Home Lambda Literary AwardsSubmissions

Submissions

On This Page

SUBMISSION STATUS: CLOSED

Submissions for the 2027 Lammy Awards recognizing works published or forthcoming in 2026 open September 14, 2026-November 22, 2026.

Submissions for the next cycle of Special Prizes open in January 2027. Tap the button below for more information.

LEARN MORE ABOUT SPECIAL PRIZES

2026/2027 Categories

The 2027 award cycle will recognize the following categories:

Bi Fiction

Bi Nonfiction

Bi Poetry

Lesbian Fiction

Lesbian Memoir/Biography

Lesbian Poetry

Lesbian Romance

LGBTQ+ Poetry

LGBTQ+ Studies

Trans Fiction

Trans Nonfiction

Trans Poetry

Gay Fiction

Gay Memoir/Biography

Gay Poetry

Gay Romance
LGBTQ+ Romance and Erotica

LGBTQ+ Young Adult

LGBTQ+ Anthology

LGBTQ+ Children’s Books

LGBTQ+ Comics

LGBTQ+ Drama

LGBTQ+ Middle Grade

LGBTQ+ Mystery

LGBTQ+ Nonfiction
LGBTQ+ Speculative Fiction

Guidelines for Lammy Award Submissions

last updated 8/31/26

Lambda Literary Awards celebrate the outstanding LGBTQ+ storytelling from a given year. Lambda uses “LGBTQ+” as a catch-all term, meaning that works reflecting identities beyond lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/queer or questioning are also welcome, to include two-spirit, intersex, pansexual, aro/ace, and other emerging identities.

 

Please read through these guidelines carefully to ensure that your book is eligible for consideration and that you are submitting it to the proper category. When you are ready during the open submission period, tap the “GO TO SUBMITTABLE” button at the top of the page to submit works through our Submittable portal and follow the instructions for the feature labeled “39th Lambda Literary Awards Registration.” If there is no button, it means the submission period has not opened.

 

Submissions for special prize categories open in January 2027.

 

If you have a question not answered here, visit the Awards FAQ page or email awards[at]lambdaliterary.org.

Eligibility

  • Submitted works must be published or forthcoming between January 1 and December 31, 2026. The work must also be distributed (i.e., available in bookstores or online) or performed (in the case of plays) in the United States during 2026.

 

  • Lambda Literary Awards are open to all authors regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity except in the case of the special prizes that mark specific stages of an individual LGBTQ writer’s career. The content of the submitted work must be representative of/content relevant to LGBTQ+ lives.

 

  • Titles must be published in English. Translations from other languages are eligible provided they meet other requirements re: publication year.

 

  • Self-published books are eligible. Works must be available for purchase in a bound or collected format (i.e. not dripped in chapters delivered by newsletter. The work should exist published in a single file). Works published exclusively on social or subscriber-based sites such as blogs, personal newsletters, Patreons, and Wattpad are not eligible.

 

  • First print editions of books previously published online or in ebook format are eligible.

 

  • Reprints of books that were published in the US in previous years are not eligible. This includes second (or later) editions, books that have been republished by a different publisher, and books that are modified versions of previously published works.

 

    • First US editions of books published outside the US before 2026 are eligible if the original edition was not submitted for Lammy consideration in a previous year.
  • Poetry chapbooks over 30 pages in length are eligible.

 

  • Works which are derived in whole or in part by generative AI or LLM (large language model) applications and services such as ChatGPT, Claude, or Midjourney are not eligible for Lambda Literary’s awards. Acceptable uses of assistive technologies potentially billed as AI include spell-check, transcription, and notetaking. Translation must be provided by a human translator who must be credited in the submission. Submitted works found in violation of this policy will be disqualified without refund.

 

  • If your work publishes in December 2026, you are still able to submit a digital version of the work before submissions close on November 22. Do not attempt to defer submission of a work published in December 2026 to the cycle opening in fall 2027. It will be disqualified.

Submission Fees

For the 2027 award cycle, submission fees are as follows:

  • Submissions by Big 5 publishers and large universities: $115.00 USD per title
  • Submissions by small press/independent publishers, small colleges, and individual authors: $65.00 USD per title for 1-10 titles; $55.00 USD per title for 11+ titles
  • Fee waivers are not available at this time.

Submission Formats

For the 2026-2027 award cycle, submissions must be made initially in digital format (epub, pdf preferred). To accommodate accessibility requests for our judges, we request three (3) additional physical/print copies of each submitted title where available (4 titles for the LGBTQ+ Young Adult category). Mailing address and additional information will be provided within Submittable. Failure or refusal to submit physical copies does not automatically disqualify a title from consideration, but may make it more difficult for judges to fully review the work. We do not accept audiobooks at this time. 

Category-Specific Guidelines

A book may be submitted to only one category. We understand that some works fit in multiple categories. It will be up to the submitter to determine where they would like it judged or where it might be most competitive.

 

If a category receives fewer than ten (10) submissions, the category will not be active in this awards cycle. The submitted books may then be reassigned to another category, if appropriate. If the book cannot compete in another category, the submission fee will be refunded.

Lesbian Categories: Books eligible for lesbian categories feature a prominent lesbian/sapphic/nonbinary and/or female- or femme-attracted character or contain content of strong significance to lesbian lives.

Gay Categories: Books eligible for gay categories feature a prominent gay/achillean/nonbinary and/or male- or masc-attracted character or contain content of strong significance to gay lives.

