PIHM: Queer-Owned Speculative Presses for Pride and Beyond
As book bans expand and library shelves empty, we often worry about presses quietly deciding that LGBTQ stories aren’t worth the risk. That’s where readers come in. By buying from queer-run presses, we can give support from the top, proving that queer books aren’t just a marketing ploy, but a rich world of stories.
Not sure where to start? Here’s a list of thirty-nine presses where you can get your speculative fiction fix knowing you’re supporting small, independent, queer-owned publications. The only requirement was that at least one owner or editor-in-chief identifies as queer (or anything under that umbrella)*, the press has published at least one speculative work, and has been active within the past year. After that, it’s a free-for-all! Or, a free-for-all in alphabetical order. We’re not monsters.
*If I wasn’t certain how a person/press identified, I would reach out to check if they were okay with the label of queer-owned. That means some may not appear, either because they declined addition or didn’t respond. I also may be missing publishers I simply didn’t know about, and it’s not a mark on them!
1. Android Press
Android Press runs the spectacular Solarpunk Magazine, and their line of books shines just as brightly, starting with some truly awesome covers. There’s plenty to choose from, but I was taken in by the preorder for J. Dianne Dotson’s The Inn at the Amethyst Lantern, because I’m not about to let an opportunity for a portentous lighthouse surrounded by giant luna moths pass me by.
2. Aqueduct Press
Aqueduct Press is known for feminist science fiction, although they also publish a nonfiction, poetry, fantasy, and just about anything you could ask for. If that doesn’t sell you on them, just take a peek at their author list! Old standbys and new favorites come together to help make this press great.
3. Archive of the Odd
I confess bias here because I (Cormack, the one writing this article, hi!) run Archive of the Odd, but I will say that I still think we’re pretty cool. Archive of the Odd is a micropress focusing on stories in the style of found footage, such as those told in the form of websites, letters, reports, social media, you name it. Everything is illustrated and fully formatted in the style of the document. The third issue of our magazine is coming out June 15, and our debut novella, Cat Voleur’s toxic fandom/internet horror Revenge Arc, comes out August 1!
(DHR Editor’s Note: Can confirm – Archive of the Odd are excellent, as is DHR contributor Cat’s novella!)
4. Atthis Arts
Atthis Arts publishes socially conscious, gentle, community-driven fiction, particularly fantasy and middle grade. Parents and children alike can enjoy their titles, whether that’s a book apiece or reading along together.
5. Augur
Augur is a magazine that combines literary and magical, but above all else, the surreal. Their sibling publication, Tales & Feathers, opened recently, specializing in cozy fantasy. Subscribe, get an issue, or settle in with a free-to-read tale and a cup of tea.
6. Balance of Seven
Balane of Seven carries a range of titles, from single-author trilogies to anthologies like Queer for the New Year: Nine Stories of New Beginnings. They also have specialty boxes that would be a great gift for the bookish among us, including a vampire-themed pizza box and a dragon-themed box for their dragon anthologies.
7. Black Josei Press
(They also have an Etsy)
Black Josei Press publishes comics celebrating people of color of diverse communities, cultures, genders, and sexualities. They have some amazing projects coming up, like Gladiolus magazine, as well as both single creator comics like The Saddest Angriest Black Girl in Town by Robyn Smith, and comic anthologies.
8. Blind Eye Books
Shop: Same as above!
Blind Eye Books not only has won awards, it’s won enough to justify an entire page on their website, so that’s the kind of quality they’re bringing. Personally, I was drawn to The Long Past & Other Stories by Ginn Hale, because you can’t expect me not to leap at a book with a dinosaur-riding cowboy and an airship on the cover. Fantasy, mystery, supernatural, and more, all with LGBTQ protagonists.
9. Bywater Books
Bywater Books is the place for all things lesbian, wlw, and sapphic, including all identities therein. Lesbian lake house romcom? Check. Lesbian vampires? Check. Trans café thriller? Check check check. Looking for your next sapphic read? Now you have a great place to check.
10. Cipher Press
Cipher Press isn’t always spec fic, but it is always queer. Queer non-fiction abounds, but so do books like Ayodele Olofintuade’s upcoming thriller Lákíríboto (witchcraft! Feminist rage! Mobster pulp!). Horror readers may also look forward to Alison Rumfitt’s upcoming Brainwyrms.
11. Cursed Morsels
Cursed Morsels first made a splash (or a splatter?) with the anthology Antifa Splatterpunk, and it’s been swinging ever since, whether that’s with Shredded: A Sports And Fitness Body Horror Anthology, Bitter Apples (an anthology of teaching-themed horror by teachers), or the upcoming polite horror anthology No Trouble At All.
