On
Monday, June 4th, Lambda Literary, the nation's leading organization
advancing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ)
literature, announced the winners of the 30th Annual Lambda Literary
Awards (the "Lammys"). Comedian Kate Clinton hosted the ceremony at the
NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts in New York City where
attendees, sponsors, and celebrities celebrated thirty
Roxane
Gay and Edmund White were honored with Lambda's Trustee
and Visionary Awards, respectively. Rick Whitaker introduced Edmund
White with a tribute composed entirely from sentences found in Mr.
White's books. Accepting the Visionary Award, White shared, "Contained in the word novel is novelty and lesbian and gay writers have been lucky to write about this new world."
Later, Rebecca Solnit introduced Roxane Gay, who won the Trustee Award. "The word encourage literally means to instill courage, and Roxane's work is marked by both courage and encouragement," said Solnit. During her acceptance speech, Gay said "As a woman, as a black woman, as a queer woman, writing has offered me salvation and sanctuary." She later said, "I
want queer writers to create the work that they want to put into the
world, regardless if all of the work does or does not meet the
expectations of those who read it."
Other winners of the night included Carmen Maria Machado, John Rechy, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Barbara Browning, Bogi Takács, and more.
"What I want to leave with you tonight,"
said Tony Valenzuela during his remarks on his ninth and final year as
Lambda Literary Executive Director, "is that, despite our continued
challenges, you have a community through Lambda Literary that has your
back. I feel deeply grateful to have spent the last nine years with the
help of so many of you, to make Lambda Literary into a space where more
of us will be seen and can thrive."
The
Lammys brought out the stars from the worlds of film, television,
theatre, journalism, and literature. Presenters this year
included Alison Bechdel (MacArthur Fellow and award-winning author of Fun Home); Rebecca Solnit (award winning author and contributing editor at Harper's Magazine); actor Taylor Trensch (actor, Dear Evan Hansenon Broadway); Pamela Sneed (award winning poet); Kate Bornstein (iconic trans activist and writer), and more.
Lambda
Literary's incoming Executive Director, Sue Landers, was acknowledged
from the stage and begins a new chapter in the organization in July.
See the full list after the jump.
30
th Annual Lambda Literary Award Winners
Lesbian Fiction
Her Body and Other Parties, Carmen Maria Machado, Graywolf Press
Gay Fiction
After the Blue Hour, John Rechy, Grove Press
Bisexual Fiction
The Gift, Barbara Browning, Coffee House Press
Bisexual Nonfiction
Hunger, Roxane Gay, HarperCollins
Transgender Fiction
Transcendent 2: The Year's Best Transgender Speculative Fiction, Bogi Takács (ed), Lethe Press
LGBTQ Nonfiction
How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Haymarket Books
Transgender Nonfiction
Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity, C. Riley Snorton, University of Minnesota Press
Lesbian Poetry
Rock | Salt | Stone, Rosamond S. King, Nightboat Books
Gay Poetry
While Standing in Line for Death, CA Conrad, Wave Books
Transgender Poetry
recombinant, Ching-In Chen, Kelsey Street Press
Lesbian Mystery
Huntress, A.E. Radley, Heartsome Publishing
Gay Mystery
Night Drop, Marshall Thornton, Kenmore Books
Lesbian Memoir/Biography
The Fact of a Body, Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich, Flatiron Books
Gay Memoir/Biography
Lives of Great Men: Living and Loving as an African Gay Man, Chike Frankie Edozien, Team Angelica Publishing
Lesbian Romance
Tailor-Made, Yolanda Wallace, Bold Strokes Books
Gay Romance
Love and Other Hot Beverages, Laurie Loft, Riptide Publishing
LGBTQ Erotica
His Seed, Steve Berman, Unzipped Books
LGBTQ Anthology
¡Cuéntamelo! Oral Histories by LGBT Latino Immigrants, Juliana Delgado Lopera, Aunt Lute Books
LGBTQ Children's/Young Adult
Like Water, Rebecca Podos, Balzer + Bray
LGBTQ Drama
The Gulf, Audrey Cefaly, Samuel French
LGBTQ Graphic Novels
My Favorite Thing is Monsters, Emil Ferris, Fantagraphics Books
LGBTQ SF/F/Horror
Autonomous, Annalee Newitz, Tor Books
LGBTQ Studies
Punishing Disease: HIV and the Criminalization of Sickness, Trevor Hoppe, University of California Press
