Skip to Main Content

Queer Lit at UMD

This guide provides lists of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other queer fiction and poetry located at the UMD Libraries; this includes novels, short story collections, and poetry collections.

Welcome! This guide is designed to give you a preview of some of the Queer* Literature we have available at the University of Maryland Libraries, and to explain why it is so important we fight for representation of all kinds in our literature and libraries. 

According to the American Library Association's 2022 Banned Books report, a "record 2,571 unique titles were targeted for censorship, a 38% increase from the 1,858 unique titles targeted for censorship in 2021. Of those titles, the vast majority were written by or about members of the LGBTQIA+ community and people of color" (2023). 

Despite the increase in book bans, UMD Libraries are committed to protecting and increasing representation of Queer Literature in our collections -- in the 2022-2023 alone we spent $3,000+ to purchase over 170 Transgender and Bisexual Fiction and Poetry LAMBDA award winning books, and this category has been added to our automatic purchasing plan. The English Language and Literature Librarian, Emily Cranwell Deinert, is always working on expanding our collection and will be working on adding to our asexual/aromantic offerings this year. 

Use the tabs on the left to see more of our Queer Lit offerings, and to learn more about how to fight book bans!

*"Queer" is used here as an affirming term with respect for all LGBTQ+ people

Recently Added Queer Literature

Summer Fun

Winner of the 2022 Lammy Award for Transgender Fiction From acclaimed author Jeanne Thornton, an epic, singular look at fandom, creativity, longing, and trans identity. Gala, a young trans woman, works at a hostel in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. She is obsessed with the Get Happies, the quintessential 1960s Californian band, helmed by its resident genius, B----. Gala needs to know: Why did the band stop making music? Why did they never release their rumored album, Summer Fun? And so she writes letters to B---- that shed light not only on the Get Happies, but paint an extraordinary portrait of Gala. The parallel narratives of B---- and Gala form a dialogue about creation--of music, identity, self, culture, and counterculture. Summer Fun is a brilliant and magical work of trans literature that marks Thornton as one of our most exciting and original novelists.