Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary 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 The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

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

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

and

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

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 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 and J. M. Redmann). Similarly, Michael Nava 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 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). The Humor category has been discontinued. Nicola Griffith and Melissa Scott 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 Sarah Ann Waters (born 21 July 1966) is a Welsh novelist. She is best known for her novels set in Victorian society and featuring lesbian protagonists, such as '' Tipping the Velvet'' and '' Fingersmith''. Life and education Early life Sara ...

has won three awards in the

Lesbian Fiction Lesbian literature is a subgenre of literature addressing lesbian themes. It includes poetry, plays, fiction addressing lesbian characters, and non-fiction about lesbian-interest topics. A similar term is Sapphic love, sapphic literature, encom ...

category, for '' Tipping the Velvet'' (

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

), '' Fingersmith'' (

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

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

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

), and is one of only three writers to have won the Lesbian Fiction award more than once (with two-time winners Dorothy Allison and Achy Obejas). Mark Doty 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, Michael Klein, Marilyn Hacker,

Audre Lorde Audre Lorde ( ; born Audrey Geraldine Lorde; February 18, 1934 – November 17, 1992) was an American writer, professor, philosopher, Intersectional feminism, intersectional feminist, poet and civil rights activist. She was a self-described "Bl ...

, and J. D. McClatchy) Richard Labonté, 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 th ...

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 60 ...

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

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

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

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

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

and for '' The Empty Family'' in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

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

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

and for ''Becoming a Man'' in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

. Lillian Faderman 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 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

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

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

* 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 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

. 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

. * Michael Nava received both Gay Mystery/Science Fiction and Gay Small Press awards for ''Golden Boy'' in 1989. * Dorothy Allison received both Lesbian Small Press and

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

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

. * Jewelle Gomez received both Lesbian Scifi/Fantasy/Horror and

awards for ''The Gilda Stories'' in

. * Loren Cameron received both Small Press and Transgender awards for '' Body Alchemy: Transsexual Portraits'' in

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

. * 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 Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

. * 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 year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

. * Lillian Faderman 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 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

(with ''Autobiography of a Family Photo'') in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

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

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

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

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

. *

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 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'') in

. Several other writers have won awards in more than one category in different years and for different works: * Alison Bechdel 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 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

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. * Nicola Griffith 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 in

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 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

. * Alan Hollinghurst won the Gay Debut Fiction award for '' The Swimming Pool Library'' in

and the Gay Fiction award for '' The Folding Star'' in

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

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

and the Gay Fiction award for ''Living Upstairs'' in

. * Jeanette Winterson won the

award for ''Written on the Body'' in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

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

. * Judy Grahn won the Lesbian Non-Fiction award for ''Really Reading Gertrude Stein'' 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 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

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

. Weise also won the Fiction Anthology award again in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

. * Alexis De Veaux won the Biography award for ''Warrior Poet: A Biography of

'' in

and the

award for '' Yabo'' in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

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

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

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. * Mykola Dementiuk 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: * Katherine V. Forrest 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. * Dorothy Allison received both the Lesbian Small Press and

awards for '' Trash: Short Stories'' in

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

, as well as a second

award in

for ''Cavedweller''. *

Edmund White Edmund Valentine White III (January 13, 1940 – June 3, 2025) was an American novelist, memoirist, playwright, biographer, and essayist. A pioneering figure in LGBTQ and especially gay literature after the Stonewall riots, he wrote with ra ...

received the Gay Fiction award for '' The Beautiful Room Is Empty'' in

, the Gay Biography/Autobiography award for ''Genet'' in

, 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 Jim Duggins Outstanding Mid-Career Novelists' Prize in

. * Eileen Myles received the Small Press award for ''The New Fuck You'' in

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

and the

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's

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

Gay Non-Fiction Award, was adapted into a

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

. *

Tony Kushner Anthony Robert Kushner (born July 16, 1956) is an American author, playwright, and screenwriter. Among his stage work, he is most known for ''Angels in America'', which earned a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award, as well as its subsequent acclaime ...

's 1993 play ''

Angels in America ''Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes'' is a 1991 American two-part Play (theatre), play by American playwright Tony Kushner. The two parts of the play, ''Millennium Approaches'' and ''Perestroika'', may be presented separate ...

