WRITING
Writers Honored at Virtual Lambda Literary Awards
Online event puts spotlight on LGBTQ literature across genres
BY KATHLEEN WARNOCK
Last year’s Lambda Literary
Awards were given
out, but the ceremony
was canceled. In June,
2020, we were months from the
vaccine, and here in New York City,
things were still sad and dangerous.
A year later, the Lambda Literary
Awards ceremony was held on
June 1, with dozens of awards given
on a screen near you.
While the in-person ceremony features
a red carpet and open bar, the
virtual ceremony drew a glamorous
crowd from around the globe.
In addition to most of the United
States, people checked in from
Canada, Belize, the United Kingdom,
Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Belgium,
Australia, and more.
City Lights Books in San
Francisco, publishers of Pamela
Sneed’s “Funeral Diva,” which
was nominated for (and won!)
Best Lesbian Poetry, said hello
to its fans and customers, along
with lesbian literary icon Jewelle
Gomez (“The Gilda Stories”) and
Dr. François S. Clemmons, the
singer, musician, teacher, and
beloved character on “Mister Rogers’
Neighborhood,” whose book,
“Offi cer Clemmons: A Memoir,”
was nominated for Best Gay Biography/
Memoir.
As the crowd settled in, people
“shouted” each other’s names
across the virtual room. In addition
to its annual awards, Lambda
gives special awards to writers in
various stages of their careers to
support their work.
Rakesh Satyal was the master of ceremonies during the virtual event.
Special Awards
Rakesh Satyal, who is vice president
of the Lambda Literary Foundation
and an executive editor at
Harper One/Harper Collins, was
the master of ceremonies and welcomed
the crowd. He introduced
a new Special Award: the Randall
Kenan Prize for Black LGBTQ Fiction,
given to a writer whose fi ction
explores themes of Black LGBTQ
life, culture, and/or history.
Ana-Maurine Lara, (“Streetwalking:
LGBTQ Lives and Protest
in the Dominican Republic”)
the Dominican-American lesbian
poet, novelist and Black feminist
scholar, was the inaugural recipient
of the award, which includes
a $3,000 grant. The award is presented
in memory of Kenan, the
prize-winning author and teacher
who died last August.
“I’d like to thank our Black literary
elders and peers for accompanying
YOUTUBE
and sustaining me on this
journey,” Lara said.
The Lammys started asking
winners to pre-record their acceptance
speeches when many nominees,
spread across the country,
couldn’t come to the ceremony in
person. The practice served the
organization well, as every winner
but one was able to give an acceptance
speech.
This year’s other Special Award
winners were Sarah Gerard (“Binary
Star and “True Love”) and
Brontez Purnell, author of “100
Boyfriends,” recently featured in
the “Pride” documentary series.
Gerard and Purnell won the Jim
Duggins PhD Outstanding Mid-
Career Novelist Prize.
“I hope I can be one-millionth the
badass Jeanne Córdova was,” Nancy
Agabian said in her acceptance
speech for the Jeanne Córdova Prize
for Lesbian/Queer Nonfi ction.
William Johnson presented T
Kira Madden and Taylor Johnson
with the Judith A. Markowitz Award
for Emerging LGBTQ Writers.
More than 20 different awards
were given to the year’s best LGBTQ
books in genres including Fiction,
Poetry, Non-Fiction, Biography/
Memoir and Drama.
The presenters spoke from around
the country and the world. Legendary
gay novelist Alan Hollinghurst
said: “I’m delighted to be presenting
the fi ction awards. Less delighted
I’m doing it from my home in London,
rather than the most glamorous
party in New York. Hollinghurst
added that this year is “one of the
richest years I can remember for gay
and lesbian fi ction.”
The presenters and winners were
eloquent, talking about the need
for LGBTQ work by people of all
genders, ethnicity, and ability, as a
light and a guide for the next generations.
ASL interpreters were pictured
throughout the ceremony.
“As a queer woman of color,
Lambda has meant so much to me
over the years,“ said Zaina Arafat,
winner of the award for Bisexual
Fiction with “You Exist Too Much.”
“For all the sissies, all the queers,
all the pinoy boys, I see you,” Mike
Curato said when he received the
Lammy for LGBTQ Young Adult
book, “Flamer.” “For anyone who
has dwelled in darkness, there is
light in you even if you can’t see it.”
“My younger self and I are very
proud of this moment today,” Yilong
Liu told the audience when he accepted
the LGBTQ Drama prize for
“The Book of Mountains and Seas.”
“Gracias! I’m really speechless,”
said Juli Delgando Lopera, who
won Lammy for Lesbian Fiction for
her novel “Fiebre Tropical.” “It’s a
little hot here in Miami! I have to
thank the people who came before
me, the people who have been
experimenting with language. It
means a lot that this book receives
such a distinguished award, when
other people were told they are not
writing in proper English.”
Iconic lesbian novelist Katherine
V. Forrest’s remarks were warmly received
when she addressed the recipients,
nominees, and spectators as
she presented the Lammys for Lesbian
and Gay Memoir/Biography.
“We’ve all been through a year
only a writer could imagine,” she
said. “The memoirist Janet Mock
said telling our stories fi rst to ourselves
and then to one another in
the world is a revolutionary act.”
After all the awards were handed
out, the ceremony concluded with
a musical performance by Meshell
Ndegeocello with Chris Bruce of
the song “Good Day Bad.”
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