LGBTQ+ Resources

February is LGBTQ+ History Month, and June is Pride Month. To celebrate we take the opportunity to shine more light on LGBTQ+ literature and voices. Don't wait till then, just get started, why not start with browsing our collection.

Reads and authors celebrating being LGBTQ+

• Have you heard of Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson? They were two trans activists of colour who fought for LGBTQ+ equality and played a role in the Stonewall Uprising. You can read the book 'Sylvia and Marsha Start a Revolution!' Which Introduces children to their story and issues on gender identity and diversity on RNIB Bookshare.
• Try 'The Extraordinary Life of Alan Turing'. Not well known during his lifetime, but today he is famous and celebrated for the crucial part he played during WW2. He was a mathematician who cracked the Enigma code, which is thought to have shortened the war by several years. He was also a victim of mid-20th Century attitudes to homosexuality and arrested in 1952. In 2019 Turing was named the most "iconic" figure of the 20th Century and his face now appears on the £50 note.
• Want to read a new take on a fairy-tale? Then you can read 'The Prince and the Frog, a story to Help Children Learn about Same-Sex Relationships' on RNIB Bookshare.
• 'How to Survive a Plague' by David France is the story of the AIDS epidemic and the activists who grabbed the reins of scientific research to help develop the drugs that turned HIV from a mostly fatal infection to a manageable disease. You can learn more about this moment in history on RNIB Bookshare.
• James Baldwin was an American writer and civil rights activist. His novel, 'Giovanni’s Room' is now considered an important book in LGBTQ+ literature. RNIB Bookshare has several of Baldwin’s works that you can enjoy.
• 'Introducing Teddy' by Jessica Walton is a children’s story that explores gender and friendship. 
• Oscar Wilde was an Irish writer and is remembered for his novel 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' and his poems and plays. During his life Wilde was convicted on charges surrounding homosexuality and was imprisoned. You can find a selection of his work on RNIB Bookshare.
• Samantha Allen’s 'Real queer America' details the stories of LGBTQ+ communities within the US’s red states. Read this cross-country story on RNIB Bookshare.
• Ocean Vuong is a Vietnamese American writer whose novel, 'On earth we’re briefly gorgeous' tells the story of a son writing a letter to his mother which unearths a family history and parts of his life that are unknown to his mother. You can read this book on RNIB Bookshare.
• Truman Capote was an openly gay author, his most well-known works are the novel 'In Cold Blood' and the novella 'Breakfast at Tiffany’s'. Get your true crime fix and read In Cold Blood and discover other works at RNIB Bookshare.
• 'The Lavender Scare' by David K Johnson explores the moment in US history during the McCarthy era where LGBTQ+ people were investigated and seen as a threat to the US government. You can read this title and learn more about this untold history on RNIB Bookshare.
• The Stonewall Uprising was a pivotal moment in LGBTQ+ history. At RNIB Bookshare you can find ‘Pride: Photographs After Stonewall’ which gives a visual account of the liberation movement of the LGBTQ community available here.
• Looking for a good children's read? try 'The Accidental Diary of B.U.G.' about Billie, and her laugh-out-loud observations. Her mum's wedding is the event of the year, and yes, two women can get married! 
• Max Kowalski Didn't Mean It' by Susan Day. When Max meets Tal and his two dads, he learns that there are lots of different ways to be a man, and that his own dad’s expectations of him at such a young age aren't fair. An utterly remarkable book about families, being a boy and coping with loss.