Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by

Lambda Literary The Lambda Literary Foundation (also known as Lambda Literary) is an American LGBTQ literary organization whose mission is to nurture and advocate for LGBTQ writers, elevating the impact of their words to create community, preserve their legaci ...

to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ literature.The awards were instituted in 1989. The program has grown from 14 awards in early years to 24 awards today. Early categories such as

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

literature were dropped as the prominence of the AIDS crisis within the gay community waned, and categories for

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whic ...

and

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

literature were added as the community became more inclusive. In addition to the primary literary awards, Lambda Literary also presents a number of special awards.

Award categories

Current

Notes

¹ In both the bisexual and transgender categories, presentation may vary according to the number of eligible titles submitted in any given year. If the number of titles warrants, then separate awards are presented in either two (Fiction and Nonfiction, with the Fiction category inclusive of poetry titles) or three (Fiction, Nonfiction and Poetry) categories, while if a smaller number of titles is deemed eligible, then a merged Literature shortlist is put forward. However, even when the category shortlists have been merged, judges still retain the right to identify a single winner in the unlisted category; for example, at the 25th Lambda Literary Awards in 2013 the judges named both fiction and non-fiction winners in the Bisexual Literature category, and at the 29th Lambda Literary Awards in 2017 the judges picked a title from the Bisexual Fiction shortlist as the winner in Bisexual Poetry despite the lack of an advance poetry shortlist.

Tallies

Ellen Hart Ellen Hart (born August 10, 1949) is the award-winning mystery author of the Jane Lawless and Sophie Greenway series. Born in Maine, she was a professional chef for 14 years. Hart's mysteries include culinary elements similar to those of Diane ...

has won five awards in the Lesbian Mystery category, the most by any single author, and is one of only three writers to have won the award more than once (with three-time winners

Katherine V. Forrest Katherine V. Forrest (born 1939) is a Canadian-born American writer, best known for her novels about lesbian police detective Kate Delafield. Her books have won and been finalists for Lambda Literary Award twelve times, as well as other awards. S ...

and J. M. Redmann). Similarly,

Michael Nava Michael Angel Nava (born September 16, 1954) is an American attorney and writer. He has worked on the staff for the California Supreme Court, and ran for a Superior Court position in 2010. He authored a ten-volume mystery series featuring Henry R ...

has won five awards in the Gay Mystery category, the most by any single author, and is one of only four writers to have won the award more than once (with three-time winner John Morgan Wilson, two-time winner R. D. Zimmerman, and two-time winner Marshall Thornton). Marshall Thornton is the only author in the gay mystery category to have won twice for two different series.

Alison Bechdel Alison Bechdel ( ; born September 10, 1960) is an American cartoonist. Originally known for the long-running comic strip ''Dykes to Watch Out For'', she came to critical and commercial success in 2006 with her graphic memoir ''Fun Home'', which ...

has won four awards in the Humor category, the most by any single author, and is one of five writers to have won the award more than once (with Joe Keenan, Michael Thomas Ford, David Sedaris, and

David Rakoff David Benjamin Rakoff (November 27, 1964 – August 9, 2012) was a Canadian-born American writer of prose and poetry based in New York City, who wrote humorous and sometimes autobiographical non-fiction essays. Rakoff was an essayist, journ ...

). The Humor category has been discontinued.

Nicola Griffith Nicola Griffith (; born 30 September 1960) is a British-American novelist, essayist, and teacher. She has won the Washington State Book Award, Nebula Award, James Tiptree, Jr. Award, World Fantasy Award and six Lambda Literary Awards. Person ...

and

Melissa Scott Melissa Scott (born 1960, in Little Rock, Arkansas) is an American science fiction and fantasy author noted for her science fiction novels featuring LGBT characters and elaborate settings. Biography Scott studied history at Harvard College a ...

have each won four awards in the Scifi/Fantasy/Horror category, and are two of six writers to have won the SFFH award more than once (with Stephen Pagel, Jim Grimsley, and Lee Thomas). Sarah Waters has won three awards in the Lesbian Fiction category, for '' Tipping the Velvet'' (

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

), '' Fingersmith'' (

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

), and ''The Night Watch'' in (

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

), and is one of only three writers to have won the Lesbian Fiction award more than once (with two-time winners

Dorothy Allison Dorothy Allison (born April 11, 1949) is an American writer from South Carolina whose writing focuses on class struggle, sexual abuse, child abuse, feminism and lesbianism. She is a self-identified lesbian femme. Allison has won a number of aw ...

and Achy Obejas).

