29th Annual Lambda Literary Award Finalists Announced

Author: Edit Team

March 14, 2017

29th Annual Lambda Literary Award Finalists Announced

Awards Ceremony: Monday, June 12, 2017 in New York City

Early Bird Gala Tickets On-Sale Now

Lambda Literary, the nation’s oldest and largest literary arts organization advancing LGBTQ literature, announced the finalists of the 29th Annual Lambda Literary Awards–or the “Lammys,” as they are affectionately known. They were chosen from nearly 900 submissions and over 300 publishers. Submissions came from major mainstream publishers and from independent presses, from both long-established and new LGBTQ publishers, as well as from emerging publish-on-demand technologies. Visionary and Trustee Award honorees, the master of ceremonies, and celebrity presenters will be announced in April. The winners will be announced at a gala ceremony on Monday evening, June 12, 2017 in New York City.

“Never in my lifetime have LGBTQ stories felt so important as a means of being recognized and counted, as a form of resistance to this dangerous political climate we find ourselves in,” said Lambda Literary Executive Director Tony Valenzuela. “The Lammys are a celebration of great queer literature, and this year they’re also a reminder that our community of writers, publishers, and readers is not only strong, but part of a vital pathway to asserting our humanity.”

Now in their twenty-ninth year, the Lambda Literary Awards celebrate achievement in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer writing for books published in 2016. The awards ceremony on June 12, 2017, will be held at the NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts (566 LaGuardia Pl, New York, NY 10012). The red carpet and specially ticketed VIP cocktail reception will be held before the ceremony. The after-party, open to all with a general admission ticket, will follow at Le Poisson Rouge (158 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10012). For more information and to buy tickets, please visit Lambda’s website.

75 literary professionals, including booksellers, book reviewers, librarians, authors, academics and previous Lammy winners and finalists volunteered countless hours of reading, critical thinking, and invigorating discussion to select the finalists in 23 categories.

Tickets for the Lambda Literary Awards ceremony, pre-ceremony VIP cocktail reception and after-party go on sale today. For information, visit Lambda’s website and join the conversation by following the hashtag #Lammys on Twitter. Early bird tickets at discounted prices are available until April 14th. Tickets for the ceremony and after-party are $150 ($125 early bird). Tickets that include the VIP cocktail reception are $250 ($225 early bird). Prices will increase by $25 on April 14th.

Lambda Literary Awards corporate sponsors will be announced soon. To inquire about sponsorship, contact Tony Valenzuela, Executive Director at tvalenzuela@lambdaliterary.org.

Lesbian Fiction

• A Thin Bright Line, Lucy Jane Bledsoe, University of Wisconsin Press
• Another Brooklyn, Jacqueline Woodson, Amistad
• Bull & Other Stories, Kathy Anderson, Autumn House Press
• The Day After Death, Lynn C. Miller, University of New Mexico Press
• Here Comes the Sun, Nicole Dennis-Benn, Liveright Publishing Corporation
• Pretend I’m Your Friend, MB Caschetta, Engine Books
• Tears in the Grass, Lynda A. Archer, Dundurn
• They May Not Mean To, But They Do, Cathleen Schine, Sarah Crichton Books

Gay Fiction

• The Angel of History, Rabih Alameddine, Atlantic Monthly Press
• Black Deutschland, Darryl Pinckney, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
• The Cosmopolitans, Sarah Schulman, The Feminist Press
• Hide, Matthew Griffin, Bloomsbury USA
• Jazz Moon, Joe Okonkwo, Kensington Books
• Moonstone, Sjón, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
• The Rope Swing, Jonathan Corcoran, Vandalia Press
• What Belongs To You, Garth Greenwell, Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Bisexual Fiction

• Beautiful Gravity, Martin Hyatt, Antibookclub
• Marrow Island, Alexis M. Smith, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Mouth to Mouth, Abigail Child, EOAGH
• When Watched, Leopoldine Core, Penguin Books

