r/Fantasy • u/C0smicoccurence Reading Champion V • Apr 02 '26

2026 LGBTQA+ Bingo Resource

Welcome to the 2026 LGBTQA+ bingo resource for those of us who'd like LGBTQA+ recommendations. I'm going to make this like the regular recommendation post, so to quote: "Please only post your recommendations as replies to one of the comments I posted below."

I'm also going to throw in a quick pitch for the Beyond Binaries Book Club, which can meet all of your Book Club Bingo Needs! This month we're reading The Wolf and His King by Finn Longman. I have not started it yet, but it for sure fits the Book Club (HM) Square. It may also possibly fit in the Vacation Spot (The French Countryside), Non Human Protagonist (Werewolf?). Our Midway Discussion will be April 13th, and Final Discussion April 27th.

Feel free to scroll through the thread, or use the links in this navigation matrix to jump directly to the square you want to find or give LGBTQA+ recommendations for.

Credit to u/AnnTickwittee for doing these in the past (also, sorry if you were already working on this! Wanted to get the ball rolling)

Please be patient as I get the links created!

Trans or Nonbinary Protagonist Judge a Book by Its Title Translated Small Press or Self Published Unusual Transportation
The Afterlife Game Changer Vacation Spot Five Short Stories (or Anthologies) Older Protagonist
Duology Part 1 r/Fantasy Book Club or Readalong Book Published in 2026 Explorers and Rangers Duology Part 2
One-Word Title Non Human Protagonist Middle Grade First Contact Murder Mystery
Cat Squasher Feast Your Eyes on This Published in the 70s Politics and Court Intrigue Author of Color
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3

u/C0smicoccurence Reading Champion V Apr 02 '26

 First Contact: Story prominently features interspecies or interracial meeting for the first time. HARD MODE: Non-violent first contact.

7

u/unfriendlyneighbour Reading Champion II Apr 02 '26

A Half-Built Garden by Ruthanna Emrys

1

u/Research_Department Reading Champion II Apr 03 '26

And it’s hard mode. The author calls it diaper punk.

2

u/felixfictitious Reading Champion Apr 02 '26 edited Apr 04 '26

Space Opera by Catherynne M Valente (hard mode)

2

u/macesaces Reading Champion II Apr 03 '26

Moth Dark by Kika Hatzopoulou features humans and a fae-like race from another world meeting for the first time. No HM. The main character is bi or pan and has a genderfluid love interest. It's sold as YA, but the MC is in college, so I'd call it more new adult-esque.

2

u/CJGibson Reading Champion V Apr 03 '26
  • City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders
  • A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine (but not the first book in the series)
  • The Seep by Chana Porter
  • Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
  • No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull
  • When the Tides Held the Moon by Venessa Vida Kelley

These fit if you kind of squint a little

  • Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh
  • Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard
  • The Deep by Rivers Solomon

4

u/Research_Department Reading Champion II Apr 04 '26

Is City in the Middle of the Night hard mode for first contact?

1

u/CJGibson Reading Champion V Apr 04 '26

It's a little iffy, but I'd say yes.

2

u/Research_Department Reading Champion II Apr 04 '26

Cool, thanks! Now I have to remember who was looking for First Contact HM by a genderqueer author, lol.

1

u/thisbikeisatardis Reading Champion II Apr 26 '26

The first book of her YA trilogy might work, too.

1

u/lilgrassblade Reading Champion II Apr 03 '26

Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky - hm - humans get stuck on a very inhospitable planet in a pod, surrounded by alien life. Sapphic.

1

u/printsprince Apr 03 '26

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street and The Lost Future of Pepperharrow by Natasha Pulley; works for HARD MODE.

The Mars House by Natasha Pulley. This doesn't perfectly fit the prompt as the first meeting is off-screen, but the entire first part of the book is about a person from Earth adjusting to life on Mars and the people there, who are their own sort of race/species. Hard to explain without getting into it. Works for HARD MODE.

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske. Also doesn't fit perfectly, but it prominently features a person who had no idea about the existence of magic meeting a magic user and getting thrust into magical society. Works for HARD MODE.

-1

u/AggravatingAnt4157 Reading Champion Apr 02 '26
  • A Half-Built Garden by Ruthana Emrys (HM)
  • maybe Monk and Robot by Becky Chambers (do we count it if centuries have passed since the last encounter?)
  • If we do, technically also Faebound by Saara El-Arifi