Upcoming Queer SFF, Sep-Nov 2020

There are a bunch of fantastic-looking SFF novels coming out this fall, with releases from the hottest up-and-comers in SFF: P. Djèlí Clark, Alix E Harrow and K Eason, plus releases from old favorites—CL Polk, Yoon Ha Lee, VE Schwab and Rebecca Roanhorse.

I’ll probably do a post to highlight my most anticipated adult SFF coming out this fall, but I wanted to shout to the rooftops the fall queer SFF!

Unfortunately, the pandemic has pushed a lot of my anticipated release dates to 2021 (which means I must have longer for A Desolation Called Peace).

If these look interesting, remember to try to buy indie (if you can)! Or support your local library!

The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart (8 Sep, Orbit)

The emperor’s reign has lasted for decades, his mastery of bone shard magic powering the animal-like constructs that maintain law and order. But now his rule is failing, and revolution is sweeping across the Empire’s many islands. Lin is the emperor’s daughter and spends her days trapped in a palace of locked doors and dark secrets. When her father refuses to recognise her as heir to the throne, she vows to prove her worth by mastering the forbidden art of bone shard magic.

Burning Roses by SL Huang (29 Sep, Tor.com)

When Rosa (aka Red Riding Hood) and Hou Yi the Archer join forces to stop the deadly sunbirds from ravaging the countryside, their quest will take the two women, now blessed and burdened with the hindsight of middle age, into a reckoning of sacrifices made and mistakes mourned, of choices and family and the quest for immortality.

Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee (20 Oct, Solaris)

Gyen Jebi isn’t a fighter or a subversive. They just want to paint. One day they’re jobless and desperate; the next, Jebi finds themself recruited by the Ministry of Armor to paint the mystical sigils that animate the occupying government’s automaton soldiers. But when Jebi discovers the depths of the Razanei government’s horrifying crimes—and the awful source of the magical pigments they use—they find they can no longer stay out of politics.

The Factory Witches of Lowell by CS Malerich (10 Nov, Tor)

For the young women of Lowell, Massachusetts, freedom means fair wages for fair work, decent room and board, and a chance to escape the cotton mills before lint stops up their lungs. Faced with abominable working conditions, unsympathetic owners, and hard-hearted managers, the mill girls of Lowell have had enough. They’re going on strike, and they have a secret weapon on their side: a little witchcraft to ensure that no one leaves the picket line.

What Queer SFF are you excited to read this fall?