It’s a tough time to be trans, more so with the socio-cultural complicity and transmisogyny one witnesses even within supposedly progressive queer circles these days. However, as a trans masc author myself, I want to emphasize that while it is alright to call for the boycott of bigoted authors, it is equally—if not more—important to re-center trans women in this discourse, and to amplify transfeminine writing and voices, instead of wasting energy and resources debating about fandom legacies.
Below, I have highlighted seven transfeminine sapphic books I read in 2025, all written by trans women, across a variety of genres. I created this list to address the fact that a lot of modern sapphic stories are not mindful of bio-essentialist language and transmisogynist rhetoric, causing considerable harm and compounding transfeminine invisibility in LGBTQ+ reader spaces. All of these are essential reading for anyone who considers themselves trans allies, but please do your own research regarding any trigger warnings.
Infect Your Friends and Loved Ones by Torrey Peters (Dystopian, Social Satire)
Torrey Peters is possibly the most easily recognizable name in modern transfeminine literary fiction. While she is more popularly associated with her stellar 2021 debut novel, Detransition Baby, I want to bring attention to this lesser known novella. Infect is a wild, darkly vengeful dystopian story, set in a world where an enraged trans woman, tired of societal transmisogyny, unleashes a virus rendering all human bodies incapable of manufacturing their own sex hormones. Now, every person has to depend upon externally sourced hormones—effectively making everybody in the world trans!
Short, wry and satisfyingly punchy, this novella is a stellar exploration of cis-heteronormativity, and the universal hypocrisy surrounding trans people’s bodily autonomy and healthcare. But more importantly, it is a great exploration of a realistic trans community: not merely some utopian, separatist sisterhood, but a solidarity born despite initial discomfort, inconveniences, interpersonal tensions and all the compromises that come with community-building.
REP: Trans sapphic main character, trans sapphic love interest
Disintegrate/Dissociate by Arielle Twist (Poetry)
This is an indie published poetry collection by a Cree, Two-Spirit, transfemme author. It is short, incredibly visceral, and attempts to reconcile the author’s feelings toward her body, her Indigenous heritage, and her feelings towards desire and desirability, when most white men view her either as a fetish or as an easy target for racialized violence.
A lot of the poems deal with sex or eroticism in some way, and are inextricably connected to rage, destruction and the patriarchy. Some of them also address the problem of socio-historical oppressions and conflicting identities of a multiple marginalized person; in my favorite poem of the collection, titled “Who Will Save You Now?”, Twist admits that Indigiqueer folks are doubly alienated when it comes to the struggle for liberation, as they are caught between the racism of white queers, and the transphobia and homophobia of many Indigenous elders. If you are looking to read more Indigiqueer poetry, I would highly recommend this collection.
REP: Queer, Two-Spirit, trans
Small Beauty by jia qing wilson-yang (Literary Fiction)
This 2016 Lambda Literary Award-winning novella tells the story of a mixed race Chinese Canadian trans woman who flees from her city after her beloved cousin passes away, returning to the latter’s hometown to look after his abandoned home instead. There, in solitude, she reflects on her complicated relationships with her family, the local townspeople, her own identity, and the trans women she left behind at home—while also wondering if her grief will remake her, or eventually destroy her.
A quiet, gorgeous literary fiction novella about navigating loss and past trauma, struggling with colliding identities, and all the beauty and ugliness that comes with being vulnerable as a human being, this was one of the best books I read in 2025 so far. Small Beauty explores the intersections of transness, queerness and racial/cultural identity, as well as the price of defining a person only by their worst moments. Quite a somber read, and comes with heavy trigger warnings, but ends with enough hope to make you forgive and love yourself again.
REP: Trans lesbian, Chinese Canadian main character
Stone Fruit by Lee Lai (Contemporary Graphic Novel)
Another Lambda Literary Award-winning story, this beautifully melancholic, traditionally illustrated graphic novel from 2021 depicts a lesbian couple in a difficult phase of their relationship, and how loneliness, emotional burnout, past resentments and mental health issues exacerbate their mutual alienation. While her cis partner struggles with familial responsibility and caregiving, the trans lesbian protagonist, hailing from a conservative religious family, attempts to find some peace by reconnecting with her estranged family members—even as she learns the price of self-denial and compromise.
Full of wistful longing and brimming with tenderness even in its saddest moments, Stone Fruit is one of the most realistic and heartbreaking explorations of family, adult life, depression and lost love that I have ever read. Also, the art style is so lovely, almost flowing with its own narrative rhythm.
REP: Trans lesbian main character
Fake It by Lily Seabrooke (Romance)
The romance publishing scene—both trad and indie—isn’t particularly inclusive of trans women, let alone trans sapphics, but I read this book as it is one of the few relatively well known F/F Own Voices romances featuring a trans lead. Fake It is a sweet and steamy fake-dating celebrity romance between a popular TV cooking star and a bright eyed restaurant owner who teams up with the former in a desperate effort to save her new luxury restaurant.
The book does not particularly focus on coming out or identity-centric narratives, but it still does inform the heroine’s personal and professional outlook. While I wasn’t personally a huge fan of the story due to some plot and characterization issues, I would nevertheless recommend it to people who enjoy fluffy, heartwarming foodie romances, and stories set around reality shows or fake dating celebrity drama.
REP: Trans bisexual main character
Reverse Tomboy by Auto Anon (Literary Fiction)
This incredible 2025 debut novella revolves around a tomboy, soft butch trans woman who has just started her medical transition—only to discover that in modern queer spaces, trans femmes are automatically assumed to be hyper-feminine. In a world where butchness and masculinity is seen as being in direct conflict with transfemininity, the protagonist looks back on her relationships with friends, family and lovers, while trying to figure out if there is any hope for women like her, for bodies like hers—and if it is possible to feminize one’s identity without being feminine at all.
Half fictional memoir, half poetry, and ending with a great manifesto-ish essay about trans femme masculinity, Reverse Tomboy explores the difficulties of non-conforming gender expression and how your unique personal identity can often be treated as a betrayal by your own community. As a trans butch, this story flayed me open and left me speechless with its wit, cadence and depth of feeling—while also resonating on a personal level. I highly recommend purchasing this book to support the author.
REP: Trans sapphic, soft butch Jewish main character
Best Woman by Rose Dommu (Literary Fiction, Contemporary Romance) — Out September 23, 2025
This is a chaotic, funny debut novel about a trans woman who returns to her Florida hometown after years to attend her beloved brother’s wedding and goes through a whirlwind of emotions after reconnecting with people from her past. When she recognizes the maid of honor to be the same person who had been her longtime teenage crush, the protagonist concocts an elaborate lie to draw the other woman’s attention—hoping her deception leads to the two of them falling in love.
If you feel that the premise is leading to a wild romp, you would be right. Full of pop culture references, eccentric family hijinks, theatrical identity crises, and wedding-related drama, Best Woman is a campy, comedic romcom reminiscent of Fleabag—with its messy, often unlikeable protagonist making one disastrous decision after the other—but just like the latter, it has its moments of startling vulnerability and pathos while offering an uncomfortably intimate, realistic look at how our loved ones can often be the very best at understanding us…. and simultaneously, the very worst.
REP: Trans, bisexual Jewish main character
I hope everyone will find something to their liking here. Happy reading!
