Brokeback Mountain, Annie Proulx's sparely written story of the tragic love between two tough Wyoming ranch hands went straight to the hearts of thousands of readers, gay and straight, when it was first published in 1998.

Newly made into a film, it was an obvious choice for a list of books chosen as a starting point for a project to find Britain's favourite lesbian/gay novel. It will be launched in Manchester next week to coincide with the opening of the city's annual Pride celebrations.

The Big Gay Read, a follow-up to the BBC's Big Read, is intended to cross the sexuality divide and prompt a debate in reading groups, in internet chatrooms, in bars and over dinner tables, anywhere where people like talking about books.

Submissions for the winner, which need not be one of the volumes on the list, have to be in by February, with the top book announced at Manchester's Queer Up North festival in May.

The plan was hatched during discussions between librarians in Manchester and Salford and Cathy Bolton, a development worker with Commonword, a Manchester-based literature development and community publishing agency.

"We had decided to set up a reading group for lesbian and gay literature and they came up with the idea of the Big Gay Read," she said. "The original idea was to confine it to Manchester or the north-west. Then we decided to go national.

"Lesbian/gay literature is an important part of the lives of many people, especially in the coming out process. The first time a woman or man finds a reflection of what they are going through can often be in a book or a film. But until recently, there were very few books that could speak to them of their own experience."

The list, compiled mainly from recent fiction readily available, includes familiar and less well-known titles.

Alan Hollinghurst's The Line Of Beauty, winner of last year's Man Booker prize, is among the 21, as is Jeanette Winterson's Oranges are not the Only Fruit (set just 20 miles north of Manchester) and Jackie Kay's Trumpet, her first novel which told of a female jazz musician who led a professional life as a man.

Sarah Walters' Tipping The Velvet, made into a successful and sometimes controversial television series, and Armistead Maupin's celebrated Tales of the City are also present.

Books which may be less familiar include Stella Duffy's Calendar Girl featuring private investigator Saz Martin, who runs her business on a business enterprise scheme, and, one of Ms Bolton's favourites, The Monkey's Mask by Dorothy Porter. "It's in verse but very approachable," she said.

"I think the Big Gay Read is a fantastic idea," said John Malpass, chief executive of Queer Up North. "People are already discussing the list even though it is not officially out yet.

"It seems to have caught everyone's imagination.

"We don't want to confine ourselves to one group. This is about promoting lesbian and gay fiction to the public in general and about encouraging the reading habit across the board. Many books have already crossed over into the mainstream."

He hopes the website will feature discussion and interviews with authors and book nominations from celebrities.

"If the winner is available, we will invite him or her to the official announcement at the Queer Up North festival," he said.

Pushed to nominate a book not on the list, Mr Malpass suggested Tom Spanbauer's The Man Who Fell in Love With the Moon, the story of a boy growing up in Idaho who believes he has a native American mother who is a member of a third sex.

"I'm gutted it's not in print," he said.

Ms Bolton suggested Ruby Mae Brown's semi-autobiographical novel Rubyfruit Jungle, first published in 1973, which she said "made the prospect of being a lesbian quite a good idea".

Up for discussion

The Long Firm Jake Arnott

Around the Houses Amanda Boulter

A Home at the End of the World Michael Cunningham

Crocodile Soup Julia Darling

Calendar Girl Stella Duffy

Hallucinating Foucault Patricia Duncker

Middlesex Jeffrey Eugenides

Rough Music Patrick Gale

Carol Patricia Highsmith

The Line of Beauty Alan Hollingworth

Trumpet Jackie Kay

Tales of the City Armistead Maupin

At Swim, Two Boys Jamie O'Neill

The Monkey's Mask Dorothy Porter

Brokeback Mountain Annie Proulx

Desert of the Heart Jane Rule

Funny Boy Shyam Selvadurai

Story of the Night Colm Tobin

Tipping the Velvet Sarah Waters

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit Jeannette Winterson