they vastly outnumber queer romances. So for me, as a writer, I want to help fill that gap. I want queer people to not have to search so hard to find stories about people like them with similar experiences. Especially Black queer people.
2. How have you seen queer romance change over time?
ZJ: When I was a teen, the only queer romances I knew about were centered around white gay boys who were typically the "gay best friend" of their friend group. Now, queer romance includes so many people. We have gay stories but also sapphic stories, ace/aro stories, trans stories, and so many others. Unfortunately, white gay romance still overwhelmingly dominate[s] but I think we have way more variety and diversity in queer romance than we've ever had before and I hope that continues.
3. What do you wish the publishing industry would do better to help uplift queer voices? And what can readers do to advocate for queer authors?
ZJ: The publishing industry simply needs to invest in more of our stories. Every day I'm seeing self-pub authors get pulled into trad publishing, and I love that for them, but it's always the same kind of white/straight romances that we've seen hundreds of times before. Some of the best queer romances exist in self-publishing and they're being overlooked. Outdrawn by Deanna Grey is the first one that comes to mind for me, but there are so many self-pub authors providing the sapphic romances readers crave, and yet the publishing industry is overlooking them. I think the other issue is publishing, as in the staff, is still overwhelmingly white and the fact of the matter is white editors are rarely the ones bringing in authors of color. We need more BIPOC editors who will do that work, but publishing isn't hiring them, and when they do, they're not supporting them. As for readers, the best thing they can do is read queer romance and talk about it. There are so many books but the ones that get marketing and promotional opportunities are typically white and straight, so when it comes to queer romance, readers have to be extra loud about how much they love them to get heard over the noise.
4. Where do you see queer romance going in the future?
ZJ: I hope we continue to get more queer romances that show how incredibly rich and broad our community is. I want queer sport romances, queer historical romances, queer Cinderella stories, queer romantasy. I want our stories to be welcome in all these spaces and not overlooked. I fear, with the current administration, it is going to be difficult for that to happen, but this community has always been here and will always be here, so I hope we keep fighting to tell these stories and I hope readers keep reading them.
5. What is your favorite part of the queer romance community? What has being a part of the community meant to you?
ZJ: My favorite part is how supportive everyone is. I've had so many authors and readers shout out my books and come to my events. Being a part of the community brings me so much joy and comfort, especially right now. This administration is trying to get rid of us, so getting to be in community with other people who believe the same things I do, and are also fighting against this administration, gives me hope.
6. What is a queer romance book you recommend?
ZJ: Stars in Your Eyes by Kacen Callender (please check the TWs!)
Adib Khorram—author of Darius The Great Is Not Okay, Darius The Great Deserves Better, Kiss & Tell, and I’ll Have What He’s Having
1. What is important to you about writing queer romance?
Adib Khorram—author of Darius The Great Is Not Okay, Darius The Great Deserves Better, Kiss & Tell, and I’ll Have What He’s Having
AK: Growing up in the 90s, in the shadow of AIDS, I was always taught that queer love was dangerous. Reclaiming that—depicting queer love as powerful and liberatory—is at the heart of what I do.
2. How have you seen queer romance change over time?
AK: As with most genres, in the wake of the founding of We Need Diverse Books ten years ago, we've seen more authors of all kinds of backgrounds getting to tell their own stories, stories drawn from their own lives and experiences that resonate with readers.
3. What do you wish the publishing industry would do better to help uplift queer voices? And what can readers do to advocate for queer authors?
AK: I wish the industry would market them! It's hard not to notice which books get a bunch of special editions with sprayed edges and they're rarely books by queer BIPOC authors. And as always, readers can advocate for queer authors with their dollars. Buy the queer books.
4. Where do you see queer romance going in the future?
AK: Unfortunately, I see it going one of two ways. Queer books (like queer lives) are under threat in the U.S. right now, with book bannings, a targeted erosion of the Miller Test, and obscenity laws, and the threat of a trade war (guess where a lot of our books are printed? Not here!).
The other, better way, the one I hope we go, is more queer romance. More queer romance of different kinds. More BIPOC queer folks telling their stores. More disabled queer folks telling their stories. The queer experience is vast and wonderful and we've barely scratched the surface of it.
