Top 5 queer love stories, chosen by Justin Myers aka The Guyliner

Leading Man author Justin Myers, who also writes under the alias The Guyliner, picks his five favourite queer love stories.

Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin

This classic series chronicles the lives of the misfits at Anna Madrigal’s ramshackle house on Barbary Lane. At its heart, there’s an enduring love affair – between its vivacious characters and the irresistible pull of San Francisco.

Rosewater by Liv Little

Elsie is a poet by day, bartender at night, trying to work out how to make her dreams come true. Her saviour is her best friend Juliet. Their not-always-unshakeable love for each other anchors this dazzling debut from the founder of gal-dem magazine.

Less by Andrew Sean Greer

American author Arthur Less is a wreck as his ex’s wedding to another man approaches. Escaping to Europe on a book tour, Less reminisces over and laments lost loves in this brilliantly witty, wistful and uplifting story.

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Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin

A classic that no bookshelf, queer or otherwise, should be without. Young American David and Italian barman Giovanni become entangled in 1950s Paris. While their affair is intense, it’s on a timer. Heartbreak waits patiently around the corner, and the challenges the couple face still resonate today.

Memorial by Bryan Washington

Young couple Benson and Mike hit a rough patch, and when Mike dashes to Japan to visit his ailing father, the distance between them makes them reevaluate their entire relationship. Warm, nostalgic and relatable.

Leading Man by Justin Myers is out 9 May (Sphere, £22). You can buy or preorder these titles from The Big Issue shop on Bookshop.org, which helps to support The Big Issue and independent bookshops.
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