The Lambda Literary Award

[Sam]

Finalists are in too many categories to list so I'll just leave the link.

https://www.lambdaliterary.org/31st-a...

[Antonomasia, Admin only]

Wow, that's a lot of books. Probably the ones that members of this group are most likely to have read are Freshwater, Disoriental and the Edmund White memoir, The Unpunished Vice: A Life of Reading. They also have The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke, the NBA non-fiction winner which has a surprisingly low number of ratings on GR.

[Paul]

Finalists out for 2019: https://www.lambdaliterary.org/awards...

Rather too many too list - but in the Gay Fiction category in particular several familiar names, including interestingly two RoC books Animalia (on 2020 list), and Murmur (joint winner 2019)

Winners from last year here https://www.lambdaliterary.org/previo... - which include Disoriental

[Paul]

Finalists for 2022:

https://lambdaliterary.org/awards/cur...

Some familiar names on here and some new ones.

[Alwynne]

Thanks Paul.

[Paul]

Nice to see Brickmakers on the list from (Selva Almada, translated by Annie McDermott) from Graywolf Press in US but Charco in UK.

Is there a UK equivalent prize - one isn't springing to mind?

[endrju]

I've read quite a few from the list and I'm still very much impressed by Torrey Peters.

[David]

It’s interesting that we don’t see After the Sun.

[Robert]

Some good news - Summer Fun will be published by Dead Ink in June

I guess the equivalent would be the Polari Prize

[Robert]

Paul wrote: "Nice to see Brickmakers on the list from (Selva Almada, translated by Annie McDermott) from Graywolf Press in US but Charco in UK.

Is there a UK equivalent prize - one isn't springing to mind?"

I guess the Polari Prize

[Paul]

Thanks - yes that is right, it had slipped my mind

[endrju]

2023 Lammys Shortlist Announcement March 15! - the website says. I'm very much looking forward to it.

[David]

I will be disappointed if A Queen in Bucks County doesn't feature somewhere.

[endrju]

It sounds great. I'll put it on my wishlist for when my book buying budget allows. Excellent queer literature has been published in the past year so I'm really curious what they'll pick. And hopefully I'll discover something new.

[David]

I’ve never followed it closely. The books always seem too mainstream, more Lauren Groff than Isabel Waidner, but I’ve never really dug into the lists.

What are you hoping to see recognized?

[endrju]

My Volcano, The Kingdom of Sand, Hugs and Cuddles, Querelle de Roberval are some that I'd like to see nominated at least. Although I've no idea what criteria they have in place for translated literature.

I can't say I followed previous installments of the award, but Lambda website's monthly list of anticipated queer literature which I do follow includes all sorts of books, including those less mainstream.

[David]

Those would all be good contenders. I guess I haven’t followed the prize close enough in the past to see what it rewards vs. what I’d like to reward.

According to the rules, translations are eligible, although they haven’t done particularly well in the past.

[endrju]

I haven't followed it much either but I'd like to see it discussed more this year. And to be honest, I'm slowly but surely leaning toward 'a year of reading queerly', being sort of fed up with cishet stuff that passes for literature.

[David]

Finalists released today: https://lambdaliterary.org/awards/cur...

Looks like a good mix of familiar titles and others to explore.

[endrju]

Hah, Hugs and Cuddles got through. There's at least one in each of the first four categories that I don't recognize and sound promising. Nonfiction and LGBT+ studies categories also have a few excellent ones, some of which I've read already.

[David]

This might prompt me to read a few books that languished from my tbr: Manywhere: Stories, Jawbone, Didn't Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta, Hugs and Cuddles. I also see that K-Ming Chang has a story collection shortlisted, Gods of Want: Stories.

I've read maybe five poetry collections in the last year, and somehow managed to read a majority of finalists in the trans poetry category.

[Alwynne]

It's an intriguing selection as always, a few I've read, a few I'm contemplating and some hadn't come across before. Although I've never managed to read the whole list, partly because I can't face categories like romance!

[Tracy]

I loved Carlotta. Hannaham is becoming an author to watch for me. I didn’t recognize any of the poetry- I’m planning on rectifying that soon- loaded up my wish list!

[WndyJW]

Didn’t Nobody Give a Shit… has been calling to me for awhile. Knowing you liked it, Tracy, makes me even more curious about it.