Transgender Fiction

• Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl’s Confabulous Memoir, Kai Cheng Thom, Metonymy Press
• If I Was Your Girl, Meredith Russo, Flatiron Books
• Small Beauty, jia qing wilson-yang, Metonymy Press

LGBTQ Nonfiction

• Conflict Is Not Abuse: Overstating Harm, Community Responsibility and the Duty of Repair, Sarah Schulman, Arsenal Pulp Press
• Gay Gotham: Art and Underground Culture in New York, Donald Albrecht with Stephen Vider, Skira Rizzoli
• Ghost Faces: Hollywood and Post-Millennial Masculinity, David Greven, State University of New York Press
• How to Survive a Plague: The Inside Story of How Citizens and Science Tamed AIDS, David France, Knopf
• Pride & Joy: Taking the Streets of New York City, Jurek Wajdowicz, The New Press
• Spill: Scenes of Black Feminist Fugitivity, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Duke University Press Books
• The Estrangement Principle, Ariel Goldberg, Nightboat Books
• The Feminist Bookstore Movement: Lesbian Antiracism and Feminist Accountability, Kristen Hogan, Duke University Press Books

Bisexual Nonfiction

• Black Dove: Mamá, Mi’jo, and Me, Ana Castillo, The Feminist Press
• The Body’s Alphabet, Ann Tweedy, Headmistress Press
• I Have Devoted My Life to the Clitoris, Elizabeth Hall, Tarpaulin Sky Press
• Women in Relationships With Bisexual Men: Bi Men By Women, Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli and Sara Lubowitz, Lexington Books

Transgender Nonfiction

• Life Beyond My Body: A Transgender Journey to Manhood in China, Lei Ming, Transgress Press
• Outside the XY: Black and Brown Queer Masculinity, Morgan Mann Willis, Riverdale Avenue Books
• Outspoken: A Decade of Transgender Activism and Trans Feminism, Julia Serano, Switch Hitter Press
• Trunky (Transgender Junky): A Memoir, Samuel Peterson, Transgress Press
• You Only Live Twice: Sex, Death and Transition, Chase Joynt and Mike Hoolbloom, Coach House Books

Lesbian Poetry

• Bestiary, Donika Kelly, Graywolf Press
• Complete Works of Pat Parker, edited by Julie R. Enszer, Sinister Wisdom/A Midsummer Night’s Press
• Journal of Ugly Sites, Stacy Szymaszek, Fence Books
• Night, Etel Adnan, Nightboat Books
• play dead, francine j. harris, Alice James Books
• Swarm Queen’s Crown, Stephanie Adams-Santos, Fathom Books
• The Old Philosopher, Vi Khi Nao, Nightboat Books
• You’re the Most Beautiful Thing That Happened, Arisa White, Augury Books

Gay Poetry

• DIG, Bryan Borland, Stillhouse Press
• Night Sky with Exit Wounds, Ocean Vuong, Copper Canyon Press
• Primer, Aaron Smith, University of Pittsburgh Press
• Rapture, Sjohnna McCray, Graywolf Press
• The Halo, C. Dale Young, Four Way Books
• The Taxidermist’s Cut, Rajiv Mohabir, Four Way Books
• Thief in the Interior, Phillip B. Williams, Alice James Books
• Trouble the Water, Derrick Austin, BOA

Transgender Poetry

• even this page is white, Vivek Shraya, Arsenal Pulp Press
• The Romance of Siam: A Pocket Guide, Jai Arun Ravine, Timeless, Infinite Light
• Reacquainted with Life, Kokumo, Topside Press
• Safe Space, Jos Charles, Ahsahta Press
• Sympathetic Little Monster, Cameron Awkward-Rich, Ricochet Editions

