Six African LBTQ books to read for Pride month

It’s time to celebrate not just the lived experiences of people in the LGBTQ+ communities of the continent but to celebrate the incredible work of writers and authors who brought African queer existence to the mainstream publishing industry.

In many African countries where the rights of LGBTQ+ people are denied, books are essential, as they tackle the tenuous situation of queer people as they don’t just offer a mirror to their existence but present characters whose actions serve as a guide for navigating a homophobic society. To celebrate Pride Month 2024, we have put together a list of six LBTQ books to read. These books by African women writers offer powerful, nuanced, and often groundbreaking representations of queer experiences and identities within African contexts. We consciously focus on books written by women authors, to showcase their unique stories and perspectives.

Six authors, 6 books

1. “Under the Udala Trees” by Chinelo Okparanta: This novel, set during the Nigerian Civil War, follows a young woman named Ijeoma who discovers her attraction to other women and struggles with societal homophobia.
2. “Collective Amnesia” by Koleka Putuma: This acclaimed poetry collection by a South African poet explores themes of blackness, womanhood, and lesbian identity. 
3. “Queer Africa: New and Collected Fiction and Queer Africa 2: New Stories”: These anthologies, edited by Karen Martin and Makhosazana Xaba, feature short stories by queer African writers, including women, that celebrate the diversity of LGBTQ+ experiences on the continent. 
4. “La Bastarda” by Trifonia Melibea Obono: This novel, the first by an Equatoguinean woman to be translated into English, centers on a young lesbian protagonist and has been praised as an invaluable contribution to lesbian and gay literary culture.
5. “Don’t Whisper Too Much” by Frieda Ekotto: This French novel, translated into English, is a sapphic love story set in Africa, one of the first African works of fiction to positively depict romantic love between women.
6. Embracing My Shadow: Growing up lesbian in Nigeria by Unoma Azuah shows us what it’s like to be lesbian in Nigeria and how she navigated abuse, homophobia and a very religious society that tried so well to swallow her up because of her identity. This is a very passionate memoir that offers you a sense of freedom but leaves you with emotions you have no control of.