Trans Categories: These categories contain material of strong significance to members of the trans communities.

Bi Categories: These categories are non-gender-specific works containing material of strong significance to members of the bi/pan communities.

LGBTQ+ Categories: may center any or multiple identities. Submitters will be asked to specify which identities are reflected in the text. 

 

Collections vs Anthologies: Collections are multiple short stories by a single author. Anthologies feature works by multiple authors in a single bound volume. 

 

Omnibus or Books-In-Series: Submissions of omnibus (multiple books in a single bound volume) are not expressly forbidden but will be held to the standards of the category to which they are submitted. Multiple books in series will also be judged individually and not as one cohesive story.

 

Fiction Categories: (Lesbian Fiction, Gay Fiction, Bi Fiction, Trans Fiction):

Literary fiction as distinct from genre fiction (genre fiction includes mystery, romance, and speculative fiction). Works of genre fiction should be submitted to their respective dedicated categories. Novels, novellas, and short story collections by a single author are eligible; anthologies are not. 

 

Memoir/Biography Categories (Lesbian Memoir/Biography, Gay Memoir/Biography):

Biographies, memoirs, autobiographies, and works of creative nonfiction to include autofiction are accepted. At this time, only Lesbian and Gay Memoir/Biography categories are provided. bi, trans, and other memoirs/biographies may be submitted to their respective nonfiction categories.

Posthumously published works and/or those with co-authors are eligible; anthologies are not.

 

Poetry Categories (Lesbian Poetry, Gay Poetry, Bi Poetry, Trans Poetry, LGBTQ+ Poetry):

Single volumes and collected poems are eligible as are chapbooks over 30 pages in length. Updated editions of previously published works are not eligible unless at least 50% of the poetry (not the supplemental text) is new.

Works of specifically Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender Poetry are encouraged to submit in their respective categories to allow representations of other or multiple identities space in LGBTQ+ Poetry.

 

Romance Categories (Lesbian Romance, Gay Romance, LGBTQ+ Romance and Erotica):

Novels, novellas, and short story collections by a single author that focus on a central love relationship between two or more characters are eligible; anthologies are not. Categories include a broad range of subgenres including traditional, historical, gothic, Regency, and paranormal romance.

In LGBTQ+ Romance and Erotica, novels, novellas, and short story collections by a single author that focus on a central love relationship between two or more LGBTQ+ characters, to include characters on the aromantic/asexual spectrum, or whose content is principally of an erotic nature are eligible. Works of specifically Lesbian or Gay Romance are encouraged to submit in their respective categories to allow representations of other identities space in this category.

 

Nonfiction Categories: (Bi Nonfiction, Trans Nonfiction, LGBTQ+ Nonfiction, LGBTQ+ Studies):


Nonfiction works with content of strong significance to members to their respective communities. Includes a wide range of subjects for the general or academic reader (e.g., history, memoirs, cultural studies, public policy, law, politics, community organizations, humor, spirituality, gender studies, parenting, religion, spirituality, relationships, psychology, travel).

 

Distinctions between LGBTQ+ Studies and LGBTQ+ Nonfiction:

Nonfiction – LGBTQ-themed works for general readers, as opposed to those targeted primarily to scholarly audiences (e.g., LGBT/Queer/Gender Studies programs). Includes but is not limited to law, history, politics, spirituality, humor, parenting, relationships, psychology, travel, and photography.

 

Studies – Scholarly work focusing on issues relating to sexual orientation and gender identity, and oriented toward academia, libraries, cultural professionals, and the more academic reader. Generally, but not exclusively, published by university presses.

 

LGBTQ+ Anthology:

Anthologies are collections of fiction, nonfiction, and/or poetry by multiple authors. Collected works authored entirely by a single person are not eligible in this category. This is the only category in which anthologies are permitted.

 

LGBTQ+ Children’s Books:

Individual works and collections of fiction, nonfiction, picture books, board books, early-readers and poetry whose intended audience is young readers are all eligible; anthologies are not.

 

LGBTQ+ Middle Grade:

Individual works and collections of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry whose intended audience is the middle grade audience are all eligible; anthologies are not.

 

LGBTQ+ Young Adult:

Individual works and collections of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry whose intended audience is young adult readers are all eligible; anthologies are not.

 

LGBTQ+ Comics:

Book-length works of fiction or non-fiction that use a combination of words and sequential art to convey a narrative are eligible, including novels, graphic memoirs and short story or comics collections by the same author/team. Individual comic books, periodicals, anthologies, and web-only content are not eligible.

 

LGBTQ+ Drama:

Plays and other theatrical works and performance pieces that have been published in book or script form during 2026. Collections from a single author are eligible; anthologies featuring multiple authors are not. Plays which have been produced in 2026 but not published are also permitted, but will need to be provided in a written format for review.

 

LGBTQ+ Mystery:

Novels, novellas, and short story collections in which a crime or series of crimes is an integral part of the story are all eligible; anthologies are not. Category includes a wide range of crime fiction subgenres including police procedurals, political/legal/medical thrillers, cozies, and hard-boiled detective stories.

 

LGBTQ+ Speculative Fiction:

Includes science fiction, fantasy, horror, magical realism, and related genres. Novels, novellas, and short story collections are eligible; anthologies are not.

Sign up for the Lambda Literary newsletter.

E-newsletters run on the first Thursday of every month, though you may receive additional communications from our programs. We promise not to spam you!

↑