Contemporary lesbian literature is centered around several small, exclusively lesbian presses, as well as online fandoms. Certain works have established historical or artistic importance. Works of lesbian literature are sometimes difficult to identify if they are not published by small lesbian presses due to a general lack of promotion of lesbian themes by mainstream publishers. An exhaustive list of works cannot be provided here, but key works in different genres are listed.
- '' La Garçonne '' (''The Bachelor Girl'') - Victor Margueritte - ( 1922 )
- '' The Well Of Loneliness '' - Radclyffe Hall - ( 1928 ) - subject of an obscenity trial that banished the book in the United Kingdom until 1949,1 though "there are no descriptions of sex in it, no rude words, and the lesbian lovers do not live happily ever after."Jeanette Winterson, ''The Times'', 1997.
- '' Ladies Almanack '' - Djuna Barnes - (1928)
- '''' - Virginia Woolf - (1928)
- '''', '' Lifting Belly '', and '' Miss Furr And Miss Skeene ''.
- '' The Children's Hour '' - Lillian Hellman - ( 1934 )
- '' Nightwood '' - Djuna Barnes - ( 1936 )
- '' Spring Fire '' - Marijane Meaker (as Vin Packer ) ( 1952 )
- '' The Price Of Salt '' - Patricia Highsmith - ( 1952 ) (The first with a "happy ending")
- '' Odd Girl Out '', '' I Am A Woman '', '' Women In The Shadows '', '' Journey To A Woman '', and '' Beebo Brinker '' a.k.a. the "Beebo Brinker Chronicles" - Ann Bannon ( 1957 - 1962 )
- '' The Killing Of Sister George '' - Frank Marcus - ( 1963 )
- '' Patience And Sarah '' by Isabel Miller ( 1969 )
- '' Stone Butch Blues '' - Leslie Feinberg
There are a great number of contemporary lesbian mysteries, a genre that is often more welcoming to sexual minorities.
- Alison Kaine , a lesbian Denver, Colorado police officer in mysteries by Kate Allen
- Allison O'Neill , a lesbian in mysteries by Lauren Wright Douglas
- Amanda Valentine , a lesbian detective inspector in Wellington, New Zealand By Rose Beecham
- Wilhelmina "Bil" Hardy , an amateur lesbian detective in Cowslip, Idaho By Joan Opyr
- Brenda Strange , a private investigator of the weird in Tampa, Florida by Patty Henderson
- Brett Higgins , a lesbian pseudo-criminal in Detroit mystery/thrillers by Therese Szymanski
- Caitlin Reece , a lesbian in mysteries by Lauren Wright Douglas
- Carmen Ramirez , a 24-year-old Irish-Puerto Rican lesbian copy editor at her hometown newspaper in Frontier City, Oklahoma by Lisa Haddock
- Carol Ashton , a lesbian detective inspector in Sydney, Australia in mysteries by Claire McNab
- Cassandra Reilly , a widely travelled lesbian translator in mysteries by Barbara Wilson
- Cassidy James , a lesbian private investigator based in Portland, Oregon in mysteries by Kate Calloway
- Colleen Fitzgerald , a lesbian insurance investigator in mysteries by Barbara Johnson
- Desiree "Dez" Reilly , a lesbian policewoman in St. Paul, Minnesota in mysteries by Lori L. Lake
- Gianna Maglione , lesbian police lieutenant in Washington, D.C. in mysteries by Penny Mickelbury
- Hilary Tamar (?), an androgynous lawyer in mysteries by Sarah Caudwell . In fact, Caudwell never specified Tamar's sex.
