By Rachel Pepper
Pictured David Sedaris.
NEW YORK—The recipients of the 17th Annual Lambda Literary Awards were announced at a gala reception and awards ceremony in New York City June 2. Emceed by the indefatigable comedian and Broadway actress Lea Delaria, the awards were hosted by CLAGS and held during the annual BookExpo America convention at the CUNY Graduate Center in Manhattan. The award ceremony, which drew more than 300 luminaries in the world of LGBTQ writing and publishing, annually celebrates the achievements in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender literature for books published the previous year.
The Lammys, always a congenial affair, this year attracted the usual mix of senior editors, small and large press publishers and publicists, experienced and fledgling writers, journalists, graphic artists, celebrities and slush pile cogs. With more than 25 awards to give out, all presented by writers who themselves needed introducing, the Lammys stretched well into the evening. Those attendees who stuck it out were treated to a bevy of our community's best, including performer Charles Busch presenting the memoir category, multiple nominee upstart Suspect Thoughts Press's enthused acceptance for their book I Do/I Don't: Queers on Marriage, and Mariette Pathy Allen, author of the photography book The Gender Frontier, which won the transgender category, blurting out, 'I've never been so astonished in all my life!'
Vagina Monologues author Eve Ensler accepted a special Bridge Builder Award by noting that 'creating better understanding between gays and straights is less about building bridges and more about excavating the crud between us.' New York Times best-selling Eleanor Roosevelt-biographer Blanche Weisen Cooke accepted the Pioneer Award, and two new $1000 prizes were given this year for debuting authors in both gay and lesbian fiction, which went to Blair Mastbaum, for his novel Clay's Way and Judith Frank for Cry Baby Butch. A $500 prize for best Independent LGBT Press was awarded to Bella Books, who have taken over the legacy of Naiad Press in publishing lesbian romantic fiction.
Notable winners in other categories included Colm Toibin for gay men's fiction with The Master, Stacey D'Erasmo for best lesbian fiction for A Seahorse Year, the award-winning play I Am My Own Wife by Doug Wright for drama, and perennial favorite Katherine V Forrest for her latest mystery, Hancock Park. Forrest saluted 'all the partners of writers in this room' and concluded by saying she was 'so proud I write for this wonderful community.' Sci-fi writer Jim Grimsley thanked 'the independent bookstores that made my career' and others thanked the Lambda Literary Foundation for their support. Gay but mainstream writer David Sedaris won the humor category for his latest book Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, which his publicist accepted for him by saying 'David couldn't be here, he's too busy signing autographs for adoring fans.'
Adding some star-power to the evening were Style TV drag talk show host Brini Maxwell presenting the Humor Award, porn star turned poet Aiden Shaw presenting the Erotica Award, erotic writer and anthologizer Tristan Taormino, and the ever-glamorous and multi-tattooed Michelle Tea, who attended with Laurenn McCubbin, the illustrator for Tea's graphic novel Rent Girl.
From hundreds of books nominated, five nominees were selected in each of 20 categories. Panels of judges in each category, chosen to represent the diversity of the LGBTQ literary community, determined the final winner from the finalists. The Lambda Literary Awards are produced by the non-profit Lambda Literary Foundation.
Other awards: Biography—Warrior Poet: A Biography of Audre Lorde by Alexis De Veaux, W.W. Norton; Visual Arts/ Photography—At Ease: Navy Men of World War II by Evan Bachner, Harry Abrams; LGBT Studies—For the Love of Women: Gender, Identity and Same-Sex Relations in a Greek
Provincial Town by Elisabeth Kirtsoglou, Routledge; Transgender—The Gender Frontier by Mariette Pathy Allen, Kehrer Verlag.
Lambda Literary Changes
On June 7, Lambda Literary Foundation Board of Trustees members Jim Duggins, Katherine V. Forrest, Karla Jay, and Don Wiese voted to accept the resignation of Executive Director Jim Marks.
'The pending sale of the building housing our offices, combined with the consistently precarious financial state of the Foundation throughout its history, has created the necessity for reevaluation of the Foundation and its activities, and for difficult choices we must make going forward.
'The James White Review, an acquisition of the Foundation, is suspending publication pending a review of its viability. ... Likewise, the Lambda Book Report, which has been ably and inclusively edited by Lisa C. Moore, will suspend publication pending a review of its viability. ... We will soon be in discussions with Books to Watch Out For, an exciting review venture covering the entirety of our literature, under the auspices of Carol Seajay and Richard LaBonte who have been central figures in our literature for many years. ... The Lambda Literary Awards and their showcase author readings, the centerpiece of the Foundation, will continue.'
See lambdalit.org .
