We are delighted to announce the finalists for the 2026 Lambda Literary Awards! This cycle marks 38 years of celebrating outstanding LGBTQ+ voices in literature. 76 judges reviewed 1,371 submissions across our 26 categories — the highest submission volume yet! It gives us such joy to see so very many vibrant voices and histories reflected in our submissions, and to know these stories are still being published, read, and celebrated even in our dangerously chaotic times.
“I am thrilled that we are yet again celebrating the works of so many talented authors and artists across our 26 categories,” says executive director J. Clapp. “This is my first full cycle witnessing the magic and diligent work that goes into the Lammys. At this point in history, I am thankful we can joyously fellowship with our community at Sony Hall on June 12th. Congratulations to all the finalists featured on our shortlist!”
Finalists will be celebrated and winners announced at our in-person ceremony on Friday, June 12 as we return to Sony Hall. Join us for an evening of joy, community, and books, naturally. Tickets are on sale now!
Without further delay, congratulations again to this year’s finalists:
BISEXUAL FICTION
- And I’ll Take Out Your Eyes // A. M. Sosa. Algonquin Books
- Beyond All Reasonable Doubt, Jesus Is Alive!: Stories // Melissa Lozada-Oliva. Astra House
- House of Beth // Kerry Cullen. Simon & Schuster
- Sympathy for Wild Girls // Demree McGhee. The Feminist Press
- The Salvage // Anbara Salam. Zando/Tin House
BISEXUAL NONFICTION
- Look Ma, No Hands // Gabrielle Drolet. McClelland & Stewart
- Reading the Waves // Lidia Yuknavitch. Riverhead Books
- The Maps They Gave Us: One Marriage, Reimagined // Wayne Scott. Black Lawrence Press
- The Möbius Book // Catherine Lacey. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.
- unMothered, unTongued // Lee Horikoshi Roripaugh. University of Georgia Press
BISEXUAL POETRY
- antibody // Rebecca Salazar. McClelland & Stewart
- Blue Opening // Chet’la Sebree. Zando/Tin House
- Hover // Liza Flum. Omnidawn Publishing
- Moon as Salted Lemon // Clayre Benzadón. Driftwood Press
- The Garbage Poems // Anna Swanson, illustrated by April White. Brick Books
GAY FICTION
- Mothers and Sons // Adam Haslett. Little, Brown
- Nova Scotia House // Charlie Porter. Nightboat Books
- The South // Tash Aw. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.
- The Sunflower Boys // Sam Wachman. HarperCollins
- Waiting for Something Else // Martin Cloutier. Heliotrope Books
GAY MEMOIR/BIOGRAPHY
- Alligator Tears // Edgar Gomez. Crown
- Deep House: The Gayest Love Story Ever Told // Jeremy Atherton Lin. Little, Brown, and Company
- On the Boardwalk // Martin Sherman. Inkandescent.
- TAKE MY NAME BUT SAY IT SLOW: ESSAYS // Thomas Dai. W.W. Norton
- The Einstein of Sex: Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, Visionary of Weimar Berlin // Daniel Brook. W.W. Norton
GAY POETRY
- Bachelor // Gustavo Hernandez. FlowerSong Press
- boy maybe: poems // W. J. Lofton. Beacon Press
- It Was Never Supposed To Be // Ben Kline. Variant Literature
- Kitchen Hymns // Pádraig Ó Tuama. Copper Canyon Press
- Seabeast // Rajiv Mohabir. Four Way Books
GAY ROMANCE
- A Bridge in Glass // Derek Sowers. Dreamsprinner Press
- A Mannequin for Christmas: A Novel // Timothy Janovsky. St. Martin’s Griffin
- Disco Witches of Fire Island // Blair Fell. Alcove Press
- Good Boy // Carey Sass. Self-published
- He’s to Die For: A Novel // Erin Dunn. Minotaur Books
LESBIAN FICTION
- A Language of Limbs // Dylin Hardcastle. Dutton
- A Sharp Endless Need // Marisa Crane. The Dial Press
- Girls Girls Girls // Shoshana von Blanckensee. Penguin Random House | G.P. Putnam’s Sons
- Hungerstone // Kat Dunn. Zando
