Hello y'all. I meant to make this post earlier -- specifically on the 19th but here we are. Life gets hectic but I would be amiss to let this month go by without chatting with you all.

It's important that this space stays intersectional. Speaking from an American point of view, many of the rights we have in the US are a direct result of the BIPOC community and their voices. We simply wouldn't be where we are without Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, Bayard Rustin, Audre Lord, and so many others. I would like to point out that 3 of those 4 that I named were Black LGBTQIA+ activists and their identities are intertwined directly with their activism. Which is to say HAPPY PRIDE, HAPPY JUNETEENTH, and EMBRACE DIVERSITY IN A WORLD THAT TELLS YOU NOT TO! Now onto ---

Black and Queer Authors in this quest

Rivers Solomon: You're probably pretty familiar with this author if you read intersectional spec fic. Fae use fae/they pronouns and are (rightfully) considered to be pretty prolific in the black, queer, speculative fiction genre. Their book Model Home is currently in this quest and boosted Solomon to one of my auto-read authors. Something fun (that you don't know) is that I actually read Model Home in the Whispers in the Wall quest hosted by the incredible @marissa! You can find many of faers books in other quests on PB.

Ryan Douglass: A queer poet and YA horror author. The Taking of Jake Livingston is featured in this quest and while it might not be my personal favorite, I still believe it adds value, and did enjoy it. This currently the only quest that has one of his books in it.

Jewelle Gomez: Literal icon! Gomez is an indigenous and black lesbian, feminist, classics author. She was inspired by James Baldwin (also an icon!!) as a child. You'll probably recognize her from her most famous work The Gilda Stories and that she's helped pioneer (if not the pioneer) Afrofuturism. You can find The Gilda Stories in this quest as well as Sapphic Vampires quest, Blood Suckers quest, Black Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and Speculative Fiction quest, & The Monstrous Feminine quest.

Akwaeke Emezi: You know who this is, don't pmo 😤 Okay, but seriously, you've probably heard of Emezi. They're a Nigerian author and artist whose work has exploded in the Western literary space (and beyond 👀). They're well known for spanning across multiple genres including fantasy, romance, and poetry. You can find Pet in this quest or Freshwater in the Black Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and Speculative Fiction quest.

Ness Brown: An astrophysicist and an author! The Scourge Between Stars is currently their only published novel and it is featured on this quest. Unshockingly, TSBS is a sci-fi horror. It also appears in the Black Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and Speculative Fiction quest.

Vincent Tirado: Also known as V.E. Tirado. A self-identified Afro-Dominican non-binary badass individual. You most likely recognize them from their YA books like Burn Down, Rise Up and We Don’t Swim Here but We Came To Welcome You is the one featured here. They also recently released their new book You Should Have Been Nicer To My Mom earlier this year! You can find WCTWY in the Latin American Horror quest, as well. 😱🫰🏽

Kosoko Jackson: Known fairly well for writing across genres and age groups, Jackson's The Macabre is a new addition to this quest. He's also written romcoms and YA thrillers -- all featuring queer men. You can find one of his other works, The Forest Demands Its Due, in the Achillean Across Genres quest.

This is not every Black author in this quest. This is simply every self-identified Black LGBTQIA+ author who is featured as of June 2026. I promise you that there will be more added as the quest grows but that doesn't mean that these authors don't deserve their flowers 💐

So, what about you? Who is your favorite Black LGBTQIA+ author? Horror or not. How do you celebrate intersectionality in our community?

Forgive any spelling or grammar errors -- your boy is at work on a busy day at a job that is draining them 😊