Mark Doty Mark Doty (born August 10, 1953) is an American poet and memoirist best known for his work ''My Alexandria.'' He was the winner of the National Book Award for Poetry in 2008. Early life Mark Doty was born in Maryville, Tennessee to Lawrence a ...

and

Adrienne Rich Adrienne Cecile Rich ( ; May 16, 1929 – March 27, 2012) was an American poet, essayist and feminist. She was called "one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20th century", and was credited with bringing "the ...

have each won three awards in the Poetry category, and are two of seven poets to have won the award more than once (with two-time winners

Joan Larkin Joan Larkin (born April 16, 1939 in Boston) is an American poet and playwright. She was active in the small press lesbian feminist publishing explosion in the 1970s, co-founding the independent publishing company Out & Out Books. She is now in ...

, Michael Klein, Marilyn Hacker,

Audre Lorde Audre Lorde (; born Audrey Geraldine Lorde; February 18, 1934 – November 17, 1992) was an American writer, womanist, radical feminist, professor, and civil rights activist. She was a self-described "black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet," wh ...

, and

J. D. McClatchy J. D. "Sandy" McClatchy (August 12, 1945 – April 10, 2018) was an American poet, opera librettist and literary critic. He was editor of the ''Yale Review'' and president of The American Academy of Arts and Letters. Life McClatchy was born J ...

)

Richard Labonté Richard Labonté (1949 – March 20, 2022) was a Canadian writer and editor, best known as the editor or co-editor of numerous anthologies of LGBT literature.Radclyffe Radclyffe (real name Dr. Lenora Ruth Barot, born 1950) is an American author of lesbian romance, paranormal romance, erotica, and mystery. She has authored multiple short stories, written fan fiction, and edited numerous anthologies. Radclyffe ...

, and Tristan Taormino have each won two awards in the Erotica category, each winning once before the category was split into Gay and Lesbian subdivisions, and each winning their second after the category was split.

Karin Kallmaker Karin Kallmaker (born 1960) is an American author of lesbian fiction whose works also include those originally written under the name Laura Adams. Her writings span lesbian romance, lesbian erotica, and lesbian science-fiction/fantasy. Dubbed the ...

and Michael Thomas Ford have each won two awards in the Romance category, each winning one before the category was split into Gay and Lesbian subdivisions – Kallmaker with ''Maybe Next Time'' and Ford with ''Last Summer'', but in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

– and each winning their second after the category was split – Ford with ''Changing Tides'' in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and Kallmaer with ''The Kiss That Counted'' in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

Colm Tóibín Colm Tóibín (, approximately ; born 30 May 1955) is an Irish novelist, short story writer, essayist, journalist, critic, playwright and poet. His first novel, '' The South'', was published in 1990. ''The Blackwater Lightship'' was shortlist ...

is the only writer to have won two awards in the Gay Fiction category for '' The Master'' in

and for ''

The Empty Family ''The Empty Family'' is a collection of short stories by Irish writer Colm Tóibín. It was published in the UK in October 2010 and was released in the US in January 2011. Reception ''The Empty Family'' was shortlisted for the 2011 Frank O'Conno ...

'' in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...

. Paul Monette is the only writer to have won two awards in the Gay Non-Fiction category, for ''Borrowed Time'' in

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

and for ''Becoming a Man'' in 1993.

Lillian Faderman Lillian Faderman (born July 18, 1940) is an American historian whose books on lesbian history and LGBT history have earned critical praise and awards. '' The New York Times'' named three of her books on its "Notable Books of the Year" list. In a ...

is the only writer to have won awards in seven different categories, having received: * The Editor's Choice Award for '' Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers'' in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...

