If you’re looking for books to read about asexuality and/or aromanticism, this is the place for you. The Aroace Database is a great resource if you’re looking for fiction, but I have yet to locate a central resource for nonfiction, so I’ve collected and maintained my own list.
Guidelines for using it:
It’s sorted first by publication date because I find it a fascinating representation of awareness to see how recently it’s been that the body of literature has started to grow, and then alphabetically by title in the case of multiple works sharing a publication year.
This is simply a factual list of what’s available. Inclusion on the list does not equal an endorsement or a statement on my part as to a work’s quality. (Also I personally only speak English, so that perspective does influence what I do and don’t find to put on here.)
If a work is not included, that just means I don’t know about it yet. You are more than welcome to alert me to its existence at miab@writingforlife.net so I can remedy that :).
| Title: | Author: | Publication Date: | Notes: |
| Asexuality: A Brief Introduction | Asexuality Archive | 2012 | |
| Minimizing Marriage: Marriage, Morality, and the Law (Studies in Feminist Philosophy) | Elizabeth Brake | 2012 | The origin of the term “amatonormativity” |
| Asexuality and Sexual Normativity: An Anthology | Mark Carrigan (Editor), Kristina Gupta (Editor), Todd Morrison (Editor) | 2014 | “This unique volume collects a diverse range of interdisciplinary empirical and theoretical work… originally published as a special issue of Psychology and Sexuality” |
| The Invisible Orientation: An Intro to Asexuality | Julie Sondra Decker | 2014 | The 101 |
| Ace & Proud: An Asexual Anthology | A K Andrews | 2015 | |
| Ace Inclusion Guide for High Schools | Asexual Outreach | 2015 | For HS faculty, staff, and student leaders to make school more inclusive for ace students |
| Ace of Hearts: A Journey to Embracing the Asexual Identity | Caryn Purdy | 2015 | |
| The Love and Sex Life of an Aromantic Asexual | Laurel Federbush | 2015 | 42 page autobiography |
| Understanding Asexuality (2nd ed.) | Anthony Bogaert | 2015 | I’m assuming this is the Bogaert everyone loves to cite on the 1% stat. There is a 1st edition from 2012 as well. |
| Asexualities: Feminist and Queer Perspectives | Karli June Cerankowski (Editor), Megan Milks (Editor) | 2016 | “What is so radical about not having sex? To answer this question, this collection of essays explores the feminist and queer politics of asexuality” |
| All That We Are: The Asexuality Spectrum, or Love Without Sex | Natasja Rose | 2017 | “This is a collection of anecdotes, ranging from discovering your sexuality, to common misconceptions and prejudice, and basic definitions of the different terms” |
| Asexuality. Asexuality Guide. Asexuality book about understanding the sexual orientation, tips, myths and misconceptions. | Correy Luckton | 2017 | |
| Asexual Perspectives: 47 Asexual Stories: LOVE, LIFE and SEX, ACElebration of ASEXUAL DIVERSITY | Sandra Bellamy | 2017 | |
| Aro Eros Arrows (Integrated Non-Monogamy) | Michon Neal | 2018 | “For Black queer aros” |
| I Fell in Love with an Asexual: Navigating Needs Without Blame When You Like Sex, Your Partner Doesn’t, & Asexuality Is a Possibility | Dave Wheitner | 2018 | By/for the more sexual partner in an allo/ace or high/low interest relationship, rather than aces |
| Asexual Erotics: Intimate Readings of Compulsory Sexuality (Abnormativities: Queer/Gender/Embodiment) | Ela Pryzbylo | 2019 | Addressing the lack of asexual consideration in feminist / queer work |
| Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex | Angela Chen | 2020 | How ace concepts benefit society as a whole |
| How to Be Ace: A Memoir of Growing Up Asexual | Rebecca Burgess | 2020 | Graphic novel memoir |
| How to Write Asexual Characters: An Incomplete Guide | Salt and Sage Books | 2020 | For fiction writers who want to know how to write ace characters |
| A Little Book of Ace: learning more about asexuality | Clara Dehlin | 2021 | |
| Ace Voices: What It Means to Be Asexual, Aromantic, Demi or Grey Ace | Eris Young | 2022 | |
| Asexual | Jeremy Quist | 2022 | Looks like an introduction to the identity for teens? |
| Asexuality and Freudian-Lacanian Psychoanalysis: Towards a Theory of an Enigma | Kevin Murphy | 2022 | “Proposes that asexuality is a libidinally founded desire for no sexual desire, a concept not included in psychoanalytic theory up to now.” |
| A Quick and Easy Guide to Asexuality | Molly Muldoon | 2022 | |
| Refusing Compulsory Sexuality: A Black Asexual Lens on our Sex-Obsessed Culture | Sherronda J Brown | 2022 | |
| I Am Ace: Advice on Living Your Best Asexual Life | Cody Daigle-Orians | Feb 2023 | |
| Sounds Fake But Okay: An Asexual and Aromantic Perspective on Love, Relationships, Sex, and Pretty Much Anything Else | Kayla Kaszyca & Sarah Costello | Feb 2023 | |
| Ace Notes: Tips and Tricks on Existing in an Allo World | Michele Kirichanskaya | March 2023 | Also incorporates practical advice for aces who are interested in sex, rather than sending them elsewhere for that |
| ACE and ARO Journeys: A Guide to Embracing Your Asexual or Aromantic Identity | Ace and Aro Advocacy Project | April 2023 | |
| Asexuality and Romantic Relationship Negotiation | Loraine Upton | May 2023 | |
| Amazing Ace, Awesome Aro: An Illustrated Exploration | Victoria Barron | June 2023 | Includes quizzes and activity sheets |
| Hopeless Aromantic: An Affirmative Guide to Aromanticism | Samantha Rendle | July 2023 | |
| Ending the Pursuit: Asexuality, Aromanticism and Agender Identity | Michael Paramo | February 2024 | |
| FUTURE WORKS: | |||
| The Ace and Aro Relationship Guide | Cody Daigle-Orians | Fall 2024 | |
| [Book about Aromanticism] | AUREA | End of 2025 maybe? | |