The Stonewall Book Award is a set of three literary awards that annually recognize "exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience" in English-language books published in the U.S. They are sponsored by the Rainbow Round Table (RRT) of the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

(ALA) and have been part of the American Library Association awards program, now termed ALA Book, Print & Media Awards, since 1986 as the single Gay Book Award. The three award categories are fiction and nonfiction in books for adults, distinguished in 1990, and books for children or young adults, from 2010. The awards are named for Barbara Gittings, Israel Fishman, and (jointly) Mike Morgan and Larry Romans. In full they are the Stonewall Book Award-Barbara Gittings Literature Award, the Stonewall Book Award-Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award, and the Stonewall Book Awards – Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children's & Young Adult Literature Award. Finalists have been designated from 1990, and termed "Honor Books" from 2001. Currently a panel of librarians selects five finalists in each award category and subsequently selects one winner. The winners are announced in January and each receives a plaque and $1000 cash prize during the ALA Annual Conference in June or July. Winners are expected to attend and to give acceptance speeches. The ALA solicits book suggestions each to be accompanied by a brief statement in favor of the book. Anyone may suggest a title for consideration. However, the publisher of a proposed title, agents or representatives of the author, or anyone else who may stand to gain directly from the nomination of the book should disclose this information via the online form. Eligible books should be original works published in the U.S. and Canada during the preceding year, including "substantially changed new editions" and "English-language translations of foreign-language books".

History

The Gay Book Award was inaugurated in 1971 at the ALA annual meeting in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, by the newly created Task Force on Gay Liberation (TFGL) The ceremony, attended by only 9 people, recognized '' Patience and Sarah'', a

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

by Alma Routsong (writing as Isabel Miller), which had been self-published by Routsong in 1969. A "grassroots acknowledgment" of GLBT publishing, there were "only a handful" of books to consider annually. The ALA officially started granting the award in 1986, and by 1995, there were more than 800 books considered for the award. In 2002, the awards, then two, were jointly named after the site of the 1969

Stonewall riots The Stonewall riots (also known as the Stonewall uprising, Stonewall rebellion, Stonewall revolution, or simply Stonewall) were a series of spontaneous riots and demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of ...

as well as two of the founding members of the TFGL, Barbara Gittings and Israel Fishman.

Award name and categories

* 1971–1986 Gay Book Award * 1987–1989 Gay and Lesbian Book Award * 1990–1993 Gay and Lesbian Book Award (nonfiction and literature categories) * 1994–1998 Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Book Award (nonfiction and literature) * 1999–2001 Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Book Award (nonfiction and literature) * 2002–2010 Stonewall Book Award-Barbara Gittings Literature Award and the Stonewall Book Award-Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award. * 2010–present Stonewall Book Award-Barbara Gittings Literature Award, the Stonewall Book Award-Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award, and the Stonewall Book Award-Mike Morgan and Larry Romans Children's & Young Adult Literature Award. From 1986, the Gay Book Award and its descendants have been part of the American Library Association awards program, now termed ALA Book, Print & Media Awards.

Recipients

Notes

References

External links