* The Fiction Anthology Award for ''Chloe Plus Olivia'' in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

* The Lesbian Studies Award for ''To Believe in Women'' in

* The Autobiography/Memoir Award for ''Naked in the Promised Land'' in

* The LGBT Arts & Culture award for ''Gay L.A.: A History of Sexual Outlaws, Power Politics and Lipstick Lesbians'' in

* The LGBT Non-Fiction award for ''Gay L.A.: A History of Sexual Outlaws, Power Politics and Lipstick Lesbians'' in

* The Pioneer Award in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

. Several writers have won awards in more than one category in the same year for the same work (note that according to current guidelines a book may only be entered in one category): * Paul Monette received both Gay Non-Fiction and AIDS Literature awards for ''Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir'' in

. *

received both Gay Mystery/Science Fiction and Gay Small Press awards for ''Golden Boy'' in 1989. *

received both Lesbian Small Press and Lesbian Fiction awards for '' Trash: Short Stories'' in 1989. * Martin B. Duberman received both Gay Anthology and Lesbian Anthology awards for ''Hidden from History'' in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...

. * Jewelle Gomez received both Lesbian Scifi/Fantasy/Horror and Lesbian Fiction awards for ''The Gilda Stories'' in

. *

Loren Cameron Loren Rex Cameron (born August 28, 1959) is an American photographer, author and transgender activist. His work includes portraits and self-portraits consisting of transsexual bodies in both clothed and nude form. Biography Loren Rex Cameron ...

received both Small Press and Transgender awards for '' Body Alchemy: Transsexual Portraits'' in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

. * Lisa C. Moore received both Small Press and Lesbian Studies awards for ''Does Your Mama Know?'' in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

. * James Saslow received both Gay Studies and Visual Arts awards for ''Pictures and Passions'' in

. * Noelle Howey and Ellen Samuels received both Anthologies/Non-Fiction and Children's/Young Adult awards for ''Out of the Ordinary'' in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

. *

and Stuart Timmons received both LGBT Arts & Culture and LGBT Non-Fiction awards for ''Gay L.A.: A History of Sexual Outlaws, Power Politics and Lipstick Lesbians'' in

. *

Robert Westfield Robert Westfield (born 1972) is an American writer, who won two Lambda Literary Awards in 2007 for his debut novel ''Suspension''.

received both Gay Debut Fiction and Gay Fiction awards for ''Suspension'' in

. Several writers have won awards in more than one category in the same year for different works: * Jacqueline Woodson received the awards for Children/Young Adult (with ''From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun'') and Lesbian Fiction (with ''Autobiography of a Family Photo'') in

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

. *

Radclyffe Radclyffe (real name Dr. Lenora Ruth Barot, born 1950) is an American author of lesbian romance, paranormal romance, erotica, and mystery. She has authored multiple short stories, written fan fiction, and edited numerous anthologies. Radclyffe ...

received the awards for Erotica (with ''Stolen Moments'') and Romance (with ''Distant Shores, Silent Thunder'') in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

. *

received the awards for Lesbian Mystery (with ''The Blue Place'') and Scifi/Fantasy/Horror (with '' Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction'') in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

. *

received the awards for Erotica (with ''In Deep Water 2: Cruising the Strip'', which she co-authored with Radclyffe) and Lesbian Romance (with ''The Kiss That Counted'') in

. *

Benjamin Alire Sáenz Benjamin Alire Sáenz (born August 16, 1954) is an American poet, novelist, and writer of children's books. Early life and education Sáenz was raised near Las Cruces, New Mexico. He earned a BA in Humanities and Philosophy from St. Thomas Semi ...

received the awards for Gay Fiction (with '' Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club'') and LGBT Children's/Young Adult (with ''

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe ''Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe'' is a coming-of-age young adult novel by American author Benjamin Alire Sáenz which was first published February 21, 2012. Set in El Paso, Texas in 1987, the novel follows two Mexican- ...

