List of lesbian fiction

This is a List of lesbian-themed fiction. It includes books and plays. The lists of adult and of YA-appropriate works are split into separate headings.
Below the main list, the article also includes:

information on particularly prolific publishing subcultures like fanfiction and mysteries;
a list of lesbian and feminist publishing houses; and
a list of nonfiction works on this topic.

Works of Lesbian fiction, in chronological order

Pre-1700

Symposium. By Plato. c. 300s BC.
Dialogues of the Courtesans. By Lucian of Samosata. c. 100s AD.
Epigrams. By Martial. c. 100s AD. Waga mi ni tadoru himegimi . Author unknown. c.1259-1276.

1700-1799

Fanny Hill. By John Cleland. 1748.
La Religieuse. By Denis Diderot. 1796.
L'Espion Anglais. 1778.

1800-1899

Mademoiselle Maupin. By Théophile Gautier. 1835.
La Fille aux yeux d'or. By Honoré de Balzac. 1835.
Carmilla. By Sheridan Le Fanu. 1872.
Der Liebe Lust und Leid der Frau zur Frau. Author unknown. 1895..
Nana. By Émile Zola. 1880.
Mademoiselle Giraud, My Wife. By Adolphe Belot. 1891.
鳳雙飛 . By Cheng Huiying. 1899.

1900-1949

Sind es Frauen? Roman über das dritte Geschlecht. By Minna Wettstein-Adelt. 1901.
God of Vengeance. By Sholem Asch. 1906.
Thirty-Three Abominations. By Lydia Zinovieva-Annibal. 1907.
The Rainbow. By D. H. Lawrence. 1915.
花物語. By Nobuko Yoshiya. 1916–1925.
Regiment of Women. By Winifred Ashton
屋根裏の二處女. By Nobuko Yoshiya. 1920.
The Bachelor Girl. By Victor Margueritte. 1922.
Freundinnen. By Maximiliane Ackers. 1923.
Anja und Esther. By Klaus Mann. 1925.
The Captive. By Edouard Bourdet. 1926.
Vestal Fire. By Compton Mackenzie. 1927.
The Well of Loneliness. By Radclyffe Hall. 1928.
Ladies Almanack. By Djuna Barnes. 1928.
Orlando: A Biography. By Virginia Woolf. 1928.
Extraordinary Women. By Compton Mackenzie. 1928.
Kariera Nikodema Dyzmy. By Tadeusz Dołęga-Mostowicz. 1931.
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas. By Gertrude Stein. 1933.
The Child Manuela. By Christa Winsloe. 1933.
The Children's Hour. By Lillian Hellman. 1934.
We Too Are Drifting. By Gale Wilhelm. 1935.
Nightwood. By Djuna Barnes. 1936.
Lulu. By Alban Berg. 1937.
Young Man with a Horn. By Dorothy Baker. 1938.
Torchlight to Valhalla. By Gale Wilhelm. 1938.
The Friendly Young Ladies. By Mary Renault. 1943.
Two Serious Ladies. By Jane Bowles. 1943.
No Exit. By Jean-Paul Sartre. 1944.

