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The number of memoirs, investigative nonfiction, food writing, and history books on my TBR at any given time is… aspirational. But I wasn’t always a big nonfiction reader, which makes absolutely zero sense. As a consummate know-it-all kid, you’d think I would have eagerly inhaled anything that added to my obnoxious arsenal of Did Ya Know facts. I suppose I thought, as folks resistant to nonfiction sometimes do, that nonfiction was dry, non-creative, and that its only purpose was to educate academically. Now I know better. Some of the most engaging, most moving, most hilarious, engrossing reads of my lifetime live under the nonfiction umbrella.
Like so many categories in publishing, authors of color don’t get nearly as much shine or space on shelves as they should in this category, broad as it is in its scope. Since it’s Nonfiction November, I’m here to recommend some of my favorite nonfiction reads by BIPOC authors, as well as some reads from my TBR as suggested by our stellar contributors. Whether you’re an avid devourer of nonfiction or are thinking about dipping your toes in these waters, I hope you’ll find something on this list to move you, entertain you, teach you, and/or all of the above for a few hundred pages.
Latine Herbalism by Iosellev Castañeda
I began this year saying I wanted to pursue a hobby and learn something new, so I did something I’ve been saying I’d do for years: I enrolled in an herbalism education and medicine-making program. I’ve learned so much, but I’ve always known that I would need to seek out additional resources to tap into the aspects of plant medicine that are rooted in my specific culture. Latine Herbalism is a guide into the art of Modern Curanderismo and the rich history behind its herbal remedies, plant medicine, holistic and spirituals, and more. I have my copy in my hands and it’s beautiful!
So Many Stars: An Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, and Two-Spirit People of Color edited by Caro De Robertis
This was my first time reading Caro De Robertis, the Uruguayan American author of Cantoras and The Palace of Eros and award-winning translator of Latin American literature. This collection of testimonies from queer elders of color about self-discovery, activism, resistance, and survival is such an essential read, a necessary record of so much lived experience and hard-won progress. It is a love letter to queer history and an inspiring, hilarious, heartbreaking, and gorgeous reminder to treasure the wisdom of those who’ve witnessed history, helped shape it, and given us the space to imagine a future where we’re all free. I had to pause to reflect several times, especially in the passages about found family and liberation. This is one of my favorite reads of 2025.
You Sound Like a White Girl: The Case for Rejecting Assimilation by Julissa Arce
When someone told Julissa Arce she sounded like a white girl in high school, she took it as a compliment (#RelatableContent), having spent years flattening aspects of her identity to blend in as an undocumented citizen. In time, she came to unpack the lie that assimilation leads to belonging and success, calling for a rejection of this assimilation in favor of embracing her cultural identity, language, and heritage more fully. As someone who’s also been told I sound like a white girl my whole life, this book read me for filth but also cracked open my heart.
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Alligator Tears: A Memoir in Essays by Edgar Gomez
In this darkly funny memoir-in-essays, Gomez shows how he and his working-class queer Latine friends used Florida wisdom to pull themselves out of poverty—which is to say that they zig-zagged here and there, doing this scheme and picking up that job, just to make it. —Erica Ezeifedi
Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World by Christian Cooper
Cooper writes about birdwatching and nature in such an engaging, inspiring way it will make you want to run outside. Even if you’ve never had an interest in birds, you’ll love this book. And more than just a birder (and a viral internet moment), Cooper discusses his life as a gay Black man in America, his time working for Marvel, his young life, and more. —Liberty Hardy
Forest Euphoria: The Abounding Queerness of Nature by Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian
I’ve been chasing the high of reading How Far the Light Reaches since 2022, and I finally found that queer science joy again in Forest Euphoria. Mycologist and writer Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian found acceptance and a place to explore in the natural landscapes of her childhood home in the Hudson Valley. As an adult studying science, she found representation of her queerness and neurodivergence in the plants, animals, and fungi she researched. Forest Euphoria is a gentle, poignant exploration of finding queer experiences reflected in nature, from mushroom community building to intersex courtship in slugs to trans identity in eels. Kaishian weaves together her deeply personal memories, nature and science writing, and queer theory in this gorgeous, life-affirming book. —Susie Dumond
Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson by Tourmaline
We finally, finally have a full and researched biography of the queer, feminist icon Marsha P. Johnson, who fought both by existing and through her work as an activist to illuminate the Black trans experience. Tourmaline, herself a Black trans woman, a filmmaker, and an activist, has worked to make trans history visible. This excellent, highly anticipated biography promises to become a must-have for feminist, intersectional, and queer libraries moving forward. —Leah Rachel von Essen
Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy
Nobody Needs to Know by Pidgeon Pagonis
Pidgeon Pagonis wound up fighting to make Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago the first hospital in the USA to ban surgeries on intersex children. But they weren’t born a fighter; they were born intersex. Their family hid their body from the world, pretending Pidgeon wasn’t different. But eventually Pidgeon blossomed into the great intersex activist that they are today. —Chris Arnone
For more nonfiction recs, check out our nonfiction archives, or sign up to get our nonfiction newsletter, True Story, straight into your inbox.