16 of the Best New LGBTQ Books Out in October 2026

In 1920s Berlin, Hannah revels in the opportunity to escape traditional women’s roles by joining the underground art scene. She has to work as a tailor to make ends meet, but then she gets the opportunity of a lifetime: she’s commissioned to paint a series of nude portraits. When they’re done, though, she finds that they’ve been altered and credited to a male artist. Now, she’s out for revenge. This is a story of art forgery, queer desire, and Jewish resistance that promises to be Portrait of a Lady on Fire meets The Safekeep. —Danika Ellis

In this historical novel, Willy Hughes is at a low point: he’s heartbroken over his first great love, Barnaby Stubb, and he’s cleaning toilets and conning drunk men to get by. That’s when he meets the up-and-coming poet, William Shakespeare, who offers him roles in his productions. William is married, but that doesn’t stop Willy from falling for him—and he’s convinced he’s not alone in his feelings, especially when William starts writing him sonnets. Then, the seductive rival poet Christopher Marlowe knocks on Willy’s door. —Danika Ellis

I know, I know, we’re in Halloween mode, but there are quite a few Christmas romances out this month! This has a classic Christmas romcom premise. Bo is the director of a seasonal play that is raising money to save a landmark that’s for sale in her small town. Val is a city girl returning to her hometown of Cedar Creek after a divorce, because she has the opportunity to sell a major property. As you might have guessed, that property is the landmark Bo is trying to save. To make things more complicated, Bo is also Val’s ex—the one who got away. When Bo asks Val to help with the set design, she’ll have to decide whether to break Bo’s heart all over again or walk away from her big break. —Danika Ellis

Formula One romances have really been having a moment lately. This is the second in the series that started with Pole Position. (Why did it take me this long to notice the innuendos in these titles?) It follows Johannes Muller, who was one of the biggest names in the sport, until his performance unexpectedly falters. The team’s engineer, Caleb Hughes, steps in to get him back on track, and their relationship quickly heats up. —Danika Ellis

From the author of The Library of the Unwritten comes a fantasy about a goblin changeling, Toast, who grew up in the human world but is now struggling to survive in the Goblin Market. Then, her human sister arrives at the same time as the beast that the Goblin Market relies on disappears. The Market is dying, and the Summer Court of noble fey is poised to take it over. Toast has to team up with an infuriating fey knight with her own agenda to try to save the Market she reluctantly calls home. —Danika Ellis

One of my favorite SF/F writers, especially when it comes to found family stories, is back with a new space romp, and it’s the first book in a duology. Following Cora, a botanist who treats those left behind with the medicines she makes, and Signy, a talented pilot of living ships, this is described as “a [sapphic] love story centered around survival.” I know this book is going to make me emotional and fill me with joy, and I can’t wait. —S. Zainab Williams

Kat Dunn’s Hungerstone reimagined the classic vampire novel Carmilla. Now her latest is a sapphic Victorian-era retelling of Hamlet. When Odette’s artist mother, Lydia, suddenly and mysteriously dies, Odette’s aunt Claudine steps in and takes complete control over the household. That’s when Lydia’s ghost starts stalking around the house, claiming she’s been murdered and asking her daughter to take revenge. —Emily Martin

This debut is getting a ton of buzz. It follows Martha, a stealth trans woman—even her husband doesn’t know she’s trans. When she develops a mysterious chronic illness and insatiable cravings, she tries an experimental treatment. But the most surprising change her body goes through is that she’s inexplicably, undeniably pregnant. This body horror novel is being pitched as Rosemary’s Detransition, Baby. —Danika Ellis

The filmmaker of I Saw the TV Glow and Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma has a genre-blending, 600-page horror novel out this month! It takes place across timelines—the 1980s, 2000s, and the present—as several point of view characters get pulled into a conspiracy about a pirate TV network called Public Access Afterworld. In the current timeline, Bethany is a trans content moderator who learns about Public Access Afterworld through a series of videos from a streamer that have her searching for answers. —Danika Ellis

I just finished reading an early review copy of this, and it’s my favorite release of 2026 so far! I love the original sapphic cozy fantasy novel Legends & Lattes, but I think it’s even better in comics form. The illustrations perfectly capture the cozy atmosphere, and the slowburn F/F romance complements the story of found family and community building. Check out this excerpt from the Book Riot Newsletter for a few pages from the graphic novel as well as Travis Baldree’s reflections on how the cozy fantasy subgenre has evolved since Legends & Lattes was first published. —Danika Ellis

Jude is a law student who returns to the town of Lazaro to take over his late mother’s law practice. He soon discovers that his mother was keeping secrets, and his clients are monstrous in every sense of the word. This gothic graphic novel looks like a fascinating mash-up: it’s paranormal horror meets crime drama set in a world inspired by Filipino and European history. —Danika Ellis

Kacen Callender is the author of Felix Ever After, among many others. Sun Chasers is about Gabriel, a trans teen living on the island of St. Thomas. He’s haunted by his past and faces frequent threats and misgendering comments. Kole is trying to stay in the closet and hide what’s going on in his homelife, but he can’t help being drawn to Gabriel. As they begin to let each other in, they find a refuge in each other—but can they make it last when it feels like everything is against them? —Danika Ellis

In this queer and asexual YA novel, all Jonathan wanted was to escape his island home after high school and go to college on the mainland with his friends. But when his application is rejected, Jonathan makes an offering to the eldritch sea-god Scorpion Deep, not really expecting it to work. Whoops. Now he’s awakened an ancient evil that is out for blood, and Jonathan begins to physically change as he tries to find a way to undo the damage before he pays with his life. —Liberty Hardy

From the author of Hell Followed With Us and Compound Fracture, this YA thriller follows a 17-year-old autistic trans guy who was raised by a serial killer father. Morgan is determined to prove he’s not like his father, so he starts to investigate his father’s last, unidentified victim. But he’s being followed by a documentary crew, and his classmate, Felicity, demands to join the investigation. If he refuses, they’ll reveal Morgan’s secret—that he was an accomplice. This is a coming-of-age story about clawing towards adulthood and an exploration of exploitation in the true crime industry. —Danika Ellis

Rowdy Buckner is the spoiled prince of Texas. He’s also trans, and there’s just one thing he wants that his parents won’t provide: the transfiguration tonics that will transform his body. To prove he can be trusted with the responsibility of such powerful magic, he signs up for Realmsweep, a dangerous scavenger hunt that has him facing off against dragons with other preteen teammates. Along the way, he is forced to confront the colonization and inequality that his family has perpetuated. What does it mean to be a good king, and is he capable of it? —Danika Ellis

Tyler Pennock is a Two-Spirit member of Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, and this is the third book in their genre-blending poetry trilogy that began with Bones and Blood. It follows a Two-Spirit Indigenous person returning home to Treaty 8 territory, meditating on what it means to belong and how to navigate colonial and communal wounds while building and rebuilding relationships. This promises to be for readers of Billy-Ray Belcourt and Jeanette Armstrong. —Danika Ellis