[endrju]

I've just finished My Government Means to Kill Me, which is readable and commendable for its politics but badly written, and began The Foghorn Echoes. Given my position on short story collections, unless this one I'm reading now is a masterpiece Hugs and Cuddles is my choice for Gay Fiction.

[David]

I’ve been watching your ratings. I doubt any of them will top Cassandra for me, but I’ll get to Hugs & Cuddles at some point in April. I’m planning to read a few in some other categories too. Carlotta, Manywhere, maybe a few others.

[endrju]

My next stop is Transgender Fiction and will read The Call-Out after God's Children Are Little Broken Things: Stories. I've read Didn't Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta (loved it), and Manywhere: Stories (not much love from me), but won't read the rest as they give off YA vibe judging by the covers. So it's between The Call-Out and Carlotta for me.

Then I'll circle back to Bisexual and Lesbian Fiction, but won't read everything either.

[Tracy]

endrju wrote: "My next stop is Transgender Fiction and will read The Call-Out after God's Children Are Little Broken Things: Stories. I've read [book:Didn't Nobody Give a Shit What..."

I enjoyed both God’s Children and Carlotta- I’m happy you loved Carlotta, too- she deserves a lot of love!
I’ll try to get to more Lambda books- I’ve found that there are often so many brilliant choices, especially for adults. (The YA books all seem to follow the same formulas.)

I’ve especially liked the poetry in the past- Danez Smith and Tommy Pico are particular favorites.

[David]

Finalists for the Triangle awards are out: https://publishingtriangle.org/2023/0...

I would be curious to know the relationship between the Lambda Awards and the Triangle Awards. They seem redundant and overlapping, although of course there cannot be too much recognition for good books.

[endrju]

I'm so happy to hear about Patrick Califia. His Macho Sluts made a huge impression back in my formative days. Even with an overlap, I discovered a few I think I'll read so I'm good with the Triangle awards (not that anyone asked me).

[Alwynne]

endrju wrote: "I'm so happy to hear about Patrick Califia. His Macho Sluts made a huge impression back in my formative days. Even with an overlap, I discovered a few I think I'll read so I'm good with the Triangl..."

Macho Sluts had a big impact here too, used to be a popular gift particularly bundled with a vibrator!

[endrju]

How else, the book's hot!

[David]

The winners will be announced tomorrow evening (7pm US Eastern Time) at an awards banquet in New York.

Any favorites?

Call Me Cassandra and A Queen in Bucks County were mine, although I haven't gotten to as many as I would have liked. God's Children Are Little Broken Things was excellent too. So was Didn't Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta. I have Jawbone and Hugs and Cuddles yet to read.

[David]

Winners here: https://lambdaliterary.org/awards/202...

Too many to list, but winners in the categories we've discussed include:
- Gods of Want: Stories
- The Foghorn Echoes
- The Call-Out
- MissSettl

[endrju]

I'm super happy for The Call-Out. I enjoyed it immensely. Much less so The Foghorn Echoes, but on the other hand I'm really not surprised it won given the liberal democratic politics it exudes.

[David]

endrju wrote: "but on the other hand I'm really not surprised it won given the liberal democratic politics it exudes"

That tends to be a feature of US prizes. See this year's Pulitzer for a classic case.

Notably the more radical works won in the trans categories. MissSettl (Nightboat) and The Call-Out (Seven Stories) were the two winners I read.

[WndyJW]

I’d appreciate any YA LGBTQ book recommendations, especially for non-binary teens. I’d like some joyful books too. Call Me Cassandra will remain one of my lifetime favorites, but it is definitely not a happy book.

[Paul]

Finalists out - rather too many to list so a link:

https://lambdaliterary.org/awards/cur...

I note Blackouts and Biography of X both make an appearance.

[endrju]

And hopefully they'll win. I plan to get to the Zéleny at some point and I'm still wondering if I want to read the Beagin (been wondering for months now).

[Alwynne]

endrju wrote: "And hopefully they'll win. I plan to get to the Zéleny at some point and I'm still wondering if I want to read the Beagin (been wondering for months now)."

I've been wondering about that one too, think I'll probably pass though. I was pleased to see the McGill there, simply because it was so entertaining. I'd like to try Pomegranate but hated Bestiary- although I only made it through the first two chapters - so think I'll avoid Organ Meats. Heard positive things about Emily Zhou so that's another I'm keen to sample.

[David]

Winners from all 26 categories last night are here: https://bookriot.com/the-2024-lambda-...

The winners include Catherine Lacey for Biography of X.