12. Discord Comics
Discord Comics is a mix of single creator comics and comic anthologies like Nether Realms (nonbinary sci-fi erotica). You might also recognize them from Minority Monsters, Khaos Komix, Nectar or Ambrosia (transfemme and transmasc erotic comics, respectively).
13. Duck Prints Press
Duck Prints Press specializes in fanfiction authors looking to make their original fiction debuts in a wide variety of genres (though most of them are spec fic of some flavor). You can give them a taste with one of the many short stories, get a multi-author swirl with anthologies like the masquerade-themed She Wears the Midnight Crown, or take a bite with their erotica imprint.
14. Hansen House
Hansen House’s tagline is “A home for queer stories,” and they deliver! I first heard about them through The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher by E.M. Anderson, a fantasy story about an 83-year-old Chosen One, but peruse their catalogue for the queer stories making Hansen House their home.
15. Haunt Publishing
Haunt Publishing is a purveyor of the dark, the gothic, and the underrepresented, including titles like Unspeakable and Unthinkable, queer gothic anthologies. They recently published Heather Parry’s short story collection This Is My Body, Given For You, and upcoming is Every Version Ends In Death by Aliya Chaudhry, a feminist “anti-ghost story” (their wording, my delight), coming out this October, just in time for Halloween.
16. Inspired Quill
Inspired Quill is a nonprofit social enterprise lifting up marginalized voices of all stripes. Likewise, they have all forms of spec fic, from (literally) quiet horror to YA sci-fi. Their most recent title as of this writing is “Glass Girl” by Dorothy A. Winsor, a YA fantasy about dragons and glass blowing—not to mention murder.
17. JMS Books
Shop: Same as above!
Not strictly speculative, JMS Books publishes everything from nonfiction to erotica to sci-fi to horror to everything in between, in a variety of lengths and heat. Spec fic lovers can look forward to plenty of new releases, including Charles Payseur’s novelette “A Giant Problem,” which came out at the end of May. JMS is sure to have your queer fantasy—however you choose to define it.
18. Kith Books
Kith Books is a literary and poetry publisher looking to move more into speculative fiction in the coming year. It’s also the home of the Corporeal and en*gendered lit mags, with themes of the body and gender, respectively. Most recently, it published Joseph Soares’ poetry chapbook “Life Again.”
19. Knight Errant Press
If you like queer folklore and mythology, you’ve found the right place! Knight Errant is a queer micropress with some fantastic pieces to choose from already, not to mention a killer 2023 novella lineup. While you wait for upcoming releases like Briar Ripley’s dark suburbia novella The False Sister, you can get bestseller’s like Aven Wildsmith’s Tamlin.
20. Lady Mantis Books
Shop: Not open yet, but be on the lookout for submission guidelines!
Alright, so Lady Mantis Books doesn’t have anything published yet, but how could I resist putting an erotic horror imprint on this list? Especially when the EIC has expressed a desire for queer erotic horror? Be serious. Follow them for updates, and authors, be on the lookout for upcoming submissions!
21. Lethe Press
Lethe Press may specialize in the queer and unusual, but there’s something for every spec fic fan in their catalogue, whether that’s science fiction, humor, historical, erotica, fantasy, or a combination thereof. There’s even a button on their site for readers looking for something genderqueer, bringing you titles like Julian K. Jarboe’s Everyone on the Moon is Essential Personnel and Jordan Kurella’s Nebula finalist I Never Liked You Anyway.
22. Little Ghosts
Little Ghosts is everything you want. An indie-forward bookstore AND a press? Don’t mind if I do. You can order plenty of titles from them, as well as their own publications, What Draws Us Near, and J. Krawcyzk’s doppleganger tale It Looks Like Dad. C’mon, who could say no to an 80-lb spider? No one. At least not to its face.
23. Medusa Publishing Haus
Shop: Currently, no books are available—however, you can get the first book here!
Medusa Publishing Haus is currently open to submissions for The Book of Queer Saints II, and you can buy the first The Book of Queer Saints above! Morally gray and villainous queers? Absolutely. Be on the lookout for new books and submission calls!
24. Neon Hemlock
No list of queer indie speculative fiction would be complete without Neon Hemlock. The publisher of Baffling Magazine and the We’re Here anthology series, you can also find books like Premee Mohamed’s Nebula Award-winning And What Can We Offer You Tonight, Izzy Wasserstein’s short story collection All the Hometowns You Can't Stay Away From, and A.Z. Louise’s Off-Time Jive.
25. Off-Limits Press
Off-Limits press hosts a veritable who’s-who of indie horror, including Hailey Piper, J.A.W. McCarthy, and Laurel Hightower. For those a bit overwhelmed with queer fiction recommendations by this point in the list (fair enough!), they also published Divergent Terrors, edited by W. Dale Jordan, all about LGBTQ perspectives in the horror genre.