Lesbian Mystery

• Blood Money Murder, Jessie Chandler, Bella Books
• Bury Me When I’m Dead, Cheryl A. Head, Bywater Books
• Collide-O-Scope, Andrea Bramhall, Ylva Publishing
• Final Cut, Lynn Ames, Phoenix Rising Press
• Pathogen, Jessica L. Webb, Bold Strokes Books
• Requiem for Immortals, Lee Winter, Ylva Publishing
• Under Contract, Jennifer L. Jordan, Clover Valley Press
• Walk-in, T.L. Hart, Bella Books

Gay Mystery

• Bitter Legacy by Dal Maclean, Blind Eye Books
• Homo Superiors by L. A. Fields, Lethe Press
• Lay Your Sleeping Head by Michael Nava, Korima Press
• Nights in Berlin by Janice Law, MysteriousPress.com /Open Road Integrated Media
• Speakers of the Dead: A Walt Whitman Mystery by J. Aaron Sanders, Plume

Lesbian Memoir/Biography

• A Body, Undone: Living On After Great Pain, Christina Crosby, NYU Press
• A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder, Ma-Nee Chacaby, University of Manitoba Press
• I‘m Just a Person, Tig Notaro, Ecco
• Indomitable: The Life of Barbara Grier, Joanne Passet, Bella Books
• The Wind Is Spirit: The Life, Love and Legacy of Audre Lorde, Gloria  Joseph, PhD, Villarosa Media

Gay Memoir/Biography

• Books For Living, Will Schwalbe, Knopf
• Boy Erased, Garrard Conley, Riverhead Books
• Capsid: A Love Song, Joseph Osmundson, Indolent Books
• Cursed Legacy: The Tragic Life of Klaus Mann, Frederic Spotts, Yale University Press
• Lust & Wonder, Augusten Burroughs, St. Martin’s Press
• One Man Show: The Life and Art of Bernard Perlin, Michael Schreiber, Bruno Gmuender Books
• Proxies, Brian Blanchfield, Nightboat Books
• When We Rise, Cleve Jones, Hachette Books

Lesbian Romance

• The Scorpion’s Empress, Yoshiyuki Ly, Solstice Publishing
• Coils, Barbara Ann Wright, Bold Strokes Books
• Finding Lizzie, Karma Kingsley, NineStar Press
• Little Lies, Lila Bruce, Self-Published
• Lost in the Starlight, Kiki Archer, K.A. Books
• Loving Eleanor, Susan Wittig Albert, Persevero Press
• Perfect Pairing, Rachel Spangler, Bywater Books
• The Liberators of Willow Run, Marianne K. Martin, Bywater Books

Gay Romance

• Into the Blue, Pene Henson, Interlude Press
• Pansies, Alexis Hall, Riptide Publishing
• Femme, Marshall Thornton, Kenmore Books
• Rank, Richard Compson Sater, Bold Strokes Books
• Country, Jeff Mann, Lethe Press
• Adulting 101, Lisa Henry, Riptide Publishing
• Rented Heart, Garrett Leigh, Riptide Publishing
• Caught Inside, Jamie Deacon, Beaten Track Publishing

LGBTQ Anthology

• ALPHABET: The LGBTQAIU Creators from Prism Comics, Jon Macy and Tara Madison Avery, Editors, Stacked Deck Press
• Building Fires in the Snow: A Collection of Alaska LGBTQ Short Fiction and Poetry, Martha Amore and Lucian Childs, Editors, University of Alaska Press / Snowy Owl Books Imprint
• No Tea, No Shade: New Writings in Black Queer Studies, E. Patrick Johnson, Duke University Press Books
• The Remedy: Queer and Trans Voices on Health and Health Care, Zena Sharman, Arsenal Pulp Press
• Queer, David J. Getsy, MIT Press

