October 2025 delivered one of the most exciting and diverse lineups of queer literature in recent memory. As the leaves turned and spooky season reached its peak, LGBTQ+ readers were treated to an exceptional collection of horror, fantasy, romance, memoir, and literary fiction that showcased the breadth and depth of queer storytelling.
Horror Takes Center Stage
October has long been the month for horror enthusiasts, and this year's queer horror offerings did not disappoint. The month kicked off with two standout releases that set the tone for the entire season.
Herculine by Grace Byron emerged as one of the month's most talked-about titles. This trans horror novel follows a narrator fleeing New York City after being stalked by both metaphorical and literal demons. Seeking refuge at an all-trans girl commune in rural Indiana—ironically named after 19th-century intersex memoirist Herculine Barbin—she discovers that escape isn't so simple. The commune harbors its own dark secrets, complete with cryptograms on walls, cultlike rituals, and mysteriously disemboweled pigs. Byron's debut offers a visceral exploration of trans experience through the horror genre lens.
Crafting for Sinners by Jenny Kiefer brings horror to small-town Kentucky with a revenge tale that turns deadly. Ruth, living closeted and paycheck-to-paycheck in the conservative town of Kill Devil, loses everything when her sexuality is discovered. Fired from the church-run craft store New Creations, her attempt at revenge goes horrifyingly wrong when she's trapped inside and must fight her way out using crafting supplies. Kiefer weaves a survival horror story that exposes the dark secrets of religious institutions while delivering genuine thrills.
The gothic horror subgenre also thrived this October. Her Wicked Roots by Tanya Pell offers a queer retelling of Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Rappaccini's Daughter," following Cordelia as she searches for her missing brother and finds herself drawn into the mysterious world of botanist Lady Evangeline and her daughters. Meanwhile, The Salvage by Anbara Salam delivers atmospheric sapphic terror set during the Cuban Missile Crisis, as marine archaeologist Marta investigates a Victorian shipwreck on a remote Scottish isle, only to encounter disappearing artifacts and a shadowy stalking figure.
Fantasy Worlds and Magical Retellings
Beyond horror, October's fantasy releases showcased remarkable creativity in world-building and character development.
Cinder House by Freya Marske brings a fresh twist to the Cinderella tale with this queer Gothic novella. The story follows Ella, murdered at sixteen and now a ghost trapped in her father's house, visible only to her stepmother and stepsisters. Marske strikes a bargain that gives Ella three almost-alive nights of freedom—but three nights prove woefully insufficient. The author of the Last Binding trilogy delivers another emotionally resonant fantasy that blends romance with the supernatural.
The Isle in the Silver Sea by Tasha Suri presents a sapphic fantasy centered on a witch and a knight fated to fall in love and be torn apart across multiple timelines. As they struggle to break this cycle, a mysterious assassin hunts those with similar recursive stories. Suri, known for her award-winning Burning Kingdoms series, creates a lush romantasy that explores destiny, choice, and the power of love to transcend fate.
For those seeking lighter fantasy fare, The Keeper of Magical Things by Julie Leong offers a charming story about Certainty, a novice mage with limited abilities, and Aurelia, an overachiever whose talents have isolated her. Their unlikely partnership on a magical task blossoms into something deeper, proving that sometimes the best magic comes from human connection.
Contemporary Voices and Future Visions
October also brought compelling contemporary and futuristic narratives that pushed boundaries.
Local Heavens by K.M. Fajardo reimagines The Great Gatsby for 2075 New York, where wealth can buy tech-enhanced bodies and extended lifespans. In this anti-capitalist cyberpunk dystopia, Nick Caraway befriends the ultra-wealthy Jay Gatsby while secretly working as a cyber hacker investigating him. The queer retelling offers fresh commentary on class, desire, and the corrupting influence of extreme wealth.
Minor Black Figures by Brandon Taylor, a Booker Prize finalist, follows Wyeth, a gay Black artist from the South struggling to find his place in Manhattan's cutthroat art world. When he meets Keating, a former priest, Wyeth begins questioning how Blackness exists—or fails to exist—in predominantly white art spaces. Taylor's latest literary fiction offering continues his exploration of identity, belonging, and artistic integrity.