1950-1999

Women's Barracks. By Tereska Torres. 1950.
Spring Fire. By Marijane Meaker. 1952.
Le Rempart des Béguines. By Françoise Mallet-Joris. 1952.
The Price of Salt. By Patricia Highsmith. 1952.
The Tree and the Vine. By Dola de Jong. 1954.
Chocolates for Breakfast. By Pamela Moore. 1956.
Odd Girl Out, I Am a Woman, Women in the Shadows, Journey to a Woman, and Beebo Brinker, Ann Bannon
The Girls in 3-B. By Valerie Taylor. 1959.
Cassandra at the Wedding. Dorothy Baker. 1962.
The Group. By Mary McCarthy. 1962.
Winter Love. By Han Suyin. 1962.
The Killing of Sister George. By Frank Marcus. 1963.
Desert of the Heart. By Jane Rule. 1964.
From Doon with Death. By Ruth Rendell. 1964.
The_Man_from_C.A.M.P.. By Victor J. Banis writing as "Don Holliday". 1966.
The Microcosm. By Maureen Duffy. 1966.
A Compass Error. By Sybille Bedford. 1968.
Patience and Sarah. By Isabel Miller. 1969.
The Female Man. By Joanna Russ. 1970.
Rubyfruit Jungle. By Rita Mae Brown. 1973.
Loving Her. By Ann Allen Shockley. 1974.
Lover. By Bertha Harris. 1976.
Cytherea's Breath. By Sarah Aldridge. 1976.
Zami: A New Spelling of My Name. By Audre Lorde. 1982.
The Color Purple. By Alice Walker. 1982.
Toothpick House. By Lee Lynch. 1983.
Curious Wine. By Katherine V. Forrest. 1983.
Daughters of a Coral Dawn. By Katherine V. Forrest. 1984.
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit. By Jeanette Winterson. 1985.
Mohawk Trail. By Beth Brant. 1985.
Mousson de femmes . By Elula Perrin. 1985.
The Swashbuckler. By Lee Lynch. 1985.
Lesbian Body. By Monique Wittig. 1986.
Say Jesus and Come to Me. By Ann Allen Shockley. 1986.
Memory Board. By Jane Rule. 1987.
Trash. By Dorothy Allison. 1988.
The Child Garden. By Geoff Ryman. 1989.
July Nights and Other Stories. By Jane Eaton Hamilton. 1991.
Touchwood. By Karin Kallmaker. 1991.
The Gilda Stories. By Jewelle Gomez. 1991.
Ammonite. By Nicola Griffith. 1991.
Send My Roots Rain. By Ibis Gómez-Vega. 1991.
Six of One. By Rita Mae Brown. 1991
Aquamarine. By Carol Anshaw. 1993.
Bastard Out of Carolina. By Dorothy Allison. 1993.
Stone Butch Blues. By Leslie Feinberg. 1993.
Chelsea Girls. By Eileen Myles. 1994.
Empire of Dreams. By Giannina Braschi. 1994.
Written on the Body. By Jeanette Winterson. 1994.
Hadra. By Diana Rivers. 1995.
Flashpoint. By Katherine V. Forrest. 1995.
Slow River. By Nicola Griffith. 1995.
Along the Journey River. By Carole LaFavor. 1996.
Fall on Your Knees. By Ann-Marie MacDonald. 1996
Memory Mambo. By Achy Obejas. 1996.
Living at Night. By Mariana Romo Carmona. 1997.
Sweet Bitter Love. By Rita Schiano. 1997
The Passion. By Jeanette Winterson. 1997.
Working Parts. By Lucy Jane Bledsoe. 1997.
Hood. By Emma Donoghue. 1998.
Don't Explain: Short Fiction. By Jewelle Gomez. 1998.
Coachella. By Sheila Ortiz Taylor. 1998.
Summer Sisters. By Judy Blume. 1998.
Like. By Ali Smith. 1998.
The Hours. By Michael Cunningham. 1998.
Kissing the Witch. By Emma Donoghue. 1999.

