The 27th Annual Lambda Literary Award Finalists

Author: Edit Team

March 4, 2015

27th Annual Lambda Literary Award Finalists Announced

Another Record-Breaking Year of Submissions

Awards Ceremony: Monday, June 1, 2015 in New York City

The 27th Annual Lambda Literary Awards–or the “Lammys,” as they are affectionately known–kick off another record-breaking year with today’s announcement of the finalists. They were chosen from a record 818 submissions (up from 746 last year) from 407 publishers (up from 352 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. Pioneer and Trustee Award honorees, the master of ceremonies, and presenters will be announced in April. The winners will be announced at a gala ceremony on Monday evening, June 1, 2015 in New York City.

“Each year, the Lammys bring national attention to the best LGBTQ books, which are often overlooked by the mainstream media and might otherwise be forgotten,” said Lambda Literary Board President, S. Chris Shirley. “This critical program of Lambda Literary not only recognizes the outstanding work of these talented authors, but also underscores the importance of LGBTQ stories, which are fundamental to the preservation of our culture.”

Now in their twenty-seventh year, the Lambda Literary Awards celebrate achievement in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) writing for books published in 2014. The awards ceremony on June 1, 2015, will be held for the third straight year at the historic Great Hall at Cooper Union (7 East 7th Street, New York City 10003). A VIP After-Party presented by Scholastic at its SOHO rooftop space will follow. For more information and to buy tickets, please visit LL’s website.

More than 100 literary professionals, including booksellers, book reviewers, librarians, authors, and previous Lammy winners and finalists volunteered countless hours of reading, critical thinking, and invigorating discussion to select the finalists in 24 categories.

“On behalf of Lambda’s staff and board, we congratulate this year’s finalists for their outstanding achievement among a field of submissions chock-full of talent,” said Lambda Literary Executive Director, Tony Valenzuela. “I’d also like to thank our deeply dedicated judges who read and deliberate the submitted books. Theirs is a tremendous contribution to our literary communities.”

Tickets for the Lambda Literary Awards ceremony and after-party go on sale today. For information, visit here and join the conversation by following the hashtag #Lammys on Twitter. Early bird tickets at discounted prices are available for the entire month of March. Tickets for the ceremony only are $125. Tickets for the ceremony plus VIP after-party are $225. Prices will increase by $25 beginning April 1st.

Lambda Literary Awards Corporate Sponsors

The Lammys are annually blessed by generous corporate sponsors. The 27th Annual Lambda Literary Awards Corporate Sponsors to date are: President’s Circle Level: Scholastic; Benefactor Level: Random House/Ballantine Bantam Dell, Ketel One Vodka; Patron Level: American Institute of Bisexuality, Barnes & Noble, Penguin Random House; Friend Level: Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, Bold Strokes Books, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Riptide Publishing, Samhain Publishing. For corporate sponsorship information, visit LL’s website.

For general information visit Lambda Literary’s website.

2015 Lambda Literary Awards Host Committee

Co-Chairs: Jerome Murphy, Amy Scholder

John Bateman, Kevin Brannon, Jamie Brickhouse, Michael Carosone, Michael Carroll, Paul Dierkes, Dick Donahue, Michael Fauver, Paul Florez, Roman Freeser, David Gale, Antonio Gonzalez, David Groff, William Johnson, Michele Karlsberg, Elizabeth Koke, Melanie LaRosa, Joseph A. LoGuidice, Mario Lopez-Cordero, Bill Miller, Dan Manjovi, Nick Nicholson, Angelo Nikolopoulos, Julia Pastore, Lori Perkins, Charles Rice-Gonzalez, Patrick Ryan, Eddie Sarfaty, Karen Schechner, S. Chris Shirley, Rachel Simon, Bob Smith, Jason Wells

27th Annual Lambda Literary Award Finalists

Note: The number of finalists in a category is determined by the number of submissions in that category.

BISEXUAL FICTION

Best Bi Short Stories: Bisexual Fiction, Sheela Lambert, editor, Gressive Press, an imprint of Circlet Press
Extraordinary Adventures of Mullah Nasruddin, Ron J. Suresha, Lethe Press
Finder of Lost Objects, Susie Hara, Ithuriel’s Spear
Give It to Me, Ana Castillo, The Feminist Press
She of the Mountains, Vivek Shraya, Arsenal Pulp Press

BISEXUAL NONFICTION

Fire Shut Up In My Bones, Charles M. Blow, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Not My Father’s Son, Alan Cumming, HarperCollins Publishers/Dey Street Books
Recognize: The Voices of Bisexual Men, Robyn Ochs & H. Sharif Williams, editors, Bisexual Resource Center

