I haven’t found a list of non-binary speculative fiction authors, or at least not one that I felt was sufficiently exhaustive. I’m sure I’m not the only one who would like such a list to exist, so here I go.
This list will stick to non-binary writers. I will not include trans people who have a binary gender, or intersex people who have a binary gender. Anyone who publicly identifies as non-binary, genderfluid, agender, bigender, or any other non-binary identity, including non-Western identities, or as using any pronouns other than a fixed and exclusive she/her or he/him is eligible. I will respect current identities – if someone wrote something before coming out, it still counts; conversely, if someone wrote something while identifying as non-binary but their identity has since evolved, I will not include them. That being said, there is a good chance I will never update this, so apologies to anyone who ends up being misgendered. I am also not trying to police anyone’s gender – I’m merely trying to help anyone specifically looking for works by non-binary authors.
I will take a broad outlook of what constitutes speculative fiction – yes, that includes the big three of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, but also other forms of speculative fiction like magical realism. This list is more about gender than genre – any SFF writer will count. However, I am focusing on those who write for an adult audience, not YA or 9-12 (“middle grade”). Apologies to those who exclusively read or write YA, it’s just not what I am interested in right now. Xiran Jay Zhao is the big name in that field.
While I am not a genre snob, for the purposes of this list I am a format snob – this is about non-binary SFF novelists. You must have written at least one novel to be eligible. Apologies to poets, scriptwriters, short story writers, songwriters, graphic novelists, and so forth – I am not denigrating your craft, merely trying to create a list for people who primarily read novels.
I am in debt to two pieces of writing. Firstly, this Reads Rainbow post where twelve non-binary SFF authors are interviewed at the same time, and secondly, this Portalist post recommending books by trans and non-binary authors. Update: I am also in debt to this, more comprehensive, list of trans authors, complete with pronouns. I started to update this list to reflect it, but couldn’t finish the job.
I’m going to roughly sort these authors in descending order of their profile – that is, the most famous or notable authors will be first.
Grant Morrison
Grant is a superstar comics writer, best known for their prolific writing for DC Comics for thirty years. But, as trailed, I am only counting novelists – and Morrison’s debut novel, Luda, was published in 2022. Luda is a story about a magical drag queen, about time and identity, crammed full of wit and playfulness. In other words, it’s exactly what you’d expect from a Grant Morrison novel. If you’ve come to this page looking for books about being non-binary (as opposed to simply by non-binary authors), then this is a great choice.
Annalee Newitz
Like Morrison, Newitz is a person who wears multiple hats in public. They are a former editor-in-chief for io9 and Gizmodo. They have written two non-fiction books. They co-host Our Opinions Are Correct, a spec fic podcast, with their wife Charlie Jane Anders (herself trans, and the author of All The Birds In The Sky, amongst others). But it’s their novels we’re interested in. Their debut, Autonomous, is a globetrotting romp concerned with biohacking, AI, gender, and how those things interact. Newitz followed that up with The Future of Another Timeline, a feminist time travel book which, while less “fun” (at least for me) than Autonomous, will hit you right in the feelie bone. Their third novel, The Terraformers, was recently released.
V.E. Schwab
Schwab (she/they) is the most prolific author on this list, and therefore the one it is hardest to do justice to. She has written very widely, predominantly in fantasy and romance. The Shades of Magic series is what they are best known for, but there is something in her bibliography to appeal to almost anyone.
Akwaeke Emezi
Emezi is the author on this list with the most “mainstream” cred, having once accepted and once declined a nomination for the Women’s Prize, and twice won the Nommo Award for Best Novel. Born in Nigeria to an Igbo father and a Tamil mother, they are non-binary and experience multiplicity. Their prose is rich and vivid, and their work is sparklingly creative. Emezi is not someone who cares to be tied down by genre, having written romance and mystery works, but both their novels, Freshwater and The Death of Vivek Oji, are probably best described as magical realism.
This is taking me longer than anticipated, so I am going to start rushing things a bit…
Shelley Parker-Chan
Parker-Chan, who is Asian-Australian, is best known for She Who Became The Sun, their thrilling debut novel. It won the British Fantasy Award for Best Novel, and was nominated for the Hugo, Lambda, and Locus Awards. If they put out a second novel of that quality, they’ll be a superstar, at least within the SFF world. Keep an eye out for Parker-Chan’s future work – and pick up She Who Became The Sun if you haven’t already.
