Our Mission
Lambda Literary champions LGBTQ+ writers and literature to affirm queer lives, ignite imagination, and transform culture. We nurture emerging and established voices, amplify stories that reflect the full spectrum of LGBTQ+ experience, and build inclusive literary ecosystems that foster connection, equity, and creative freedom.
Key Events in Our History
First publication of the Lambda Book Report
Lambda Literary traces its beginnings back to 1987 when L. Page (Deacon) Maccubbin, owner of Lambda Rising Bookstore in Washington, DC, published the first Lambda Book Report, which brought critical attention to LGBTQ books.
First black-tie Lambda Literary Awards ceremony
The Lambda Literary Awards were born in 1989. At that first gala event, honors went to such distinguished writers as National Book Award Finalist Paul Monette (Borrowed Time), Dorothy Allison (Trash), Allan Hollinghurst (The Swimming Pool Library), and Edmund White (The Beautiful Room is Empty). The purpose of the Awards in the early years was to identify and celebrate the best lesbian and gay books in the year of their publication. The Awards gave national visibility to a literature that had established a firm if nascent beachhead through a network of dynamic lesbian and gay publishers and bookstores springing up across America. Since their inception, the Lambda Literary Awards ceremony has consistently drawn an audience representing every facet of publishing. The Awards have ranged over many categories, reflecting the wide spectrum of LGBTQ books, and from the very first year they have made the statement that lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans stories are part of the literature of the nation.
Lambda Literary Incorporated as 501(c)(3)
Lambda Book Report, meanwhile, grew into a comprehensive review periodical, and together with the Lambda Literary Awards, these programs cemented the reality that a distinct, definable LGBT literature existed. Lambda Literary was created in 1997 as a 501(3)(c) corporation; its first Executive Director was Jim Marks.
First Lambda Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices
In 2007, led by Board President, Katherine V. Forrest and Executive Director Charles Flowers, Lambda Literary founded its Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBT Voices: a residency designed to offer intensive and sophisticated instruction to selected writers over a carefully designed one week period. Faculty have included well-known and highly regarded writer-teachers such as Dorothy Allison, John Rechy, Saeed Jones, Katherine V. Forrest, Claire McNab, Danez Smith, Nicola Griffith, torrin a. greathouse, Ryka Aoki, Rigoberto Gonzalez, D. A. Powell, Ellery Washington and Eloise Klein Healy. The Retreat provides open access to industry professionals and the opportunity for fellows to create for themselves an ongoing community of practice as they advance in their craft and careers. It is one of Lambda’s most important initiatives: it represents the future of LGBTQ literature.
Launch of LambdaLiterary.org, the online home of Lambda Literary Review
In early 2010, in an effort led by board member Nicola Griffith, Lambda Literary funded, staffed, and launched an online presence at LambdaLiterary.org which celebrates, supports, serves, informs, entertains, and connects the whole of the brilliantly diverse community that creates and supports lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans literature. Our website offers content of interest to readers, writers, agents, booksellers, editors, educators, distributors, librarians, and more.
Launch of LGBTQ Writers in School Program
In 2012 Lambda Literary launched the LGBTQ Writers in School program, where LGBTQ writers visit K-12 classrooms to discuss LGBTQ literature with young people. The program expanded to reach 10,000 students in 2021.
First Annual Lambda LitFest
In 2017, Lambda Literary hosted the first annual Lambda LitFest, a week-long, community-curated literary festival demonstrating all that queer literary LA has to offer.
2021: First livestreamed Lammys and first virtual Retreat
When the global COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020, Lambda survived thanks to a tremendous outpouring of support for our community. Under the leadership of executive director Sue Landers, Lambda pivoted all programming from in-person to virtual, built a financial safety net, and embarked on a new strategic roadmap that takes the organization where our community needs and wants us to go.
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!
Honoring LGBTQ+ Storytelling Since 1985