LGBTQ Children‘s/Young Adult

• Beast, Brie Spangler, Alfred A. Knopf
• Girl Mans Up, M.E. Girard, Harper Teen
• Gravity, Juliann Rich, Bold Stroke Books
• Highly Illogical Behavior, John Corey Whaley, Dial Books
• Not Your Sidekick, C.B. Lee, Duet
• Our Chemical Hearts, Krystal Sutherland, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
• Symptoms of Being Human, Jeff Garvin, Balzer + Bray
• The Midnight Star, Marie Lu, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers

LGBTQ Drama

• Barbecue/Bootycandy, Robert O’Hara, Theatre Communications Group
• Freda and Jem’s Best of the Week, Lois Fine, Playwrights Canada Press
• Perfect Arrangement, Topher Payne, Samuel French, Inc.

LGBTQ Erotica

• Camp Rewind, Meghan O’Brien, Bold Strokes Books
• Roped In, Marie Sexton and L.A. Witt, Riptide Publishing
• Steel and Promise, Alexa Black, Bold Strokes Books
• Soul to Keep, Rebekah Weatherspoon, Bold Strokes Books
• Skyscraper, Scott Alexander Hess, Unzipped Books

LGBTQ Graphic Novels

• Active Voice The Comic Collection: The Real Life Adventures Of An Asian-American, Lesbian, Feminist, Activist And Her Friends, Written by P. Kristen Enos with Heidi Ho; Illustrated by Derek Chua, Leesamarie Croal, Casandra Grullon, Beth Varni, Dan Parent, Furia Press
• The Case of Alan Turing: The Extraordinary and Tragic Story of the Legendary Codebreaker, Eric Liberge and Arnaud Delalande, Translated by David Homel, Arsenal Pulp Press
• Wuvable Oaf: Blood & Metal, Ed Luce, Fantagraphics Books

LGBTQ SF/F/Horror

• All Good Children, Dayna Ingram, Lethe Press
• The Devourers, Indra Das, Del Rey
• Irish Black, David Lennon, Blue Spike Publishing
• Kissing Booth Girl, A.C. Wise, Lethe Press
• Lily, Michael Thomas Ford, illustrated by Staven Andersen, Lethe Press
• A Little Queermas Carol, Sassafras Lowrey, PoMo Freakshow
• Style of Attack Report, By Ras Mashramani, Rasheedah Phillips, Alex Smith, and M. Eighteen Téllez, Metropolarity
• Will Do Magic for Small Change, Andrea Hairston, Aqueduct Press

LGBTQ Studies

• Asegi Stories: Cherokee Queer and Two Spirit Memory, Qwo-Li Driskill, University of Arizona Press
• Homintern, Gregory Woods, Yale University Press
• Indian Blood: HIV and Colonial Trauma in San Francisco’s Two-Spirit Community, Andrew J. Jolivette, University of Washington Press
• Melodrama: An Aesthetics of Impossibility, Jonathan Goldberg, Duke University Press
• Not Straight, Not White: Black Gay Men From The March on Washington to the AIDS Crisis, Kevin Mumford, University of North Carolina Press
• Out in the Periphery: Latin America’s Gay Rights Revolution, Omar G. Encarnación, Oxford University Press
• Queer Clout: Chicago and the Rise of Gay Politics, Timothy Stewart-Winter, University of Pennsylvania Press
• Sex Museums: The Politics and Performance of Display, Jennifer Tyburczy, University of Chicago Press

 

2017 Lambda Literary Awards Host Committee

Co-Chairs: David Groff, Rakesh Satyal, Amy Scholder

 

Angelo Nikolopoulos Ann Aptaker Anna deVries Antonio Gonzalez Ben Hyman Cathy Renna Christian Trimmer Christopher Dufault Damon Suede David Gale Diana Cage Elizabeth Koke Frederick McKindra

Jamie Brickhouse Jason Wells Jeremy Sorese Karen Schechner Lori Perkins Martin Wilson Michele Karlsberg Parrish Turner Paul Florez Paul Whitlatch Rocco Staino Stephen Morrison Zack Phillips