Taiwan Travelogue by Yang Shuang-zi (Taiwan)

Disguised as a translation of a rediscovered text by a Japanese writer, Taiwan Travelogue is a bittersweet story of love between two women, nested in an artful exploration of language, history and power. Set in May 1938, the young novelist Aoyama Chizuko sails from Japan to Taiwan where her interpreter proffers tantalising glimpses of island life and helps her to taste as much of cuisine as her larger-than-life appetite can bear.

In Memoriam by Alice Winn (UK)

In 1914, war feels far away to Henry Gaunt and Sidney Ellwood. They’re too young to enlist, and anyway, Gaunt is fighting his own private battle – an all-consuming infatuation with the dreamy, poetic Ellwood – not having a clue that his best friend is in love with him too.

When Gaunt’s mother asks him to enlist, he signs up immediately, relieved to escape his overwhelming feelings. But Ellwood and their classmates soon follow him to the front. Ellwood and Gaunt find love in the trenches – but just as war brought them together, it can tear them apart…

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong (USA, Vietnamese American)

This is a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Written when the speaker, Little Dog, is in his late twenties, the letter unearths a family’s history that began before he was born. It tells of Vietnam, of the lasting impact of war, and of his family’s struggle to forge a new future.

And it serves as a doorway into parts of Little Dog’s life his mother has never known – episodes of bewilderment, fear and passion – all the while moving closer to an unforgettable revelation.

A People’s History of Heaven by Mathangi Subramanian (US, South Asian American)

In the sprawling Bangalore slum of Heaven, five girls – Muslim, Christian and Hindu; gay and straight – form an unbreakable bond. These are girls who refuse to be silenced, no matter how much their city would like to forget they exist. But now Heaven is threatened by government bulldozers, and the friends must come together to protect the close-knit, vibrant community they call home. 

Interesting Facts about Space by Emily Austin (Canada)

Enid is many things: lesbian, serial dater, deaf in one ear, space obsessive, true crime fanatic. But as Enid fumbles her way through her first serious relationship and navigates a new family life with her estranged half-sisters, she starts to worry that someone is following her. As her paranoia spirals out of control, Enid must contend with her mounting suspicion that something is seriously wrong with her…

Role Playing by Cathy Yardley (USA)

Maggie (48F, hermit) makes a deal with her son: he promises to be more social if she does the same. She joins an online gaming guilt and meets Otter (real name Aiden, 50M), a friendly healer using the game as emotional outlet from his family drama.

They become fast virtual friends, but there’s a catch. Bogwitch thinks Otter is a college student. Otter assumes Bogwitch is an octogenarian. When they finally meet face to face, the unlikely pair grow tentatively closer. But Maggie’s previous relationships have left her bitter, and Aiden’s got a complicated past of his own.

Memorial by Bryan Washington (USA, African American/Latino)

Benson and Mike have been together for a few years, but now they’re not sure why they’re still a couple. There’s the sex, sure, and the meals Mike cooks for Benson, and, well, they love each other. But when Mike finds out his estranged father is dying in Osaka just as his acerbic Japanese mother, Mitsuko, arrives for a visit, Mike picks up and flies across the world to say goodbye. In Japan he undergoes an extraordinary transformation, discovering the truth about his family and his past, while back home, Mitsuko and Benson are stuck living together as unconventional roommates, an absurd domestic situation that ends up meaning more to each of them than they ever could have predicted…

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon (UK)

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction–but assassins are getting closer to her door.

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tane has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.

Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.

The Mars House by Natasha Pulley (UK)

January Stirling, former principal ballet dancer, now climate refugee bound for Mars and facing a life of hard labour and discrimination.

Aubrey Gale, energy trillionaire and hereditary senator running on a platform of protecting the native population from dangerous immigrants by requiring all Earth refugees to undergo surgical naturalisation.

A disastrous media encounter results in a five-year marriage of convenience to secure January’s future and save Aubrey’s political career.

Ocean’s Godori by Elaine U Cho (USA, Korean American)

Ocean Yoon has never felt very Korean, even if she is descended from a long line of haenyeo, Jeju Island’s beloved female divers. Ocean’s also persona non grata at the Alliance, Korea’s solar system-dominating space agency, since a mission went awry and she earned a reputation for being a little too quick with her gun. 

When her best friend, Teo, second son of the Anand Tech empire, is framed for murdering his family, Ocean and her misfit crewmates are pushed to the forefront of a high-stakes ideological conflict. But dodging bullets and winning space chases may be the easiest part of what comes next.

The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei (USA, Japanese and American)

Once the best art thief in the galaxy, Maya Hoshimoto (now a graduate student of anthropology) is haunted by persistent and disturbing visions of the future. Then an old friend comes to her with a job: find a powerful object that could save an alien species from extinction. Except no one has seen it in living memory, and they aren’t the only ones hunting for it.

Maya travels through a universe teeming with strange life and ancient ruins. But the farther she goes, the more her visions cast a dark shadow over her team of friends new and old. Someone will betray her along the way. Worse yet, in choosing to save one species, she may condemn humanity and Earth itself.

Floating Hotel by Grace Curtis (UK)

Welcome to the Grand Abeona Hotel: home to the very best views the galaxy has to offer. Year round it moves from planet to planet, pampering guests across the furthest reaches of the milky way. The last word in luxury – and a magnet for intrigue.

At the centre of these mysteries stands Carl, one time stowaway, longtime caretaker to the hotel. It’s the love of his life and the only place he’s ever called home. But as forces beyond Carl’s comprehension converge, he has to face one final question: when is it time to let go?

Yield Under Great Pressure by Alexandra Rowland (USA)

Tam Becket has hated Lord Lyford since they were boys (ever since he smashed Tam’s entry for the village’s vegetable competition). The fact that he’s also been sleeping with the man for the last ten years is irrelevant.

Tam has reconciled himself to the fact that love and affection are for other people, that the gods won’t answer any of his prayers. And then Tam discovers that Lyford bears the divine favour of Angarat, the goddess Tam feels most betrayed and abandoned by. Hurt and angry, Tam prepares to leave the village for good.

His quest will lead him to the unbelievably precious knowledge that there is at least one person who loves Tam for exactly who he is, and always has.

The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in the Water by Zen Cho (Malaysia, now based in UK)

A bandit walks into a coffeehouse, and it all goes downhill from there. Guet Imm, a young votary of the Order of the Pure Moon, joins up with an eclectic group of thieves (whether they like it or not) in order to protect a sacred object, and finds herself in a far more complicated situation than she could have ever imagined.

Princeweaver by Elian J Morgan (UK)

Their marriage is to save a warring kingdom. But in the process, it might destroy them both.

Born with forbidden, nature-infused magic in an occupied land, anxious apothecary Meilyr survives by keeping his head down. Until he ends up engaged to invading prince Osian in order to save his brother’s life. Now, he is in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse to hide his true self.

When nobles in Osian’s court are gruesomely murdered by the same magic that flows through his veins, Meilyr realises someone is seeking revenge for his homeland. As suspicion towards him grows, he and the prince work together to uncover the killer or risk losing the crown – or their lives.

Steep Tea by Jee Leong Koh (Singapore, now based in USA)

Jee Leong Koh draws on his experiences navigating same-sex desire in Singapore amid the tensions between queer identity and familial expectations.