2000-present

Stirfry. By Emma Donoghue. 2000.
Doc and Fluff: The Dystopian Tale of a Girl and Her Biker. By Pat Califia. 2000.
Tipping the Velvet. By Sarah Waters. 2000.
Gun Shy. By Lori L. Lake. 2001.
The World Unseen. By Shamim Sarif, 2001.
Fingersmith. By Sarah Waters. 2002.
Affinity. By Sarah Waters. 2002.
Hotel World. By Ali Smith. 2002.
Love Ruins Everything. By Aren X. Tulchinsky. 2002.
The Wanderground. By Sally Miller Gearhart. 2002.
Hunger. By Jane Eaton Hamilton. 2002.
Fire Logic. By Laurie J. Marks. 2002.
Garis Tepi Seorang Lesbian. By Herlinatiens. 2003.
The Salt Roads. By Nalo Hopkinson. 2003.
Love and Other Ruins. By Aren X. Tulchinsky. 2003.
Maybe Next Time. By Karin Kallmaker. 2003.
Southland. By Nina Revoyr. 2003.
Crybaby Butch. By Judith Frank. 2004.
Love's Masquerade. By Radclyffe. 2004.
Celebrating Hotchclaw. By Ann Allen Shockley. 2005.
Desert Blood. By Alicia Gaspar de Alba. 2005.
Bliss. By Fiona Zedde. 2005.
The Five Books of Moses Lapinsky. By Aren X. Tulchinsky. 2005.
Daughters of an Emerald Dusk. By Katherine V. Forrest. 2005.
The Walls of Westernfort. By Jane Fletcher's. 2005.
Life Mask. By Emma Donoghue. 2005.
The Empress and the Acolyte. By Jane Fletcher's. 2005.
Fresh Tracks. By Georgia Beers. 2006.
Of Drag Kings and the Wheel of Fate. By Susan "Smitty" Smith. 2006.Sword of the Guardian. By Merry Shannon. 2006.
Snow Moon Rising. By Lori L. Lake. 2006.
The Night Watch. By Sarah Waters. 2006.
A Taste of Sin. By Fiona Zedde. 2006.
Drag King Dreams. By Leslie Feinberg. 2006.
Every Dark Desire. By Fiona Zedde. 2007.
Gerhana Kembar, trans. Twin Eclipse. By Clara Ng. 2007.
Flight Risk. By Kim Baldwin. 2007.
The Teahouse Fire. By Ellis Avery. 2007.
Among Other Things, I've Taken Up Smoking. By Aoibheann Sweeney. 2008.
Beyond the Pale. By Elana Dykewomon. 2008.
Hungry for I. By Fiona Zedde. 2008.
Landing. By Emma Donoghue. 2008.
Your Sad Eyes and Unforgettable Mouth. By Edeet Ravel. 2008.
Branded Ann. By Merry Shannon. 2008.
Girl Meets Boy. By Ali Smith. 2009.
Lesbians Roaring Like A Tsunami. By Mikhail Volokhov. 2010.
Un Soir du Paris. 2010.
Buyer's Remorse. By Lori L. Lake. 2011.
Cinnamon. By Samar Yazbek. 2012.
Misconceptions. By Erika Renee Land. 2012.
Prairie Ostrich. By Tamai Kobayashi. 2014.
Under the Udala Trees. By Chinelo Okparanta. 2015.
Bury Me When I'm Dead: A Charlie Mack Motown Mystery. By Cheryl A Head. 2016
Weekend. By Jane Eaton Hamilton. 2016.
Here Comes the Sun. By Nicole Dennis-Benn. 2016.Scorned. By Erika Renee Land. 2017.
Death's Echoes. By Penny Mickelbury. 2018.
This Is How You Lose the Time War. By Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. 2019.
The Tiger Flu. By Larissa Lai. 2019.
Punishment: A Love Story. By Eve Tushnet. 2019.
Because I Said So. By Jane Eaton Hamilton. 2019.
Gideon the Ninth. By Tamsyn Muir. 2019.
Cantoras. By Carolina De Robertis. 2019
Between A Rock and A Soft Place: Selected Works. By S. Renee Bess. 2021.
Bestiary. By K-Ming Chang. 2020.
Skye Falling. By Mia McKenzie. 2021.
Matrix. By Lauren Groff. 2021.
Gods of Want. By K-Ming Chang. 2022.
Big Swiss. By Jen Beagin. 2023.
Dance With Me. By Georgia Beers. 2023.
Biography of X. By Catherine Lacey. 2023.
The Safekeep. By Yael van der Wouden. 2024.
Atmosphere. By Taylor Jenkins Reid. 2025.
The Isle in the Silver Sea. By Tasha Suri. 2025.
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil. By V.E. Schwab. 2025.

