Writing Below the Belt (1995)
Michael's first book was a groundbreaking study of erotica and popular culture as seen through the eyes of fourteen of America's best erotic authors, as well as a devastating indictment of censorship in literature and the arts. Released during the era of Vancouver's Little Sister's Bookstore court case against Canada Customs, the book created a critical firestorm. "Issues of censorship, creative freedom, and human rights are at the heart of this book," said Boudoir Noir. "Rowe has created a complex layering of social criticisms aimed at the forces of creative and sexual repression." The James White Review noted that "Belt has massive potential appeal to thinkers and readers, advocates and activists alike. In reference to the human condition, Rowe and company have left nary a stone unturned."

Sons of Darkness (1996)
Like Daughters of Darkness and Dark Angels, Pam Keesey's successful series of lesbian vampire stories from Cleis Press, Sons of Darkness gathers first-rate horror fiction that reveals the inherent homoeroticism of the vampire myth.

Brothers of the Night (1997)
In Anne Rice's introduction to Interview with a Vampire—a film with a deeply homoerotic undercurrent, no matter what anyone says—the author and screenwriter says that the film upon which her novel is based isn't "just about vampires," it's really about "us." Well, Brothers of the Night is really about vampires. That's precisely why it's about us. For the vampire's story, like our own stories, celebrates the erotic power of ritual bloodletting-even, and perhaps especially, in a cultural landscape blasted by AIDS and social alienation.

Looking for Brothers (1999)
Michael's first collection of award-winning essays and journalism, offering a multitude of perspectives on the common threads that run through gay men's lives, prompted Hero magazine to note that his "concise presentation of facts without hyperbole is a model for the type of journalism many American writers have long since forgotten." Booklist praised the book for supporting "the notion of the universality of human experience," adding that the book would "touch as well as provoke all readers, regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, or nationality, who are interested in well-spoken ideas and opinions."

Queer Fear (2000) --  Finalist, 2000 Lambda Literary Award for Science/Fiction/Fantasy/Horror
A striking and groundbreaking collection of gay horror fiction by some of today's hottest authors and talented newcomers, covering a wide spectrum of creatures of the night and all manners of urban terrors. These dark, often disturbing tales expand the boundaries of the horror genre: the sexuality of the protagonists is a point of reference for the "horror" of otherness that defines and, at times, divides us.

The Most Brilliant Darkness (2002)
Interviews with the brightest stars of the horror fiction field.

Queer Fear II (2002) -- Winner, 2002 Lambda Literary Award for Science Fiction/Fantasy, and Horror and Finalist, 2002 Lambda Literary Award for Fiction Anthologies
This second volume includes among its stories new work by some stars of the previous volume—International Horror Guild Award winners Gemma Files and Michael Marano, Bram Stoker Award winners David Nickle and Edo van Belkom, and screenwriter Ron Oliver. Newer writers like Bram Stoker Award-winner Brett Savory, novelist Sephera Giron, and classic British ghost story author Steve Duffy make their queer debuts in this award-winning volume.

Best Gay Erotica 2003 (2002) -- Finalist, 2002 Lambda Literary Award for Erotica
Each year, series editor Richard Labonte selects an author from the mainstream gay literary establishment to review the year's best gay erotica to choose the final collection that makes up Cleis's award-winning, bestselling series. Previous judges have included such luminaries Felice Picano, D. Travers Scott, Douglas Sadownick, and Scott Heim. In 2002, Labonte asked Michael to select the year's best erotic writing. Representing a wide range of styles and voices, Michael's selctions appear in this volume along with his never-before published essay, "Red Nights: Erotica and the Shape of Men's Desire."