Celebrate Sapphic September With These Books!

This is told in three perspectives: the eponymous fox, counting down until her thousandth birthday when she will acquire power and knowledge; Yu Hsuan-Chi, a real-life poetess from 9th century China; and Artemis, a young woman in modern-day Vancouver. This is told like folklore, with fables woven throughout. It’s beautifully written, I firmly believe it should be considered a classic of lesbian literary fiction. This will make you think about toxic friendships, about activism uninformed by compassion and respect, and about queering folklore.

This is a gorgeous, queer, Welsh take on King Arthur. Getting used to the Welsh names might take a little while, but after that, this is a precisely plotted novella that packs an expansive story into a small page count. It follows a main character who grows up isolated, with a deep connection to nature. Then, she disguises herself as a man and decides to head to King Arthur’s court to try to become a knight—and meets a woman who changes everything. There are also a few illustrations included! Be sure to read the author’s note at the end for an exploration of the nature of Arthuriana.

Lynda is determined to get into her dream art school, and she’s helping to get there with her drawing commissions. When her tablet is destroyed, though, she’s stuck—until her conceited classmate Angela offers her a deal. If Lynda designs the art for her otome (dating) game, Angela will pay her generously, including buying her a new tablet. As they work together, sparks fly. But Lynda’s ambition means she has little patience for anyone who doesn’t meet her high expectations, and it might take blowing up all her relationships for her to realize her own shortcomings. (Both Lynda and Angela are asexual.)

This book gave me a reading experience I’ve never had with any other story: I had to put the book down after the first few pages and take a lap in my living room before I continued reading because I was too excited. The art! The narration! The surreal worldbuilding! The cleverness! This is a feminist, queer retelling of The Arabian Nights with beautiful artwork and a sense of humor that would make Kate Beaton proud. It’s currently being adapted as a movie, which I’m skeptical about, but you can bet I’ll be there on opening night.

This is a graphic novella, so it’s a very quick read. And who can resist a trans lesbian “mech rom-com graphic novel,” as the blurb describes it? It follows two trans women working on LSBN, a mech that is meant to help in the war against giant alien invaders — but then peace is declared, and they decide to go on a joy ride in LSBN together before it’s decommissioned. (And maybe that joy ride is a little more…joyful…than you should be at work.)

In 1970s Tokyo, Shindo is kidnapped by the yakuza. She fights off a group of gang members to try to escape, and although she’s unsuccessful, she’s given an offer. If she becomes the bodyguard for the 18-year-old daughter of the gang’s boss, they’ll let her live. Shindo soon finds herself genuinely protective of her charge, but it won’t be easy to keep them both alive in this ultra-violent environment. This is being pitched as a queer “Kill Bill meets The Handmaiden meets Thelma and Louise.”

Ma-Nee Chacaby is an Ojibwa-Cree lesbian in her 70s, and in this memoir, she looks back at her life, including leading the first gay pride parade in Thunder Bay. She recounts the traditional knowledge she was taught as a child, as well as the abuse she suffered, which led to alcoholism as a teenager. Over decades, she achieves sobriety, leaves an abusive relationship, learns to live with vision loss, raises her children and fosters more, comes out as a lesbian, and fights to help her community.

This is an atmospheric and absorbing sci-fi horror story. I read this in one sitting, sucked into this claustrophobic story about exploring dangerous tunnels while having your life support suit controlled by a manipulative handler back on the surface. It is such a great combination of survival horror, psychological horror, and a Killing Eve-style unhealthy F/F relationship.

Alison Bechel is best known for her comics Dykes to Watch Out For and her graphic memoir Fun Home, which was turned into a musical. In this autofiction metanovel, Alison Bechdel (the character, not the author) is having a bit of an existential crisis about her place in the world after her memoir about being the child of a taxidermist is adapted into an Emmy-winning TV show. The supporting characters also look suspiciously like characters from Dykes to Watch Out For.