Drag has flourished in mainstream media since the launch of RuPaul’s Drag Race. What makes drag so universal is that we all love expressing ourselves through what we wear. The message behind the craft is advocated for self-acceptance, celebration, and confidence. These are all elements that are needed during these hard times.
So turn off the tv and sit down with a library of great drag queen books! Whether you are into fiction or non-fiction, these nine best-sellers will keep you itching to turn the next page.
GuRu by RuPaul
A drag fanatic's collection of books is never complete without a novel by our favorite drag queen!
Synopsis: "RuPaul has put together a distinctive collection of experiences from a fabulous career that spans over thirty-five years. There are 80 stunning photographs that help you envision the life you want. GuRu offers a self-actualizing philosophy that breaks with tradition and awakens the spirit within."
My Fairy Godmother is a Drag Queen by David Clawson
Synopsis: "Chris Bellows is just trying to get through high school and survive being the only stepchild in the social-climbing Fontaine family, whose recently diminished fortune hasn’t dimmed their desire to mingle with Upper East Side society. Chris sometimes feels more like a maid than a part of the family. But when Chris’s stepsister Kimberly begins dating golden boy J. J. Kennerly, heir to a political dynasty, everything changes.
With the help of a new friend, Coco Chanel Jones, Chris learns to be comfortable in his own skin. He lets himself fall in love and be loved, and discovers that maybe he was wrong about his step-family. All it takes is one fairy godmother dressed as Diana Ross to change the course of his life."
The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta
Synopsis: "A boy comes to terms with his identity as a mixed-race gay teen - then at university he finds his wings as a drag artist, The Black Flamingo. A bold story about the power of embracing your uniqueness. Sometimes, we need to take charge, to stand up wearing pink feathers - to show ourselves to the world in bold colour."
Why Drag? by Magnus Hastings
Synopsis: "For over a decade, Magnus Hastings has been photographing the world's greatest drag superstars and asking each of them a simple question: Why drag? The result is this mesmerizing volume in which the queens strut their stuff and reflect on their shared passion through a mixture of quips and philosophizing. Subjects include icons of reality TV and underground drag royalty, and photographs range from the divine to the trashy. Featuring the likes of Bianca Del Rio and Courtney Act, this collection is a beautiful celebration of drag as an art form and an exhilarating exploration of what drag means to its greatest artists."
Diary of a Drag Queen by Crystal and Tom Rasmussen
Synopsis: "In these pages, find glamour and gaffes on and off the stage, clarifying snippets of queer theory, terrifyingly selfish bosses, sex, quick sex, KFC binges, group sex, the kind of honesty that banishes shame, glimmers of hope, blazes of ambition, tender sex, mad dashes in last night's heels plus a full face of make-up, and a rom-com love story for the ages. This is where the unspeakable becomes the celebrated. This is the diary of a drag queen—one dazzling, hilarious, true performance of a real, flawed, extraordinary life."
BURGERZ by Travis Alabanza
Synopsis: ‘I was called faggot sixty times in public last year. Fifteen different men tried to follow me home. A woman told her child not to sit next to me on the tube. And I landed in the national papers after being thrown out of a TopShop changing room in Manchester.' Hurled words. Thrown objects. Dodged burgers.'
"BURGERZ asks the questions: What does the trans body do in order to survive? And how can one become a protector, rather than a bystander? Having carved out a place for themselves as one of the most prominent trans voices in the UK, Travis Alabanza presents a piece that is both timely and true to their style: both unsettling and powerful."
Life as a Unicorn by Amrou Al-Kadhi
Synopsis: "Life as a Unicorn is a hilarious yet devastating story of a search for belonging, following the painful and surprising process of transforming from a god-fearing Muslim boy to a queer drag queen, strutting the stage in seven-inch heels, and saying the things nobody else dares to."
Dragula by Ma'am Stoker
Synopsis: "In a land where the wolves howl 'yassss kween' and Bloody Marys are the only cocktail on offer, Jonathan Harker (a most basic b*tch) makes a series of horrifying discoveries at the House of Dragula. A battle between old queens draws fresh blood as the VAMPageant grudge match looms closer.
Will a new protege werk the cape? Will the old bat ever learn to contour? It's all to play for as these classic characters step out of the shadows and into the shade for a tale of unflinching death drops and the ultimate lip sync for your (after) life."
Boy Queen by Lester George
Synopsis: "Robin Cooper's life is falling apart. While his friends prepare to head off to University, Robin is looking at a pile of rejection letters from drama schools up and down the country, and facing a future without the people he loves the most. Everything seems like it's ending, and Robin is scrabbling to find his feet.
Unsure about what to do next and whether he has the talent to follow his dreams, he and his best friends go and drown their sorrows at a local drag show, where Robin realizes there might be a different, more sequinned path for him . . .
With a mother who won't stop talking, a boyfriend who won't acknowledge him and a best friend who is dying to cover him in glitter makeup, there's only one thing for Robin to do: bring it to the runway."