Lambda Literary is thrilled to announce Stephanie Davies as the 2024 winner of the Jeanne Córdova Prize for Lesbian/Queer Nonfiction.
In memory of the beloved activist and author, the Córdova Prize honors lesbian/queer-identified women and trans/gender non-conforming nonfiction writers. The award goes to a writer committed to nonfiction work that captures the depth and complexity of lesbian/queer life, culture, and/or history. Winners have published at least one book and show promise in continuing to produce groundbreaking and challenging work. The award was established in 2018 and includes a cash prize of $2,500.
About Stephanie Davies
A UK native, Stephanie Davies moved to New York in 1991, where her first job was at the LGBTQ bookstore, A Different Light, in the West Village. She went on to teach English Composition at Long Island University in Brooklyn, and led research trips to Cuba, including an LGBTQ delegation that connected her to a nascent queer movement in Havana, which features in her book-in-progress, Other Queers Like Me.
Before moving to New York, Stephanie co-founded A Queer Tribe, a grassroots LGBTQ magazine in Brighton, England. Earlier, at the age of 22, she joined Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp, set up outside a US military base in the English countryside to protest US nuclear missiles on UK soil. This life-changing experience introduced her to her first female lover and is at the heart of her first book, the coming of age memoir Other Girls Like Me.
Today, after working in communications for Doctors Without Borders for many years, Stephanie is a speechwriter at UNAIDS, the United Nations’ agency leading the global response to the AIDS pandemic. She divides her time between Brooklyn and the Hudson Valley, New York where she lives with her wife, Bea, and her rescue pitbull, Pongo.
On Davies’ work, the judges remarked:
Stephanie Davies’ book, Other Girls Like Me, recalls the queer feminist culture, community, music, activism, and protest of the 70s and 80s with humor and wit. Her work in progress is a moving and promising work of intimacy and friendship in the face of loss. We are excited for her future projects.
