Top 10 Black and Queer Authors You Need to Read Right Now
4 min read
Discover the brilliant voices redefining literature from the margins.
When we talk about representation in literature, it’s crucial to amplify Black and queer voices. These writers are not only reshaping the literary canon—they’re kicking the damn door down. From groundbreaking novels to searing poetry, memoirs to speculative fiction, these authors challenge norms, speak truths, and craft stories that hit hard and linger long after the final page.
Whether you’re diving into your summer reading list or curating your classroom syllabus, these Black queer authors deserve a top spot. Here’s a celebration of 10 powerful voices you need to know, follow, and—most importantly—read.
1. James Baldwin
Let’s start with the literary giant. James Baldwin wasn’t just ahead of his time—he was beyond time. His works like Giovanni’s Room and The Fire Next Time dissect race, sexuality, and class in ways that remain painfully relevant today. Baldwin wrote with razor-sharp intellect and unapologetic truth, tackling Black identity and queer desire with emotional precision.
Must-read: Giovanni’s Room — a bold, beautiful novel about same-sex love in 1950s Paris.
2. Saeed Jones
If you want poetry and prose that slice you open and leave you transformed, look no further. Saeed Jones writes like a man who knows the cost of vulnerability. His memoir, How We Fight for Our Lives, is a coming-of-age masterpiece that examines what it means to be Black and gay in the American South.
Must-read: Prelude to Bruise — a poetic journey through trauma, identity, and survival.
3. Akwaeke Emezi
Akwaeke Emezi is a literary shapeshifter. Their writing defies genre, gender, and expectation. With novels like Freshwater and The Death of Vivek Oji, Emezi challenges Western notions of identity, spirituality, and mental health. Their work is at once mythic, deeply personal, and politically charged.
Must-read: You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty — a queer romantic drama that’s as messy and beautiful as love itself.
4. Brandon Taylor
Brandon Taylor doesn’t just write characters—he dissects them. In Real Life, his Booker Prize–nominated debut, Taylor explores the nuances of microaggressions, loneliness, and the pressures of academia through the lens of a queer Black man in a predominantly white space.
Must-read: Filthy Animals — a stunning short story collection full of intimacy, pain, and emotional complexity.
5. Junauda Petrus
Junauda Petrus writes like a dream and dreams like a revolution. Blending Afrofuturism with tender storytelling, her debut novel The Stars and the Blackness Between Them is a poetic exploration of love, Black girlhood, queerness, and spirituality. If you’re craving a story that feels like a healing balm, this one’s for you.
Must-read: The Stars and the Blackness Between Them — a queer YA novel that mixes magic, love, and liberation.
6. Rivers Solomon
Solomon is a master of speculative fiction that cuts deep. Their books tackle racism, queerness, gender, and intergenerational trauma with striking originality. An Unkindness of Ghosts reimagines a space-faring society structured around racial oppression, while The Deep is a haunting novella about memory, legacy, and the descendants of enslaved Africans who live beneath the sea.
Must-read: The Deep — an immersive Afrofuturist tale born from a song by clipping. and sharpened into unforgettable literature.
7. Danez Smith
Danez Smith’s poetry is loud, loving, and revolutionary. Their poems blend the sacred and profane, the political and personal, with an honesty that electrifies. Smith’s Don’t Call Us Dead was a finalist for the National Book Award and continues to be a lightning rod for conversations on race, queerness, and survival.
Must-read: Homie — a fierce and funny celebration of friendship, joy, and the messiness of being human.
8. Michael Arceneaux
If you like your truth with a side of shade, Michael Arceneaux is your guy. With razor wit and no-nonsense realness, his books tackle everything from sexuality and religion to student debt and dating disasters. He’s the literary cousin you want at the cookout, telling stories that make you laugh, cry, and say, “Whew—he said that.”
Must-read: I Can’t Date Jesus — hilarious essays about growing up Black and gay in the South.
9. Kacen Callender
Kacen Callender is carving out a lane of their own in both YA and adult fiction. Their stories center Black queer characters in ways that are raw, real, and affirming. Whether writing middle-grade fantasy or contemporary adult drama, Callender brings emotional depth and radical honesty to every page.
Must-read: Felix Ever After — a beautiful, funny, and affirming story about a Black trans teen navigating love and identity.
10. Jericho Brown
Jericho Brown is a Pulitzer Prize winner, and rightfully so. His work blends vulnerability with fire, love with resistance. Brown created The Duplex, a poetic form that marries the sonnet and the ghazal, and his poems explore the intersections of Blackness, queerness, masculinity, and tenderness.
Must-read: The Tradition — poetry that reads like scripture for the Black queer soul.
Honorable Mentions:
- E. Patrick Johnson – scholar and writer of Sweet Tea: Black Gay Men of the South
- Julian Randall – author of Refuse
- Alexis De Veaux – celebrated poet and biographer of Audre Lorde
- Tariq Thompson – rising voice in contemporary poetry
- L. Lamar Wilson – poet behind Sacrilegion, exploring faith and queerness in the South
Black and queer authors are essential. They are not optional reads. They are not side stories. They are central to our understanding of identity, resilience, and the future of literature. In a publishing world that often overlooks intersectional narratives, these voices cut through the noise with power and purpose.
Reading their work is more than literary appreciation—it’s an act of cultural affirmation and resistance. These authors are carving out new worlds for readers who have long felt unseen. Whether you’re looking to deepen your perspective or simply enjoy some of the best writing out there, this list is your starting point.
