Happy end of the year! I may not be the big, annually anticipated book list, but at least I’m consistent in recommending great creative nonfiction! It felt especially pertinent to read lots of work by other queer and trans authors in 2025, given the war that’s been waged against us. My (big gay) book, No Offense: A Memoir in Essays, also came out this year and I’m so grateful to have talked writing with a few of the authors on this list at readings and events. Most importantly, the best book I read this year, One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, won the National Book Award. If you’re looking for an incredibly written, critical examination of the response to the current genocide in Palestine, look no further. And if you’re looking for ways to help, check out Workshops 4 Gaza – they offer amazing writing workshops and classes by acclaimed authors and the price is always a direct donation to various Palestinian fundraisers. Here’s to hoping 2026 is filled with less hate and more art.
12. The People’s Project curated by Saeed Jones and Maggie Smith
11. Come By Here by Neesha Powell-Ingabire
10. The Gloomy Girl Variety Show by Freda Epum
9. Pansy by Jasper Joyner
8. The Dry Season by Melissa Febos
7. In My Remaining Years by Jean Grae
6. Both/And edited by Denne Michele Norris
5. Reading the Waves by Lidia Yuknavitch
4. Human/Animal by Amie Souza Reilly
3. The Long Hallway by Richard Scott Larson
2. Alligator Tears by Edgar Gomez
1. One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad
JACKIE DOMENUS 