5. What is your favorite part of the queer romance community? What has being a part of the community meant to you?
AK: The readers! Queer romance readers are amazing. Being part of the community has been so fun. When you write for young people, you don't often get to interact with your readers, but when you write for adults—folks who can buy their own books, go to cons, etc.—you get to connect face to face. It's amazing!
6. What is a queer romance book you recommend?
AK: Literally anything by Julian Winters. I'm especially excited for his next release, Last Fist Kiss. I love Alexis Daria's A Lot Like Adiós. TJ Alexander's A Gentleman’s Gentleman is an utter delight. And I'm deep in Jasmine Guillory's Flirting Lessons and loving every page!
TJ Alexander—author of Chef’s Kiss, Chef’s Choice, Second Chances in New Port Stephen, Triple Sec, and A Gentleman’s Gentleman
TJ Alexander—author of Chef’s Kiss, Chef’s Choice, Second Chances in New Port Stephen, Triple Sec, and A Gentleman’s Gentleman
1. What is important to you about writing queer romance?
TA: Making up queer love stories is something I've always done and always will do. It's the thing that makes me happy. It's what dancing or singing or playing the drums feels like for people who do those things.
2. How have you seen queer romance change over time?
TA: I am 41 years old (shoutout to me, I guess), so I've seen a lot of change. When I was growing up, you couldn't walk into a bookstore and expect to find a queer romance. There was maybe one bookshelf (if you were lucky) for ALL the queer books, most of which were self-help or other types of nonfiction with advice like, "bisexuals don't exist," and, "if you must be gay, try to fit in." Dire! One of the reasons I stopped reading romance entirely for most of my adult life was because I realized it wasn't for me, it was for straight people. We still have a long way to go, but the variety of queer romance has exploded in the last decade or less. At least in traditional publishing, this is a pretty new phenomenon and I am so concerned that we're going to go back to that earlier time where queer people didn't have space on the shelves. I hope we can prove you can't shove that genie back in the bottle—or closet—but we'll see.
3. What do you wish the publishing industry would do better to help uplift queer voices? And what can readers do to advocate for queer authors?
TA: The most effective way to help uplift and grow queer authorship is to pay us better. This is a longstanding issue that affects not just queer writers but BIPOC writers, disabled writers, and basically any writer who doesn't come from money. The vast majority of authors are being paid pennies per hour, considering how much time and effort goes into creating a novel. The only writers who can afford to hang in there under these contracts are ones who are already financially flourishing. So pay us fairly, that's step one. Step two is to actually support our books with an appropriate marketing and publicity budget. You can't sign authors, do nothing to promote their work, and then blame them when the book isn't a massive success right out the gate. The books that get this kind of buy-in are usually the ones that are already set up to sell perfectly well. This is a complaint lots of authors have, not just queer ones, so really this is curb-cut kind of stuff. Help us all, that's the only way we get out of this mess.
As for readers, I think you all know how to advocate for authors: buy our books, show up to our events, etc. One thing I would like to see more readers do, though, is to remain open-minded when approaching work by queer authors. All readers, even queer ones, can come to a queer book with expectations and preconceived ideas. Every author has had to deal with harsh reviews, but certain authors have to deal with a constant onslaught of bigotry cloaked in critique. I don't know how this gets fixed, since my opinion is that authors should stay out of these review spaces, so I suppose it's up to all readers to try and encourage a less toxic atmosphere.
4. Where do you see queer romance going in the future?
TA: I guess that's going to depend on where the world goes. I see a future where we have more trans and nonbinary love stories, more varied ones, more from Black voices, more from trans women, simply more. I don't want it to go back to that bottle-closet, but I can see that, too. History is full of the ebbs and flows of injustices, and if the publishing industry collectively decides we're no longer marketable, or we're too much of a liability, we'll simply do what we have to do. Queer literature has always survived in one form or another. But I'd like to believe that this isn't just a 9 year blip.
5. What is your favorite part of the queer romance community? What has being a part of the community meant to you?
TA: I've met so many lovely, talented, welcoming people in this job. Talking with other queer authors is obviously a treat, but I think connecting with readers who were touched by my work in some way is still very surprising and uplifting to me. I've spoken to parents who read my books to better connect with their queer child; I've had readers tell me my books helped them come out; I'm very lucky to know that what I'm doing matters, even if it's hard, even if it's not always obvious. Maybe it's corny, but this is my life's work. It means everything.
