If you’re a big gay bookworm, check out these novelists. From award-winning British novelist Sarah Waters to the passion and poetry of activist Audre Lorde, and the modern-day romance of Karin Kallmaker, these lesbian authors are well worth a trip to the bookstore.
Queer Authors
Nancy Garden
Best known for her groundbreaking and banned young adult novel Annie on My Mind about a high school love affair between two girls, Nancy Garden is the author of over fifty books for children and adults, including Good Moon Rising (for young adults) and the love story Nora and Liz (Bella Books). When Annie was the subject of a major censorship case in the 90s, Garden became an award-winning activist for censorship issues.
Audre Lorde
Poet and author Audre Lorde fearlessly explores issues of class, race, sexuality, and injustice in her work. Recipient of the American Book Award for A Burst of Light, her expression is revolutionary and poetic. Her book Zami: A New Spelling of My Name covers Lorde’s life growing up in the 50s as an African-American lesbian and The Cancer Journals is a spiritual and metaphorical testament to the human spirit.
Sarah Waters
If you ever wished classic British literature came with more lesbians, award-winning novelist Sarah Waters is here to save the day. Her first four novels (Tipping the Velvet; Fingersmith; Affinity; The Night Watch) put queer women and queer culture against the backdrops of 19th and early 20th century England. From music halls and the burgeoning drag culture of the 1890s to love and mystery during WWII, Waters shows us that lesbians and queer women were everywhere. Best of all? Her heart-stopping, just-one-more-page plot twists.
Karin Kallmaker (available at BellaBooks.com)
The queer answer to Danielle Steel, Karin Kallmaker is the author of over twenty novels, several of which are Lambda Literary Award winners. Her topics range from modern day lesbian romances (The Kiss That Counted; Finders Keepers) to women-centered fantasy epics (Sleight of Hand; Seeds of Fire) to the occasional literary homage (Christabel was inspired by Coleridge’s poem; Just Like That pays tribute to Jane Austen), Kallmaker’s range of work is intelligent, clever, and always imaginative.
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