Where are we with LGBTQIA+ romances in Italy? We asked the writers and readers
In Italy, in 2024, according to Ansa, there was a real boom in romance book sales, with five million copies sold across the country. Whether it’s due to the influence of the #BookTok phenomenon (since, according to the Italian Publishers Association, in 2023, 21% of books sold were recommended by a book influencer) or simply because the romance genre continues to attract more and more readers (especially women, as seen online, although the male percentage, usually within the queer community, is also present), it seems that romance literature is not only bringing teenagers back to reading but also uniting readers under one flag: that of love in all its forms.
Speaking of love in all its forms, LGBTQIA+ romance novels are steadily growing in popularity, both abroad and in Italy, with the most prominent publishing houses such as Mondadori and Feltrinelli bringing viral queer romance books from international BookTok to Italy through their editorial imprints. Independent routes are also flourishing, from collectives to self-publishing on Amazon and similar platforms. While it's unclear what the exact ratio is between queer romance and heteronormative romance, a visit to any romance section in bookstores makes it obvious: despite the growth, the percentage still leans toward the latter. Why? We tried to understand more about this world by speaking to people involved in it, in one role or another.
The writers of queer romance in Italy in 2025
Christian Cannavò: Queer representation and non-conforming bodies
Christian Cannavò writes gay romance featuring mid/plus-size protagonists for More Stories (Stavo aspettando te, Tattooed Heart) and Triskell Edizioni (Sei sempre stato tu). He started writing “because he always loved books”: “Writing was a way to express myself, to give voice to the shy, quiet boy who always stood in the corner at school, trying to go unnoticed.” On why he chose to focus on romance, and specifically queer romance, “because I am queer myself and I believe it's important to make space for our voices in the book market. But above all, I needed a love story I could see myself in. I’m a fat person, and for some strange reason fat people are rarely seen in romance. So I said to myself: No one’s doing it? Fine, I will! We chubby folks deserve love too.” Most of his books feature at least one plus-size male protagonist, and when someone writes to say they saw themselves in his characters, “my heart bursts with joy. Knowing I’m giving someone what I didn’t have growing up… well, it’s incredibly fulfilling.”
Publishing in Italy
On how he got published, “I spent months watching videos and reading articles on how to submit to publishers. My first novel (Stavo Aspettando Te, written after learning how to structure a story) was sent to an embarrassing number of publishers – many didn’t even publish queer romance, but hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Only two replied; one negative and one positive. I’ll never thank More Stories enough for seeing potential in my work. Now I also publish with Triskell Edizioni, and I did that all by myself too.” According to Christian, “compared to a few years ago, there are many more queer romance novels in Italy, and I’m thrilled about that. Despite the recent political climate, people are resisting hate and supporting love in all its forms. Writing is a political act, no matter what anyone says, especially when your stories center around marginalized communities.” He adds, “we need more sapphic stories, more trans protagonists, non-binary people, asexual representation (because everyone always forgets about them!) and a wider representation of non-conforming bodies. Not just cis gay men with abs and massive dicks.”
Sex in LGBTQIA+ romance according to Christian Cannavò
“For decades, even centuries, the queer community has been attacked for its so-called ‘promiscuous behavior.’ In reality, we have sex just like anyone else. Why not portray that? Sex in romance novels is part of the relationship. What's more, telling about an intimate relationship in a gentle way might make those who still think we are filthy sinners destined to burn in the fires of hell reconsider. Imagine the joy of religious love, eh. In a book, if dosed well, spicy I appreciate it. Just as I appreciate its total absence. The important thing is that the love narrated is strong and sincere, but above all a positive, realistic and non-stereotypical portrayal.” His writing influences include Jane Austen, while his reading interests range from Disney-style fairy tales to horror stories.
Kayla Faber: the liberating power of writing
Kayla Faber is an Italian author who writes in English. Her queer romance series set in a London amateur wrestling gym, Sucker Punch, has earned her international recognition. “I’ve been consciously bisexual since I was about six. I grew up in a strict Catholic environment, but I developed independently, so, much to my parents’ dismay, I became an atheist and openly attracted to both men and women. I naturally wrote stories that showed various shades of bisexuality (more than two, by the way), often within the same relationship. I’m also polyamorous. Writing has been a very important part of me since I was a little girl: I used it as an outlet when everyday life weighed me down and I needed to take refuge in a safe place that made me feel good, and, growing up, what made me feel better ever was to write about somewhat “broken” characters, outsiders in the “normal” world, who find love, a home and belonging with a found family. As an aromantic, emotionally distant person, this is my version of romantic expression.”
