2021 Lambda Literary Award Winners Announced
Lambda Literary announced the winners of the 33rd Annual Lambda Literary Awards, known as the “Lammys,” on June 1 at a ceremony hosted by Rakesh Satyal, who won a Lambda Literary Award for his debut novel, Blue Boy. Last year's awards ceremony was canceled due to the pandemic; this year's event was held virtually, on Zoom. The event, as always, doubled as a fundraiser to help support Lambda Literary’s programs.
Last night's ceremony was also the debut of the Randall Kenan Prize for Black LGBTQ Fiction, named for the Lammy-winning author of Let the Dead Bury Their Dead, who died in August of 2020. The prize bearing his name honors "writers whose work explores themes of Black LGBTQ life, culture, and history," and comes with a $3,000 cash prize. Ana-Maurine Lara is the inaugural recipient of the prize.
Other special prize winners announced last night include: Brontez Purnell and Sarah Gerard, who won the Jim Duggins Outstanding Mid-Career Novelist Prize, a $5,000 prize. Nancy Agabian won the $2,500 Jeanne Córdova Prize for Lesbian/Queer Nonfiction, and T Kira Madden and Taylor Johnson won the $1,000 Judith Markowitz Award, which "recognizes two writers whose work demonstrates exceptional potential."
The winners in each category are as follows:
Lesbian Fiction
Fiebre Tropical, Juli Delgado Lopera, Feminist Press
Gay Fiction
Neotenica, Joon Oluchi Lee, Nightboat Books
Bisexual Fiction
You Exist Too Much, Zaina Arafat, Catapult
Transgender Fiction
The Thirty Names of Night, Zeyn Joukhadar, Atria Books
Bisexual Nonfiction
Wow, No Thank You.: Essays, Samantha Irby, Vintage
Transgender Nonfiction
The Black Trans Prayer Book, J Mase III & Dane Figueroa Edidi, The Black Trans Prayer Book
LGBTQ Nonfiction
The Lonely Letters, Ashon T. Crawley, Duke University Press
Lesbian Poetry
Funeral Diva, Pamela Sneed, City Lights Books
Gay Poetry
Guillotine, Eduardo C. Corral, Graywolf Press
Bisexual Poetry
Salt Body Shimmer, Aricka Foreman, YesYes Books
Transgender Poetry
I Love You and I'm Not Dead, Sade LaNay, Argos Books
Lesbian Memoir/Biography
My Autobiography of Carson McCullers, Jenn Shapland, Tin House Books
Gay Memoir/Biography
A Dutiful Boy: A Memoir of a Gay Muslim's Journey to Acceptance, Mohsin Zaidi, Square Peg
Lesbian Romance
Written in the Stars, Alexandria Bellefleur, Avon Books
Gay Romance
The Ghost and Charlie Muir, Felice Stevens, Self-published
LGBTQ Anthology
Love after the End: An Anthology of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction, Joshua Whitehead, Arsenal Pulp Press
LGBTQ Children’s/Middle Grade
King and the Dragonflies, Kacen Callender, Scholastic
LGBTQ Young Adult
Flamer, Mike Curato, Henry Holt Books for Young Readers
LGBTQ Comics
Apsara Engine, Bishakh Som, Feminist Press
LGBTQ Drama
The Book of Mountains and Seas, Yilong Liu, New Conservatory Theatre Center
LGBTQ Erotica
The Nerves, Lee Suksi, Metatron Press
LGBTQ Mystery
I Hope You're Listening, Tom Ryan, Albert Whitman & Company
LGBTQ Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror
Everyone on the Moon Is Essential Personnel, Julian K. Jarboe, Lethe Press
LGBTQ Studies
Becoming Human: Matter and Meaning in an Antiblack World, Zakiyyah Iman Jackson, NYU Press
