Lambda Literary is delighted to announce Dr. Remi Recchia as the inaugural winner of the 2024 Denneny Award for Editorial Excellence!
The Denneny Award for Editorial Excellence is named in honor of Michael Denneny, who founded the first ever LGBTQ+ imprint at a major publishing house, was essential in the publishing of literature dealing with the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and so generously shared his talents with writers right up until the end of his life. The award will go to an editor whose commitment to the publication of LGBTQ+ writers and literature contributes significantly to the advancement of the LGBTQ+ community. The Denneny Award for Editorial Excellence is the only editorial award that not only recognizes the support provided by editors to the literary community, but also the importance of editors in the advancement of a social movement. The winner will receive a cash prize of $2,500.
About Dr. Remi Recchia
Remi Recchia (he/him) is a trans poet, essayist, and editor from Kalamazoo, Michigan. A five-time Pushcart Prize nominee, Remi’s work has appeared in World Literature Today, Best New Poets 2021, and Prairie Schooner, among others. He is the author of seven books, most recently Addiction Apocalypse (Texas Review Press, forthcoming). Remi has been a Tin House Scholar, Thomas Lux Scholar, and Poetry Foundation grant reviewer. He holds an MFA in poetry from Bowling Green State University and a PhD in English-Creative Writing from Oklahoma State University.
On Recchia’s work, the judges stated:
Judge 1: I’m excited and honored to put forth the recommendation of Remi Recchia as the inaugural recipient of the Denneny Prize. Remi’s gifted eye and hand seems to most closely mirror the legacy the award is meant to commemorate; and the humbling number of nominations proves that the feeling is widespread across many, multiple communities. Remi’s work supports and uplifts creative epicenters often overlooked by the literary world, nurturing writers who otherwise might get passed over. This, we feel, is worth recognizing and I truly can’t wait to see how else his impact expands.
Judge 2: From multiple nominators, one quality about Remi Recchia’s work is unmistakable: he is a devoted and dedicated editor who works to build community and raise the voices of queer writers with energy and passion. Remi invites and encourages conversation and different perspectives, much like Michael Denneny in his work to advance pressing conversations about the struggles that queer communities face, and Remi is creating that space for writers to express themselves while demonstrating—as an editor, a poet, a teacher—how they can hone their craft while working to promote social change. Positioning himself as a driving presence of editorial change in publishing, Remi Recchia is most deserving of the inaugural Denneny Award for Editorial Excellence, and I am very excited for the expansion of his portfolio highlighting LGBTQ+ voices.
