Lambda Literary Awards Draw 500 Guests; Winners Announced Recognizing LGBT Literature

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John Irving
John Irving accepts the Bridge Builder’s Award (Photo by Tony Valenzuela)

The 25th Annual Lambda Literary Awards took place Monday, June 4 in New York with over 500 guests gathering from the worlds of television, film, politics, religion and theatre to celebrate LGBT literature.

As was announced in April, John Irving, Cherrie Moraga and Augusten Burroughs received the Bridge Builder’s Award, the Pioneer Award and the Award for Excellence in Literature, respectively. More information about the writers and their awards can be found here.

Awards were given out in gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender categories, and overall awards were presented for best LGBT fiction, non-fiction, anthology, etc.

Award presenters included Frank Bruni, Ingrid Abrams, Justin Vivian Bond, Nick Burd, Jonathan Capehart, Stacey D’Erasmo, David France, Deborah Gregory, Nina Hartley, Amber Hollilbaugh, Karla Jay, Randy Jones, James Lecesne, Deacon Maccubbin, Jim Bennett, Keith Price, Peter Staley, Kim Stolz, Edmund White and Jacqueline Woodson.

This year, which was hosted by comedian Kate Clinton and included a live performance of “At Seventeen” by Janis Ian, marked the first time in which transgender people were honored in the category of “transgender literature.”

Janis Ian
Janis Ian performs “At Seventeen” at the Lambda Literary Awards (Photo by Tony Valenzuela)

The winners for each category are:

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Bisexual (2 winners; 1 fiction, 1 nonfiction)
“In One Person” by John Irving
“My Awesome Place: The Autobiography of Cheryl B” by Cheryl Burke

Gay General Fiction
“Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club” by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Gay Memoir/Biography
“Fire in the Belly” by Cynthia Carr

Gay Mystery
“Lake on the Mountain: A Dan Sharp Mystery” by Jeffrey Round

Gay Poetry
“He Do the Gay Man in Different Voices” by Stephen S. Mills

Gay Romance
“Kamikaze Boys” by Jay Bell

Gay Erotica
“The Facialist” by Mykola Dementiuk

Lesbian General Fiction
“The World We Found: A Novel” by Thrity Umrigar

Lesbian Memoir/Biography
“Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?” by Jeanette Winterson

Lesbian Mystery
“Ill Will” by J.M. Redmann

Lesbian Poetry
“Sea and Fog” by Etel Adnan

Lesbian Romance
“Month of Sundays” by Yolanda Wallace

Lesbian Erotica
“The Harder She Comes: Butch/Femme Erotica” by D.L. King

LGBT Anthology
“No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics” edited by Justin Hall

LGBT Children’s/Young Adult
“Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” by Benjamin Alire Saenz

LGBT Debut Fiction
“The Summer We Got Free” by Mia McKenzie

LGBT Drama
“The Myopia and Other Plays by David Greenspan” by Marc Robinson

LGBT Nonfiction
“Flagrant Conduct: The Story of Lawrence v. Texas” by Dale Carpenter

LGBT Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror
“Green Thumb” by Tom Cardamone

LGBT Studies
“Performing Queer Latinidad: Dance, Sexuality, Politics” by Ramón H. Rivera-Servera

Transgender Fiction
“The Collection: Short Fiction From The Transgender Vanguard” edited by Tom Léger and Riley MacLeod

Transgender Nonfiction
“Transfeminist Perspectives in and Beyond Transgender and Gender Studies” edited by Finn Enke

Dr. James Duggins Mid-Career Novelist Prize
Nicola Griffith
Trebor Healey

Dr. Betty Berzon Emerging Writer Awards
Sassafras Lowrey
Carter Sickels

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chloe ross
11 years ago

Very proud and happy to congratulate my bud, Thrity Umrigar on her Lammy for “The World We Found”. Thrity, born in Bombay, and now in the United States, is one of my favorite writers for her depictions of life in Bombay, her portrayals of the Parsi community, the beauty of her language and the portrayal of enduring characters. Huge talent and well-deserved award. You go Thrity!