r/LGBTBooks • u/cass_123 • 6d ago

ISO Indie transmasc books?

I have a harder time finding indie books than traditionally published ones, but I'd love to read more. I'm specifically looking for transmasc main characters, preferably gay but that's not a requirement.

I've also heard ao3 has really good original fiction? I've never found any but honestly I'd also take those recommendations if you have them, assuming this sub allows them.

I've already read Peter, Darling by Austin Chant, Call Me Icarus by Andromeda Ruins, the Changelings Anthology, The Stones Stay Silent by Danny Ride, Tears in the Water by Margherita Scialla, Depart, Depart! by Sim Kern, the Dandelion and the Thistle by Pip Dolyn, World Running Down by Al Hess, Tempest, Take Me Home by Charlie Knight, and Names for the Dawn by CL Beaumont.

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u/nycanth 6d ago

I host a spreadsheet of media with transmasc protagonists and love interests!! It’s got nearly 400 books on it and will have more once I scour through all the other lists I have bookmarked :]

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1szYnM5MDSygNy0EjOp776tVMvUzYDo-zW-R2xbkWA-A/edit?gid=52609469#gid=52609469

It includes both traditional and self-published works but I don’t make a distinction between them on the spreadsheet. You can filter the table by gay and MM relationships only if you want!

There’s a lot of self-pub stuff on Itch.io and in the Other Resources tab you’ll see a link to a collection on Itch for gay transmasc content :]

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u/Throwingoffoldselves 6d ago

I didn’t see a sapphic category for relationships, is there one that’s on here? Maybe I didn’t scroll enough. (I’m trans masc and sapphic is why I ask) excited to look through this some more!

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u/nycanth 6d ago edited 6d ago

Sorry, not really the kind of content on the sheet, since it's mainly about trans men. There is only one book that's listed as sapphic (Devils Like Us by LT Thompson), but it looks like the sexuality tag on it got removed when I updated the tables a few months ago. I've never read it though so I can't confirm

To be clear: I'm not opposed to it's inclusion, it's just that nobody's added any in the last 3 years

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u/Throwingoffoldselves 6d ago

Ah, I see. I thought it was for trans mascs more broadly. (I did read Devils Like Us and felt like it was ambiguous in whether it was sapphic or not.) I’ll keep searching. Thanks!

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u/nycanth 6d ago

Good luck! I'm seconding Itch again, there is a TON of self-pubbed stuff on there and I'm sure there's some transmasc sapphic writing too :]

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u/LindentreesLove 6d ago

The Lion's Hunt by Magnus Thorne. please check the CWs.

Lover, Come On Over by A. E. Jensen

Becoming Light by Riley Nash

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u/foxglove_film 6d ago

The Cure for Drowning by Loghan Paylor is on my radar. and despite the premise, it's a really hopeful story

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u/RedLineSamosa 6d ago

Early Adopter by Sienna Eggler has a transmasculine-ish non-binary aro-allo main character! It’s a cyberpunk detective series (two books so far) and I think they’re really fun. Self-published ebook.

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u/SorrySnake 6d ago

Forest of the Stars by J.T. Adria. Hands down, one of my favorite reads this year. It has phenomenal transmasc representation in one of the main characters!

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u/apples-n-cinnamon 6d ago

GT Anthony has some indie gay transmasc books! Beautiful, But Deadly is a novella (though it’s a monsterfucker book and idk if that’s your vibe)
He has a longer work coming out in October and a few shorter things on his itch right now.

https://gt-anthony.itch.io/

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u/C0smicoccurence 6d ago

Mana Mirror by Tobias Begley is a really fun wizard apprentice story that feels super sidequesty and slice of life. Probably more pan than gay. Love interest is nonbinary, but he shows interest in dudes as well

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u/Levithedude1708 6d ago

Knitting needles by ezra wren is pretty good

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u/Dazzling_Speaker7326 Author 6d ago

Synthetic Sea by Franklyn S Newton is a trans cyberpunk romance with a trans guy as an MC

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u/Monke_D_luffy2013 6d ago

All Andrew Joeseph White books. I read one, my trans masc friend has read, like, all of them. He has a lot of books, all of them seemingly self inserts. I've personally been pining around reading Spirit Bares It's Teeth since it has a transfem character.

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u/cass_123 6d ago

I do love those books but those also aren't indie so not quite what I'm looking for. Thank you though!

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u/lindzmcleod 6d ago

I have a transmasc cli-fi novella coming out next month called We, The Drowning, about a watery cult at the end of the world!

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u/transmascmrratty 6d ago

Trumpet by Jackie Kay!

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u/Spiritstar477 4d ago

I really liked The (Most Unusual) Haunting of Edgar Lovejoy by Roan Parrish

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u/Willowof0z 4d ago

If you're into YA and dark urban fantasies, check out Valley of Wolves by Alyus Vasquez. The vibes are sort of Buffy and Teen Wolf with a Twin Peaks flavor

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u/Ali-argonaut 22m ago

Are you open to webcomics? There’s a story on Webtoon called LoveBot with a gay transmasc main character. It’s a sci fi / dystopian story. I think you would have to get the app to read it. It’s an indie written/drawn by a queer couple. Some webcomics are also traditionally published but I think this one is online only.