The 2019 Lambda Literary Award Finalists Are Hereby Announced
This year’s Lambda Literary Award finalists have been announced, with nominees in 24 categories, selected by 60 panelists, from over 300 submissions. Got it? Meredith Talusan of them has noted the "trend towards trans-related books" coming to the fore, and spoke to newly-appointed Executive Director (and poet) Sue Landers about it all. From that piece:
...Sue Landers wrote over email: "Given the sheer number of terrific LGBTQ books, it's not at all uncommon for Lammy finalists to garner mainstream attention and accolades. But yes, we have seen over the past few years, as trans visibility has increased and the general public's understanding of trans lives has deepened, mainstream media has made some strides towards becoming more trans inclusive. This is due in no small part to all the work small, unheralded, and independent trans centered presses have done for a long time, work that changed how we can and should view the queer literary canon. Of course, much work remains to be done to bring even more of these books into the world and to shine a light on them."
The Poetry finalists:
Lesbian Poetry
- Body Work, Emilia Nielsen, Signature Editions
- Each Tree Could Hold a Noose or a House, Nina Puro, New Issues Poetry & Prose
- Evolution, Eileen Myles, Grove Atlantic / Grove Press
- Gaze Back, Marylyn Tan, Ethos Books
- Obits., Tess Liem, Coach House Books
- Past Lives, Future Bodies, Kristin Chang, Black Lawrence Press
- Surge, Etel Adnan, Nightboat Books
- Who Is Trixie the Trasher? And Other Questions, Jane Miller, Copper Canyon Press
Gay Poetry
- ESL or You Weren’t Here, Aldrin Valdez, Nightboat Books
- Indecency, Justin Phillip Reed, Coffee House Press
- Inquisition, Kazim Ali, Wesleyan University Press
- Junk, Tommy Pico, Tin House Books
- Not Here, Hieu Minh Nguyen, Coffee House Press
- Stereo(TYPE), Jonah Mixon-Webster, Ahsahta Press
- Unfinished Sketches of a Revolution, Brane Mozetič, Translated by Barbara Jursa, Talisman House Publishers
- Wild Is the Wind: Poems, Carl Phillips, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Bisexual Poetry
- Cenzontle, Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, BOA Editions Ltd.
- If They Come for Us, Fatimah Asghar, Random House / One World
- Mad Quick Hand of the Seashore: Love Poems, Frances Donovan, Reaching Press / Createspace
- My Woman Card Is anti-Native & Other Two-Spirit Truths, Xemiyulu Manibusan Tapepechul, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
- We Play a Game, Duy Doan, Yale University Press
Transgender Poetry
- Heal Your Love, Luna Merbruja, biyuti publishing
- Holy Wild, Gwen Benaway, Book*hug Press
- If the Color Is Fugitive, Sara Mithra, Nomadic Press
- Lo Terciario / The Tertiary, Raquel Salas Rivera, Timeless, Infinite Light
- Some Animal, Ely Shipley, Nightboat Books
Find out more at Lambda Literary, and congrats to all!