Many science fiction and fantasy stories involve queer characters, or otherwise represent themes that are relevant to LGBT issues and the LGBT community. This is a list of notable stories, and/or stories from notable series or anthologies, and/or by notable authors; it is not intended to be all-inclusive.
| Title | Author | Year | LGBT content[1][2][3] |
|---|
| Empire of the Senseless | Kathy Acker | 1988 | Bisexual main character[4] |
| The Dark Light Years | Brian Aldiss | 1964 | Gender-shifting aliens, gay male characters[4] |
| All the Birds in the Sky | Charlie Jane Anders | 2016 | Non-binary and asexual characters |
| Virgin Planet | Poul Anderson | 1959 | All-female world, lesbian characters |
| The Gods Themselves | Isaac Asimov | 1972 | Alien species with three sexes[4] |
| The Handmaid's Tale | Margaret Atwood | 1985 | Lesbian character |
| Shadowdance | Robin Wayne Bailey | 1991 | Gay protagonist |
| A Modern Faerie Tale | Holly Black | 2002 | Gay major characters |
| Darkover Series | Marion Zimmer Bradley | 1962–1988 | Gay and lesbian protagonists |
| The Heritage of Hastur | Marion Zimmer Bradley | 1975 | Gay male protagonist and antagonist[4] |
| The Shattered Chain | Marion Zimmer Bradley | 1976 | All-female society, lesbian themes[4] |
| Warrior Woman | Marion Zimmer Bradley | 1985 | Lesbian main characters, positive portrayal of lesbian relationships[4] |
| Beauty Queens | Libba Bray | 2011 | Transgender and lesbian major characters |
| A Civil Campaign | Lois McMaster Bujold | 1999 | Transgender character |
| Ethan of Athos | Lois McMaster Bujold | 1986 | Gay Male Protagonist |
| The Wanting Seed | Anthony Burgess | 1962 | Homophobic dystopia |
| Dawn | Octavia Butler | 1987 | Alien race that has three sexes, polyamorous marriages[4] |
| Fledgling | Octavia Butler | 2005 | Bisexual characters |
| Patternmaster | Octavia Butler | 1976 | Bisexual female protagonist |
| An Anglo-American Alliance | Gregory Casparian | 1906 | A trans man marries his early love, and they live happily ever after. |
| The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay | Michael Chabon | 2000 | Gay protagonist |
| Spartan Planet | Bertram Chandler | 1969 | All-male world, gay characters |
| The Conqueror's Child | Suzy McKee Charnas | 1999 | All-female world |
| The Furies | Suzy McKee Charnas | 1994 | All-female world |
| Motherlines | Suzy McKee Charnas | 1978 | All-female world |
| Walk to the End of the World | Suzy McKee Charnas | 1974 | All-female world |
| The Mortal Instruments series | Cassandra Clare | 2007–2014 | One of the protagonist's best friends is gay, and has a relationship with a bisexual warlock. |
| Imperial Earth | Arthur C. Clarke | 1976 | Bisexual/gay male protagonist |
| Sardia: A Story of Love | Cora Linn Morrison Daniels | 1891 | Bisexual female vampire is the protagonist.[4] |
| Babel-17 | Samuel R. Delany | 1966 | Gay major characters |
| Dhalgren | Samuel R. Delany | 1975 | Bisexual major character and other LGBT characters |
| The Einstein Intersection | Samuel R. Delany | 1967 | Gay major character |
| Equinox | Samuel R. Delany | 1973 | Gay major character |
| Stars In My Pocket Like Grains Of Sand | Samuel R. Delany | 1984 | Gay major character |
| Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders | Samuel R. Delany | 2012 | Gay major characters |
| Triton | Samuel R. Delany | 1976 |
| The Door Into Fire | Diane Duane | 1979 | Major bisexual characters |
| Solitaire | Kelley Eskridge | 2002 | Lesbian protagonist |
| Infinity's Web | Sheila Finch | 1985 | Lesbian protagonist[4] |
| Casket of Souls | Lynn Flewelling | 2012 | Gay main characters |
| Luck in the Shadows | Lynn Flewelling | 1996 | Gay main characters |
| Shadows Return | Lynn Flewelling | 2008 | Gay main characters |
| Shards of Time | Lynn Flewelling | 2014 | Gay main characters |
| Stalking Darkness | Lynn Flewelling | 1997 | Gay main characters |
| Traitor's Moon | Lynn Flewelling | 1999 | Gay main characters |
| The White Road | Lynn Flewelling | 2010 | Gay main characters |
| Daughters of a Coral Dawn | Katherine V. Forrest | 1984 | All-female world, lesbian protagonists |
| Bouncing Off the Moon | David Gerrold | 2001 |
