Young adult fiction books by queer authors

Representation is extremely important for communities like LGBTQ+ in all media, not just film and television, which is where most peoples thoughts go. Novels are a great way to connect to a community, and there are more depictions of queer characters than what meets the eye. 

Here is a list of five diverse young adult fiction authors who portray their communities in a stunning way.

• David Levithan

Levithan is well known for representing gay male characters as his book protaginsts. He has written many young adult novels like Will Grayson, Will Grayson; Boy Meets Boy; Are We There Yet and many more. He also has many series and quite a few of his novels have become movies like his famous book Every Day.

• Kacen Callender

Callender is an amazing example of representation as a queer, transgender and nonbinary person of color. Their works are recent with their first book being published in 2018 called Hurricane Child. Kacen Callender is also commonly known for their 2020 novel Felix Ever After.

• Leah Johnson

You Should See Me in a Crown and Rise to the Sun are the two books of Leah Johnson, who is a recent new black and queer author. After its release in June of 2020, You Should See Me in a Crown has won many awards and recognitions like the 2021 Stonewall Honor Book and 2021 ALA Rainbow List Top Ten Selection.

• Becky Albertalli

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens is the book Becky Albertalli is best known for with it becoming a movie named Love, Simon in 2018. She has written many other books in the “Simonverse,” including Leah on the Offbeat, The Upside of Unrequited and Love, Creekwood.

• Adam Silvera

Adam Silvera has written two books in a series with Becky Albertalli, What If It’s Us and Here’s to Us. Here’s to Us being the most recent book as of this year, 2021. Silvera is still famous on his own without his connection with Albertalli, though famous for his book They Both Die at the End, which has won the title of New York Times Bestseller.