This year marks the 28th Annual Lambda Literary Awards, also known as Lammys. Lambda Literary reports it was a record breaking year with 933 submissions from 321 mainstream and independent publishers. Kudos to the “literary professionals” (made up of authors, previous Lammy winners, booksellers, and more) who trekked through hours of reading to select the finalists. The awards are broken up into 25 categories, introducing the Transgender Poetry category this year. The winners will be announced on June 6, 2016, at a ceremony in New York City.
The Lambda Literary Awards started in 1989 to honor published work exploring LGBT life and arts. “In doing so,” says Lambda Literary Board President KG MacGregor, “we also elevate the lives of those who find themselves authentically portrayed in our stories.”
Tony Valenzuela, Lambda Literary Executive Director, vehemently thanked the judges for committing their time and efforts into finding Lammy finalists, and highlighted that “being nominated for a Lammy is an outstanding achievement among such a crowded field of submissions and within the LGBTQ writing community rich with talent.”
Take a look at some of the finalists:
Lesbian Fiction
Apocalypse Baby by Virginia Despentes
Blue Talk and Love by Mecca Jamilah Sullivan
The Cherokee Rose by Tiya Miles (inc)
The First Bad Man by Miranda July
Jam! on the Vine: A Novel by LaShonda Katrice Barnett
Like a Woman by Debra Busman
Thérèse and Isabelle by Violette Leduc
Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparatha
Gay Fiction
Breathing Lessons by Andy Sinclair
The Early Stories of Truman Capote by Truman Capote
God in Pink by Hasan Namir
Immaculate Blue by Paul Russell
JD: A Novel by Mark Merlis
A Poet of the Invisible World by Michael Golding
The Rise and Fall of the Yellow House by John Whittier Treat
Still Life Las Vegas by James Sie
Bisexual Literature
Irrepressible: The Jazz Age Life of Henriette Bingham by Emily Bingham
The Life and Death of Sophie Stark by Anna North
The Gap of Time by Jeanette Winterson
My Riastrad by Kevin Hogan
Eat My Heart Out by Zoe Pilger
Transgender Fiction
Defiant by Michael Scott Monje, Jr.
Lost Boi by Sassafras Lowery
Tiny Pieces of Skull, or a Lesson in Manners by Roz Kaven
LGBT Non-Fiction
Considering Hate: Violence, Goodness, and Justice in American Culture and Politics by Kay Whitlock and Michael Bronski
Fading Scars: My Queer Disability History by Corbatt Joan O’Toole
Galileo’s Middle Finger: Heretics, Activists, and the Search for Justice in Science by Alice Dreger
The Gay Revolution: The Story of Struggle by Lilian Faderman
Modern Families: Stories of Extraordinary Journey to Kinship by Joshua Gamson
Namibia’s Rainbow Project by Robert Lorway
“No One Helped”: Kitty Genovese, New York City, and the Myth of Urban Apathy by Marcia M. Gallo
What Color is Your Hoodie? Essays on Black Gay Identity by Jarett Neal
The Lambda Literary Awards has opened up ticket sales for the ceremony, available on its website.
Additional categoies can be viewed on the Lambda Literary site, and include: LGBT Debut Fiction; Transgender Nonfiction; Lesbian Poetry; Gay Poetry; Transgender Poetry; Lesbian Mystery; Gay Mystery; Lesbian Memoir/Biography; Gay Memoir/Biography; Lesbian Romance, Gay Romance; Lesbian Erotica; Gay Erotica; LGBT Anthology; LGBT Children’s/Young Adult, LGBT Drama; LGBT Graphic Novels; LGBT SF/F horror; and LGBT Studies.