The joy of reading queer Scottish novels

Published the same year as The Well of Loneliness and Orlando, this sharp social satire about lesbians is set on a fictional island inspired by Capri, then a hub for queer literary life; the book features a fictionalised Radclyffe Hall. Mackenzie, who also wrote Whisky Galore, resented not achieving the same notoriety as The Well of Loneliness.

Set on a remote Scottish island, this feminist, queer, myth-infused novel follows a sapphic community; it’s inspired by Celtic lore in a delightful blend of humour, rebellion and folklore.

This cosy mystery introduced Britain’s first fictional lesbian detective, journalist Lindsay Gordon. In doing so, McDermid paved the way for queer protagonists in mainstream crime fiction.

After the death of jazz musician Joss Moody, he is revealed to be a trans man. Through multiple perspectives, Kay explores identity, grief and love, creating a landmark work of Black British queer fiction with deep Scottish roots.

In Glasgow, a gay auctioneer stumbles upon disturbing erotic photographs that suggest a murder. As he investigates, he is drawn into a dark underworld in a novel that blends noir with questions of desire and morality.

A modern retelling of a classical myth set in Inverness, this novel weaves together queer love, gender fluidity and contemporary capitalism, grounded in a Scottish landscape.

In a flooded Britain a circus performer at sea and a solitary island-dweller, imagine a different life together. This lyrical dystopia, with its sapphic romance, is haunting and hopeful.

A working-class Black researcher becomes obsessed with an obscure (fictional) Afro-Scottish poet of the 1920s, interrogating the erasure of Black queer lives from the literary canon.

A Booker Prize-winning story of a boy growing up gay in 1980s Glasgow, navigating poverty and his mother’s alcoholism. It’s devastating, tender and unforgettable.

This novel brings to life two real Scottish artists and their relationship, exploring love, class and the ways queer stories can be lost and rediscovered.