31st Annual Lambda Literary Award Winners Announced
Author: Edit Team
June 4, 2019
Lambda Literary Award winners were celebrated at a star-studded ceremony last night in New York City at the NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts.
Once again, the winners of this year’s Lambda Literary Awards demonstrate how LGBTQ writing is far from monolithic. Across twenty-four categories, one finds the range of queer brilliance and a whole new set of books for your to-read list.
Please join us in celebrating the following authors and their literary accomplishments.
Along with the 25 book award winners, three special honors were also given to Alexander Chee, Masha Gessen, and Barbara Smith. Alexander Chee received Lambda’s Trustee Award for his immeasurable contributions to culture as a novelist, essayist, activist, and teacher, which was presented on stage by award-winning actor Anthony Rapp. Masha Gessen received the Visionary Award for their work advancing public awareness around the global threat of totalitarianism, which was presented by HuffPost Editor-in-Chief Lydia Polgreen. Barbara Smith received the Publishing Professional Award for a lifetime of work that has profoundly shaped our collective understanding of the interconnections between race, class, and gender. Smith’s award was presented by the poet, educator, and activist Cheryl Clarke.
This year’s presenters also included Executive Director of the Academy of American Poets Jen Benka, artist and drag star Dusty Ray Bottoms, comic and graphic artist Jennifer Camper, author of Boy Erased Garrard Conley, writer and editor of TheBody.com Kenyon Farrow, Lambda Award-winning author of Abandon Me Melissa Febos, award-winning writer and trans advocate Tyler Ford, author and co-founder of Mobile Homecoming Trust Living Library of Queer Black Brilliance, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, previous Lambda Award winner for Dyke Life Karla Jay, author Torrey Peters, voice of Linda on the Emmy-winning comedy Bob’s Burgers John Roberts, award-winning poet Paul Tran, legendary film producer (Poison, Boys Don’t Cry, Mildred Pierce) Christine Vachon, and Executive Editor of Out Magazine Raquel Willis. This year’s host was the acclaimed performer and Lammy award-winning author Mx. Justin Vivian Bond.
Please share this news and celebrate your favorite authors and moments from last night on social media with the hashtag #Lammys.
For media inquiries, contact Alyson Sinclair at alyson.sinclair@nectarliterary.com.
31ST ANNUAL LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD WINNERS:
Lesbian Fiction
The Tiger Flu, Larissa Lai, Arsenal Pulp Press
Gay Fiction
Jonny Appleseed, Joshua Whitehead, Arsenal Pulp Press
Bisexual Fiction
Disoriental, Négar Djavadi, Translated by Tina Kover, Europa Editions
Bisexual Nonfiction
Out of Step: A Memoir, Anthony Moll, Mad Creek Books / The Ohio State University Press
Transgender Fiction
Little Fish, Casey Plett, Arsenal Pulp Press
LGBTQ Nonfiction
Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry, Imani Perry, Beacon Press
Transgender Nonfiction
Histories of the Transgender Child, Julian Gill-Peterson, University of Minnesota Press
Lesbian Poetry
Each Tree Could Hold a Noose or a House, Ru Puro, New Issues Poetry & Prose
Gay Poetry
Indecency, Justin Phillip Reed, Coffee House Press
Bisexual Poetry
We Play a Game, Duy Doan, Yale University Press
Transgender Poetry
lo terciario / the tertiary, Raquel Salas Rivera, Timeless, Infinite Light
Lesbian Mystery
A Study in Honor: A Novel, Claire O’Dell, HarperCollins / HarperVoyager
Gay Mystery
Late Fees: A Pinx Video Mystery, Marshall Thornton, Kenmore Books
Lesbian Memoir/Biography
Chronology, Zahra Patterson, Ugly Duckling Presse
Gay Memoir/Biography
No Ashes in the Fire: Coming of Age Black and Free in America, Darnell L.
Moore, Bold Type Books
Lesbian Romance
Beowulf For Cretins: A Love Story, Ann McMan, Bywater Books
Gay Romance
Crashing Upwards, S.C. Wynne, self-published
LGBTQ Erotica
Miles & Honesty in SCFSX!, Blue Delliquanti & Kazimir Lee, self-published
LGBTQ Anthology—Fiction
As You Like It: The Gerald Kraak Anthology Volume II, The Other Foundation, Jacana Media
LGBTQ Anthology—Nonfiction
Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture, Roxane Gay, HarperCollins / Harper Perennial
LGBTQ Children’s/Young Adult
Hurricane Child, Kacen Callender, Scholastic / Scholastic Press
LGBTQ Drama
Draw the Circle, Mashuq Mushtaq Deen, Dramatists Play Service
LGBTQ Graphic Novels
The Lie and How We Told It, Tommi Parrish, Fantagraphics Books
LGBTQ SF/F/Horror
The Breath of the Sun, Isaac R. Fellman, Aqueduct
LGBTQ Studies
Toxic Silence: Race, Black Gender Identity, and Addressing the Violence Against Black Transgender Women in Houston, William T. Hoston, Peter Lang International Academic Publishers
2019 Corporate Sponsors
Platinum Level: Gap Inc.
Gold Level: HarperCollins Publishers · Macmillan Publishers · Scholastic
Ketel One Vodka · Stone Soup Community Press
Silver Level: Barnes & Noble · HBO · Penguin Random House · Simon & Schuster
MetroPlus Health Plan
Bronze Level: Bold Strokes Books · Bywater Books
Champion Underwriters
The Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency · KG MacGregor
Lambda Literary Board of Trustees
President, Amy Scholder · Vice-President, Caroline Young
Treasurer, Darla Baker · Secretary, David Groff
Tamika Butler · Steve Coulter · Robert Guinsler · Mischa Haider
Kimberly Hoover · Ellen LaPointe · Rakesh Satyal · Christine Svendsen
2019 New York City Host Committee
Ann Aptaker · Larry Burnett · Garrard Conley · Andrew Durbin · Brian Gentes
Scott Gerace · Serkan Gorkemli · David Groff · Robert Guinsler · Kimberly Hoover
Phillip Howze · Michele Karlsberg · Theodore Kerr Elizabeth Koke · Erin Markey
Adam Rathe · David Roe · Rakesh Satyal · Karen Schechner · Amy Scholder
S. Chris Shirley · Rachel Simon · Parrish Turner · Kent D. Wolf
Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter, and follow the hashtag #Lammys.