'') in

. Several other writers have won awards in more than one category in different years and for different works: *

won the Lesbian Biography/Autobiography award for ''The Indelible Alison Bechdel'' in

, the Lesbian Memoir/Biography award for '' Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic'' in

, and the Trustee Award in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

in addition to her four Humor awards. * Joan Nestle won the Lesbian Studies award for ''A Fragile Union'' in

in addition to her four Anthology awards. *

won the Lesbian Memoir/Biography award for ''And Now We Are Going to Have a Party'' in

and the

Jim Duggins Outstanding Mid-Career Novelists' Prize The Jim Duggins Outstanding Mid-Career Novelists' Prize is an American literary award, presented to two writers, one male and one female, from the LGBT community to honour their body of work. First presented by the Saints and Sinners Literary Festi ...

in addition to her four Scifi/Fantasy/Horror awards. * Tristan Taormino won the Transgender Fiction award for ''Take Me There: Trans and Genderqueer Erotica'' in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

. *

Alan Hollinghurst Alan James Hollinghurst (born 26 May 1954) is an English novelist, poet, short story writer and translator. He won the 1989 Somerset Maugham Award, the 1994 James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the 2004 Booker Prize. Early life and education Ho ...

won the Gay Debut Fiction award for '' The Swimming Pool Library'' in

and the Gay Fiction award for ''

The Folding Star ''The Folding Star'' is a 1994 novel by Alan Hollinghurst. Plot summary The novel is the story of a gay English man, Edward Manners, who, disaffected with life, moves to a town in Flanders where he teaches two students English. One, Marcel, is p ...

'' in

. * Joseph Hansen won the Gay Mystery award for ''A Country of Old Men'' in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

and the Gay Fiction award for ''Living Upstairs'' in 1993. *

Jeanette Winterson Jeanette Winterson (born 27 August 1959) is an English writer. Her first book, '' Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit'', was a semi-autobiographical novel about a sensitive teenage girl rebelling against convention. Other novels explore gender pol ...

won the Lesbian Fiction award for ''Written on the Body'' in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

and the Lesbian Memoir/Biography award for ''Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?'' in

. *

Judy Grahn Judy Grahn (born July 28, 1940) is an American poet and author. Inspired by her experiences of disenfranchisement as a butch lesbian, she became a feminist poet, highly-regarded in underground circles before achieving public fame. A major influe ...

won the Lesbian Non-Fiction award for ''Really Reading

Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Allegheny West neighborhood and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris ...

'' in

and the Poetry award for ''love belongs to those who do the feeling'' in

. * Rafael Campo won the Gay Poetry award for ''What the Body Told'' in

and the Gay Biography/Autobiography award for ''The Poetry of Healing'' in

. * Devon Carbado and Donald Weise won the Fiction Anthology award for ''Black Like Us'' in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

and the LGBT Studies award for ''Time on Two Crosses'' in

. Weise also won the Fiction Anthology award again in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

. *

Alexis De Veaux Alexis De Veaux (born September 24, 1948) is a black, lesbian American writer and illustrator. She chaired the Department of Women's Studies, at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Her surname also appears as DeVeaux. Life She was born o ...

won the Biography award for ''Warrior Poet: A Biography of

'' in

and the Lesbian Fiction award for '' Yabo'' in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

. * Vestal McIntyre won the Gay Debut Fiction award for ''You Are Not Alone'' in

and the Gay Fiction award for ''Lake Overturn'' in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. *

Mykola Dementiuk Mykola Dementiuk (born 1949) is an American author. A graduate of Columbia University, his work has appeared in '' Pink Pages'', ''Atom Mind'', ''Paramour'', and ''EIDOS Magazine''. He was a member of the road crew for Lollapalooza, the Big Apple ...

won the Bisexual Fiction award for ''Holy Communion'' in

and the Gay Erotica award for ''The Facialist'' in

. * Dwight McBride won the Gay Fiction Anthology award for ''Black Like Us'' in

and the LGBT Studies award for '' The Delectable Negro'' in

* Jeff Mann won the Gay Erotica award in

for ''A History of Barbed Wire'' and the Gay Romance award in

for ''Salvation'' Several authors have won awards in three different categories: *

won the Scifi/Fantasy/Horror award for ''Daughters of an Emerald Dusk'' in

and the Pioneer Award in

in addition to her five Lesbian Mystery awards. *

received both the Lesbian Small Press and Lesbian Fiction awards for '' Trash: Short Stories'' in