'', which won both the

and

Drama Award, was adapted into a

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

, starring Al Pacino and Meryl Streep and directed by

Mike Nichols Mike Nichols (born Igor Mikhail Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theatre director and comedian. He worked across a range of genres and had an aptitude for getting the best out of actors regardless of ...

. * Abraham Verghese's

book '' My Own Country'', which won the

Gay Biography Award, was adapted into a

television movie. * John Berendt's

novel '' Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'', which won the

Gay Mystery Award, was adapted into a

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

, starring

Kevin Spacey Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. Known for Kevin Spacey on screen and stage, his work on stage and screen, he List of awards and nominations received by Kevin Spacey, has received numerous accolades, including two ...

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. With a career spanning over four decades, he has appeared in over 80 films. He began acting in f ...

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 (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

. * Erica Fischer's

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

Lesbian Biography Award, was adapted into a

, starring Maria Schrader and Juliane Köhler and directed by Max Färberböck. * Dorothy Allison's

novel '' Cavedweller'', which won the

Lesbian Fiction Award, was adapted into a

, starring Kyra Sedgwick and Aidan Quinn and directed by

Lisa Cholodenko Lisa Cholodenko is an American screenwriter and director. Cholodenko wrote and directed the films ''High Art'' (1998), ''Laurel Canyon (film), Laurel Canyon'' (2002), and ''The Kids Are All Right (film), The Kids Are All Right'' (2010). She has a ...

. *

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

Lesbian Fiction Award, was adapted into a three-part

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, starring Rachael Stirling and Keeley Hawes and directed by Geoffrey Sax. * John Cameron Mitchell and

Stephen Trask Stephen Trask (born Stephen R. Schwartz; born August 29, 1966) is an American musician and composer who graduated from Wesleyan University. He was the music director and house band member at the New York City club Squeezebox, where they performe ...

'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's

novel ''

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

'', which won the

, was adapted into a

arthouse film. * David Ebershoff's

book '' The Danish Girl'', which won the

Transgender Award, was adapted into a

, starring Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander and directed by

Tom Hooper Thomas George Hooper (born 5 October 1972)''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005''. 5d: 2485. is a British-Australian filmmaker. Known for his work in film and television he has received numerous accolades includ ...

; Vikander subsequently won several awards for her role, including the Best Supporting Actress Oscar at the 88th Academy Awards, the Best Actress Award at the 21st Empire Awards, the Best Supporting Actress Award at the 20th Satellite Awards, and the Supporting Actress Award at the 22nd Screen Actors Guild Awards. *

novel '' Fingersmith'', which won the

Lesbian Fiction Award, was adapted into a two-part

, starring Sally Hawkins and

Imelda Staunton Dame 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 pr ...

and directed by Aisling Walsh. * Alison Bechdel's 2006 memoir '' Fun Home'', which won the

Lesbian Memoir Award, was adapted into a 2013 musical play. * André Aciman's '' Call Me by Your Name'', which won the

Gay Fiction Award, was adapted in a 2017

starring

Timothée Chalamet Timothée Hal Chalamet ( ; born December 27, 1995) is an American and French actor. List of awards and nominations received by Timothée Chalamet, His accolades include a Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to ...

and Armie Hammer, receiving critical acclaim and over 200 award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Song at the 90th Academy Awards.

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). Beginning in 2025, submissions will be open from January-March for titles published in the previous year (they were previously open from September-November for titles published in the same year); finalists will be announced in the summer; and winners will be announced in the fall.

Controversies

Bisexual community and ''Bi Any Other Name''

In 1992, despite requests from the bisexual community 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 writer June Jordan's work, competed (and won) in the category "Lesbian Poetry". Led by

BiNet USA BiNet USA (officially Bi/Net USA, The Bisexual Network of the USA Inc.) was an American national nonprofit bisexual community whose mission was to "facilitate the development of a cohesive network of bisexual communities, promote bisexual visibil ...

, 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 shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

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
{{Feminist science fiction Awards established in 1989 LGBTQ events in the United States LGBTQ literature in the United States Young adult literature awards 1989 establishments in the United States