Playfully blending personal memoir, criticism and candid new interviews with filmmakers from across the LGBTQ+ spectrum, Ryan Gilbey’s engaging and dynamic book is a non-chronological treasure-hunt through queer cinema past and present. Andrew Haigh (All of Us Strangers), Cheryl Dunye (The Watermelon Woman), Isabel Sandoval (Lingua Franca) and Bruce LaBruce (No Skin Off My Ass) are among the directors who reveal how queer artists use film to express their most personal truths-and to challenge, defy and outrage a world that would rather they didn’t exist. That world might look rainbow-coloured from some angles, with the likes of Brokeback Mountain, Call Me By Your Name, Moonlight and Portrait of a Lady on Fire winning awards and acclaim.

It Used to be Witches : A Journey Through Queer Cinema – Ryan Gilbey – 9780571381531

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How do we experience attraction?

What does love mean to us?When did you realise you were ace?

This is the ace community in their own words. Drawing upon interviews with a wide range of people across the asexual spectrum, Eris Young is here to take you on an empowering, enriching journey through the rich multitudes of asexual life. With chapters spanning everything from dating, relationships and sex, to mental and emotional health, family, community and joy, the inspirational stories and personal experiences within these pages speak to aces living and loving in unique ways.

Find support amongst the diverse narratives of aces sex-repulsed and sex-favourable, alongside voices exploring what it means to be black and ace, to be queer and ace, or ace and multi-partnered – and use it as a springboard for your own ace growth. Do you see a story like your own?

Ace Voices : What it Means to Be Asexual, Aromantic, Demi or Grey-Ace – Eris Young – 9781787756984

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In the early days of ancient Greece, queer love was celebrated.

The most famous warrior in antiquity loved another man. The poet whose lyrics were memorised by philosophers and kings sang of her desire for women. Men could swear oaths of undying love and live out the rest of their lives together in peace. What fragments survive of this ancient world all tell us one thing: it was not a sin to be queer.

In this extraordinary book, Harry Tanner sets out on a journey to discover the origins of homophobia in the West. He follows the traces of this sinister idea as it swept across the ancient Mediterranean. Wherever he discovers the roots of homophobia taking hold, Tanner finds a confluence of crises mirrored across the centuries.

Inequality, fear and an obsession with self-control – this is how societies turn on their queer citizens, time and time again, since the dawn of history. This is a powerful story that draws on the rich world of the ancients to reveal how homophobia infected Western religion and ideology – the consequences of which we are still living with today – and to that end how we can move forward and resist homophobia in the future.

The Queer Thing About Sin – Harry Tanner – 9781399422314

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I am 13 years old and these are my secrets.

1. I have a crush on Jet from ITV gameshow Gladiators. So strong! So pretty!
2. I still play with Barbie dolls. It’s mostly making them scissor. Or snog. Or lie on top of each other with feeling.
3. I just kissed my best friend. Spoiler alert: she’s a girl.

From the suburbs of Leeds to the streets of Sydney, from the queer clubs of London to a quiet life by the sea, through love, family, friendship and heartache, join Roxy Bourdillon on a journey to work out exactly who she is.

From overcoming shame and finding your tribe, to surviving the dating scene and learning to really express yourself, this is a book about joy, empowerment and freedom. Warm, witty and nostalgia-drenched, it’s a laugh-out-loud treat of a read for fans of Dolly Alderton’s Everything I Know About Love – but with a glorious queer twist.

What a Girl Wants : A (True) Story of Sexuality and Self-discovery – Roxy Bourdillon – 9781035037179

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Long before people identified as transgender or lesbian, there were female husbands and the women who loved them. People assigned female who transed gender, lived as men, and married women – were true queer pioneers.

Moving deftly from the colonial era to just before the First World War, Jen Manion uncovers the riveting and very personal stories of ordinary people who lived as men despite tremendous risk, danger, violence, and threat of punishment.

