Finalists for the Lambda Literary Awards (“Lammys”) were announced on Wednesday (March 6), including books from major mainstream publishers, academic presses, both long-established and new LGBT publishers and emerging publish-on-demand technologies.
Now in its 25th year, the Lambda Literary Awards celebrate achievement in LGBT writing for books published in 2012. Winners will be announced during a ceremony Monday, June 3, at The Great Hall in New York City.
Lambda Literary Foundation set a record in 2013 for both the number of LGBT books submitted for Lammy consideration, 687, and the number of publishers participating, 332. This beats the record-setting numbers in 2012 of 600 titles by over 250 publishers and is the fourth consecutive year of growth in submissions and publishers.
“For four consecutive years we have broken the records for both book nominees and publishers, which is extremely heartening in a time of uncertainty for the publishing industry as a whole, and LGBT publishing, in particular,” said LLF Board Member and 2013 Lammy Co-Chair S. Chris Shirley.
More than 90 literary professionals, including booksellers, book reviewers, librarians, authors, and previous Lammy winners and finalists volunteered hours of reading, critical thinking and discussion to select the finalists in 22 categories.
“The Lammy Awards are made possible, year after year, because of the dedication of volunteer judges who read, carefully consider, and deliberate on submitted books before selecting our finalists,” said Lambda Literary Executive Director Tony Valenzuela.
Tickets for the Lambda Literary Awards ceremony and after-party go on sale today. For information, visit the Lambda Literary website and join the conversation by following the hashtag #Lammys on Twitter.
For the month of March only, early bird tickets are $100 for the ceremony and $175 for the ceremony plus after-party. Prices will increase by $25 beginning April 1.
Pioneer Award honorees, the master of ceremonies and presenters will be announced the second week of April.
Here are the finalists for the 25th Annual Lambda Literary Awards:
Transgender Fiction
1. Being Emily, Rachel Gold, Bella Books
2. The Collection: Short Fiction From The Transgender Vanguard, Edited by Tom Léger and Riley MacLeod, Topside Press
3. Dialectic of the Flesh, Roz Kaveney, A Midsummer Night’s Press
4. First Spring Grass Fire, Rae Spoon, Arsenal Pulp Press
5. Offspring, Michael Quadland, Red Hen Press
Transgender Nonfiction
1. Seasonal Velocities, Ryka Aoki, Trans-Genre Press
2. Teeny Weenies and Other Short Subjects, Matt Kailey, Outskirts Press
3. Transfeminist Perspectives in and beyond Transgender and Gender Studies, edited by Anne Enke, Temple University Press
4. Transposes, Dylan Edwards, Northwest Press
Bisexual Literature
1. Axel Hooley’s Death Watch List, Scotty-Miguel Sandoe, CreateSpace
2. Girlfag: A Life Told In Sex and Musicals, Janet W. Hardy, Beyond Binary Books
3. History of a Pleasure Seeker, Richard Mason, Random House / Alfred A. Knopf
4. In One Person, John Irving, Simon & Schuster
5. My Awesome Place: The Autobiography of Cheryl B, Cheryl Burke, Topside Signature
Gay General Fiction
1. A Horse Named Sorrow, Trebor Healey, University of Wisconsin Press
2. The Absolutist, John Boyne, Other Press
3. Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club, Benjamin Alire Saenz, Cinco Puntos Press
4. The Lava in My Bones, Barry Webster, Arsenal Pulp Press
5. Lovers, Daniel Arsand, Europa Editions
6. The Paternity Test, Michael Lowenthal, University of Wisconsin Press
7. Sighs Too Deep For Words, William Jack Sibley, Createspace
8. Spreadeagle, Kevin Killian, Publication Studio
9. These Things Happen, Richard Kramer, Unbridled Books
10. Unbuilt Projects, Paul Lisicky, Four Way Books
Gay Memoir/Biography
1. The Collected Writings of Joe Brainard, Ron Padgett, editor, The Library of America
2. Fire in the Belly, Cynthia Carr, Bloomsbury
3. Intolerable, Kamal Al-Solaylee, HarperCollins Canada
4. Midstream: An Unfinished Memoir, Reynolds Price, Scribner
5. My Husband and My Wives: A Gay Man’s Odyssey, Charles Rowan Beye, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
6. Twelve Views from the Distance, Mutsuo Takahashi, author, Jeffrey Angles, translator, University of Minnesota Press
