On July 14, 2023, we recognized International Nonbinary People's Day. Nonbinary is a gender identity that refers to someone who does not fall into the gender binary of male or female that is traditional to Western culture. There is a great deal of diversity that can exist within the nonbinary gender identity. Some folks present androgynous while others may present masculine or feminine. Many nonbinary people use they/them pronouns, but others use she/they, he/they, she/her, he/him, or less common pronouns like ze/zir. Some nonbinary folks choose a new name, change their style to incorporate gender-affirming clothing, or have gender-affirming surgery, but not all nonbinary people do these things. It is important to support nonbinary people by using the correct pronouns and recognizing the whole person regardless of whether they go through a social transition, medical transition, or no noticeable transition at all. In this article, we highlight ten books written by nonbinary authors.
Image Description: Strips of paper make a rainbow. On top of the rainbow sits two magnets saying "they, them."
Credit: Katie Rainbow 🏳️🌈 / Unsplash via Webador
10 Books by Nonbinary Authors
- A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns (Archie Bongionvanni and Tristan Jimerson): A short graphic guide, this piece of nonfiction helps the reader better grasp the nuances of nonbinary identities. Learn more about the book, its authors, and where to buy it on the author's website or borrow the book from OpenLibrary.
- Beyond the Gender Binary (Alok Vaid-Menon): This survival guide is meant to enlighten and empower genderqueer folx and educate readers everywhere. Buy the book from Mil Mundos Books or find the book for free through OpenLibrary.
- Depart, Depart (Sim Kern): When Noah escapes a hurricane and moves to Texas, he worries that the people in his new community won't accept his trans, Jewish identity. The ghost of his grandfather appears to guide him. Find out more about the book, its author, and where to buy it through the author's website or find the book through OpenLibrary.
- Life Isn't Binary: On Being Both, Beyond, and In-Between (Alex Iantaffi and Meg-John Barker): This piece of nonfiction critiques the rigidity of modern Western thought and focuses on the fluidity of gender and sexuality. Buy the book on Amazon or search the WorldCat database to find this book at a library near you.
- Magic for Liars (Sarah Gailey): This is a story of two siblings, one with magic and one with a talent for private investigating. When something goes wrong at the school for magic, the PI is called to solve a murder. Learn more about the book, its author, and where to buy it on the author's website or search the WorldCat database to find this book at a library near you.
- Nettleblack (Nat Reeve): Set in the late 19th century, this story follows a young woman who runs away when her family decides to marry her off. She finds herself among the company of eccentric vigilantes. Buy the book on Amazon or search the WorldCat database to find this book at a library near you.
- Pet (Akwaeke Emezi): Emezi's first young adult novel follows a girl who encounters a creature created out of one of her mother's paintings. Learn more about the book, its author, and where to buy it on the author's website or borrow the book from OpenLibrary.
- She Who Became The Sun (Shelley Parker-Chan): This genderqueer historical fiction retells the story of the founding emperor of China's Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang. Learn more about the book, its author, and where to buy it on the author's website or borrow the book from OpenLibrary.
- The Atrocities (Jeremy C. Shipp): When Ms. Valdez is shows up to her new gig, she realizes she has been asked to do the impossible, tutor the ghost of a young girl. This piece of gothic fantasy is on the creepy side. Learn more about the book, its author, and where to buy it on the author's website or borrow the book from OpenLibrary.
- The Black Tides of Heaven (Neon Yang): This novella is meant to be paired with The Red Threads of Fortune. Both books follow a pair of twins sold to a monastery. Visit the author's website to learn more about the author, the book, and book vendors or search the WorldCat database to find this book at a library near you.
Sources
- (No date) Sarah Gailey. Available at: https://sarahgailey.com/ (Accessed: 06 June 2023).
- Beyond the gender binary - Alok Vaid-Menon (no date) Mil Mundos Books. Available at: https://www.milmundosbooks.com/product/beyond-the-gender-binary-alok-vaid-menon/3668?si=true (Accessed: 06 June 2023).
- Bongiovanni, A. (1970) A Quick & Easy Guide to they/them pronouns by Archie Bongiovanni, Open Library. Available at: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL19744551W/A_quick_easy_guide_to_they_them_pronouns (Accessed: 06 June 2023).
- Books & stories (no date) Sim Kern. Available at: https://www.simkern.com/publications (Accessed: 06 June 2023).
- Emezi, A. (1970) Pet by Akwaeke Emezi, Open Library. Available at: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20150134W/Pet (Accessed: 06 June 2023).
- Iantaffi, A., Barker, M.-J. and Lester, C.N. (2019) Life isn’t binary on being both, beyond, and in-between, Amazon. Available at: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Isnt-Binary-Beyond-Between/dp/1785924796 (Accessed: 06 June 2023).
- It’s Neon Yang (no date) IT’S NEON YANG. Available at: https://neonyang.com/ (Accessed: 06 June 2023).
- Kennamckinnon (2023) Jeremy’s books, Jeremy C. Shipp. Available at: https://jeremycshipp.wordpress.com/jeremys-books/ (Accessed: 06 June 2023).
- Kern, S. (2020) Depart, depart! by Sim Kern, Open Library. Available at: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL27033501W/Depart_Depart%21 (Accessed: 06 June 2023).
- Parker-Chan, S. (2021) She who became the Sun by Shelley Parker-chan, Open Library. Available at: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL24233210W/She_Who_Became_the_Sun?edition=key%3A%2Fbooks%2FOL32043146M (Accessed: 06 June 2023).
- Pet (no date) Akwaeke Emezi. Available at: https://www.akwaeke.com/pet (Accessed: 06 June 2023).
- A quick and easy guide to they/them pronouns (no date) Archie Bongiovanni. Available at: https://www.archiebongiovanni.com/they-them (Accessed: 06 June 2023).
- Reeve, N. (2022) Nettleblack, Amazon. Available at: https://www.amazon.com/NETTLEBLACK/dp/1838390065 (Accessed: 06 June 2023).
- She who became the sun - Shelley Parker (2021) Chan. Available at: https://shelleyparkerchan.com/she-who-became-the-sun/ (Accessed: 06 June 2023).
- Shipp, J.C. (2018) The atrocities by Jeremy C. Shipp, Open Library. Available at: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL19624674W/The_Atrocities (Accessed: 06 June 2023).
- Vaid-Menon, A. and Lukashevsky, A. (2020) Beyond the gender binary by Alok Vaid-Menon, Open Library. Available at: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20891078W/Beyond_the_Gender_Binary?edition=key%3A%2Fbooks%2FOL28297068M (Accessed: 06 June 2023).
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