Check out these LGBTQ+ books from the Asian diaspora

Pride Month might be coming to a close, but these books should be added to your TBR list any time of the year!

Keep the Pride celebrations going with these books.

Photo illustration by Ryan Quan

Words by Anjana Pawa

It’s Pride Month, and behind the rainbow flags and “love is love” slogans, there’s unfortunately a much darker reality for queer and trans youth across the United States: their rights are under attack. In several states, anti-trans legislation is rampant, trans youth are being targeted in schools and in health care, and LGBTQ+ books—especially those by authors of color—are being pulled from classrooms, bookshops, and libraries.

In moments like this, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed or powerless. But one thing we can do is keep queer and trans stories alive. We can read them, share them, and be a witness to them. It’s a powerful step that makes space for the voices that lawmakers are trying to silence. Books hold power. And for those of us who’ve had to imagine ourselves before we ever saw ourselves, reading isn’t just escapism, it’s a form of survival.

The books on this list JoySauce put together are varied in tone and form. There’s dreamy fiction, sharp personal essays, vulnerable and intimate memoirs, powerful collections of poetry, and a few genre-blurring gems in between. Stories like these don’t just reflect queer and trans lives, they protect them. So even as Pride Month comes to an end, it’s always a good time to pick up one of these works by a trans or queer AA+PI writer as your next read.

"Gods of Want" by K-Ming Chang.

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Gods of Want by K-Ming Chang

This collection of short stories by Taiwanese American author K-Ming Chang explores queer womanhood through exploring the threads between past and present. The 16 short stories dive deep, quite imaginatively, into mythology and seamlessly connect them to the journeys we take today. Chang writes about queer Taiwanese American womanhood through various bodies, ghosts, and even aunties who hoard teeth. The writing is gorgeous, and at times haunting, and will sit with you for a long time after you read it.

"Chlorine" by Jade Song.

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Chlorine by Jade Song

In this haunting debut novel, a Chinese American swimmer is obsessed with becoming a mermaid. No, not metaphorically, but quite literally. Throughout the novel, the main character grapples with the violence of growing up under the weight of beauty standards and heteronormative expectations. This fantasy horror novel explores coming of age in a way that’s guttural, sometimes diving headfirst into how grotesque and horrifying it can be, especially as a queer individual. If you’ve ever felt like you were growing up in a body that wasn’t made for you, Chlorine will resonate.

"Darius the Great is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram.

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Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

A soft and warm young adult novel about a Persian American teen visiting Iran for the first time and figuring out who he is, Darius The Great touches on all that it means to grow up, especially when you’re a queer brown kid. Author Adib Khorram captures the quiet, everyday struggles of mental illness with honesty, while telling a rich story of intergenerational connection and self-discovery.

"Everything I Learned, I learned in a Chinese Restaurant," by Curtis Chin.

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Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant by Curtis Chin

If you’re looking for a touching memoir, this one’s for you. Curtis Chin writes about growing up gay and Chinese American in 1980s Detroit, all against the backdrop of working in his family’s busy Chinese restaurant. Chin’s storytelling is nostalgic without being overtly sentimental, and the book is sharp with observations about race, class, and belonging. The stories are equally nostalgic and political, and at its heart, this is a story about family—both the one you’re born into and the one you choose along the way.

"More Than Organs" by Kay Ulanday Barrett.

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More Than Organs by Kay Ulanday Barrett

Poetry is one of the most powerful forms of artistry available to us and this collection exudes power. Filipinx writer Kay Ulanday Barrett tells their stories from the intersections of being brown, disabled, trans, and chronically ill. It’s fierce and powerful, but still soft and intimate, uncovering and proving the claim that identity is always political. More Than Organs is exactly what the title promises: a refusal to be reduced to just bodies and a reclamation of one’s whole self.

"I'm Afraid of Men." by Vivek Shraya.

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I’m Afraid of Men. by Vivek Shraya

This tiny book packs a heavy punch. Multidisciplinary artist Vivek Shraya unpacks the violence, fragility, and fear that often comes with masculinity in this mini-memoir. The short, but powerful read dissects how gender expectations have shaped Shraya’s life as a trans femme of color, navigating a world and systems that aren’t built for someone like her. It’s bold, brilliant, and necessary.

"Public Obscenities" by Shayok Misha Chowdhury.

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Public Obsceneties by Shayok Misha Chowdhury

Set between Brooklyn and Kolkata, this bilingual Bengali English play is full of tension and yearning. It follows a queer Bengali American and his boyfriend on a trip to his hometown of Kolkata, where language and family all start blurring the lines of their love and desire for each other. It is witty, at times sexy, and also incredibly nuanced in how it explores what we say (and also don’t say) to each other when we are in love within a diaspora.

Published on June 30, 2025