, and the Lesbian Studies award for ''Skin'' in

, as well as a second Lesbian Fiction award in

for ''Cavedweller''. * Edmund White received the Gay Fiction award for '' The Beautiful Room Is Empty'' in

, the Gay Biography/Autobiography award for ''Genet'' in 1993, and the Fiction Anthology award for ''Fresh Men: New Voices in Gay Fiction'' in

. * Michael Thomas Ford received the Humor award twice (with ''Alec Baldwin Doesn't Love Me and Other Trials of My Queer Life'' in

and ''That's Mr. Faggot to You'' in

), the Romance award twice (with ''Last Summer'' in

and ''Changing Tides'' in

), the Gay Mystery award (with ''What We Remember'' in

), and the

. *

Eileen Myles Eileen Myles (born December 9, 1949) is a LAMBDA Literary Award-winning American poet and writer who has produced more than twenty volumes of poetry, fiction, non-fiction, libretti, plays, and performance pieces over the last three decades. No ...

received the Small Press award for ''The New Fuck You'' in

, the Lesbian Poetry award for ''School of Fish'' in

and the Lesbian Fiction award for ''Inferno (A Poet's Novel)'' in

. * Michael Bronski received the Non-Fiction Anthology award for ''Taking Liberties'' in

, the Fiction Anthology award for ''Pulp Friction'' in

, and the LGBT Non-Fiction award for '' A Queer History of the United States'' in

Adaptations

Numerous Lambda Award-winning works have been adapted for film and television: *

Allan Bérubé Allan Bérubé (pronounced BEH-ruh-bay; December 3, 1946 – December 11, 2007) was a gay American historian, activist, independent scholar, self-described "community-based" researcher and college drop-out, and award-winning author, best know ...

book ''Coming Out Under Fire'', which won the

Gay Non-Fiction Award, was adapted into a

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

. *

Tony Kushner Anthony Robert Kushner (born July 16, 1956) is an American author, playwright, and screenwriter. Lauded for his work on stage he's most known for his seminal work ''Angels in America'' which earned a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award. At the turn ...

's 1993 play ''

Angels in America ''Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes'' is a two-part play by American playwright Tony Kushner. The work won numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Tony Award for Best Play, and the Drama Desk Award f ...

'', which won both the

and

Drama Award, was adapted into a

HBO

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

, starring

Al Pacino Alfredo James Pacino (; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he has received numerous accolades: including an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and two Primetime Emmy ...

and

Meryl Streep Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...

and directed by

Mike Nichols Mike Nichols (born Michael Igor Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theater director, producer, actor, and comedian. He was noted for his ability to work across a range of genres and for his aptitude fo ...

. *

Abraham Verghese Abraham Verghese (born 1955) is an American physician, author, Professor for the Theory and Practice of Medicine at Stanford University Medical School and Senior Associate Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine. He is also the author of ...

book ''

My Own Country ''My Own Country: A Doctor's Story'' is Abraham Verghese's first book. First published in 1994, it made that year's ''New York Times Notable Book'' list. It is used in colleges and medical schools throughout North America and across the world becau ...

'', which won the

Gay Biography Award, was adapted into a

television movie. *

John Berendt John Berendt (born December 5, 1939) is an American author, known for writing the best-selling non-fiction book ''Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'', which was a finalist for the 1995 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction. Biography Ber ...

novel ''

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil ''Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'' is a non-fiction novel by John Berendt. The book, Berendt's first, was published in 1994 and follows the story of an antiques dealer on trial for the murder of a male prostitute. Subtitled ''A Savannah S ...

'', which won the

Gay Mystery Award, was adapted into a

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

, starring

Kevin Spacey Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, obtaining supporting roles before gaining a leading man status in film and television. Spacey has received various accolade ...

and

John Cusack John Paul Cusack (; born June 28, 1966)(28 June 1996)Today's birthdays ''Santa Cruz Sentinel'', ("Actors John Cusack is 30") is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and political activist. He is a son of filmmaker Dick Cusack, and his ol ...

and directed by

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the " Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "'' Do ...

