Lambda Literary Award

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The Lambda Literary Award Medal Design 2008.

Lambda Literary Awards (also known as the "Lammys") are awarded yearly by the US-based Lambda Literary Foundation to published works which celebrate or explore LGBT themes. Categories include Humor, Romance and Biography. To qualify, a book must have been published in the United States in the year current to the award. The Lambda Literary Foundation states that its mission is "to celebrate LGBT literature and provide resources for writers, readers, booksellers, publishers, and librarians - the whole literary community."[1] The awards were instituted in 1988.

Contents

[edit] Controversy

[edit] Bisexual Community/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[2] by Loraine Hutchins and Lani Kaahumanu was forced to compete (and lose) in the category "Lesbian Anthology".[3]

Led by BiNet USA.,[4] the American Institute of Bisexuality and assisted by other bisexual organizations including BiPOL, Bialogue and a group of bisexual rights activists launched a multi-year struggle that eventually culminated in 2006 with the addition of a Bisexual category.

[edit] Transgender Community/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.

Transpeople 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.[5] Within a year the executive director who had initially approved of the book's inclusion resigned.[6] Executive Director Charles Flowers stated, "Further, 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."[7]

[edit] Latest winners

Main article: List of Lambda Literary Award winners
See also: Lambda Literary Awards winners and nominees for science fiction, fantasy and horror

[edit] See also

LGBT portal
Literature portal

[edit] References

  1. ^ "News and Announcements". Lambda Literary Foundation. 2007. http://www.lambdaliterary.org/index.html. Retrieved 2007-11-25. 
  2. ^ "Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out Review". International Gay & Lesbian Review. http://gaybookreviews.info/review/2488/548. Retrieved 2007-11-25. 
  3. ^ "1991 Lambda Literary Awards Recipients". Lambda Literary Foundation. http://www.lambdaliterary.org/awards/previous_winners/paw_1988_1991.html#1991. Retrieved 2007-11-25. 
  4. ^ Curry, Wendy (2007). "What makes a book bisexual?". Curried Spam. BiNet USA. http://www.binetusa.org/curriedspam.html#bibook. Retrieved 2007-11-25. 
  5. ^ Letellier, Patrick (16 March 2004). "Group rescinds honor for disputed book". PlanetOut. http://www.planetout.com/news/article.html?2004/03/16/3. Retrieved 2007-11-25. 
  6. ^ Schwartz, Nomi (16 June 2005). "Lambda Literary Foundation Announces Major Changes". American Booksellers Association. http://news.bookweb.org/news/3606.html. Retrieved 2007-11-25. 
  7. ^ Flowers, Charles (September 20, 2007). Letter to the New York Times, Sept 20, 2007.

[edit] External links

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