Being able to “feel seen” in popular media is powerful. 

Stories connect us, inform us, and inspire us. They can drive change by introducing new ideas or perspectives. They can introduce us to histories and figures that are often left out of dominant narratives. 

Seeing diverse groups represented in the stories you read can help foster empathy and understanding, and bring people together. On top of that, when you belong to an often marginalized group, seeing someone like you in the books you read and the media you consume sends the message that there is a place for you here. That your story matters as well. And in a world where the rights of LGBTQ2SIA+ people are being stripped, systematically and methodically, the stories we see ourselves in matter more than ever.

In honour of Pride, we reached out to some iconic Canadian LGBTQ2SIA+ creatives to ask them about some of the books that have shaped them, and to get their recommendations for some of their favourite books by LGBTQ2SIA+ authors.

Ivan Coyote

Ivan Coyote is a writer and storyteller, the author of thirteen books, the creator of four films, three albums, and an international touring performer. In 2017 Ivan was given an honorary PHD from Simon Fraser University. Ivan’s 13th book, Care Of, was released in June 2021 by McClelland and Stewart.

What’s the first book you ever saw yourself reflected in?

This one is an easy question for me, as I never recognized myself in any books ever, really, until I read Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg shortly after it was first published in 1993.

What’s a book that’s had a strong impact on you? Why?

The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon by Tom Spanbauer. It was the first time I read a character that seemed (to me) to be non-binary, although I had yet to hear that term when I first read it. Out-In-The-Shed. I will never forget that character. I even changed my middle name to Shed when I legally changed my name, to honour that character and that part of me.

What book by an LGBTQ2SIA+ author would you like to recommend right now — either something you’ve already read, or something that you’re looking forward to reading? 

Oh. So many. Where to start? Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead. This Wound is a World and A History of My Brief Body by Billy-Ray Belcourt. We Have Always Been Here by Samra Habib. I devoured The Spectacular by Zoe Whittall in one long lazy snowy Saturday last winterspring. In my to-be-read pile is Junebat by John Elizabeth Stintzi, Saving Montgomery Sole by Mariko Tamaki, and What We All Long For by Dionne Brand.

Samra Habib

Samra Habib is the founder, editor, and photographer of Just Me and Allah: A Queer Muslim Photo Project, as well as the author of the bestselling book We Have Always Been Here, a memoir about the transformative experiences that have shaped their experiences as a queer Muslim. It won a Lambda Literary Award, and was the winner of Canada Reads, billed as the one book everyone in Canada should read.

What’s the first book you ever saw yourself reflected in?

 Oh, The Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss.

What’s a book that’s had a strong impact on you? Why?

Love and Rage, The Path of Liberation Through Anger by Lama Rod Owens has shaped my understanding of transforming systemic violence through compassion and wisdom.

What book by an LGBTQ2SIA+ author would you like to recommend right now — either something you’ve already read, or something that you’re looking forward to reading? 

I’m looking forward to reading A Minor Chorus by Billy-Ray Belcourt.

Hana Shafi

Hana Shafi is a writer and artist who illustrates under the name Frizz Kid.  Her first book, It Begins With The Body was selected by CBC books as one of the best poetry books of 2018. Her second book, a compilation of essays and illustrations from her notable affirmation art series, titled Small, Broke, and Kind of Dirty is in stores now.

What’s the first book you ever saw yourself reflected in?

This might be a weird answer, but The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. It’s not that I see myself in either Dorian Gray or Lord Henry Wotton, but it was the way that Oscar Wilde, a queer author who was way ahead of his time, spoke about art and its power. This affirmed my love of art and made me truly understand, and also respect, the kind of power art can wield. I saw myself reflected in Oscar Wilde; not that I think my writing is even comparable to his, but I felt this sense of kinship when reading the book. 

What’s a book that’s had a strong impact on you? Why?

