#books by asian authors

[that-butch-archivist]

"Dyke March 1994" by Morgan Gwenwald

source: The Wild Good: Lesbian Photographs & Writings on Love, edited by Beatrix Gates

[rbtbc]

Check out my written review of Direwood by Catherine Yu.

Direwood: A Gothic Tale of Vampires and Mystery | Book Review

https://readingbeyondthebookcover.com/direwood-by-catherine-yu/

[incandescent-ruins]

Asian, Adjacent: Utopian Longing and Model Minority Mediation in Disco Elysium by Takeo Rivera

[specialagentartemis]

What queer Asian sci fi authors would you recommend?

Yeah, to put my money where my mouth is, here are some queer SFF writers from Asia and the Asian Diaspora in the Anglosphere that I really like and highly recommend:

Nghi Vo: probably doesn’t need an endorsement from me, hah, her The Empress of Salt and Fortune is one of the most perfect novellas I’ve ever read and well deserved its Hugo win. The whole Singing Hills cycle is great. It’s a fantasy world strongly inspired by Imperial China and Vietnam, and does clever things with fantasy, folklore, storytelling, and memory. Her novels are standalone historical fantasy set in 1920s-America-with-magic and are very much about Asian immigrant/diaspora experiences in the early 20th century US. With Magic.

Yoon Ha Lee: I love his Machineries of Empire. Would love to finish that trilogy someday. But seriously it’s creative, intense military sci-fi in a magic-science space empire and is very interested in what it takes to uphold such a system.

Simon Jimenez: The Vanished Birds is sooo heartbreakingly good and I need to read A Spear Cuts Through Water soon.

Isabel J. Kim: Short story writer. Runs the gamut of sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and the weird stuff in between. Creative and vivid in really compelling ways. Her first novel is in the works and I am SUPER interested. She does funky and creative things with perspective and structure in her stories. Has several stories now that are about turning popular tropes or other iconic stories around like they’re in a kaleidoscope, but her first published story “Homecoming Is Just Another Word for the Sublimation of the Self” is probably still the most affecting to me.

Michelle Kan: Has a trilogy of novelettes called Tales of the Thread, self-described as “aromantic Chinese fairytales” that take a deliberately aro approach to fairytale retellings and fairytale style fantasy. I recommend them. (Also has a superhero novel I haven’t read.)

———

Haven’t read yet but they are on my TBR:

Aliette de Bodard: Her Xuya universe novellas, and the relationships between humans and AIs and spaceships, sound super up my alley.

Kai Cheng Thom: Author of Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl’s Confabulous Memoir is a less traditionally sff entry but is a fabulist/surrealist take on the Trans Memoir… which I feel like I have to be in the right space for, but I do want to read it.

———

Also he’s not out as queer or anything but I can’t not recommend Ted Chiang because he writes some of the best short stories In The World and has THE most interesting and unique and compelling ideas.

———

There are also so many more authors out there I don’t know and haven’t read! But! Someday!!

[inkcurlsandknives]

Hi Tumblr I'm an Asian fantasy author fleeing the sudden death of all my other social media sites 👋 I've used Tumblr for years as a fandom lurker and rarely posted but in light of all my other communities imploding I guess I'll have to figure out how to be actually active on Tumblr and find bookish and writerly folks here 💜 say hi if that's you 🥺

If you love diverse filipino fantasy with bipoc leads, angry bi women clawing for space in a world that's always rejected them and soft boys who'd do anything for them, awesome elemental magic based on early Filipino shaman/ babaylan/katalonan mythologies and the Tagalog creation story, and the Bakunawa/Laho the 🇵🇭 sea dragon 🐉 and drowning colonizers then I hope you'll keep an eye out for SAINTS OF STORM AND SORROW coming in June 2024 from Titan Books

[whereshadowslive]

Because the sunset, like survival, exists only on the verge of its own disappearing. To be gorgeous, you must first be seen, but to be seen allows you to be hunted.

― Ocean Vuong, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

[gennsoup]

Funny how a house can be more than just four walls: the center of the universe, the one place your father is happy, an obsession.

Trang Thanh Tran, She is a Haunting

[thesophiewhit]

PHONING FAUST -- A Sapphic Novel of Demonic Contracts, Demisexuality, and Yearning by me! A cool queer author ~

Are you LGBT+ or BIPOC or just REALLY LOVE BOOKS? Interested in being an ARC reader and reading a book and helping a fellow queer indie author out? (Pretty please? -- ARC links all the way at the bottom of this post (beneath the rainbow banner) for those who like Sapphic demon x human angst books ~)

AND LOOK AT THE CHARACTER ART OF MEMPHIS (BADASS DEMON) AND DIAN (HUMAN) BY MY ARTIST FRIEND SNAX

https://linktr.ee/artsnaxk

ABOUT ME

Demisexual?? Queer? Nonbinary? All these were magical words to me until it hit...

Oh-- that's me.