| The Man Who Folded Himself | David Gerrold | 1973 |
| Halfway Human | Carolyn Ives Gilman | 1998 |
| Herland | Charlotte Perkins Gilman | 1915 | All-female utopic world |
| The Gilda Stories | Jewelle Gomez | 1991 | Lesbian main character |
| The Kappa Child | Hiromi Goto | 2001 |
| Ammonite | Nicola Griffith | 1992 | All-female world with mainly lesbian characters |
| Slow River | Nicola Griffith | 1995 | Lesbian main character |
| Nontraditional Love | Rafael Grugman | 2008 | Alternative future where heterosexuality is outlawed |
| The Forever War | Joe Haldeman | 1974 | Future society where homosexuality is the norm |
| Champion of the Scarlet Wolf, Book One and Book Two (Cadeleonian Series 3, 4) | Ginn Hale | 2014 | Gay protagonists |
| Lord of the White Hell, Book One and Book Two (Cadeleonian Series 1, 2) | Ginn Hale | 2010 | Gay protagonists |
| The Rifter 1: The Shattered Gates | Ginn Hale | 2012 | Gay protagonists |
| The Rifter 2: The Holy Road | Ginn Hale | 2012 | Gay protagonists |
| The Rifter 3: His Sacred Bones | Ginn Hale | 2013 | Gay protagonists |
| Wicked Gentlemen | Ginn Hale | 2007 | Gay protagonists |
| The Gumshoe, the Witch, and the Virtual Corpse | Keith Hartman | 1999 |
| The Salt Roads | Nalo Hopkinson | 2003 | Lesbian major characters |
| The Wild Swans | Peg Kerr | 1999 |
| Murder of Angels | Caitlin R. Kiernan | 2004 | |
| Turnskin | Nicole Kimberling[5] | 2008 | Gay protagonists |
| Maximum Light | Nancy Kress | 1997 |
| Swordspoint | Ellen Kushner | 1987 | Gay protagonists, bisexual characters |
| Magic's Pawn | Mercedes Lackey | 1989 | Gay main characters |
| Magic's Price | Mercedes Lackey | 1990 | Gay main characters |
| Magic's Promise | Mercedes Lackey | 1990 | Gay main characters |
| Salt Fish Girl | Larissa Lai | 2002 | Lesbian protagonists |
| Pantomime (Micah Grey Trilogy) | Laura Lam | 2013 | intersex protagonist |
| Carmilla | Sheridan Le Fanu | 1872 | Lesbian vampire story |
| The Left Hand of Darkness | Ursula K. Le Guin | 1969 | Genderqueer main and major characters |
| The Telling | Ursula K. Le Guin | 2000 | Lesbian protagonist |
| Dark Water's Embrace | Stephen Leigh | 1998 |
| Ash | Malinda Lo | 2009 |
| Ἀληθῆ διηγήματα | Lucian | 125–180 CE (c) | All-male world, male hero is given the king's son in marriage |
| Itineraria | Jean de Mandeville (pseudonym) | 1357–1371 | An Amazon island and an island of the "third sex"[1] |
| Out of Time | Paula Martinac | 1990 | Lesbian protagonist is haunted by lesbians from the 1920s. |
| China Mountain Zhang | Maureen F. McHugh | 1992 | Gay major character |
| Starfarers | Vonda N. McIntyre | 1989 | Bisexual main characters, poly relationship[4] |
| The Painter Knight | Fiona Patton | 1998 |
| 2312 | Kim Stanley Robinson | 2012 | Genderqueer major characters, society in which nonbinary and fluid gender and sexuality is embraced |
| And Chaos Died | Joanna Russ | 1970 | Gay protagonist |
| The Female Man | Joanna Russ | 1975 | Lesbian major characters, partially about an all-female world |
| Was | Geoff Ryman | 1992 | Gay main characters |
| Burning Bright | Melissa Scott | 1993 | Bisexual major characters, lesbian protagonist |
| A Choice of Destinies | Melissa Scott | 1986 | Gay male protagonists |
| Dreamships | Melissa Scott | 1993 | Many gay characters |
| The Jazz | Melissa Scott | 2000 | Bisexual protagonist |
| Mighty Good Road | Melissa Scott | 1990 | Lesbian protagonist |
| Night Sky Mine | Melissa Scott | 1996 | Lesbian and gay main characters |
| Shadow Man | Melissa Scott | 1995 |
| Trouble and Her Friends | Melissa Scott | 1994 | Lesbian protagonists |
| Sword of the Guardian | Merry Shannon | 2006 | Lesbian fantasy romance with crossdressing protagonist |
| The Porcelain Dove | Delia Sherman | 1993 | Lesbian fairy tale |
| Grasshopper Jungle | Andrew A. Smith | 2015 | Gay and questioning main characters |
| Glasshouse | Charles Stross | 2006 | Posthuman world in which consciousness can be put into other bodies |
| Venus Plus X | Theodore Sturgeon | 1960 | Set in a future utopia where everyone is one neuter gender[4] |