The book of poetry Sex Magick by Ian Young. Not only one of the first books of poetry I read that truly spoke to me, but the first book of poetry I read by a gay author. It’s beautiful, tender, and unapologetically queer and I had the pleasure of finally getting to meet Ian some ten years or so after first discovering it and discuss the book with him.

What book by an LGBTQ2SIA+ author would you like to recommend right now — either something you’ve already read, or something that you’re looking forward to reading?  

I’m very much looking forward to reading People Change by Vivek Shraya. All of her works just blow me away, and I know this new one will not be the exception! Vivek was my mentor when I was first starting out and she edited my first book, so I really look up to her.

Casey Plett

Casey Plett is the author of A Dream of a Woman (2021), which was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize; Little Fish (2018), winner of a Lambda Literary Award, the Firecracker Award for Fiction, and the Amazon First Novel Award in Canada; and A Safe Girl to Love (2014), also a winner of a Lambda Literary Award. She was the co-editor of Meanwhile, Elsewhere: Science Fiction and Fantasy from Transgender Writers (2017) alongside Cat Fitzpatrick. Plett has written for The New York Times, The Guardian, The Globe and Mail, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, the Winnipeg Free Press, and other publications. She is the publisher at LittlePuss Press.

What’s the first book you ever saw yourself reflected in?

Probably Strider by Beverly Cleary because it was about a kid whose parents were divorced. Beverly Cleary forever.

What’s a book that’s had a strong impact on you? Why?

Nevada by Imogen Binnie absolutely rearranged my life creatively and personally. It made me understand there was so much material in art I’d unconsciously walled myself off from exploring. It’s also the first novel by a trans woman I’d ever read.

What book by an LGBTQ2SIA+ author would you like to recommend right now — either something you’ve already read, or something that you’re looking forward to reading? 

Keep an eye out for Cecilia Gentili’s Faltas: Letters to Everyone in My Hometown Except My Rapist out this fall, the best trans memoir I’ve read in years. And sure, I’m biased because I’m publishing it, but it truly is one hell of a book—I haven’t read anything so simultaneously gracious yet indicting since Miriam Toews’ Women Talking.

Francesca Ekwuyasi

Francesca Ekwuyasi is a writer and multidisciplinary artist from Lagos, Nigeria. Her work explores themes of faith, family, queerness, consumption, loneliness, and belonging. Her debut novel, Butter Honey Pig Bread, was longlisted for the 2020 Giller Prize, and in 2021, it was a finalist for multiple awards, including the CBC’s Canada Reads competition, the Lambda Literary Award, and the Governor General’s Award. Most recently Butter Honey Pig Bread has been longlisted for the 2022 Dublin Literary Award. Her short documentary Black + Belonging has screened in festivals in Halifax, Toronto, and Montreal.

What’s the first book you ever saw yourself reflected in?

I first saw myself reflected in Sefi Atta’s Everything Good Will Come.

What’s a book that’s had a strong impact on you? Why?

A Black Gaze: Artists Changing How We See by Tina M. Campt has left a strong impact on me. I’ve been reading it slowly, over and over again. It means a lot to me because it’s simply gorgeously written, and it teaches me how to see, think, and write in new and expansive ways.

What book by an LGBTQ2SIA+ author would you like to recommend right now — either something you’ve already read, or something that you’re looking forward to reading?

I’m reading In Sensorium by Tanaïs and I love it so much!!!

Ameema Saeed (@ameemabackwards) is a storyteller, a Capricorn, an avid bookworm, and a curator of very specific playlists, customized book recommendations, and cool earrings. She’s the cohost of the podcast High Low Brow, and the Books Editor for She Does the City. She enjoys bad puns, good food, dancing, and talking about feelings. She writes about books, unruly bodies, and her lived experiences, and hopes to write your next favourite book one day. When she’s not reading books, she likes to talk about books (especially diverse books, and books by diverse authors) on her bookstagram: @ReadWithMeemz