Writing queer fiction in English
She chose to publish abroad because, “I started writing in English fanfiction since there was little audience for the fandoms I loved in Italy. English felt natural. Almost everyone knows it, so your potential audience is much wider. Switching later to original stories, it seemed natural to stick to English (between you and me, I'm a little bit partial to writing in Italian now). This is a purely practical choice: almost everyone knows English, so the audience is automatically wider. Besides, English has been the language of my soul for as long as I can remember. I would really love to translate my books into Italian, also because it would be relatively easy. It is, however, very time-consuming, and at the moment I prefer to prioritize writing. Then there is the very big hurdle of rendering certain phrases or puns from English into Italian: some are practically impossible to translate, and, yours truly being a lover of such things, my books are chock full of them. One day I will get to translate my books into Italian, I swear!"
Sex in LGBTQIA+ romance according to Kayla Faber
“To me, romance and sex don’t always go together. Love is too big, and sex is just an optional feature, not everyone experiences romantic and sexual attraction at the same time. For instance, I feel intense sexual attraction and none romantically. Sex is a perfect “accessory” in a romance, if well written and with its own meaning, if felt and with contextual value. In my humble opinion, sex in romance is like cilantro: some like it, some don't, and it can enrich or ruin a story. It's all about knowing how to make the difference between eroticism and gratuitous pornography.”
The Italian queer romance scene
What’s missing in Italy isn’t the stories, says Kayla, but the recognition of their value. “Writers are everywhere, the talent is not lacking; what is lacking is those who invest in this side of literature, those who really believe in it. Most of the queer books published by our publishing houses are translated foreign bestsellers that in a way are already a guarantee. Those who publish queer novels in Italy are mostly minor or independent publishers. We have plenty of queer stories: what we lack is someone who recognizes their value. I cannot call myself an expert in the field of publishing, since in the last few years I have dedicated almost all my free time to writing and very little to reading, but from what I have been able to observe Italy is a country where there is still a lot of work to be done on openness and acceptance towards the queer community and culture. We are still a bit ignorant and bigoted, the space dedicated to queer literature is still a little corner in bookstores with a label: “LGBTQIA+,” as if we were a universe apart. It is done to give visibility, it is true, but it is still a visibility confined somewhat to the shadows. I am happy, though, to see that the younger generation is becoming more open-minded and less likely to follow the homophobic propaganda that still dominates our country.” What inspired her most were the fanfictions she has read over the years: "I think there is something extremely special about a writer who adopts a character and gives him or her a new, alternative, often better life. It seems absurd and incredible to me that all my favorite reads are available for free on a website”.
Ester Manzini: From fanfiction to the Lux Lab collective
Ester Manzini is part of the female writing collective Lux Lab and works as a writer, translator, and editor. "My first approaches to writing (with quite - how shall we say - questionable results) were in the fantasy genre, which, then as now, is one of my favorites. Romance, especially queer romance, came shortly after those experiments: I discovered fanfiction. I was a teenager in a time when the Internet existed, yes, but it was certainly not as pervasive as it is now. And there were no social media! (We Millennials are starting to have some decent coming-of-age pains.) Thanks to my passion for a fandom, I opened my eyes to the existence of a world where writing was a game, a gym, a place to let out creativity and be guided only by imagination, not by the laws of the market. As it happens, the first couple that kidnapped my heart was made up of two male characters, and many of the subsequent ones traced the same dynamics. Over time I began to look for broader horizons, and it took very little to move on to the original stories. Fantasy, yes, but also, indeed, romance and queer. A little bit because of my background, but mostly because we live in a reality that still thinks in binary and heterosexual terms, and those stakes have always been tight for me." She who has published with both major publishing houses, such as Giunti Editore, and smaller CEs, "In some ways we can see them as the two ends of a spectrum. On the one hand there is the maximum freedom of expression but also the leap into the void of not having professionals to guide you in the creation of a successful product. On the other is the possibility of rejection if the product does not fit within editorial lines, or the choice to adapt one's ideas to the market; these are constraints that are balanced by the support of editors, proofreaders, and press officers. These are different realities, but fortunately for me, I have been comfortable in both. With the obvious and inevitable slips along the way."
The Italian queer romance scene
On what’s missing in queer romance in Italy, “luckily, the Italian LGBTQIA+ literary scene is not flat or desolate. There are many authors enriching the market with creative and passionate queer love stories. So there’s not much to complain about… as long as we stay in the indie romance scene. But when it comes to mainstream publishing, those big-name publishers moving numbers I don’t even want to count, the situation changes. There are glimmers of hope, but they’re still just that, glimmers. As a reader, and also a bit as a writer who loves crafting romantic comedies, I believe a gust of humor and irony would do us all some good. There are plenty of tragic stories, many of them painfully realistic. It would be great to see them alongside stories where queerness is not a problem to solve, but simply one more facet of a character.”
