Reads Rainbow Awards 2022: Shortlists — Reads Rainbow

Nominations collected, we come to you with the shortlists now! These were the top 10 books from each category that ended up being nominated, and it’s from these that our winners will be selected. Voting doesn’t open until 10AM GMT tomorrow, but we thought we’d give you a chance to look at what there is to vote for a little earlier than that. You will be able to vote on this site from tomorrow! So, without further ado, let’s have a look at what’s made it through. Related: Reads Rainbow Awards 2019, 2020 & 2021. How it’s going to work These are the first awards where the shortlists are completely decided by you guys! You nominated your favourite LGBT books of 2022, so you know how that process worked & what were the rules! But just to reiterate: any book featuring LGBT main characters (or poetry books by authors who ID as LGBT, or nonfiction books on LGBT-related topics) that has been first published in 2022, was eligible. The ten books with the most nominations from you guys in each category were set to form the final round. Once again, voting will open on 11th January at 10AM GMT and close on 25th January at 10AM GMT. Results will be announced on 31st January. Shortlists Adult contemporary fiction Broken Beyond Repair by Emily BantingDelilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring BlakeKiss Her Once for Me by Alison CochrunHusband Material by Alexis HallA Dash of Salt and Pepper by Kosoko Jackson A Whisper of Solace by Milena McKayThe Wait is Over by Nicole PylandSon of Sin by Omar SakrAsk Me For Fire by Halli StarlingMistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner Adult mystery & thriller The Language of Bodies by Suzanne DeWitt HallLast Chance Chicago by Diana DiGangiThe Lighthouse by Fran DorricottDelafield by Katherine V. ForrestTimber Falls by Gerri Hill Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. LiLavender House by Lev A. C. RosenReal Easy by Marie RutkoskiDirt Town by Hayley ScrivenorStrange Attractors by Ana K. Wrenn Adult historical fiction Masters in This Hall by K. J. CharlesInfamous by Lex CroucherThe Raven and the Banshee by Carolyn ElizabethA Lady for a Duke by Alexis HallSomething Fabulous by Alexis Hall Babel by R. F. KuangDead Letters from Paradise by Ann McManObservations on the Danger of Female Curiosity by Suzanne MossAfter Sappho by Selby Wynn SchwartzHer Duchess to Desire by Jane Walsh Adult horror & paranormal Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia ArmfieldSilver Under Nightfall by Rin ChupecoManhunt by Gretchen Felker-MartinDying for You by Jenny FrameHarsh Reality by Elle E. Ire What Moves the Dead by T. KingfisherBoys, Beasts & Men by Sam J. MillerBite Me! (You Know I Like It) by Fae QuinCougar Woods by Tiana WarnerAll the White Spaces by Ally Wilkes Adult fantasy The Hourglass Throne by K. D. EdwardsNotorious Sorcerer by Davinia EvansUndergrounder by J. E. GlassA Mirror Mended by Alix E. HarrowA Restless Truth by Freya Marske Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn MuirEven Though I Knew the End by C. L. PolkA Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra RowlandDeadbeat Druid by David R. SlaytonThe Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri Adult science fiction Scatter by Molly J. BraggAdrift in Starlight by Mindi BriarHomeworld by Gun BrookeA Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky ChambersThe Red Scholar’s Wake by Aliette de Bodard Reel to Real Love by Elle E. IreIf I Were a Weapon by Skye KilaenOcean’s Echo by Everina MaxwellThe Stars Undying by Emery RobinA Fractured Infinity by Nathan Tavares YA contemporary fiction Home Field Advantage by Dahlia AdlerHow to Excavate a Heart by Jake Maia ArlowShe Gets the Girl by Rachael Lippincott & Alyson DerrickA Scatter of Light by Malinda LoOphelia After All by Racquel Marie I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuistonAll