Six Trans and Nonbinary Books to Watch in Fall 2026, From Horror Sequels to a Long-Awaited Memoir

Book Riot has assembled a fall 2026 reading list centered on trans and nonbinary voices, flagging six forthcoming books that range from sequel-driven YA fantasy to adult horror and memoir. The roundup arrives near the close of Transgender History Month and pairs a reading recommendation with a call to action: preorder books, support trans creators, and help show publishers there is an audience for more work like this.

Why this list matters

The site’s argument is as much about publishing as it is about reading. Preorders, Book Riot notes, can help signal to publishers that a book is worth investing in marketing and can support the continued publication of trans-led stories. That message is especially pointed in a season when several of the featured books lean into horror or horror-adjacent material, making the list timely for readers looking for Halloween-season releases with trans and nonbinary protagonists.

The most anticipated title on the list is Espíritu, the sequel to Aiden Thomas’s fan-favorite Cemetery Boys, due September 8. The first book in the YA paranormal M/M romance series followed a trans brujo who accidentally summons a ghost. Book Riot says the sequel brings “more danger and chaos” for Julian and Yadriel and introduces a nonbinary bruje named Angel, who brings their own ruthless methods for handling restless spirits. The book’s return to an established queer fantasy world makes it one of the clearest signs that trans-centered genre fiction remains a major draw for readers.

Samantha Josephs’s debut novel Carrying, out October 6, pushes in a very different direction. The story follows Martha, a stealth trans woman whose husband does not know she is trans. When a mysterious chronic illness and intense cravings lead her to try an experimental treatment, she ends up pregnant in a way she cannot explain. Book Riot describes the novel as body horror and says it is being pitched as Rosemary’s Detransition, Baby, placing it in conversation with both horror tradition and contemporary trans fiction that interrogates bodily autonomy, secrecy, and transformation.

Horror, surveillance, and the true-crime machine

Andrew Joseph White’s You’re No Better arrives October 20 and continues the author’s run of genre fiction centered on trans youth and social pressure. The YA thriller follows a 17-year-old autistic trans boy who was raised by a serial killer father. Determined to prove he is unlike his father, he investigates the father’s last unidentified victim, only to find himself shadowed by a documentary crew and pressured by a classmate who can expose his role as an accomplice. Book Riot frames the novel as both a coming-of-age story and an exploration of exploitation in the true crime industry, giving it a topical edge beyond its thriller setup.

Jane Schoenbrun, whose film credits include I Saw the TV Glow and Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, is bringing a 600-page horror novel, Public Access Afterworld, out October 27. The book spans the 1980s, the 2000s, and the present, weaving together multiple perspectives around a conspiracy tied to a pirate TV network of the same name. In the contemporary storyline, Bethany, a trans content moderator, discovers the network through a series of videos from a streamer and is drawn into a search for answers. The project signals Schoenbrun’s continued interest in eerie media, identity, and the instability of timelines and screens.

Kacen Callender’s Sun Chasers, also dated October 27, offers a quieter but no less urgent kind of tension. The novel centers on Gabriel, a trans teen living on St. Thomas who is haunted by his past and subjected to threats and misgendering. He becomes drawn to Kole, who is trying to remain in the closet while hiding what is happening at home. As the two begin to confide in one another, the book asks whether mutual refuge can survive when circumstances seem stacked against them. For readers familiar with Callender’s work on Felix Ever After, the novel extends a body of fiction already known for centering queer and trans adolescence.

A memoir closes the lineup

The final book on Book Riot’s list shifts from fiction to memoir. And If I Die Before I Wake, the adult nonfiction debut from George M. Johnson, is scheduled for November 10. Johnson, whose All Boys Aren’t Blue became the country’s number one most banned book, writes here about living with an HIV diagnosis, struggling with alcoholism, and navigating public attention around censorship. The publisher’s description cited by Book Riot says the memoir draws inspiration from Toni Morrison, Jesmyn Ward, and Ta-Nehisi Coates and explores grief, trauma, sexuality, and the Black family through themes of transformation, healing, and hope.

Taken together, the six titles show how broad trans publishing has become: sequel fantasy, body horror, YA thriller, experimental horror, contemporary romance-adjacent fiction, and memoir all appear on the same list. For readers, that variety offers a wide entry point into trans and nonbinary storytelling; for publishers, it is a reminder that these books are not confined to a single genre or audience. And for anyone deciding what to read or gift next, Book Riot’s advice is straightforward: preorder now if you want these books to reach as many people as possible.