Thanks to the Trump administration, LGBTQ+ books are getting harder to sell.

As Surina Venkat reported at The Hill this morning, both authors and publishing executives have detected “a notable chill in the market for queer stories.” Children’s books in particular are feeling the squeeze.

Several agents have received rejections citing the hostile climate. In a novel admission, a publisher recently told Rebecca Podos of Neighborhood Literary that “it’s difficult to place queer books in stores,” considering the prevalence of anti-DEI book bans.

As Pink News’ Sophie Perry observed, those bans were designed to hit the queer community. “Seven of 10 books banned last year had LGBTQ+ characters, while the top two—All Boys Aren’t Blue, by George M Johnson and Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer—are memoirs by LGBTQ+ authors which have previously been banned or had their sale restricted in the US.”

The recent Supreme Court decision allowing a parent to “opt out” of queer reading materials on their child’s behalf certainly didn’t help free any minds on this front. And it’s safe to say we’re experiencing the intended effects of last January’s executive order forbidding “radical indoctrination” at public schools.

But it’s still wild to see the political climate observably affecting the market for children’s and YA books with queer themes and characters.

Publishing professionals say the youth-y end of the industry has grown cautious because “a majority of sales for children’s and young adult books are through the ‘institutional market'”—i.e., wholesalers that sell books to schools and libraries. Such companies are compelled by the bans and legislation in a way that private schools and indie booksellers are not.

Indie publishing houses that specialize in diverse literature, like Levine Querido, also trace an existential threat directly back to the Trump administration. While individual authors like Adib Khorram (Darius the Great is Not Okay) have noticed dips in royalties, and changes in pitch and acquisition language that diminishes queer themes and characters.

If the climate persists, Khorram told The Hill, many writers will need to diversify their income streams.

One silver lining? Booksellers around the country assert that readers of all ages are still desperate for queer literature. So the writers have their work cut out.

But if you, reader, needed another reason to buy a book today? Consider this a call to support queer kids’ books.