Signs Point to Yes ed. by g. haron davis, Cam Montgomery & Adrianne WhiteThe Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonora ReyesTake Your Shot by Riley ScottAnne of Greenville by Mariko Tamaki YA mystery & thriller Murder of Crows by K. AncrumAces Wild by Amanda DeWittDead End Girls by Wendy HeardThe Honeys by Ryan La SalaThe Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester by Maya MacGregor The Killing Code by Ellie MarneySummer’s Edge by Dana MeleCold by Mariko TamakiBurn Down, Rise Up by Vincent TiradoThe Gravity of Missing Things by Marisa Urgo YA historical fiction No Stopping Us Now by Lucy Jane BledsoeGlorious Poison by Kat DunnFoul Lady Fortune by Chloe GongValiant Ladies by Melissa GreyA Million to One by Adiba Jaigirdar One for All by Lillie LainoffThis Rebel Heart by Katherine LockeSelf Made Boys by Anna-Marie McLemoreFraternity by Andy MientusNothing Sung and Nothing Spoken by Nita Tyndall YA horror & paranormal Wicked Little Things by Justin ArnoldEternally Yours ed. by Patrice CaldwellThe Sacrifice by Rin ChupecoDead Flip by Sara FarizanHowl by Shaun David Hutchinson Wake the Bones by Elizabeth KilcoyneYoungblood by Sasha LaurensFuneral Girl by Emma K. OhlandThe Restless Dark by Erica WatersHell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White YA fantasy At Midnight ed. by Dahlia AdlerAll Daughters Rise by Alysa AuriemmaBloodmarked by Tracy DeonnBitter by Akwaeke EmeziHeat Wave by T. J. Klune So This is Ever After by F. T. LukensFrom Dust, a Flame by Rebecca PodosImprobable Magic for Cynical Witches by Kate ScelsaA Cruel and Fated Light by Ashley ShuttleworthThe Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas YA science fiction Harley Quinn: Reckoning by Rachael AllenDreams Bigger than Heartbreak by Charlie Jane AndersAll That’s Left in the World by Erik J. BrownThe Kindred by Alechia DowSurvive the Dome by Kosoko Jackson The Loophole by Naz KutubGodslayers by Zoe Hana MikutaAt the End of Everything by Marieke NijkampThe Border Crosser by Cindy RizzoThe First to Die at the End by Adam Silvera Middle grade & picture books Moonflower by Kacen CallenderAll Moms by Sarah Kate Ellis, Kristen Ellis-Henderson & Max RambaldiAlice Austen Lived Here by Alex GinoHazel Hill is Gonna Win This One by Maggie HorneMama and Mommy and Me in the Middle by Nina LaCour & Kaylani Juanita Answers in the Pages by David LevithanA Costume for Charly by C. K. Malone & Alejandra BarajasThe Last Hope in Hopetown by Maria TureaudSir Callie and the Champions of Helston by Esme Symes-SmithZachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao Graphic novels & comics Blackwater by Jeannette Arroyo & Ren GrahamFlung Out of Space by Grace Ellis & Hannah TemplerEat the Rich by Sarah Gailey, Pius Bak & Roman TitovAnne by Kathleen GrosA Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow, Vol. 9 by Makoto Hagino Monstress, Vol. 7: Devourer by Marjorie M. Liu & Sana TakedaChef’s Kiss by Jarrett Melendez & Danica BrineFence: Rise by C. S. Pacat & Johanna the MadGarlic and the Witch by Bree PaulsenAnne of West Philly by Ivy Noelle Weir & Myisha Haynes Poetry Against Heaven by Kemi Alabi100 Queer Poems ed. by Mary Jean Chan & Andrew McMillanA Tinderbox in Three Acts by Cynthia Dewi OkaDear God. Dear Bones. Dear Yellow. by Noor HindiA Shiver in the Leaves by Luther Hughes Alive at the End of the World by Saeed Jones50 Things Kate Bush Taught Me About the Multiverse by Karyna McGlynnClean by Scott-Patrick MitchellParadise (point of transmission) by Andrew SutherlandTime is a Mother by Ocean Vuong Nonfiction Another Appalachia by Neema AvashiaA Secret I Can’t Tell by Joe GantzGirls Can Kiss Now by Jill GutowitzA Girlhood by Carolyn HaysThe Trans Guide to Mental Health and Well-Being by Katy Lees Bad Gays by Huw Lemmey & Ben MillerA Quiet Foghorn by Raymond LuczakBlack Folk Could Fly by Randall KenanY’all Means All by Z. Zane McNeillBi by Julia Shaw