It’s Pride Month, and as well as celebrating over on Divination Hollow Reviews, I wanted to highlight some of the queer non-fiction I’ve read. As someone who great up under Section 28, it’s great to see queer books more accessible than ever. Yes, there is still a way to go, but we’ve come a long way. But it’s always worth taking the time to learn more, whether it’s focused on entertainment, history, or identities.
Queer Non-Fiction
Gay Aliens and Queer Folk: How Russell T Davies Changed TV
Emily Garside
Genre: Entertainment
Age: Adult
Format: Hardback
Published: September 21st, 2023
Review
I wonder how many times I can find an excuse to talk about this book! Honestly though, it’s really good, it’s very informative, and it examines TV from angles not usually considered. Excellent work.
A Little Gay History of Wales
Daryl Leeworthy
Genre: History
Age: Adult
Format: Paperback
Published: January 22nd, 2020
Review
Sticking with the same geographical area as the above – not only is queer history often overlooked, so is Welsh history. It seems a strange pairing, but it can’t have been easy to compile this history of queer people in Wales. Leeworthy does an excellent job, shining a light in a hugely underexplored area, and this book is a wonderful dive into queer history.
Genre: Personal Essays
Age: Adult
Format: ebook
Published: May 17th, 2021
Review
Books like this, that collect different experiences and views and lives, are so incredibly valuable. It’s an effective collection of essays that span a range of experiences, and very much worth reading.
The Transgender Issue: An Argument for Justice
Shon Faye
Genre: Social Justice – Activism
Age: Adult
Format: ebook
Published: September 2nd, 2021
Review
If you, like me, are cis, and haven’t yet read this, you need to. Like, immediately. Prioritise it for Pride. The attacks on trans people over the last few years have been absolutely relentless, but in this book Faye lays out everything we, as cis people, should know, and it’s truly an incredibly important book. If you want to be an ally to trans folks, read this.
The Book of Pride: LGBTQ Heroes Who Changed the World
Mason Funk
Genre: History – Biography
Age: Adult
Format: Audiobook
Published: May 21st, 2019
It’s hard to really get the scope of LGBTQ+ stories we’ve lost, the tales that will never, for whatever reason, be told. And it’s part of the reason this book is so incredibly vital. It’s an oral history of (American) queer folk in the 20th Century and the fights they faced, and such an important book deserves to be much more wildly read.
As always, if you have any queer non-fiction to recommend, I’d love to hear from you. What are you favourite LGBTQ+ non-fiction books? Do you enjoy reading personal essays, or history? I hope even if you have read some of these, I’ve been able to convince you to pick up at least one of these great, important books this month.
Unwrapping Words 
I’d also add A Quick and Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns by Archie Bongiovanni & Tristan Jimerson, and Amateur by Thomas Page McBee.
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Thank you!
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