6. What is a queer romance book you recommend?
TA: I recently read Joanna Lowell's A Shore Thing and loved it! Victorian Era science and bicycles!!!
Tara Tai—author of Single Player
1. What is important to you about writing queer romance?
TT: Telling stories where the central conflict isn't rooted in queerphobia and the happily ever after doesn't happen only after the main character gets the approval or acceptance of someone (a friend, a family member) in their life who previously was queerphobic. Of course, those stories are valid; they're just not the only stories queer people should be allowed to tell!
2. How have you seen queer romance change over time?
TT: Just the fact that it exists on the shelf in bookstores is huge! I grew up in the 90s when I literally had to use my parents' dial-up internet to search for books with the tiniest hint of queer subtext before clearing the browser history and then asking my mom if I could mail-order said books. We have a long way to go in terms of representation, obviously—but sometimes I like to take a step back and just marvel at how far we've come.
3. What do you wish the publishing industry would do better to help uplift queer voices? And what can readers do to advocate for queer authors?
TT: I want publishers to be brave and take chances—in other words, let queer stories lead and not just follow! Sometimes, it feels like publishing does what the Marvel Cinematic Universe does: AKA, let white cis stories prove out a genre or setting or trope as trendy first, and then and only then,, "allow" queer protagonists to try their hands at that genre/setting/trope. But "superhero fatigue" (or whatever the literary equivalent of that is) is real! So let queer storytellers pave the way, I beg of you. As for readers—read queer all year! I promise our stories are great even when it's not June/Pride Month.
4. Where do you see queer romance going in the future?
TT: I'm an optimist in that I think we're only in the beginning of our colorful tapestry of queer stories. It's only going to get richer and weirder from here, and I can't wait!
5. What is your favorite part of the queer romance community? What has being a part of the community meant to you?
TT: I've been bowled over by how kind, generous, and supportive pretty much everyone in the community is—from avid readers to fellow authors to bookfluencers. Sharing art isn't so scary when people are so welcoming.
6. What is a queer romance book you recommend?
TT: Most recently, I absolutely inhaled A Gentleman's Gentleman by TJ Alexander. I also love The Prospects by KT Hoffman, The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes, and Tavern Tale by Kristina W. Kelly.
Matthew Hubbard—author of The Last Rules for Boyfriends Revenge and The Rebel’s Guide to Pride
Matthew Hubbard—author of The Last Rules for Boyfriends Revenge and The Rebel’s Guide to Pride
1. What is important to you about writing queer romance?
MH: When I’m writing queer romance, the most important thing to me is representation. You might ask
yourself, “But isn’t that the reason it's queer?” I feel it's crucial to show all identities of the queer community in romance because everyone deserves love and to see how people can be loved.
2. How have you seen queer romance change over time?
MH: The number one thing I’ve seen change over time is visibility. Queer romance once was a small shelf hidden inside a bookstore, and now queer romance books are in the wide open. Granted, there is still a long way to go, but each step toward visibility has bolstered and uplifted queer romance voices.
3. What do you wish the publishing industry would do better to help uplift queer voices? And what can readers do to advocate for queer authors?
MH: I think it all comes down to marketing and how queer voices are promoted to audiences. The more marketing a book gets, the more awareness it receives, which lifts other voices. The easiest thing readers can do to advocate for queer authors is simply by reading, library requesting, reviewing, and recommending their books.
4. Where do you see queer romance going in the future?
MH: What I want for queer romance in the future is for it to be a genre that is simply “romance.” I hope romance itself will become encompassing—and compassionate to all voices—so that every character and love story is widely accepted because of one thing: it’s about love. Period.
5. What is your favorite part of the queer romance community? What has being a part of the community meant to you?
MH: My favorite part of the queer romance community would be the feeling of camaraderie. Cherished voices, both new and old, are uplifted within the community and praised for showcasing love in all its messy glory! Being a part of the community, for me, has made me feel seen and heard, that each love story, well, love is celebrated.
6. What is a queer romance book you recommend?
MH: The queer romance book that I’d recommend would be I Think They Love You by Julian Winters! *heart eye emoji*
That’s a wrap on Queer Authors on Queer Romance PART 1! Stay tuned for Part 2 featuring authors such as Adriana Herrera, Rachel Runya Katz, Julian Winters, Alexandria Bellefleur and more!