Young adult fiction

This section is intended for lesbian-themed fiction that is suitable in complexity and content for teenage readers. Since there is some variability in these individual judgments, a work being marketed under "YA" is sufficient to meet the criteria for inclusion. It can include novels, graphic novels, and plays.

Ruby. By Rosa Guy. 1976.
Happy Endings Are All Alike. By Sandra Scoppettone. 1978
The Last of Eden. By Stephanie Tolan. 1980.
Crush. By Jane Futcher. 1981.
Annie on My Mind. By Nancy Garden. 1982.
Death Wore a Diadem. By Iona McGregor. 1989.
Lark in the Morning. By Nancy Garden. 1991.
Deliver Us from Evie. By M.E. Kerr. 1994.
Good Moon Rising. By Nancy Garden. 1996.
The House You Pass on the Way. By Jacqueline Woodson. 1997.
The Year of Freaking Out. By Sarah Walker. 1997.
Dare Truth or Promise. By Paula Boock. 1997.
Tomorrow Wendy. By Shelley Stoehr. 1998.
Out of the Shadows. By Sue Hines. 2000.
Empress of the World. By Sara Ryan. 2001.
Finding H.F.. By Julia Watts. 2001.
Keeping You a Secret. By Julie Anne Peters. 2003.
Kissing Kate. By Lauren Myracle. 2003.
The Bermudez Triangle. By Maureen Johnson. 2004.
A Great and Terrible Beauty. By Libba Bray. 2004.
Good Girls Don't. By Claire Hennessy. 2004.
Orphea Proud. By Sharon Dennis Wyeth. 2004.
Sugar Rush. By Julie Burchill. 2004.
Babyji. By Abha Dawesar. 2005.
Far from Xanadu. By Julie Anne Peters. 2005.
The Will of the Empress. By Tamora Pierce. 2005.
grl2grl. By Julie Anne Peters. 2007.
The Rules for Hearts. By Sara Ryan. 2007.
Split Screen. By Brent Hartinger. 2007.
My Tiki Girl. By Jennifer McMahon. 2008.
Pretty Little Liars. By Sara Shepard. 2008-Present.
The Girl from Mars . By Tamara Bach. 2008.
Skim. By Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki. 2008.
Rage: A Love Story. By Julie Anne Peters. 2009.
Ash. By Malinda Lo. 2009.
Huntress. By Malinda Lo. 2011.
The Miseducation of Cameron Post. By Emily Danforth. 2012.
Candlelight. By Sara C. Roethle. 2013.
Afterworlds. By Scott Westerfeld. 2014.
Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel. By Sara Farizan. 2014.
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me. By Mariko Tamaki. 2019.
The Stars and the Blackness Between Them. By Junauda Petrus. 2019.
Last Night at the Telegraph Club. By Malinda Lo. 2021.
The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School. By Sonora Reyes. 2022.

Modern Lesbian Fiction Subcultures

In addition to the ongoing publication of lesbian novels, plays, and stories, several lesbian publishing subcultures have emerged in modern times.

Fanfiction

Fanfiction writers have produced many works in which female characters from fictional sources are paired in romantic, spiritual, or sexual relationships. The genre is known by a variety of terms, including femslash, saffic, yuri and f/f slash. Lesbian content in fanfiction dates at least to 1977, but has become more popular during the 1990s and 2000s.

Mystery Series

There is also a thriving culture of mystery novels and series starring lesbian detectives. This includes lengthy mystery series by Kate Calloway, Cheryl A Head, Claire McNab, Mary Wings, Penny Mickelbury, Sarah Caudwell, Ellen Hart, Katherine V. Forrest, Laurie R. King, Manda Scott, Sandra Scoppettone, Lori L. Lake, J.M. Redmann, Amelia Ellis, Nikki Baker, Sarah Dreher, Stella Duffy, and Jessie Chandler, among many others.

Lesbian and feminist publishing houses

Alyson Books
Aunt Lute Books
AUSXIP Publishing
Bella Books
Blue Feather Books
Bold Strokes Books
Bywater Books
Colbere Publishing
Crossing Press