GAY EROTICA

Bears of Winter, Jerry Wheeler, Bear Bones Books
Incubus Tales, Hushicho, Circlet Press
The King, Tiffany Reisz, MIRA Books
Leather Spirit Stallion, Raven Kaldera, Circlet Press
The Thief Taker, William Holden, Bold Strokes Books

GAY GENERAL FICTION

All I Love and Know, Judith Frank, HarperCollins/William Morrow
Barracuda, Christos Tsiolkas, Hogarth
Bitter Eden: A Novel, Tatamkhulu Afrika, Macmillan/Picador USA
The City of Palaces, Michael Nava, University of Wisconsin Press
I Loved You More, Tom Spanbauer, Hawthorne Books
Little Reef and Other Stories, Michael Carroll, Terrace Books, an imprint of the University of Wisconsin Press
Next to Nothing: Stories, Keith Banner, Lethe Press
Souljah, John R Gordon, Angelica Entertainments Ltd/Team Angelica Publishing

GAY MEMOIR/BIOGRAPHY

Body Counts: A Memoir of Politics, Sex, AIDS, and Survival, Sean Strub, Scribner
Charles Walters: The Director Who Made Hollywood Dance, Brent Phillips, University Press of Kentucky
Closets, Combat and Coming Out: Coming Of Age As A Gay Man In The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Army, Rob Smith, Blue Beacon Books by Regal Crest
Inside a Pearl: My Years in Paris, Edmund White, Bloomsbury
Letter to Jimmy, Alain Mabanckou, translated by Sara Meli Ansari, Counterpoint/Soft Skull Press
The Prince of Los Cocuyos, Richard Blanco, HarperCollins/Ecco
Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh, John Lahr, W. W. Norton & Company
Wagstaff: Before and After Mapplethorpe, Philip Gefter, W. W. Norton & Company/Liveright

GAY MYSTERY

Blackmail, My Love: A Murder Mystery, Katie Gilmartin, Cleis Press
Boystown 6: From the Ashes, Marshall Thornton, MLR
Calvin’s Head, David Swatling, Bold Strokes Books
DeadFall, David Lennon, BlueSpike Publishing
Fair Game, Josh Lanyon, Carina Press
A Gathering Storm, Jameson Currier, Chelsea Station Editions
Moon Over Tangier, Janice Law, Open Road Media
The Next, Rafe Haze, Wilde City Press

GAY POETRY

[insert] boy, Danez Smith, YesYes Books
Clean, David J. Daniels, Four Way Books
Don’t Go Back To Sleep, Timothy Liu, Saturnalia Books
ECODEVIANCE: (Soma)tics for the Future Wilderness, CAConrad, Wave Books
The New Testament, Jericho Brown, Copper Canyon Press
Prelude to Bruise, Saeed Jones, Coffee House Press
This Life Now, Michael Broder, A Midsummer Night’s Press
This Way to the Sugar, Hieu Minh Nguyen, Write Bloody Publishing

GAY ROMANCE

The Companion, Lloyd A. Meeker, Dreamspinner Press
Everything’s Coming Up Roses: Four Tales of M/M Romance, Barry Lowe, Lydian Press
Foolish Hearts: New Gay Fiction, Timothy Lambert and R.D. Cochrane, Cleis Press
Like They Always Been Free, Georgina Li, Queer Young Cowboys
Message of Love, Jim Provenzano, Myrmidude Press/CreateSpace
The Passion of Sergius & Bacchus, A Novel of Truth, David Reddish, DoorQ Publishing
Pulling Leather, L.C. Chase, Riptide Publishing
Salvation: A Novel of the Civil War, Jeff Mann, Bear Bones Books

LESBIAN EROTICA

All You Can Eat. A Buffet of Lesbian Erotica and Romance, Andi Marquette and R.G. Emanuelle, Ylva Publishing
Forbidden Fruit: stories of unwise lesbian desire, Cheyenne Blue, Ladylit Publishing
Lesbian Sex Bible, Diana Cage, Quiver Books

LESBIAN GENERAL FICTION

Adult Onset, Ann-Marie Macdonald, Tin House Books
Last Words From Montmartre, Qiu Miaojin, Translated by Ari Larissa Heinrich, New York Review Books
Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932, Francine Prose, Harper Collins/Harper
Miracle Girls, MB Caschetta, Engine Books
New York 1, Tel Aviv 0, Shelly Oria, FSG Originals / Farrar, Straus and Giroux
The Palace Blues, Brandy T. Wilson, Spinsters Ink
The Paying Guests, Sarah Waters, Riverhead Books, Penguin Random House
Yabo, Alexis De Veaux, RedBone Press