Female Husbands – Jen Manion – 9781108718271

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With warmth and humour, Elizabeth Lovatt reimagines the women who both called and volunteered for the Lesbian Line in the 1990s while also tracing her own journey from accidentally coming out to disastrous dates to finding her chosen family. With callers and agents alike dealing with first crushes and breakups, sex and marriage, loneliness and illness (or simply the need to know the name of a gay bar on a night out), this is a celebration of the ordinary lives of queer women.

Thank You For Calling the Lesbian Line : A Hidden History of Queer Women – Elizabeth Lovatt – 9780349704630

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Leaving no headstone unturned, Sacha Coward takes you on a wild ride through the night from ancient Greece to the main stage of RuPaul’s Drag Race, visiting cross-dressing pirates, radical fairies and the graves of the ‘queerly departed’ along the way. Queer communities have often sought refuge in the shadows and created safe spaces in underworlds. But these forgotten narratives tell stories of resilience that deserve to be heard.

Join any Pride march and you will see a glorious display of papier-mâché unicorn heads, drag queens in mermaid tails and more fairy wings than you can shake a trident at. These are not just accessories: they are queer symbols with historic roots. To truly understand who queer people are today, we must confront the twisted tales of the past.

Queer as Folklore : The Hidden Queer History of Myths and Monsters – Sacha Coward – 9781807070397

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It can be difficult to navigate a lifetime’s worth of relationship patterns to clearly see the best ways to treat the folks we care about.  And be treated well in return.

In A Quick & Easy Guide to Healthy Relationships, Mariah-Rose Marie offers a cheery, articulate, and fun-to-read guide to navigating, recognizing, and reenforcing positives patterns in friendships, romances, families, and work connections, all while taking care of your own head and heart in the process.

From tips for engaging in difficult conversations, advice on communicating boundaries, and resources for strengthening bonds, this guide can help you make your relationships stronger and healthier than ever.

The latest volume of the critically acclaimed, bestselling A Quick & Easy Guide series of educational comics.

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This vibrant, inclusive guide, designed for all kinds of girls, is designed to help you be the strongest, proudest, happiest version of yourself!

A celebration of the gift of queerness, it’s packed full of heartfelt advice, comforting stories and stylish illustrations, and will give you the tools you need to explore your own identity, on your own terms. Author and YouTuber Rowan Ellis uses her personal experience to take you through queer life. From coming out and dealing with tough stuff, right through to finding friendships and celebrating Pride. There are also brilliant guest essays from contributors across the LGBTQ+ spectrum.

The book opens with guidance on understanding how you feel as a queer girl. From choosing your pronouns to navigating different labels and identities, Ellis helps girls understand that they are in control of their own identity. And that it’s ok to not be sure straight away. Moving onto a glossary of queer terms, Here and Queer helps introduce girls to the rainbow of definitions. And the terms which help queer people understand who they are and how they feel.

Then, the book then moves onto advice on coming out, for many one of the hardest steps to take on their journey to truly living their best lives. Following are chapters on sex and romance, including helpful advice about your first time. As well as guides on consent. And knowing how to make sure you build a healthy and supportive relationship with your partner. There are also sections on dealing with bullies and stigma. And finding your community and looking after your mental health. It also includes advice on how to help you find extra support if you need it.

The book also has more information on queer ladies in history. And on the fight for equality undertaken by brave activists throughout history and today.

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From the creator of Perfectly Queer: An Illustrated Introduction, this bold and brilliantly illustrated guide is written for anyone looking to explore the beautiful ace and aro communities; the acefluxes, the arospikes, the demis, the greys, the frays and more. Separate the myths and stereotypes, and discover some of the wonderful intricacies that shape each spectrum, including: forms of love and attraction, common identities, microlabels, flags, and the entertaining community-led culture. Packed with quizzes, activity sheets and a directory of further resources, this is a celebration of all things ace and aro!

Amazing Ace, Awesome Aro : An Illustrated Exploration – Victoria Barron – 9781839977145

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