Gay Mystery
1. Bokassa’s Last Apostle, Rod Shelton, Paradise Press UK
2. Dos Equis, Anthony Bidulka, Insomniac Press
3. Fires of London, Janice Law, MysteriousPress.com/Open Road
4. Lake on the Mountain: A Dan Sharp Mystery, Jeffrey Round, Dundurn
5. The Yellow Canary, Steve Neil Johnson, Clutching Hand Books
Gay Poetry
1. Appetite, Aaron Smith, University of Pittsburgh Press
2. He Do the Gay Man in Different Voices, Stephen S. Mills, Sibling Rivalry Press
3. Looking for the Gulf Motel, Richard Blanco, University of Pittsburgh Press
4. Nocturnes of the Brothel of Ruin, Patrick Donnelly, Four Way Books
5. Slow Lightning, Eduardo C. Corral, Yale University Press
Gay Romance
1. The Celestial, Barry Brennessel, MLR Press
2. Don’t Let Me Go, J.H. Trumble, Kensington
3. Kamikaze Boys, Jay Bell, Jay Bell Books
4. The Nothingness of Ben, Brad Boney, Dreamspinner Press
5. Toughskins, William Masswa, Bold Strokes Books
Gay Erotica
1. Coming To: A Collection of Erotic and Other Epiphanies, Lukas Hand, Lethe Press
2. The Facialist, Mykola Dementiuk, JMS Books
3. Raising Hell: Demonic Gay Erotica, Todd Gregory, ed., Bold Strokes Books
4. Secret Societies, William Holden, Bold Strokes Books
5. Strawberries and Other Erotic Fruits, Jerry L. Wheeler, Lethe Press
Lesbian General Fiction
1. Carry the One, Carol Anshaw, Simon & Schuster
2. The Last Nude, Ellis Avery, Riverhead Books
3. The Raven’s Heart, Jesse Blackadder, Bywater Books
4. Theft: A Novel, BK Loren, Counterpoint Press
5. Wonder Girls, Catherine Jones, Simon & Schuster UK
6. The World We Found: A Novel, Thrity Umrigar, HarperCollins Publishers / Harper
Lesbian Memoir/Biography
1. A Simple Revolution: The Making of an Activist Poet, Judy Grahn, Aunt Lute Books
2. All We Know: Three Lives, Lisa Cohen, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
3. Are You My Mother?: A Comic Drama, Alison Bechdel, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
4. Before the Rain, Luisita Lopez Torregrosa, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
5. The Gentrification of the Mind: Witness to a Lost Imagination, Sarah Schulman, University of California Press
6. Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?, Jeanette Winterson, Grove/Atlantic
Lesbian Mystery
1. Ill Will, J.M. Redmann, Bold Strokes Books
2. Jacob’s War, C.P. Rowlands, Bold Strokes Books
3. Lemon Reef, Robin Silverman, Bold Strokes Books
4. Molly: House on Fire, R. E. Bradshaw, R. E. Bradshaw Books
5. Rest for the Wicked, Ellen Hart, Minotaur Books
Lesbian Poetry
1. fault tree, kathryn l. pringle, Omnidawn Publishing
2. Letters to Kelly Clarkson, Julia Bloch, Sidebrow
3. Sea and Fog, Etel Adnan, Nightboat Books
4. Snowflake/different streets, Eileen Myles, Wave Books
5. wine for a shotgun, Marty McConnell, EM Press
Lesbian Romance
1. Appointment with a Smile, Kieran York, Blue Feather Books
2. Dark Wings Descending, Lesley Davis, Bold Strokes Books
3. Love Match, Ali Vali, Bold Strokes Books
4. Month of Sundays, Yolanda Wallace, Bold Strokes Books
5. Runaway, Anne Laughlin, Bold Strokes Books
6. She Left Me Breathless, Trin Denise, Ragz Books USA
7. Sometime Yesterday, Yvonne Heidt, Bold Strokes Books
8. Survived by Her Longtime Companion, Chris Paynter, Blue Feather Books
9. Tactical Pursuit, Lynette Mae, Regal Crest Publishing
10. Third, Q. Kelly, Ride the Rainbow Books
Lesbian Erotica
1. Girls Who Score: Hot Lesbian Erotica, Edited by Ily Goyanes, Cleis Press
2. The Harder She Comes: Butch/Femme Erotica, D.L. King, Cleis Press
3. One Saved to the Sea, Catt Kingsgrave, Clasp Editions; An Imprint of Circlet Press
LGBT Anthology
1. For Colored Boys, Keith Boykin, Magnus Books
2. Here Come the Brides!: Reflections on Lesbian Love and Marriage, Edited by Audrey Bilger & Michele Kort, Seal Press
3. No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics, Justin Hall – Editor, Fantagraphics Books
4. Why Are Faggots So Afraid of Faggots? Flaming Challenges to Masculinity, Objectification, and the Desire to Conform, Edited by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore, AK Press
LGBT Children’s/Young Adult
1. Adaptation, Malinda Lo, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