- milktooth // Jaime Burnet. Vagrant Press
LESBIAN MEMOIR/BIOGRAPHY
- Black Panther Woman: The Political and Spiritual Life of Ericka Huggins // Mary Frances Phillips and Charlene A. Carruthers (foreword). New York University Press
- Gertrude Stein // Francesca Wade. Scribner
- The Art Spy: The Extraordinary Untold Tale of WWII Resistance Hero Rose Valland // Michelle Young. HarperOne
- The Autobiography of H. Lan Thao Lam // Lana Lin. Dorothy, a publishing project
- The Dry Season // Melissa Febos. Alfred A. Knopf
LESBIAN POETRY
- Cactus Flowers: Selected Poems // Judith Teixeira, translated by Samantha Pious. Headmistress Press
- Glove Money // Sophia Dahlin. Nightboat Books
- pleasureis amiracle // Bianca Rae Messinger. Nightboat Books
- savings time // Roya Marsh. MCD
- The Natural Order of Things // Donika Kelly. Graywolf Press
LESBIAN ROMANCE
- Bed and Breakup // Susie Dumond. The Dial Press
- Hot Tea & Bird Calls // Evie Marque. Self-published
- House of Rayne // Harley Laroux. Kensington Publishing Corporation
- Ladies in Hating // Alexandra Vasti. St. Martin’s Griffin
- The Woman from the Waves // Roslyn Sinclair. Self-published
LGBTQ+ ANTHOLOGY
- Come Out and Play: The Queer Sports Project // Meghan Kemp-Gee and Megan Praz. Stacked Deck Press
- Edge of the World: An Anthology of Queer Travel Writing // Edited by Alden Jones. Blair
- Queer Lens: A History of Photography // Edited by Paul Martineau and Ryan Linkof, with contributions by Jordan Bear, Ken Gonzales-Day, Alexis Bard Johnson, Derek Conrad Murray, and Catherine Opie. J. Paul Getty Museum
- Queers at the Table: An Illustrated Guide to Queer Food (with Recipes) // Alex D. Ketchum and Megan J. Elias (editors). Arsenal Pulp Press
- The New Lesbian Pulp // Sarah Fonseca and Octavia Saenz. The Feminist Press
LGBTQ+ CHILDREN’S BOOKS
- A Year of Pride and Joy // Simon James Green. Magic Cat
- Devin’s Gift // Alana Tyson, illustrated by Ebony Glenn. Philomel an Imprint of Penguin Young Readers
- JIM! Six True Stories about One Great Artist: James Marshall // Jerrold Connors. Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers
- O.K. Is Gay // Vincent X. Kirsch. Abrams Books for Young Readers
- Tales from Beyond the Rainbow // Pete Jordi Wood. Penguin Young Readers
- The Bi Book // A.J. Irving, illustrated by Cynthia Alonso. Random House Children’s Books | Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
LGBTQ+ COMICS
- Gaysians // Mike Curato. Algonquin Books
- Love, Misha // Askel Aden. First Second
- Precious Rubbish // Kayla E. Fantagraphics
- Soften the Blow // Bread Tarleton (author). Fieldmouse Press
- Spent // Alison Bechdel. Mariner Books
LGBTQ+ DRAMA
- Ain’t No Mo’ // Jordan E. Cooper. Theatre Communications Group
- Another Kind of Silence // L M Feldman, translated by MoMo Holt. City Theatre Company
- Heartlines: A Love Story // Sarah Waisvisz. Talonbooks
- MERCUTIO LOVES ROMEO LOVES JULIET LOVES // Gina Femia. Original Works Publishing
- Prince Faggot // Jordan Tannahill. Playwrights Canada Press
LGBTQ+ MIDDLE GRADE
- A Song for You and I // K.O’Neill. Random House Children’s Books | Random House Graphic
- Glitch Girl! // Rainie Oet. Penguin Young Readers
- It’s All or Nothing, Vale // Andrea Beatriz Arango. Random House Children’s Books | Random House Books for Young Readers
- Pasta Girls // Taylor Tracy. HarperCollins – Quill Tree Books
- The Queen Bees of Tybee County // Kyle Casey Chu. HarperCollins – Quill Tree Books
LGBTQ+ MYSTERY
- A Queer Case // Robert Holtom. Titan Books
- Every Sweet Thing Is Bitter // Samantha Crewson. Crooked Lane Books
- Girl Falling // Hayley Scrivenor. Flatiron Books
- Mirage City // Lev AC Rosen. Minotaur Books
- The Case of the Missing Maid // Rob Osler. Kensington Publishing Corporation
