Last year, I prioritized reading books that were nominated for literary awards as a way to diversify my reading. I was pleased to see that LGBTQ+ authors and stories were well-represented, and encouraged by this, I committed to reading books from a variety of prize lists.
Last year was an outstanding year for LGBTQ+ representation in literary prize winners. Some 2025 winners include: The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) by Rabih Alameddine (National Book Award for Fiction), We are Green and Trembling by Gabriela Cabezรณn Cรกmara and translated by Robin Myers (National Book Award for Translated Fiction), The Safekeep by Yael Van Der Wouden (Womenโs Prize for Fiction), Small Rain by Garth Greenwell (Pen/Faulkner Award), Cinema Love by Jiaming Tang (Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction), The Slip by Lucas Schaefer (Kirkus Prize) and Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell (Nebula Award).
This year is also seeing quite a LGBTQ+ fiction gems on the prize lists. Two of my favorite reads of this year made it to the Booker International Shortlist. She Who Remains by Rene Karabash and translated by Izidora Angel is a beautifully written Bulgarian novel in experimental prose set in an Albanian village ruled by Kanun customs, where Bekija chooses to become a โsworn virginโ renouncing her womanhood to live under her own free will as a man. Taiwan Travelogue by Yรกng Shuฤng-zรฎ and translated by Lin King is a sapphic love story complicated by the dissonance created between colonizer and colonized. It also is an enthusiastic celebration of Taiwanese cuisine and culture.
Iโm currently reading the incredible What I Know About You by รric Chacour and translated by Pablo Strauss, shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award. This novel follows the tragic love story of two Egyptian men and the trauma that ensues in the aftershock of its discovery. Additionally, I am thrilled to see two of my favorite books of last year by LGBTQ+ authors also included in the shortlist, The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong and Gliff by Ali Smith.
What’s next for me? Cannon by Lee Lai (graphic novel shortlisted for the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction) and Kingfisher by Rozie Kelly (shortlisted for the Womenโs Prize for Fiction). Then I will await the fall prize lists, hoping more LGBTQ+ books are represented in the National Book Award and Booker Prize.
Emily Slattery Phillips currently works as a youth services librarian for the Des Moines Public Library after a career as an art educator in the public schools. An obsessive reader, books have always been a home for her, and a place to explore and learn. This article was originally published in Little Villageโs June 2026 issue.