- Inspector Sarah Nelson in mysteries by Susan Wolfe
- Jane Lawless , a lesbian restaurant owner and private investigator in Minneapolis in mysteries by Ellen Hart
- Jet Butler , a lesbian college professor in mysteries by B. Reese Johnson
- Jo Jacuzzo , a charismatic lesbian in Buffalo, New York in mysteries by Anne Seale
- Jude Devine , a lesbian sheriff's detective in Montezuma County, Colorado in mysteries by Rose Beecham
- Kate Delafield , a lesbian LAPD homicide detective and former Marine in mysteries by Katherine V. Forrest
- Kate Martinelli , a lesbian San Francisco homicide detective in mysteries by Laurie R. King
- Kellen Stewart , a therapist and a lesbian in Great Britain by Manda Scott
- Kylie Kendall , the lesbian manager of a pub in tiny Wollegudgerie , Australia who inherits 51% of her father's private detective agency in Los Angeles, California in mysteries by Claire McNab
- Lauren Laurano , a lesbian private investigator in Manhattan , in mysteries by Sandra Scoppettone
- Lexy Hyatt , a lesbian crime reporter in Florida in mysteries by Carlene Miller
- Lindsay Gordon , a lesbian journalist & socialist in Glasgow, Scotland in mysteries by Val McDermid
- Maggie Garrett , a young, lesbian private investigator in San Francisco, California in mysteries by Jean Taylor
- Maris Middleton , a lesbian chemist with a specialization in forensics in mysteries by Kaye Davis
- Meg Lacey , a lesbian private investigator based in Canada in mysteries by Elizabeth Bowers
- Micky Knight , a lesbian New Orleans private investigator in mysteries by J.M. Redmann
- Monette O'Reilley , towering lesbian and star player of the Leaping Lesbians of Park Slope soccer team and graphic artist in New York in mysteries by David Stukas
- Nickel (Nicole) Smith , a lesbian small-town newspaper editor in Runnymeade by Rita Mae Brown
- Pam Nilsen , lesbian printing company owner in Seattle, Washington by Barbara Wilson
- Saz Martin , a lesbian private investigator in London by Stella Duffy
- Stoner McTavish , a lesbian travel agent in Boston, Massachusetts by Sarah Dreher
- Sydney Sloan , a lesbian private investigator in New York, New York , in the Stonewall Inn mysteries by Randye Lordon
- Tru North , a lesbian police detective in Kansas City, Missouri in mysteries by Janet McClellan
- Virginia Kelly , a lesbian investment advisor in mysteries by Nikki Baker
- the Unexpected series by Gina Dartt
Contemporary Lesbian Romances are typified by the novels from Karin Kallmaker , Radclyffe , and Marianne K. Martin
- Course of Action -- Gun Brooke
- Define Destiny -- JM Dragon
- First Instinct -- [http://www.jleemeyer.com/ JLee Meyer]-- When high stakes security fraud leads to murder, one woman flees for her life while another races against time to save the woman who has staked a claim on her heart. Recipient 2007 Golden Crown Literary Society Award, Lesbian Adventure/Mystery/Thriller.
- Rising Storm -- JLee Meyer -- Conn Stryker and Leigh Grove pledge to be together but that pledge is shattered when one of Conn's mothers is kidnapped in Pakistan -- and the secret agent is the only ransom the kidnappers will accept. This exciting sequel to First Instinct takes our heroines on a dangerous journey from California to Paris and through the deadly streets of Karachi, Pakistan.
- Forever Found -- JLee Meyer -- Dana and Kerri are soulmates in pre-school, separated by tragedy at 8, and brought together again by fate 20 years later. As their attraction grows, the past resurfaces to threaten the shape of their future.
- More Than Paradise, and the Moon Island Series: Passion Bay, Saving Grace, The Sacred Shore, A Guarded Heart, and Dark Vista Series: Dark Dreamer, Dark Valentine -- Jennifer Fulton
- I Found My Heart In San Francisco Series, Arbor Vitae -- SX Meagher
- Embrace in Motion, Car Pool, In Every Port, Maybe Next Time, One Degree of Separation, Sugar, Unforgettable, All the Wrong Places, Making Up For Lost Time, Paperback Romance, Painted Moon, Substitute for Love, Touchwood, Wild Things, Watermark (sequel to Touchwood) -- {Link without Title}
- The Light Fantastic -- L A Tucker
- None So Blind -- LJ Maas
- Galveston 1900: Swept Away, The Bluest Eyes in Texas, and Borderline -- Linda Crist
- The Price OF Fame, The Cost Of Commitment, The Value of Valor -- Lynn Ames
- Infinite Loop -- Meghan O'Brien
- Innocent Hearts, Love's Melody Lost, Love's Tender Warriors, Tomorrow's Promise, Passion's Bright Fury, Love's Masquerade -- Radclyffe
- Hunter's Pursuit, Force of Nature, Whitewater Rendezvous, Focus of Desire --
- Gloria's Inn -- Robin Alexander
- Private Dancer -- TJ Vertigo
- Turning the Page, Thy Neighbor's Wife, Too Close to Touch, Fresh Tracks --- Georgia Beers
- Turning Point, Lara Zielinsky
- Such A Pretty Face-- Gabrielle Goldsby
Lesbian science fiction works frequently address the issue of feminist/ Lesbian Separatist communities. See Lesbian Science Fiction for a more detailed review.
Gay male author Geoff Ryman 's Arthur C. Clarke Award -winning '' The Child Garden '' features a lesbian protagonist.
Fanfiction writers have produced many works in which female characters from fictional sources, such as Television Shows , Movies , or Comic Books , are paired in romantic or sexual relationships. The genre is known by a variety of terms, including femslash, saffic, and f/f slash. Lesbian content in fanfiction dates at least to 1977, but has become more popular during the 1990s and 2000s.
- ''Lesbianism in Germany: 1890's to 1920's''. Lillian Faderman and Brigitte Eriksson.
- ''Passions Between Women: British Lesbian Culture 1668-1801''. Emma Donoghue
- ''Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth-Century America''. Lillian Faderman
- Lesbian Texts and Contexts: Radical Revisions, ed. Karla Jay and Joanne Glasgow, New York University Press 1990
- Chloe plus Olivia - An Anthology of Lesbian Literature from the Seventeenth Century to the Present, ed. Lillian Faderman , Penguin Books 1995
- The Literature of Lesbianism, ed. Terry Castle , Columbia University Press 2003
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