LGBTQ+ NONFICTION
- Baldwin: A Love Story // Nicholas Boggs. Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Guest Privileges: Queer Lives and Finding Home in the Middle East // Gaar Adams. Dzanc Books
- Queer Enlightenments: A Hidden History of Lovers, Lawbreakers, and Homemakers // Anthony Delaney. Grove Atlantic
- Thank You for Calling the Lesbian Line // Elizabeth Lovatt. Legacy Lit
- The Hollow Half: A Memoir of Bodies and Borders // Sarah Aziza. Catapult
LGBTQ+ POETRY
- A Real Man Would Have a Gun: Poems // Stacey Waite. University of New Mexico Press
- Non-Prophet // Qurat Dar. icehouse poetry, an imprint of Goose Lane Editions
- Unfurl: Survivals, Sorrows, and Dreaming // Eli Clare. Duke University Press
- Wayward Creatures // heidi andrea restrepo rhodes. Host Publications
- YEET! // jason b crawford. Omnidawn Publishing
LGBTQ+ ROMANCE AND EROTICA
- A Gentleman’s Gentleman // TJ Alexander. Vintage Books
- Fanboy in the Falls // J.E. Birk. Maple Mountains Press
- It Had to Be Him // Adib Khorram. Forever | Grand Central Publishing | Hachette Book Group
- Single Player // Tara Tai. Alcove Press
- Strip Me Down // Aj Writer. Self under FWDIO Studios
LGBTQ+ SPECULATIVE FICTION
- Beings // Ilana Masad. Bloomsbury Publishing
- Blood on Her Tongue // Johanna van Veen. Sourcebooks, Poisoned Pen Press
- Cry, Voidbringer // Elaine Ho. Left Unread, an imprint of Bindery Books
- Two Truths and a Lie // Cory O’Brien. Pantheon Books
- Volatile Memory // Seth Haddon. Tordotcom
LGBTQ+ STUDIES
- Abolitionist Intimacies: Queer and Trans Migrants against the Deportation State // Eithne Luibhéid. Duke University Press
- Intersex: A Manifesto Against Medicalization // Iain Morland. Columbia University Press
- Lessons in Drag: A Queer Manual for Academics, Artists, and Aunties // Kareem Khubchandani, with LaWhore Vagistan. Brandeis University Press
- Queer Lasting: Ecologies of Care for a Dying World // Sarah Ensor. New York University Press
- Sodomy’s Solicitations: A Right to Queerness // Joseph J. Fischel. Temple University Press
LGBTQ+ YOUNG ADULT
- An Ugly World for Beautiful Boys // Rob Costello. Lethe Press
- Camila Núñez’s Year of Disasters // Miriam Zoila Pérez. Page Street Publishing | Page Street YA
- Come Home to My Heart // Riley Redgate. Union Square & Co.
- He’s So Possessed with Me // Corey Liu. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
- The Transition // Logan-Ashley Kisner. Random House Children’s Books | Delacorte Press
TRANSGENDER FICTION
- Make Sure You Die Screaming // Zee Carlstrom. Flatiron Books
- Terry Dactyl // Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore. Coffee House Press
- The Lilac People: A Novel // Milo Todd. Counterpoint Press
- The Uncontinented Stars // Haden Cross. Self-published
- Woodworking // Emily St. James. Zando | Crooked Media Reads
TRANSGENDER NONFICTION
- Both/And // Denne Michele Norris with Electric Literature. HarperOne
- Cleavage: Men, Women, and the Space Between Us // Jennifer Finney Boylan. Celadon Books, an imprint of Macmillan Publishers
- Gendertrash From Hell: The First Print Collection of the Zine That Changed Everything // Edited by Mirha Soleil-Ross. Little Puss Press
- Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson // Tourmaline. Tiny Reparations Press
- Uncanny Valley Girls // Zefyr Lisowski. Harper Perennial
TRANSGENDER POETRY
- a body more tolerable // jaye simpson. Arsenal Pulp Press
- Algarabía – The Song of Cenex, Natural Son of the Isle Alarabíyya // Roque Raquel Salas Rivera. Graywolf Press
- Death of the First Idea: Poems // Rickey Laurentiis. Alfred A. Knopf
- Local Woman // Jzl Jmz. Nightboat Books
- Reprise: Poems and Photographs // Golden. Haymarket Books
