This post was originally published on Audible.com.
This year, Pride Month feels more important than ever. In difficult times, many of us turn to storytelling, looking for well-written stories that recognize and call to who we are as people. These stories can help draw us out of ourselves and into the life and times of other people—some fictional and some very real—helping us to both escape and engage with the world we live in.
This list of freshly released books is for LGBTQIA+ folks and allies looking for stories that represent the full spectrum of identities. Whether you're looking to escape into a novel, dig deeper into the history of our queer elders, or listen to stories of real queer and trans people living their lives, this collection of 2025's best new LGBTQIA+ audiobooks (so far) has a listen for you.
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous took the world by storm. Now, Ocean Vuong is back with this story about connection and community. It follows a depressed young man who is about to take his own life; he's stopped by an elderly widow who he then becomes a caretaker for. The growing bond between the two protagonists promises to change them both. This rich, beautiful book about people at society's margins is narrated by James Aaron Oh, an actor new to audiobooks who brings a fresh voice to this compelling teenage protagonist.
Three women—Maria in 1532 Spain, Lottie in 1827 England, and Alice in 2019 Boston—all want something more out of their lives. And all three will stumble into the path of a vampire. Their lives are doomed to twist and braid together in this sapphic tale of desire, hunger, and determination by the author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. Award-winning narrators Julia Whelan and Marisa Calin are joined by actress Katie Leung, bringing one of the most anticipated fantasy books of the year to life.
Marsha P. Johnson was a Black trans woman and groundbreaking revolutionary known for throwing the first brick at the first-ever Pride: the 1969 Stonewall riots. Yet, for years, her role was undermined and downplayed. This is the first biography of her life, a love letter to a queer icon who fought for gay rights and liberation, inspired creatives like Andy Warhol, and performed her own incredible art. It's written and narrated by trans artist Tourmaline, who presents Marsha's story in all its complicated glory.
This Audible Original comic murder-mystery follows Milan Patel, a gay event planner who reluctantly goes home to small-town Montana to visit his parents' family-run motel, only to get caught up in a murder investigation when his dad's body is found in the pool. This fresh whodunit from 30 Rock's Maulik Pancholy also features a full ensemble cast of stars, from Pitch Perfect's Anna Camp to A Nice Indian Boy's Karan Soni, and Never Have I Ever's Poorna Jagannathan.
Viral sensation Dylan Mulvaney is a TikTok influencer and personality known for documenting her journey as a trans woman and discussing what it means to be a girl in her series "Days of Girlhood." This memoir steps back and offers a fuller view of her journey, and her narration brings her fresh, honest, positive outlook right to the forefront of her story.
The author of critically acclaimed Detransition, Baby showcases her talent for rich, complicated, character-driven tales in this collection of stories centering trans identity, gender, and sexuality. The stories differ in subject, setting, and tone, from a lumberjack celebration where some of the loggers volunteer to dress as women, leading to complicated dynamics, to a postapocalyptic world dependent on hormones. Each volume is performed by a different narrator, and Lee Osorio, Briggon Snow, Eileen Noonan, and Pyrrha Nicole bring attentive, skillful voice work to this unforgettable audiobook.
On the day Wilder wakes up with magical powers, they're contacted nearly immediately by Quibble, a portal traveler who introduces them to a local trans coven, which begins to be haunted by a malicious AI that draws its power from the ugliest corners of the internet. This bold sci-fi/fantasy cuts through genre limitations while also exploring the realities of trans and gender nonconforming life in today's world. The author also narrates, bringing their own experience as a queer, trans novelist to the work.
Finally out of jail and reunited with their family, Edie is determined to stay on the straight and narrow. But then Angel, the girl they're in love with—and the very person who put them in jail in the first place—comes back around with a proposal: one more heist. A heist that will set them all up for life, in the process taking down a trillionaire tech mogul who deserves to be destroyed. This fun, action-filled story narrated by Jolene Kim is a chaotic, intensely queer Ocean's 8–like novel full of drama, suspense, and twists that will delight plenty of listeners.
Magical schools always seem so fun and exciting for the students. But what about the teachers, who have to herd a group of talented magic users into staying safe and not summoning demons into their dorms? Doctor Walden is the director of Chetwood School, and it's no easy task keeping everything together. Especially not if the biggest risk to school safety turns out to be herself. Zara Ramm narrates this slow-burn fantasy novel featuring a queer headmistress and a fierce demon-slayer, pairing realistic academic fiction with out-of-control magic and frightening demons.
It's 2002, and James is craving a different life, one where he can live openly with his desire for his fellow teen boys. He's out, and while his parents accept him, the community around them isn't as keen. When he meets newcomer Luke, an older boy with a bad reputation around town, he falls immediately. This book of teenage yearning and first love is narrated beautifully by Sebastian Croft, and will enchant listeners looking for coming-of-age stories about first love, the struggle and agony of growing up, and boyhood friendship.
The Hawthorn sisters live on the edge of Faerie, carefully preserving and tuning the enchanted willows that live there. But when Esther rejects a local boy because she loves someone who lives in Faerie, he's determined to get his revenge. This gorgeous folklore-inspired novella has queer love in it, but is primarily about sisterhood, which is why it's so magical that Amal El-Mohtar (co-author of This Is How You Lose the Time War) and her real-life sister, Dounya, perform the music in the audiobook, bringing additional vibrancy to the story narrated by Gem Carmella.
Most people know Kristen Kish as the chef who not only won season 10 of Top Chef but went on to take over the hosting gig as well. But what about the rest of her story? Kish's memoir details everything from her time working as a model to growing up in the Midwest as a kid adopted from Korea to what it was like to first discover that she had feelings for girls. Her narration helps to ground the memoir in her own unique voice, making this a must-listen for fans of queer memoirs as well as for Top Chef superfans.
Actresses Kate Moennig and Leisha Hailey met in the early 2000s at auditions for an unusual television show, pitched as an ensemble-cast story featuring all openly queer women. The L Word wasn't guaranteed to succeed—but it did, becoming a phenomenon that resonated with queer women around the world. The two actresses have been good friends now for decades, and in this audiobook they talk about their partnership, lives, queerness, and, of course, the show that started it all.
Ashley Herring Blake's books are hard-to-pause stories of found family and sweet, sexy romance. In her newest, Ramona Riley moves home to small-town New Hampshire to take care of her little sister. She finds herself still there a dozen years later, working as a waitress, and given up on dreams of Hollywood. But now a movie is coming to film in her hometown—and her first kiss, Dylan Monroe, is starring in it. Listeners will love this fun romance narrated by multi-award-winning narrator Gail Shalan.