26. Reader Beware Magazine
Shop: Free to read! Issues here
Is it free, or is it better than free? Reader Beware is unapologetically pulp, and unapologetically indulgent for all lovers of grim and gore. The yearly magazine recently opened to submissions from the public, and we look forward to seeing it grow from here!
27. Renaissance Press
I first learned about Renaissance Press from their Nothing Without Us anthology of fiction by disabled authors, but they have an entire range of books to choose from, ranging from science fiction to cozy mysteries and everything in between. Of course, you can always read some of their fantastic anthologies, including Nothing Without Us Too, Artificial Divide, and AfriCANthology.
28. Sliced Up Press
Sliced Up Press is a micropress with a catalogue of unique horror anthologies (cake horror, anyone?) and awesome authors. Personally, I’m waiting on my preorder of their upcoming Sand, Salt, Blood, an anthology of sea-based horror. They also provide FREE editing services and a yearly grant for queer authors!
(DHR Editor’s Note: well, I am blushing – Sand, Salt, Blood, edited by yours truly, releases 1st July, with proceeds going to RNLI, the lifeboat charity in the UK)
29. Speculation Publications
Speculation Publications specializes in dark fiction, including the anthologies The Dancing Plague and Incubate, but they also just released Beach Shorts for anyone looking for a fun summer read, plus the Work In Progress Story Crafting Notebook, a notebook with tips, prompts, and other tools to help with getting that novel out of the realm of playlists and Pinterest boards and into readers’ hands.
30. Speculatively Queer
Speculatively Queer is a micropress with two titles out, Xenocultivars and It Gets Even Better, anthologies exploring queer possibilities and growth, respectively. Xenocultivars has been a Lambda Literary finalist, and stories and artwork within have been nominated for Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy the Sir Julius Vogel award, so, yeah, it’s kind of a big deal.
31. Strong Branch Press
The new press imprint of Strong Branch Productions, you can get their first book, Strange Garden above, and listen to some of their parent group’s podcasts as you wait for exciting new releases!
32. Timber Ghost Press
Part of Timber Ghost’s vision statement is to become a respected name in the horror community, and from where I stand, they’ve more than accomplished that, all while focusing on treating their authors right. They have plenty of amazing titles to choose from already, but while you’re sitting by the campfire, you can preorder the anthology Along Harrowed Trails, filled with Weird West and Old West horror.
33. Tree and Stone
Tree and Stone is a free-to-read magazine of all things fantastical, particularly magical and genre-bending works by queer and BIPOC authors. Their Queer as F* issue is specifically queer-focused, and their Para el Pueblo issue features some absolutely amazing Latine creators. While you can read the issues for free, subscribing to their Patreon gets you extra benefits, like early access, short story critiques, and extra content.
34. tRaum Books
Shop: Same as above!
tRaum is a micropress of everything new, experimental, and queer. That means unusual stories and sometimes, equally unusual formats. Also, one of their art books has warnings for “some sex, light gore and blasphemy (???)” so you can bet I’m finding out more.
35. Queen of Swords
Like Neon Hemlock, it’s impossible to talk about queer spec fic without talking about Queen of Swords. First of all, because the editor-in-chief, Catherine Lundoff, is a light of the community, and not coincidentally, the author of a series about menopausal werewolves. If werewolves aren’t your style, how about a dapper lesbian capybara pirate, like A.J. Fitzwater’s The Voyages of Cinrak the Dapper?
36. Queer Space Books
Shop: Same as above!
Queer Space is an imprint of Rebel Satori. Same quality, now make it LGBTQ+ sci-fi, Weird, horror, and urban fantasy. Sound like a deal? It is, especially with books like Joe Baumann’s story of mysterious replacements and stolen memories, Lake Drive, coming up.
37. Weirdpunk Books
If you read indie horror, you’ve probably read at least something from Weirdpunk. They’ve got Joe Koch’s The Wingspan of Severed Hands and Brendan Vidito’s Pornography for the End of the World, not to mention all the other top-quality horror. Not sure where to start? Try one of the anthologies and find a new favorite author.
38. Wrong Publishing
Wrong Publishing isn’t spec fic exclusive—those in need of a poetry fix, you’ve come to the right place! You can preorder Jordan Ranft’s chapbook Said the Worms and, while you wait, read some of the back issues of Wrongdoing Magazine, or Nina Reljić’s poetry chapbook Agnes. Looking something more risqué? How about Viola Volée and Noura Sarayel’s Sweet Little Slutpuncture?
39. Ylva Publishing
Ylva publishes lesbian ebooks and audiobooks, and not just spec fic—you can get romance, mystery, erotica, and more! You can find just about any genre, age range, protagonist, and writing voice you’d like, but you’ll always get high quality lesbian fiction.
By Cormack Baldwin