| Hollow World | Michael J. Sullivan | 2014 | Homogenous world lacking genders where a man from the ancient past has to come to grips with the difference between love and sexual attraction[6] |
| Queen of the Amazons | Judith Tarr | 2004 | Bisexual protagonist |
| Houston, Houston, Do You Read? | James Tiptree Jr. | 1976 | Set in a future where all men have died off |
| Palimpsest | Catherynne M. Valente | 2009 |
| The House at Pelham Falls | Brenda Weathers | 1986 | Lesbian protagonists and main characters[4] |
| A Biography | Virginia Woolf | 1928 | Genderqueer themes, gender-switching |
| Briar Rose | Jane Yolen | 1992 | Gay major character |
|
| Title | Author | Year | First published in | LGBT content[1][2][3] |
|---|
| "Desire" | Kim Antieau | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy |
| "The Stars Are Tears" | Robin Wayne Bailey | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy |
| "Love's Last Farewell" | Richard A. Bamberg | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction |
| "In Memory Of" | Don Bassingthwaite | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy |
| "Who Plays With Sin" | Don Bassingthwaite | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction |
| "Sun-Drenched" | Stephen Baxter | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction |
| "Tangents" | Greg Bear | 1986 | Omni | Gay male protagonist, positive uplifting story about a nonsexual relationship[4] |
| "Magicked Tricks" | K. L. Berac | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy |
| "In the House of the Man in the Moon" | Richard Bowes | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy |
| "Anthem" | Lela E. Buis | 1997
2014 | Sex Crime
Competitive Fauna | Lesbian protagonist |
| "Ascension" | Lela E. Buis | 1997
2013 | Icarus & Angels
Storm and Shadow | Gay protagonist |
| "The Dress" | Lela E. Buis | 2016 | Canines | Lesbian protagonist |
| "Enigma Variations" | Lela E. Buis | 1996
2014 | Cyber-magick: Lesbian SF
Competitive Fauna | Lesbian protagonist |
| "My Little Town" | Lela E. Buis | 2014 | Competitive Fauna | Lesbian protagonist |
| "That December" | Lela E. Buis | 2015 | Young Love, Old Hearts | Lesbian protagonist |
| "A Study of Competitive Fauna" | Lela E. Buis | 2014 | Competitive Fauna | Lesbian protagonist |
| "Expression of Desire" | Dominick Cancilla | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy |
| The Bane Chronicles | Cassandra Clare, Maureen Johnson and Sarah Rees Brennan | 2013–2014 | Short e-books | Main character is bisexual |
| "Aye, and Gomorrah" | Samuel R. Delany | 1967 | Dangerous Visions | Genderqueer characters |
| "The Cage"[7] | A. M. Dellamonica | 2010 | Tor.com | Lesbian protagonists |
| "A Plant (Whose Name is Destroyed)"[8] | Seth Dickinson | 2013 | Strange Horizons | Gay protagonists |
| "Dance at the Edge" | L. Timmel Duchamp | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction |
| "A Hollow Play" | Amal El-Mohtar | 2013 | Glitter & Mayhem Anthology | Lesbian protagonist, transgender and genderqueer characters |
| "Catman" | Harlan Ellison | 1974 | Final Stage: The Ultimate Science Fiction Anthology | Society where bisexuality is the norm; most characters are gay or bisexual[4] |
| "Eye of the Storm" | Kelley Eskridge | 1998 | Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers |
| "Frost Painting" | Carolyn Ives Gilman | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy |
| "It Takes Two" | Nicola Griffith | 2010 | Eclipse Three | Lesbian protagonist |
| "Free in Asveroth" | Jim Grimsley | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction |
| "Miss Ogilvy Finds Herself" | Radclyffe Hall | 1934 | Lesbian protagonist, gender-switching themes |
| "Sex, Guns, and Baptists" | Keith Hartman | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction |
| "Lonely Land" | Denise Lopes Heald | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction |
| "-All You Zombies-" | Robert A. Heinlein | 1959 | Fantasy and Science Fiction | Intersex protagonist |
| "Fisherman" | Nalo Hopkinson | 2001 | Skin Folk |
| "In Mysterious Ways" | Tanya Huff | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy |
| "Cloudmaker" | Charlee Jacob | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy |
| "The Rendez-Vous" | Nancy Johnston | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction |
| "Sex with Ghosts"[9] | Sarah Kanning | 2008 | Strange Horizons |
| "Full Moon and Empty Arms" | M. W. Keiper | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy |
| "Galapagos" | Caitlin R. Kiernan | 2009 | Eclipse Three | Lesbian main characters |
| "Time Gypsy" | Ellen Klages | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction | Lesbian protagonist |
| "State of Nature" | Nancy Kress | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction |
| "A Wild and Wicked Youth" | Ellen Kushner | 2009 | Fantasy and Science Fiction |
| "The Fall of the Kings" | Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy |
| "Nine Lives" | Ursula K. Le Guin | 1969 | Playboy | Bisexual protagonists[4] |
| "A Real Girl" | Shariann Lewitt | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction |
| "Water Snakes" | Holly Wade Matter | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy |
| "Sea of Cortez" | Sandra McDonald | 2011 | Take Me There: Trans and Genderqueer Erotica |
| "Useless Things" | Maureen F. McHugh | 2009 | Eclipse Three |
| "Bridesicle" | Will McIntosh | 2010 | Asimov's Science Fiction | Lesbian major character |
| "Looking for Satan" | Vonda N. McIntyre | 1981 | Thieves' World III | Lesbian/bisexual love story[4] |
| "Powertool" | Mark McLaughlin | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction |
| "Prince of the Dark Green Sea" | Mark McLaughlin | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy |
| "Three Letters from the Queen of Elfland" | Sarah Monette | 2002 | Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet |
| "The King's Folly" | James A. Moore | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy |
| "Silent Passion" | Kathleen O'Malley | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction |
| "Half in Love with Easeful Rock and Roll" | Rebecca Ore | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction |
| "The Beautiful People" | Wendy Rathbone | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction |
| "The City in Morning" | Carrie Richerson | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction |
| "Proserpine When It Sizzles" | Tansy Rayner Roberts | 2009 | New Ceres Nights |
| "Existence" | Joanna Russ | 1975 | Epoch |
| "Nobody's Home" | Joanna Russ | 1972 | Women of Wonder |
| "The Second Inquisition" | Joanna Russ | 1970 | More Women of Wonder | |
| "When It Changed" | Joanna Russ | 1972 | Again, Dangerous Visions | Lesbian protagonist |
| "Young Lady Who Loved Caterpillars" | Jessica Amanda Salmonson | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy |
| "Selected Program Notes from the Retrospective Exhibition of Theresa Rosenberg Latimer" | Kenneth Schneyer | 2013 | Clockwork Phoenix 4 | Lesbian protagonist |
| "Brooks Too Broad for Leaping" | Charles Sheffield | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction |
| "Gary, in the Shadows" | Mark Shepherd | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy |
| "There Are Things Which Are Hidden from the Eyes of the Everyday" | Simon Sheppard | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy |
| "The Faerie Cony-Catcher" | Delia Sherman | 1998 | Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers |
| "The Sound of Angels" | Lisa S. Silverthorne | 1997 | Bending the Landscape : Fantasy |
| "On Vacation" | Ralph A. Sperry | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction |
| "The Flying Triangle" | Allen Steele | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction |
| "The World Well Lost" | Theodore Sturgeon | 1953 | Universe |
| "Another Coming" | Sonya Taaffe | 2004 | Not One of Us |
| "The Home Town Boy" | B. J. Thrower | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy |
| "The Night Train"[10] | Lavie Tidhar | 2010 | Strange Horizons | Trans protagonist |
| "Gestures Too Late on a Gravel Road" | Mark W. Tiedemann | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy |
| "Surfaces" | Mark W. Tiedemann | 1998 | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction |
| "Your Faces, O My Sisters! Your Faces Filled with Light" | James Tiptree Jr. | 1976 | Aurora: Beyond Equality | Woman from an all-female society is the protagonist.[4] |
| "Mahu" | Jeff Verona | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy |
| "… Suspends ton vol" | Élisabeth Vonarburg | 1992 | Translated as "Stay Thy Flight" in Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction |
| "Beside the Well" | Leslie What | 1997 | Bending the Landscape: Fantasy |
| "The Metamorphosis Bud" | Liu Wen Zhuang (pen name of Cynthea Liu) | 1996 | Genderflex |
| Title | Editors | Year | Publisher |
|---|
| Bending the Landscape: Fantasy | Nicola Griffith and Stephen Pagel | 1997 | White Wolf Publishing |
| Bending the Landscape: Horror | Nicola Griffith and Stephen Pagel | 2001 | White Wolf Publishing |
| Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction | Nicola Griffith and Stephen Pagel | 1998 | White Wolf Publishing |
| Beyond Binary: Genderqueer and Sexually Fluid Speculative Fiction | Brit Mandelo | 2013 | Lethe Press |
| Brothers of the Night: Gay Vampire Stories | Michael Rowe and Thomas S. Roche | 1997 | Cleis Press |
| Cyber-magick: Lesbian SF | Gary Bowen | 1996 | Obeliesk Books |
| Flying Cups & Saucers: Gender Explorations in Science Fiction & Fantasy | Debbie Notkin and the Secret Feminist Cabal | 1998 | Edgewood Press |
| Gay City 5: Ghosts in Gaslight, Monsters in Steam[11] | Vincent Kovar and Evan J. Peterson | 2013 | Minor Arcana Press and Gay City Health Project |
| Grave Passions: Tales of the Gay Supernatural | William J. Mann | 1997 | Badboy |
| Icarus & Angels, Flights of Fantasy: Gay SF | Gary Bowen | 1996 | Obeliesk Books |
| Irregulars: A Shared-World Anthology – Stories by Nicole Kimberling, Josh Lanyon, Astrid Amara and Ginn Hale. LGBT Fantasy | Nicole Kimberling and J.D. Hope | 2012 | Blind Eye Books |
| Kindred Spirits: An Anthology of Gay and Lesbian Science Fiction Stories | Jeffrey M. Elliot | 1984 | Alyson |
| Queer Dimensions | James EM Rasmussen | 2009 | Queered Fiction |
| Suffered from the Night: Queering Stoker's Dracula | Steve Berman | 2013 | Lethe Press |
| Swords of the Rainbow: Science Fiction and Fantasy | Eric Garber and Jewelle Gomez | 1996 | Alyson |
| Tangle Anthology, XY Edition. Fiction with a Twist. | Nicole Kimberling | 2008 | Blind Eye Books |
| Tangle Girls Anthology. Fiction with a Twist. | Nicole Kimberling | 2009 | Blind Eye Books |
| Things Invisible to See: Gay and Lesbian Tales of Magic Realism | Lawrence Schimel | 1998 | Circlet Press |
| Time Well Bent: Queer Alternative Histories[12] | Connie Wilkins | 2009 | Lethe Press |
| Touch of the Sea | Steve Berman | 2012 | Lethe Press |
| Worlds Apart: An Anthology of Lesbian and Gay Science Fiction and Fantasy | Camilla Decarnin, Eric Garber, and Lyn Paleo | 1986 | Alyson |
|
1. ^1 2 http://feministsf.org/bibs/lgbt.html
2. ^1 http://www.lambdascifi.org/books/recommend.html
3. ^1 http://www.mamohanraj.com/altsex.html
4. ^1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Uranian Worlds: a guide to alternative sexuality in science fiction, fantasy, and horror. 2nd Edition. Ed. Eric Garber and Lyn Paleo. Boston: G.K. Hall & Co., 1990
5. ^[https://web.archive.org/web/20150413065340/http://www.nicolekimberling.com/book/turnskin/ Nicole Kimberling]
6. ^{{cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = James Triptee Jr Award: An award encouraging the exploration & expansion of gender | date = | url = https://tiptree.org/award/2014-james-tiptree-jr-award | doi = | accessdate = 2016-04-17 }}
7. ^"The Cage"
8. ^[https://web.archive.org/web/20131108090323/http://strangehorizons.com/2013/20130819/plant-f.shtml "A Plant (Whose Name is Destroyed)"]
9. ^[https://web.archive.org/web/20130421082631/http://www.strangehorizons.com/2008/20080818/sexghosts-f.shtml "Sex with Ghosts"]
10. ^[https://web.archive.org/web/20131216032919/http://www.strangehorizons.com/2010/20100614/nighttrain-f.shtml "The Night Train"]
11. ^Minor Arcana Press descriptive listing for "Ghosts in Gaslight..." (bottom of page) {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216034336/http://www.minorarcanapress.com/catalogue/ |date=2013-12-16 }}
12. ^ISFDB listing for Time Well Bent