It took me a while to come out as queer, longer to come out as nonbinary, and then some more time to reconcile all this with being a mixed Indonesian kid. A dash of mental health, a sprig of figuring out asexuality and neurodivergence. But atop all that? One thing has been constant.

I've always been a writer.

That's some live footage of me summoning some forces to reign my characters in from being feral.

WHY I WROTE PHONING FAUST

Well, well, well, after years of battling imposter's syndrome, I did it. I wrote another book! It's called PHONING FAUST and it's getting published with queer indie publishing company @ninestarpress-blog because they're all cool and LGBT+ and super talented!

Why did I write PHONING FAUST?

What is... a Faust?

A Faustian bargain is what's popularly known as the devil's bargain. A usually losing situation or a trick where the devil tricks someone out of their soul in exchange for ULTIMATE POWER!

I rewrote Faust to be Sapphic as can be. It stars a mixed Indonesian lesbian named Dian Faust who battles depression tooth and nail and ends up calling a mental health crisis hotline. Bc... she's lonely.

PAUSE-- and this is a horror comedy. Comedy. COMEDY-- you might say?

WHY? HOW? Sounds sad and depressing, right?

WHAT'S FAUST?

Well... in the original retelling version of Goethe's Faust (who retold it from folklore etc etc) the main character of Dr. Faustus accidentally summons the devil or something when he too is about to consider the meaning of life and it gets sad bc he doesn't see one so he makes the devil's bargain FOR ULTIMATE POWER. Or something.

But in my version-- it's based off my experiences as a queer person. Before I had community. Before I understood and accepted myself-- I had a rough time. For a whole bunch of factors outside of that-- I didn't feel like my life was in a good place. And even worse-- I felt isolated.

THE PLOT

I didn't want to bother my friends with my problems. So-- I'd call the Trevor Project or a crisis hotline just to have somebody to talk to. In the same way-- Dian Faust is struggling with depression in the story I write. So she calls a hotline like the Trevor Project just to not be alone.

And guess who she finds?

A super hot genderfluid devil called MEMPHIS, short for Mephistopheles. A pierced and tatted punk rocker who has an interest for telling tall tales and serving Dian Faust's every wish and command! (No, not like that!)

Because Dian Faust, like me, is a mixed Indonesian kid trying to figure out what it means to be queer AND demisexual (finding attraction only after really getting to emotionally connect with someone and feeling, as I explain in the book, a lack of that before then for anyone). And she's figuring plenty out--- including how to save her immortal soul and her feelings for a certain genderfluid demon but if you want to know more-- YOU CAN BUT YOU HAVE TO SCROLL TO THE END OF THIS POST TO FIND OUT !

I wrote this book PHONING FAUST (coming out in 2025 sometime with NineStar Press btw. I have these books CATCH LILI TOO and WAKE THE DEAD also starring Sapphic demiace MCs if it's helpful while you wait!

I WROTE MORE QUEER BOOKS (if interested)! (ARC SIGN UP LINK IS STILL BELOW THIS ONE THO! > FOLLOW THE RAINBOW !!)

MY OTHER QUEER BOOKS: https://sophiawhittemore.com/books/ ) <3 <3 <3

I wrote PHONING FAUST (train of thought, sorry, that's the neurodivergence) because I wanted people to feel less alone.

I was, like Dian Faust and like a lot of people, a queer person who felt like I was on an island unto myself. I didn't know who to turn to-- so I turned to no one. By reaching out to hotlines (no hot devils unfortunately), I managed to get the help I needed to avoid making rash decisions-- to get the help I needed to get better. To take that first step.

PHONING FAUST is a novel that raises the importance of mental health and finding community, and most importantly, not giving up. As Dian Faust says in my upcoming book...

There are stars out there-- I had only to see it.

***

🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈

🌈🌈🌈🌈ARC LINK SIGN UPS HERE 🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈

ARC LINK SIGN UPS IN LINKTREE <3

Want to be an ARC reader for this queer book starring a demisexual Sapphic couple and BIPOC cast?

Sign up here! : https://tr.ee/mWPM8I9Zev

***

Hmmm, demon contracts...now where might young 2010 emo me have heard that before... ? ?

[black-is-beautiful18]

And here we go again with the “I just can’t connect to Black characters 🥺” bs. Y’all don’t like Black ppl so that’s why you don’t like reading about us. No one cares if LegendBorn or Children of Blood and Bone are some of your favs, cuz what exactly is stopping you from finding books similar to them???? And then to say that Black authors should be more like Asian authors while also insinuating that we don’t have our own historical or cultural myths, especially when we exist on multiple continents and islands, is absolutely ludicrous. Not to mention that a statement like that feeds into racism and the fetishization of Asian ppl. Children of color are forced to see nothing but white ppl in every form of media all our lives and not once does not being able to connect to the characters stop us from enjoying that piece of media. You can empathize with dragons, elves, orcs, and witches easily. Anyone darker than dry glue however, needs to prove why you should read our stories and have sympathy for our characters. This is exactly why I don’t trust white readers regardless of if they read diversely or not cuz some of y’all don’t even read the books. You just get them for brownie points or judge them harshly cuz you still don’t see the characters as deserving of empathy.

