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.”
The winners for each category are:
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
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!