Q&A: Queer & Asian
Fiction books with at least one main character identifying as Asian and LGBTQ (queer and/or trans) — continuously updated!
created by soupdumpling
last updated February, 2026
Comments
i loveeee this list!! i hope one day this list becomes more and more endless. also, i have a short story rec for this if you'd like to add, it's called "the water that falls on you from nowhere" by john chu
thank you for the rec! and i know im missing so many so it’ll be fun to keep adding more ☺️
A wonderful truly scrumptious list. I would like to recommend Beating Heart Baby by Lio Min if you feel it fits, also I'll Be The One by Lyla Lee
Just contributing to the cause 🫡 — added both!
oooh love the list! im only now realising how many i alr have on my tbr 😂
hehe glad you’re enjoying! i’ve read at least 15 books on this list (admittedly not all were my cup of tea) — but as one of my friends says “representation in media means the queer asians get mediocre, terrible, and/or ‘cringe’ stories too 😤”
no that's so fair. idt i've read that many queer asian stories (in english), but i've read quite a number of chinese fantasy novels (also in english) and so far the only one i actually liked was she who became the sun 😔 if we want representation we're unfortunately just gonna have to deal w the mediocre and the terrible too
so many of the chinese fantasy novels (written in english) seem cool (in theory)… cause when i try to pick them up and read them i start feeling so cringed out by the stereotypical/“basic?” names, character profiles, descriptions of the “lands”, and also general cis/het romance nonsense 😭
no fr. i could write essays about the way a lot of these authors just westernise chinese culture and tropes in order to make them seem more palatable to western audiences or smth. i just really hate it ugh
genuinely what i’ve thought as well! i mean these authors are getting their 💰 bag i guess but at what cost…
i’m such a hater, i have a note on my phone notes app of “asian authors who write for ⚪️ ppl” that i share with irl friends who ask
omg that's so much more organised than me 😂 i just rant about all these books to my friends lol atp if i send them smth like "ugh i hate this" they've already got a list of authors that i could be referring to in their heads ready to go
aaaa i love this!!!!! super hyped to read every single one of these o7
yay glad to be of service !! o7