. * Erica Fischer's

book ''Aimée & Jaguar'', which won the

Lesbian Biography Award, was adapted into a

, starring

Maria Schrader Maria Schrader (born 27 September 1965) is a German actress, screenwriter, and director. She directed the award-winning 2007 film ''Love Life'' and the 2020 Netflix miniseries '' Unorthodox'', for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for O ...

and

Juliane Köhler Juliane Köhler (born 6 August 1965) is a German theatre, television and film actress. She was born in Göttingen to a puppeteer. During the period from 1985 to 1988, she studied under Uta Hagen in New York City and attended HB Studio. She ...

and directed by

Max Färberböck Max Färberböck (born 22 September 1950) is a German film director and writer. He was born in Brannenburg, Bavaria. He began his career at theaters in Buenos Aires and in Italy. He later studied at the University of Television and Film in Muni ...

. *

novel ''

Cavedweller ''Cavedweller'' is the second novel from author Dorothy Allison. Much like her award-winning novel, '' Bastard Out of Carolina'', ''Cavedweller'' deals with domestic violence, friendship among women, mother-daughter bonds, and poverty in the smal ...

'', which won the

Lesbian Fiction Award, was adapted into a

, starring

Kyra Sedgwick Kyra Minturn Sedgwick (; born August 19, 1965) is an American actress, producer and director. For her starring role as Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson on the TNT crime drama ''The Closer'', she won a Golden Globe Award in 2007 and an Emmy Awa ...

and Aidan Quinn and directed by Lisa Cholodenko. * Sarah Waters's

novel '' Tipping the Velvet'', which won the

Lesbian Fiction Award, was adapted into a three-part

BBC

, starring

Rachael Stirling Rachael Atlanta Stirling (born 30 May 1977).. is an English stage, film and television actress. She has been nominated twice for the Laurence Olivier Award for her stage work. She played Nancy Astley in the BBC drama '' Tipping the Velvet'', an ...

and

Keeley Hawes Claire Julia Hawes (born 10 February 1976), known professionally as Keeley Hawes, is an English actress. After beginning her career in a number of literary adaptations, including ''Our Mutual Friend'' (1998) and ''Tipping the Velvet'' (2002), Haw ...

and directed by

Geoffrey Sax Geoffrey Sax (sometimes credited as Geoff Sax) is a British film and television director, who has worked on a variety of drama productions in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Life and career He began his directing career in the lat ...

. * John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask's 1998 play '' Hedwig and the Angry Inch'', which won the

Drama Award, was adapted into a

, starring Mitchell and Trask and directed by Mitchell. *

Michelle Tea Michelle Tea (born Michelle Tomasik, 1971) is an American author, poet, and literary arts organizer whose autobiographical works explore queer culture, feminism, race, class, sex work, and other topics. She is originally from Chelsea, Massachuse ...

novel ''

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

'', which won the

, was adapted into a

arthouse film. * David Ebershoff's

book ''

The Danish Girl ''The Danish Girl'' is a novel by American writer David Ebershoff, published in 2000 by the Viking Press in the United States and Allen & Unwin in Australia. Summary The novel is a fictionalized account of the life of Lili Elbe, one of the fir ...

'', which won the

Transgender Award, was adapted into a

, starring Eddie Redmayne and

Alicia Vikander Alicia Amanda Vikander (, ; born 3 October 1988) is a Swedish actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Critics' Choice Movie Award, as well as receiving nominations for ...

and directed by Tom Hooper; Vikander subsequently won several awards for her role, including the Best Supporting Actress Oscar at the

88th Academy Awards The 88th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2015 and took place on February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, 5:30 p.m. PST. Dur ...

, the Best Actress Award at the 21st Empire Awards, the Best Supporting Actress Award at the

20th Satellite Awards The 20th Satellite Awards is an award ceremony honoring the year's outstanding performers, films, television shows, home videos and interactive media, presented by the International Press Academy. The nominations were announced on December 1, 20 ...

, and the Supporting Actress Award at the

22nd Screen Actors Guild Awards The 22nd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, honoring the best achievements in film and television performances for the year 2015, were presented on January 30, 2016 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was broadcast o ...