LESBIAN MEMOIR/BIOGRAPHY

Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around: Forty Years of Movement Building with Barbara Smith, Alethia Jones and Virginia Eubanks, with Barbara Smith, SUNY Press
Cease – a memoir of love, loss and desire, Lynette Loeppky, Oolichan Books
Eating Fire: My Life as a Lesbian Avenger, Kelly Cogswell, The University of Minnesota Press
The End of Eve, Ariel Gore, Hawthorne Books
Under This Beautiful Dome: A Senator, A Journalist, and the Politics of Gay Love in America, Terry Mutchler, Seal Press

LESBIAN MYSTERY

The Acquittal, Anne Laughlin, Bold Strokes Books
Done to Death, Charles Atkins, Severn House Publishers
The Old Deep and Dark-A Jane Lawless Mystery, Ellen Hart, Minotaur Books
Slash and Burn, Valerie Bronwen, Bold Strokes Books
UnCatholic Conduct, Stevie Mikayne, Bold Strokes Books

LESBIAN POETRY

Haiti Glass, Lenelle Moïse, City Lights/Sister Spit
Janey’s Arcadia, Rachel Zolf, Coach House Books
Last Psalm at Sea Level, Meg Day, Barrow Street Press
Like a Beggar, Ellen Bass, Copper Canyon Press
MxT, Sina Queyras, Coach House Books
Mysterious Acts by My People, Valerie Wetlaufer, Sibling Rivalry Press
Only Ride, Megan Volpert, Sibling Rivalry Press
Termination Dust, Susanna Mishler, Red Hen Press/Boreal

LESBIAN ROMANCE

Christmas Crush, Kate McLachlan, Regal Crest
The Farmer’s Daughter, Robbi McCoy, Bella Books
The Heat of Angels, Lisa Girolami, Bold Strokes Books
Jolt, Kris Bryant, Bold Strokes Books
Nightingale, Andrea Bramhall, Bold Strokes Books
Seneca Falls, Jesse J. Thoma, Bold Strokes Books
Tangled Roots, Marianne K. Martin, Bywater Books
That Certain Something, Clare Ashton, Breezy Tree Press

LGBT ANTHOLOGY

Black Gay Genius: Answering Joseph Beam’s Call, Charles Stephens and Steven G. Fullwood, Vintage Entity Press
A Family by Any Other Name: Exploring Queer Relationships, Bruce Gillespie, TouchWood Editions
Outer Voices Inner Lives, Mark McNease and Stephen Dolainski, editors, MadeMark Publishing
The Queer South: LGBTQ Writers on the American South, Douglas Ray, editor, Sibling Rivalry Press
Understanding and Teaching US Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History, Leila J. Rupp & Susan K. Freeman, University of Wisconsin Press

LGBT CHILDREN’S/Young adult

Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out, Susan Kuklin, Candlewick Press
Double Exposure, Bridget Birdsall, Sky Pony Press, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing
Five, Six, Seven, Nate!, Tim Federle, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Forgive Me If I’ve Told You This Before, Karelia Stetz-Waters, Ooligan Press
Lies We Tell Ourselves, Robin Talley, Harlequin Teen
Pukawiss the Outcast, Jay Jordan Hawke, Dreamspinner Press/Harmony Ink Press
This is Not a Love Story, Suki Fleet, Dreamspinner Press/Harmony Ink Press
When Everything Feels like the Movies, Raziel Reid, Arsenal Pulp Press

LGBT DEBUT

Death in Venice, California, Vinton Rafe McCabe, The Permanent Press
Kill Marguerite and Other Stories, Megan Milks, Emergency Press
A Map of Everything, Elizabeth Earley, Jaded Ibis Press
The Music Teacher, Bob Sennett, Lethe Press
Nochita, Dia Felix, City Lights/Sister Spit
Part the Hawser, Limn the Sea, Dan Lopez, Chelsea Station Editions
Unaccompanied Minors, Alden Jones, New American Press
The Walk-In Closet, Abdi Nazemian, Curtis Brown Unlimited

LGBT DRAMA

The Beast of Times, Adelina Anthony, Kórima Press
Bootycandy, Robert O’Hara, Samuel French
A Kid Like Jake, Daniel Pearle, Dramatists Play Service
The Whale, Samuel D. Hunter, Samuel French
Wolves, Steve Yockey, Samuel French

LGBT GRAPHIC NOVELS

100 Crushes, Elisha Lim, Koyama Press
Band Vs. Band Comix Volume 1, Kathleen Jacques, Paper Heart Comix
Pregnant Butch: Nine Long Months Spent in Drag, A.K. Summers, Soft Skull, an imprint of Counterpoint
Second Avenue Caper, Joyce Brabner; Art by Mark Zingarelli, Hill and Wang, a division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Snackies, Nick Sumida, Youth in Decline