C.L. Polk
Polk is the author of Witchmark, winner of the 2019 World Fantasy Award, and its sequels have been nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, Lambda, and Aurora awards.
Harry Josephine Giles
Deep Whale Orcadia is not prose, but it is still a novel! A verse novel written in Orkney dialect (with English translation published alongside), it won the Arthur C. Clarke award. While that doesn’t make Giles a celebrity, it does make them one of the most noteworthy non-binary SFF novelists.
Rivers Solomon
I read An Unkindness of Ghosts because I heard it had good explicit autistic representation, and it is probably the best deliberate prose representation of autism I have seen. Solomon is autistic and ADHD, non-binary, intersex, and black, and wraps all of that up into faer writing. Faer second novel, The Deep (with hip-hop group clipping.) is not one I have got around to yet.
Neon Yang
I should probably have put Yang much higher on this list. Singapore’s most noteworthy science fiction novelist, their debut novel (after a number of acclaimed novellas published as JY Yang) is a real treat of worldbuilding, with almost every character having a different gender identity and where that isn’t thought of as remarkable.
Indrapramit Das
Hailing from Kolkata, Das’ debut The Devourers is a highly acclaimed South Asian fantasy novel… that unfortunately hasn’t been published in the UK!
Nino Cipri
Cipri is best known for their hugely acclaimed Ikea parody novellas Finna and Defekt.
Kacen Callender
Callender was born and raised on St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. They have mostly written young adult and middle-grade work, but have written two adult books, Queen of the Conquered and King of the Rising, an anti-imperialist duology set in a Caribbean-inspired world. Callender has won the Lambda Literary Award.
Alex White
Honestly, I bounced off A Big Damn Ship at the End of the Universe, but that’s probably a “me” thing! White writes quip-heavy, science fantasy space operas that will appeal to those who want a good slice of pulp, like a less-problematic Ernest Cline.
Nisi Shawl
Shawl is another name on this list who is predominantly known for things other than writing novels – they are a celebrated editor, educator, non-fiction writer, and short storyist. Shawl is a proud globalist intersectional black feminist (my words), and their only novel, Everfair, reflects that. It is a steampunk tale set in an independent Congolese nation.
C.L. Clark
Clark, who uses she/they pronouns, is an acclaimed editor and short-story writer who recently published their first novel, a North African inspired epic fantasy. The Unbroken is due to be the first in a trilogy.
Ada Hoffman
Ada is another author who looms large in my mind because they are autistic. The Outside kicks off a trilogy about AI, autism, and false gods.
S.L. Huang
Huang, who is genderqueer, is a name that will be familiar to many SFF fans due to their highly-acclaimed short fiction. They have had a trilogy, the Cas Russell series, published by Tor.
Sarah Gailey
Magic For Liars, Gailey’s debut novel, looks like an absolute hoot. It’s a crime-fantasy book, the height of “dark academia”, featuring a main character who is bluffing having the same powers as her smarter, more successful sister.
Andrea Lawlor
It is possible I have grossly misjudged the prominence of Lawlor. Paul Takes The Form of a Mortal Girl, their debut novel, is a story about a shapeshifter who has lots of sex, of different kinds and configurations, across the queer scene in early 90s New York.
Linden A. Lewis
At time of writing, Lewis has released the first two parts of a space opera trilogy, The First Sister and The Second Rebel, with a third part due imminently. With their interplanetary high-society conflicts, these books have been favourably compared to The Expanse and Red Rising.
J.S. Fields
As far as I could tell, Fields is a self-published author who writes a broad range of books – science fiction, fantasy, and indeed non-fiction, often with large doses of romance. Check out their website to see if any of their work appeals to you.
Matt Doyle
Another self-published author, Doyle uses any pronouns. Like JS Fields, they write broadly and in a way that defies easy genre classification, with plenty of romance. Again, check their website to see if anything appeals to you.
Judith Vogt
A German writer, Judith’s debut English-language novel, Roma Nova, is a space-opera, self-published exclusively through Kindle.
K.B. Wagers
Wrapping up our list is another self-published author. Wagers writes military science fiction, and you can pick up their books here.
So, in conclusion, I found twenty traditionally-published openly non-binary adult speculative fiction writers, and a further four self-published, for a total of twenty-four. I am sure there are many more, including those outlined in other articles I linked above. Please leave a comment listing any other non-binary SFF authors who you think readers should be aware of.
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