Lambda Literary Awards (also known as the "Lammies") are awarded yearly by the US-based Lambda Literary Foundation to published works which celebrate or explore LGBT themes. Categories include Humor, Romance and Biography. To qualify, a book must have been published in the United States in the year current to the award. The Lambda Literary Foundation states that its mission is "to celebrate LGBT literature and provide resources for writers, readers, booksellers, publishers, and librarians - the whole literary community."[1] The awards were instituted in 1988.
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Controversy
Bisexual Community/Bi Any Other Name
In 1992 despite requests from the bisexual community for a more appropriate and inclusive category, the groundbreaking bisexual anthology Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out[2] by Loraine Hutchins and Lani Kaahumanu was forced to compete (and lose) in the category "Lesbian Anthology".[3]
Led by BiNet USA.[4], the American Institute of Bisexuality and assisted by other bisexual organizations including BiPOL, Bialogue and a group of bisexual rights activists launched a multi-year struggle that eventually culminated in 2006 with the addition of a Bisexual category.
Transgender Community/The Man Who Would Be Queen
In 2004, the book The Man Who Would Be Queen: The Science of Gender-Bending and Transsexualism by the highly controversial researcher J. Michael Bailey was announced as a finalist in the Transgender category of the 2003 Awards.
Transpeople immediately protested the nomination and gathered thousands of petition signatures in opposition within a few days. After the petition, the Foundation's judges examined the book more closely, decided that they considered it transphobic and removed it from their list of finalists.[5] Within a year the executive director who had initially approved of the book's inclusion resigned.[6] Executive Director Charles Flowers stated, "Further, the Bailey incident revealed flaws in our awards nomination process, which I have completely overhauled since becoming the foundation’s executive director in January 2006."[7]
Latest winners
- Anthology: Our Caribbean, Thomas Glave, ed., Duke University Press
- Bisexual: Open, Jenny Block, Seal Press
- Children's/Young Adult: Out of the Pocket, Bill Konigsberg, E. P. Dutton Juvenile
- Drama: The Second Coming of Joan of Arc, Carolyn Gage, Outskirts Press
- Gay Debut Fiction: Finlater, Shawn Ruff, Quote Editions
- Gay Erotica: Best Gay Erotica 2009, edited by Richard Labonte & James Lear, Cleis Press
- Gay Fiction: We Disappear, Scott Heim, Harper Perennial
- Gay Memoir/Biography: Edward Carpenter: A Life of Liberty and Love, Sheila Rowbotham, Verso Books
- Gay Mystery: First You Fall, Scott Sherman, Alyson Books
- Gay Poetry (tie): Fire to Fire, Mark Doty, HarperCollins, and Now You're the Enemy, James Allen Hall, Univ. of Arkansas Press
- Gay Romance: Got 'til it's Gone, Larry Duplechan, Arsenal Pulp Press
- Lesbian Debut Fiction: The Bruise, Magdalena Zurawski, Fiction Collective Two/University of Alabama Press
- Lesbian Erotica: In Deep Waters 2: Cruising the Strip, Radclyffe and Karin Kallmaker, Bold Strokes Books
- Lesbian Fiction (tie): The Sealed Letter, Emma Donoghue, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and All the Pretty Girls, Chandra Mayor, Conundrum Press
- Lesbian Memoir/Biography: Sex Talks to Girls: A Memoir, Maureen Seaton, University of Wisconsin Press
- Lesbian Mystery: Whacked, Josie Gordon, Bella Books
- Lesbian Poetry: Love Belongs to Those Who Do the Feeling, Judy Grahn, Red Hen Press
- Lesbian Romance: The Kiss That Counted, Karin Kallmaker, Bella Books
- LGBT Studies: Criminal Intimacy: Prison and the Uneven History of Modern American Sexuality, Regina Kunzel, The University of Chicago Press
- Non-Fiction: Loving The Difficult, Jane Rule, Hedgerow Press
- Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror: Turnskin, Nicole Kimberling, Blind Eye Books
- Transgender: Intersex (For Lack of a Better Word), Thea Hillman, Manic D Press
See also
References
- ^ "News and Announcements". Lambda Literary Foundation. 2007. http://www.lambdaliterary.org/index.html. Retrieved on 2007-11-25.
- ^ "Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out Review". International Gay & Lesbian Review. http://gaybookreviews.info/review/2488/548. Retrieved on 2007-11-25.
- ^ "1991 Lambda Literary Awards Recipients". Lambda Literary Foundation. http://www.lambdaliterary.org/awards/previous_winners/paw_1988_1991.html#1991. Retrieved on 2007-11-25.
- ^ Curry, Wendy (2007). "What makes a book bisexual?". Curried Spam. BiNet USA. http://www.binetusa.org/curriedspam.html#bibook. Retrieved on 2007-11-25.
- ^ Letellier, Patrick (2004-03-16). "Group rescinds honor for disputed book". PlanetOut. http://www.planetout.com/news/article.html?2004/03/16/3. Retrieved on 2007-11-25.
- ^ Schwartz, Nomi (2005-06-16). "Lambda Literary Foundation Announces Major Changes". American Booksellers Association. http://news.bookweb.org/news/3606.html. Retrieved on 2007-11-25.
- ^ Flowers, Charles (September 20, 2007). Letter to the New York Times, Sept 20, 2007.
External links
- Lambda Literary Foundation
- Lesbian Mysteries features Lesbian Mystery Novels
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