. * Sarah Waters's

novel '' Fingersmith'', which won the

Lesbian Fiction Award, was adapted into a two-part

, starring Sally Hawkins and

Imelda Staunton Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton (born 9 January 1956) is an English actress and singer. After training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Staunton began her career in repertory theatre in 1976 and appeared in various theatre prod ...

and directed by

Aisling Walsh Aisling Walsh (born 1958) is an Irish screenwriter and director. Her work has screened at festivals around the world and she has won several accolades, including a BAFTA TV Award for '' Room at the Top'' (2012) as well as an Irish Film and Tele ...

. *

's 2006 memoir '' Fun Home'', which won the

Lesbian Memoir Award, was adapted into a 2013 musical play. *

André Aciman André Aciman (; born 2 January 1951) is an Italian-American writer. Born and raised in Alexandria, Egypt, he is currently a distinguished professor at the Graduate Center of City University of New York, where he teaches the history of litera ...

's '' Call Me by Your Name'', which won the

Gay Fiction Award, was adapted in a 2017

starring Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer, receiving critical acclaim and over 200 award nominations, including Best Picture,

Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to the ...

Best Adapted Screenplay This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress# ...

and Best Original Song at the

90th Academy Awards The 90th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2017, and took place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was held on March 4, ...

Discontinued

Awards by year

The Lambda Literary Awards are presented each year to honor works of literature published in the previous year; accordingly, the first awards ceremony may be described in different sources as either the 1989 awards (for the year of presentation) or the 1988 awards (for the year in which the nominated works were published).

Controversies

Bisexual community and ''Bi Any Other Name''

In 1992, despite requests from the

bisexual community The bisexual community, also known as the bi+, m-spec, bisexual/pansexual, or bi/pan/fluid community, includes members of the LGBT community who identify as bisexual, pansexual, omnisexual, polysexual and sexually fluid. As opposed to hetero- or ...

for a more appropriate and inclusive category, the groundbreaking bisexual anthology '' Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out'' by Loraine Hutchins and Lani Kaʻahumanu was forced to compete, and lost, in the category "Lesbian Anthology". Additionally, in 2005, ''Directed by Desire: Collected Poems'', a posthumous collection of the

Jamaican-American Jamaican Americans are an ethnic group of Caribbean Americans who have full or partial Jamaican ancestry. The largest proportions of Jamaican Americans live in South Florida and New York City, both of which have been home to large Jamaican commu ...

writer

June Jordan June Millicent Jordan (July 9, 1936 – June 14, 2002) was an American poet, essayist, teacher, and activist. In her writing she explored issues of gender, race, immigration, and representation. Jordan was passionate about using Black English ...

's work, competed (and won) in the category "Lesbian Poetry". Led by BiNet USA, and assisted by other bisexual organizations including the American Institute of Bisexuality, BiPOL, and Bialogue, the bisexual community launched a multi-year struggle that eventually culminated in 2006 with the addition of a Bisexual category.

Transgender community and ''The Man Who Would Be Queen''

In 2004, the book '' The Man Who Would Be Queen: The Science of Gender-Bending and Transsexualism'' by the highly controversial researcher J. Michael Bailey was announced as a finalist in the Transgender category of the 2003 Awards.

Transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

people immediately protested the nomination and gathered thousands of petition signatures in opposition within a few days. After the petition, the Foundation's judges examined the book more closely, decided that they considered it transphobic and removed it from their list of finalists. Within a year the executive director who had initially approved of the book's inclusion resigned. Executive director Charles Flowers later stated that "the Bailey incident revealed flaws in our awards nomination process, which I have completely overhauled since becoming the foundation’s executive director in January 2006."Flowers, Charles (September 20, 2007)
Letter to the ''New York Times'', Sept 20, 2007.

References

External links

Lambda Literary Awards website
{{LGBT, state=collapsed, culture=expanded LGBT literature in the United States LGBT events in the United States Awards established in 1988 * Young adult literature awards

Award categories

Current

Notes

Tallies

Adaptations

Discontinued

Awards by year

Controversies

Bisexual community and ''Bi Any Other Name''

Transgender community and ''The Man Who Would Be Queen''

See also

References

External links