Best Gay Media for Pride 2026

A lot of best-of lists are algorithmic, AI-influenced, or built for click-through commission. This one is entirely organic, from the top of the head of one gay man (me!) who earns absolutely nothing if you pick one of these titles up.

Happy Pride 2026! Listen, whether Pride is your thing or not, I think we can all agree that it is important that it exists. So, hey, celebrate it in a way that feels right to you! One of my favorite ways to celebrate is to support gay art. When I was younger, this meant hitting up the tents on the festival grounds and picking up a new t-shirt, sticker set, or salacious greeting card. These days, it means watching or reading something that's gay in a big way (which, admittedly, I like doing all year round, not just during Pride).

Since I consume more gay media than the average (non-)bear, I thought this would be a fine time to share a round-up of some of my favorites. But before I do, I thought I should disclose my non-scientific criteria, which are as follows:

1. These titles are literally off the top of my head.

2. Each one has had a lasting impact on me, as discussed in the little write-up.

3. I am a gay man, and this wound up being a list of media by or about gay men.

4. I decided not to include hyper-tragic gay stories; too many gay stories are sad.

5. These recommendations are based entirely on my own reading and viewing experience. (There are bound to be many more fantastic gay pieces that I have yet to get to!)

6. I have included purchase links on each product image for your convenience, not for commission. I'm not endorsing any retailer. (Yeah, I know; Amazon isn't great, but sometimes they have the most stable link to a cool edition of a title.) Buy, rent, or borrow from anywhere!

Okay, with all that said and without further ado, here is the list, the titles in no particular order:

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (fiction)

recommended for: anyone who can get down with elevated prose

quick pitch: Faustian bargain turned gay/bi love triangle—witticisms juxtaposed with debauchery and death

I remain stunned—truly stunned—that this novel somehow got published in 1890. My god, is it VERY MALE GAY (and timelessly so)! Wilde was an aesthete whose aesthetic leanings have imprinted on many a modern gay male, and so if you like pretty things, pretty boys (like the titular Dorian), or pretty writing, odds are you will like this novel. Now, it is admittedly quite dark, and the story is a tragedy, but it is not a story that advises against gayness. In fact, one could argue that the gayest character is one of the few who actually survives!

Twenty Years Together by Tom Rob Smith (fiction)

recommended for: gays pondering marriage or anyone with some living under their belt

quick pitch: two gay men in London contemplate marriage twenty years after first getting together

This is a simple story beautifully told about the importance of healing from the past in order to grow into the person—or, with someone else, the couple—you deserve to become. Gay men (and the people who love them) can get very weird about marriage for a host of reasons, many of which this elegant novel explores with clear-eyed honesty but gentleness. It is such an uplifting, affirming read.

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr (fiction)

recommended for: gays who like big literary fiction with multiple plot lines

quick pitch: one of the best novels I have ever read that happens to have a gay hero at its heart

This book is about so much—the power of stories, hope for the future, the universality of the human experience—and one of its many, many treats is that a gay protagonist saves the day in one of its three equally beautiful plot lines. This isn't a gay novel per se, but it is a great novel that includes a gay perspective that feels entirely real.

Gay Like Me by Richie Jackson (non-fiction)

recommended for: anyone looking for some honest, hard-won gay pride

quick pitch: a powerful manifesto in the form of a wonderfully honest letter from a gay dad to his gay son

What does it mean to be gay? What should it mean? What can it mean? Jackson explores all of these possibilities and more in this primer for modern gay life by a man who's been there, seen it, done it. It's like What to Expect When You're Expecting only not for pregnancy but for gay male adult life!

Flamboyants by George M. Johnson & Charly Palmer (non-fiction)

recommended for: anyone who wants to learn about those who entertained before the era of RuPaul

quick pitch: a who's who of the queer Harlem Renaissance

This is a quick read of beautiful sketches of entertainers who made especially courageous art in a time of terrible repression. I found this light volume to be a fantastic jumping-off point into some deeper dives on the personalities included. LEARN YOUR GAY HISTORY!

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (fiction)

recommended for: literally anyone who likes literature and a powerful love story

quick pitch: a beautifully written (and thoroughly researched) telling of the legend of Achilles and Patroclus

I like my gay stories coming from inside, but every rule has exceptions, and Miller's tale is a deserving one. This is one of the most epic (literally!) gay love stories, and though I don't have a crystal ball, it will never be better told than it is here. What a luminous novel.

Akron (2015)

recommended for: all my Midwestern gays

quick pitch: a low-budget gay film with feels, sincerity, and just a bit of silly drama

Look, I hail from northeast Ohio, and for me (and any gay from the Midwest), it's pretty cool that a mostly good indie gay film exists that represents us. Ninety percent of this sweet lil' flick hits right, and the parts that don't, well, they add that camp that no indie gay film is without. This film doesn't seek to change the world, but it makes for a nice friends' night in.

Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! (2023)

recommended for: any gay with Crunchyroll

quick pitch: a thirty-year-old virgin mysteriously gains the power to hear the thoughts of anyone he touches, including a charismatic male coworker who has the hots for... him?!

I love anime and manga, but I don't always love the "boys' love," or BL, sub-genre. It can be very trope-y, very overly sentimental, and very much written for straight women, but this little single-season story is just so ridiculous and charming that I find it irresistible. I wouldn't take on a new subscription streaming service for it, but if you already have Crunchyroll, get adding it to your watchlist!

Happy Pride, loves! If you have additional recommendations not included here—and I bet you do!—feel free to share 'em in the comments! ⬇️