Sex in LGBTQIA+ romance according to Ester Manzini
When it comes to sex in LGBTQIA+ romance novels, “for me, it’s a constant work in progress. I could say the obvious: it depends, on the story, the characters, the audience. And indeed, while I have written and still enjoy writing erotic scenes, over time I’ve started valuing quality over quantity more and more. That goes for me as a reader too! As long as the scenes are relevant to the plot and not based on tired stereotypes, I find them enjoyable and useful. Even if it’s just about normalizing something the mainstream public isn’t used to yet.”
The importance of queer visibility and the Lux Lab Collective
Speaking of Lux Lab (which isn’t a publishing house, mind you), “it’s an independent literary collective focused on queer romance fiction. We are six authors, many of whom are part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Lux Lab was born in 2019 with one mission: to publish queer romance novels featuring passionate love stories, gripping plots, Black Jack, and luxury escorts, basically, it’s our playground, we make the rules, and we have a blast breaking genre stereotypes! Plus, writing romance is not exactly easy when it comes to public perception. Online, you constantly see articles criticizing the genre as frivolous, intellectually shallow, and unserious. There’s a huge prejudice that anything mostly written by and for women must be trash literature. The same accusations once thrown at Penny Dreadfuls and serialized fiction. Honestly? I’m happy to be in the company of Alexandre Dumas and Robert Louis Stevenson. Add the queer element on top of that… oh no, two men kissing? Yes, unfortunately, some people still get flustered by even the most innocent same-sex love stories. So the challenge is... being taken seriously. But since we are very serious, we don’t get discouraged. Our recent successes, like being among the sponsors of the Italian Romance Festival and participating in the Turin International Book Fair, make us hope we’re on the right track.” Her inspiration, both as a writer and a reader, is “Jacqueline Carey, especially the Kushiel trilogy. It blends queer romance, historical fiction, fantasy, and adventure in a way that I return to again and again for comfort (and pain). I’m surprised it hasn’t gotten more attention in Italy, considering the recent romantasy boom. So… I’ll take the chance to recommend it!”
The readers
Andrea Amadio's Opinion
Andrea Amadio, aka @libriconfragole, is a book influencer with nearly 100k followers on Instagram and 70k on TikTok. “Libriconfragole started in March 2022 by chance. I posted my first TikTok just hoping to find a community to talk about books with, since no one in my small town shared that passion with me at the time. And voilà! I never expected that video, Books to Read in Your 20s, would get 100k views in two days and 3k followers just as fast! It was surreal, it was just me, my bookshelf, and my endless love for books in front of the camera,” says Andrea. “The first queer book I ever read—fiction, but with a strong romantic core, was Generations of Love by Matteo B. Bianchi. My father gave it to me when I was 16 to help me understand myself. Since then, it’s the book I’m most emotionally attached to. As for my first ‘pure’ romance, I read the Rainbow Boys saga by Alex Sanchez at 16, and I absolutely adored it. I sighed and discovered myself alongside the characters.”
The Queer Romance Community and Its Growing Popularity
Speaking of his community, “My audience is like family: just like in any family, there’s love and sometimes disagreements, like the occasional criticism, which comes with being on social media, but I’ve built a truly beautiful community, full of love, respect, and deep passion for reading! They appreciate my spontaneity, humor, and also the insights I share through book analysis.” On how hard it is to promote queer romance books online: “It’s unfortunately very difficult, even though many authors write them, some famous, like Lea Landucci and Naike Ror, or talked-about titles like MM84 by Ju Maybe and Hamartia by Soldano. These books simply don’t get the same traction as heteronormative romance stories. I see it clearly in my video analytics, when I talk about queer romance, engagement is lower. Maybe it’s about reader identification?” As for his queer reading recommendations: “I recommend Casey McQuiston's books, Heartstopper by Alice Oseman, Call Me Maybe by Lea Landucci, and Always Be My Baby by Naike Ror.”
In short, LGBTQIA+ romance in Italy is carving out its space, but the journey is still long, especially since not all the colors of the rainbow flag are equally represented, unlike in many international queer romance markets. Should authors be the ones to explore these themes more deeply? Should publishers take the initiative to release more inclusive and diverse titles, both original works and translated LGBTQIA+ novels? For now, at least, it seems we might be on the right path… maybe.
