Introducing the 2022 Lammys Host and Presenters

The 2022 Lambda Literary Awards are happening Saturday, June 11th and they have announced that the evening’s ceremony will be hosted by Sasha Velour.

Sasha is a gender-fluid drag queen and visual artist. As a drag artist, Velour has toured the world with her acclaimed one-queen drag spectacular Smoke & Mirrors, bewitching audiences on three continents. The multi-media drag revue she created, NightGowns, has recently released two free films available online. Velour also executive produced an award-winning original series of the same name with director Sophie Muller available on The Roku Channel which The New York Times hailed as being “among the most life- affirming shows you could find on any platform.” Through her genre-defying work, Velour is creating new models for drag as art, which Fast Company says is “disrupting the business of drag.” As a public speaker, Velour has spoken at colleges, universities, The Smithsonian, and on behalf of the US State Department abroad. In 2015, Velour was crowned the winner of the 9th season of the Emmy-Award winning RuPaul’s Drag Race. Velour’s first book, The Big Reveal, is an illustrated manifesto on drag as art, community, activism, identity…and occasional disaster. It is due for a 2023 release with Harper.

Click this link to see the full lineup of other presenters.

Announcing the 2022 Lambda Literary Award Finalists

Created over thirty years ago to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ writers play in shaping the world, the Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ literature. Since the inception of the Lammys in 1989, more than 3,500 books have been named finalist or winner, an imprimatur that bookstores, libraries, and individuals use to stock their shelves.

This award cycle was the most competitive yet, with the highest ever submission volume in Lammy Award history. “We are particularly inspired by such amazing numbers in the LGBTQ Young Adult and Children’s/Middle Grade categories,” the Awards Manager says. “The modern movement to ban access to LGBTQ books for young people is horrendous, but we hope the publishing industry continues backing these remarkable works in volume to meet that resistance.”

Click here to check out the finalists for all 24 categories.

Cash Prize Opportunities for LGBTQ Writers!

Every year, Lambda administers a number of cash awards for LGBTQ+ authors in varying stages of their careers. In 2022, Lambda Literary Awards will offer five of these prizes, including the new J. Michael Samuel Prize for Emerging Writers Over 50. 

Applications are open through February 15th, 2022.

Lambda Literary Awards: Cash Prize Opportunities for LGBTQ Writers!

Every year, Lambda Literary Awards administers a number of cash awards for LGBTQ+ authors in varying stages of their careers. 

In 2022, Lambda will offer five of these prizes, including the new J. Michael Samuel Prize for Emerging Writers Over 50. Applications are open through February 15th, 2022.

26th Annual Lambda Literary Award Finalists Announced

The 26th Annual Lambda Literary Awards - or the "Lammys," as they are affectionately known - mark another record-breaking year and usher in the debut of the new category of Graphic Novel. Finalists for the Lammys were announced by the Lambda Literary Foundation (LLF) in Los Angeles after reviewing a record 746 submissions (up from 687 last year) from 352 publishers (up from 332 last year). Submissions came from major mainstream publishers and from academic presses, from both long-established and new LGBT publishers, as well as from emerging publish-on-demand technologies.

"Today is a day to celebrate the richness of our literature and to give hearty congratulations to our outstanding shortlisted authors and their publishers," said LLF Executive Director, Tony Valenzuela. "The deep commitment to advance our community's literature by our highly qualified volunteer judges who read and deliberate on the submitted books - and often anguish over the selection of finalists - make the Lammys possible."

Gay Colorado Writers Nominated for Lambda Awards

Colorado's own gay author, blogger, community activist (and MileHighGayGuy columnist) Matt Kailey's latest book Teeny Weenies: And Other Short Subjects has been nominated for a 2013 Lambda Literary Award. His first book, Just Add Hormones: An Insider’s Guide to the Transsexual Experience, was a Lambda Literary Award finalist, and his blog, Tranifesto, won the 2010 TransGuys Community Award for Best Blog.

Also from Colorado and equally (if not even more) gay, Jerry Wheeler has also been nominated for a Lambda Literary Award for his short story collection Strawberries and Other Erotic Fruits.

Congrats to both guys, I've been a fan and/or friend of both of them for years and years (and years) and they both deserve to win.