Love in Many Forms
Romance bloomed across multiple genres this October. Isn't It Obvious? by Rachel Runya Katz delivers a bisexual hidden-identity romance where high school librarian Yael runs both an anonymous podcast and a queer teen book club. When she hires remote editor Kevin and clashes with volunteer Ravi, she doesn't realize they're the same person—and that she's falling for both versions of him. The bi4bi M/F romance centers the characters' bisexuality as integral to their identities, even within their relationship.
Dead & Breakfast by Rosiee Thor and Kat Hillis offers horror-comedy romance featuring Arthur and Sal, a married vampire couple running a bed and breakfast in Oregon. When the mayor is found dead with suspicious puncture wounds, this daylight-walking, garlic-eating vampire couple must solve the murder to clear their names. The novel subverts vampire stereotypes while delivering both laughs and genuine mystery.
For readers seeking witchy romance, Spellfire by Agatha Willow provides a steamy enemies-to-lovers academic romance. When Bryn inherits her former professor's spellbook collection, she must return to Grimoire Academy and face Amelia Hexford, the school's intimidating headmistress and Bryn's old rival. Magic sparks fly in the staffroom in this enchanting contemporary fantasy romance.
Memoirs, Essays, and Personal Narratives
October's nonfiction offerings provided crucial perspectives on queer and trans experiences.
Uncanny Valley Girls: Essays on Horror, Survival, and Love by Zefyr Lisowski mixes theory, memoir, and cultural criticism to explore horror cinema through a trans lens. Lisowski examines how horror films address sickness, disability, predator/victim dynamics, and the experience of living in a world hostile to trans existence. Woven throughout is her own story of growing up trans in the South, creating a collection that's both intellectually rigorous and deeply personal.
Five Star White Trash: A Memoir of Fraud and Family by Georgiann Davis addresses the scarcity of intersex memoirs with a powerful personal narrative. Davis writes about growing up in a poor family that borrowed money to maintain appearances of wealth, dropping out in seventh grade, and eventually learning the secret her family kept from her: that she's intersex. The memoir connects personal experiences of medical abuse and fatphobia with broader critiques of whiteness, the opioid crisis, and gendered oppression.
Little F by Michelle Tea marks the return of an iconic voice in lesbian literature. From the author of Valencia, this new novel follows a queer runaway on a cross-country journey of self-discovery, adding another essential title to the queer road trip genre.
Essential Anthologies and Collections
Queers at the Table: An Illustrated Guide to Queer Food edited by Alex D. Ketchum and Megan J. Elias combines essays, comics, and recipes to explore the dynamic relationship between queerness and food. The anthology examines how lesbian and queer women have run feminist restaurants and cafes as safe spaces, how gay men centered food as collective care during the AIDS epidemic, and how queer and trans folks have asserted themselves in restaurant culture. It's both a celebration and a call to action.
Crawl: Stories by Max Delsohn offers a collection of short fiction exploring trans life in Seattle during the 2010s, featuring a cast of transmasc characters navigating identity, community, and belonging.
Gothic Mysteries and Supernatural Thrillers
All of Us Murderers by KJ Charles delivers a Gothic drama where Zeb Wyckham is summoned to a remote manor by estranged family members. When he and his ex-lover find themselves trapped at Lackaday House competing for a young bride's hand—and her inheritance—winning becomes less important than survival.
When They Burned the Butterfly by Wen-yi Lee presents a sapphic historical dark fantasy set in 1972 Singapore. Loner schoolgirl Adeline Siow, who can summon flame with her fingertips, searches for the killer who murdered her mother, the head of a gang called Madam Butterfly. Her investigation plunges her deep into the city's violent underworld.
Young Adult Excellence
The YA offerings this October included Hazelthorn by C.G. Drews, a botanical body horror fantasy about Evander, who has lived in the shadows of a billionaire's estate since childhood. When his guardian dies and Evander inherits the property, he must team up with Laurie—the grandson who once tried to kill him—to find the murderer while battling a deadly garden escaping its walls.