[aroaessidhe]

bookmark collection 17/?

the labyrinth i bookmark by sylviacomics with the ones we're meant to find, the mermaid the witch and the sea, and the oleander sword

[that-butch-archivist]

"Lesbian Rights March, September 1995, People's Republic of China" (Photographed by Ann Meredith)

source: The Wild Good: Lesbian Photographs and Writings on Love, edited by Beatrix Gates

[alinacapellabooks]

@the-golden-comet @gioiaalbanoart @inkshine @mundanemoongirl @wyked-ao3 @mauannacreates @lady-grace-pens @fablesandfragments @willtheweaver @illarian-rambling @leahnardo-da-veggie

Can you believe that it’s been a year since my debut? Neither can I, but it’s officially been one year since I released my debut novel, The Tengu And The Angel! Thank you for all of your support over this past year, and for those of you who haven’t read it yet, The Tengu And The Angel is a fluffy, angsty, slow burn friends to lovers romance about Kunio, a troubled teen artist who runs away from his abusive mother, and Nathaniel, the equally troubled fashion designer who takes him in. If you’re looking for a new read this holiday season guaranteed to melt your heart, you can buy my book (And read the entire first chapter for free!) on Amazon! Posting the Goodreads link so that you’ll be redirected to the right Amazon store for your country/territory:

Thank you for all of your support so far, and I’m hoping that you’ll stick around for the release of my next book, Night Of The Blue Moon! Night Of The Blue Moon will be releasing in January! ^^

[ofwhimsicaldreams]

2025 Goodreads challenge:

24 books

in french and in english

non-fiction: history, feminism, other topics that might strike my fancy

fiction: authors from as many continents as possible, as many female authors as possible, as many female main characters as possible, at least one french novel

+ redo my shelves as i'm not satisfied with them anymore... thinking of adding a 'author country' tag for my own stats too

+ if you people feel like it, please drop your goodreads handle so i can follow you 🙏

[lazehaze]

I definitely buy more books than I should…

I got this after hearing some amazing reviews from some peers at a book club. It got me really intrigued, so here it is.

When I’m reading it? Oh, I have no idea.

[inkcurlsandknives]

Is that author having a laugh with THE DANTE BASCO???

Yes!!

Please revel with me in the crowning achievement of my California Book Tour, a live event with my Audiobook Narrators Dante Basco and Danice Cabanela at Belcanto Books/ Kubo LB an indie Filipino bookstore in Long Beach CA

It was an absolutely amazing night Dante and Danice both did live readings of Saints of Storm and Sorrow, we had a really cool conversation about the book and making audiobooks happen and had so many laughs check out the Instagram live recording if you missed it! I'm @GabriellaBuba on Instagram

Found out I got to be Dante's first audiobook AND Danice's first 🌶️🌶️ spicy 🌶️🔥 audiobook #winning

If you missed out on this event head to Gabriellabuba.com/#events to catch my next events on my California book tour, I'll be at @bnmarinadelrey Friday at 6pm (I'll be wearing my Lunurin cosplay for the first time!) and on Saturday at 10am I'll be at @makecollectives hosting an edge painting class! Only $12 if you already have a copy of Saints come out it will be so fun!

[chanelslibrary]

🌙𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰🌙

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

@xiranjayzhao

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Zetian is set on avenging her sister’s death. Which is why she volunteers as a concubine pilot in the Huaxian army with the hopes of pairing up with the male pilot that killed her sister! Fortunate is on her side when they are matched, and Zetian must learn how to operate Chrysalises, giant robots meant to battle aliens, while mentally fighting the psychic link to the male pilot that has decimated so many other girls. She gets her revenge by being the only one to survive the battle—but she is now labeled the Iron Widow—and with that title is paired with the strongest and deadliest male pilot, Li Shimin. Who will survive their next battle, and what happens when Zetian digs deeper into the pilot system and wonders why only females are sacrificed during battles?

This book was such a whirlwind! It was giving Handmaid’s Tale vibes but with a dash of science fiction and a Chinese setting. I loved how Zhao drew on Chinese history to paint the backdrop for this story, and it almost seems like Huaxia could be China hundreds of years from now. The main character Zetian is the epitome of a badass female character—strong physically (even with broken feet!) and mentally, opinionated, fierce, and willing to fight for the underdogs—while acknowledging that she needs help sometimes. I also liked that there was a little love triangle (spoiler alert✨) but it wasn’t cliche and felt very organic. This story showed how men/boys are prioritized over girls/women even when war and safety should be the main concern in this battle ravaged country. I loved listening to the audiobook because getting the hear the authentic pronunciation of each of the characters names and some of the dialogue was great! This was a total 5 star read and I’m anxiously awaiting the sequel

Read if you love:

🤖Science fiction

❤️Love triangle

🏳️‍🌈LGBTQ rep

✊🏼AAPI rep