2. The Adventure of Tulip, Birthday Wish Fairy, S. Bear Bergman and Suzy Malik, Flamingo Rampant
3. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Benjamin Alire Saenz, Simon & Schuster/ Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
4. Ask the Passengers, A.S. King, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
5. Beautiful Music for Ugly Children, Kirstin Cronn-Mills, Flux Books
6. Every Day, David Levithan, Knopf Books for Young Readers
7. Kiss the Morning Star, Elissa Janine Hoole, Amazon Children’s Publishing
8. The Miseducation of Cameron Post, emily m. danforth, Balzer + Bray
9. Personal Effects, E.M. Kokie, Candlewick Press
10. Silhouette of a Sparrow, Molly Beth Griffin, Milkweed Editions
LGBT Debut Fiction
1. Desire: Tales of New Orleans, William Sterling Walker, Chelsea Station Editions
2. The Dream of Doctor Bantam, Jeanne Thornton, OR Books
3. The Evening Hour, Carter Sickels, Bloomsbury
4. Incidental Music, Lydia Perovic, Inanna Publications
5. Love, In Theory: Ten Stories, E.J. Levy, University of Georgia Press/Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction
6. Makara: a novel, Kristen Ringman, Handtype Press, LLC
7. Monstress, Lysley Tenorio, HarperCollins Publishers / Ecco
8. People Who Disappear, Alex Leslie, Freehand Books (an imprint of Broadview Press)
9. The Summer We Got Free, Mia McKenzie, BGD Press
10. Three Cubic Feet, Lania Knight, Main Street Rag
LGBT Drama
1. Edith Can Shoot Things And Hit Them, A. Rey Pamatmat, Samuel French, Inc.
2. Falling In Time, C. E. Gatchalian, J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing/Scirocco Drama
3. The Myopia and Other Plays by David Greenspan, Marc Robinson, University of Michigan Press
4. A Strange and Separate People, Jon Marans, Chelsea Station Editions
5. Thunder Above, Deeps Below, A. Rey Pamatmat, Samuel French, Inc.
LGBT Nonfiction
1. Communists and Perverts under the Palms: The Johns Committee in Florida, 1956-1965, Stacy Braukman, University Press of Florida
2. Eminent Outlaws: The Gay Writers Who Changed America, Christopher Bram, Hachette Book Group/Twelve
3. Far From The Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity, Andrew Solomon, Scribner
4. Flagrant Conduct: The Story of Lawrence v. Texas, Dale Carpenter, W. W. Norton & Company
5. I Must Resist: Bayard Rustin’s Life in Letters, Michael Long, Editor, City Lights
6. Israel/Palestine and the Queer International, Sarah Schulman, Duke University Press
7. Out Spoken: A Vito Russo Reader Reel One and Reel Two, Jeffrey Schwarz, Mark Thompson and Bo Young, White Crane Books
8. Real Man Stories, T Coooper, McSweeney’s
LGBT Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror
1. Beyond Binary: Genderqueer and Sexually Fluid Speculative Fiction, Brit Mandelo, Lethe Press
2. Chocolatiers of the High Winds: A Gay Steampunk Romance, H.B. Kurtzwilde, Clasp Editions; An Imprint of Circlet Press
3. Green Thumb, Tom Cardamone, Lethe Press
4. Heiresses of Russ 2012: the Year’s Best Lesbian Speculative Fiction, Connie Wilkins and Steve Berman, Lethe Press
5. In the Now, Kelly Sinclair, Blue Feather Books
6. Night Shadows: Queer Horror, Greg Herren and J.M. Redmann, eds., Bold Strokes Books
7. The Survivors, Sean Eads, Lethe Press
LGBT Studies
1. Acts of Gaiety: LGBT Performance and the Politics of Pleasure, Sara Warner, University of Michigan Press
2. Depression: A Public Feeling, Ann Cvetkovich, Duke University Press
3. Gay Press, Gay Power: The Growth of LGBT Community Newspapers in America, Tracy Baim, Prairie Avenue Productions and Windy City Times
4. How To Be Gay, David M. Halperin, Belknap Press of Harvard University Press
5. The Invention of Heterosexual Culture, Louis-Georges Tin, The MIT Press
6. On Making Sense: Queer Race Narratives of Intelligibility, Ernesto Javier Martínez, Stanford University Press
7. Out of Africa: LGBT Organizing in Namibia and South Africa, Ashley Currier, University of Minnesota Press
8. Performing Queer Latinidad: Dance, Sexuality, Politics, Ramón H. Rivera-Servera, University of Michigan Press
9. Pray the Gay Away The Extraordinary Lives of Bible Belt Gays, Bernadette C. Barton, NYU Press
10. South Africa and the Dream of Love to Come: Queer Sexuality and the Struggle for Freedom, Brenna M. Munro, University of Minnesota Press
