Winners include Carmen Maria Machado, John Rechy, and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor

NEW YORK, NY - On Monday, June 4, Lambda Literary, the nation's leading organization advancing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) literature, announced the winners of the 30th annual Lambda Literary Awards (the 'Lammys'). Comedian Kate Clinton hosted the ceremony at the NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, where attendees, sponsors, and celebrities celebrated thirty years of groundbreaking LGBTQ literature.

Roxane Gay and Edmund White were honored with Lambda's Trustee and Visionary Awards, respectively. Rick Whitaker introduced Edmund White with a tribute composed entirely from sentences found in Mr. White's books. Accepting the Visionary Award, White shared, 'Contained in the word 'novel' is novelty, and lesbian and gay writers have been lucky to write about this new world.'

Later, Rebecca Solnit introduced Roxane Gay, who won the Trustee Award. 'The word 'encourage' literally means to instill courage, and Roxane's work is marked by both courage and encouragement,' said Solnit. During her acceptance speech, Gay said, 'As a woman, as a black woman, as a queer woman, writing has offered me salvation and sanctuary.' She later said, 'I want queer writers to create the work that they want to put into the world, regardless if all of the work does or does not meet the expectations of those who read it.'

Other winners of the night included Carmen Maria Machado, John Rechy, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Barbara Browning, [and] Bogi Takács, [among others].

'What I want to leave with you tonight,' said Tony Valenzuela during his remarks on his ninth and final year as Lambda Literary's executive director, 'is that, despite our continued challenges, you have a community through Lambda Literary that has your back. I feel deeply grateful to have spent the last nine years with the help of so many of you, to make Lambda Literary into a space where more of us will be seen and can thrive.'

The Lammys brought out the stars from the worlds of film, television, theatre, journalism, and literature. Presenters this year included Alison Bechdel (MacArthur Fellow and award-winning author of Fun Home); Rebecca Solnit (award-winning author and contributing editor at Harper's Magazine); actor Taylor Trensch (actor, Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway); Pamela Sneed (award-winning poet); and Kate Bornstein (iconic trans activist and writer), [among others].

Lambda Literary's incoming executive director, Sue Landers, was acknowledged from the stage and begins a new chapter in the organization in July.

30th Annual Lambda Literary Award Winners
< Lesbian Fiction
" Her Body and Other Parties, Carmen Maria Machado, Graywolf Press Gay Fiction

" After the Blue Hour, John Rechy, Grove Press Bisexual Fiction

" The Gift, Barbara Browning, Coffee House Press Bisexual Nonfiction

" Hunger, Roxane Gay, HarperCollins Transgender Fiction

" Transcendent 2: The Year's Best Transgender Speculative Fiction, Bogi Takács (ed.), Lethe Press

LGBTQ Nonfiction
" How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Haymarket Books

Transgender Nonfiction
" Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity, C. Riley Snorton, University of Minnesota Press

Lesbian Poetry
" Rock | Salt | Stone, Rosamond S. King, Nightboat Books

Gay Poetry

" While Standing in Line for Death, CA Conrad, Wave Books Transgender Poetry

" recombinant, Ching-In Chen, Kelsey Street Press Lesbian Mystery

" Huntress, A. E. Radley, Heartsome Publishing Gay Mystery

" Night Drop, Marshall Thornton, Kenmore Books Lesbian Memoir/Biography

" The Fact of a Body, Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich, Flatiron Books Gay Memoir/Biography

" Lives of Great Men: Living and Loving as an African Gay Man, Chike Frankie Edozien, Team Angelica Publishing

Lesbian Romance " Tailor-Made, Yolanda Wallace, Bold Strokes Books Gay Romance

" Love and Other Hot Beverages, Laurie Loft, Riptide Publishing LGBTQ Erotica

" His Seed, Steve Berman, Unzipped Books LGBTQ Anthology

" ¡Cuéntamelo! Oral Histories by LGBT Latino Immigrants, Juliana Delgado Lopera, Aunt Lute Books

LGBTQ Children's/Young Adult " Like Water, Rebecca Podos, Balzer + Bray LGBTQ Drama

" The Gulf, Audrey Cefaly, Samuel French LGBTQ Graphic Novels

" My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Emil Ferris, Fantagraphics Books LGBTQ SF/F/Horror

" Autonomous, Annalee Newitz, Tor Books LGBTQ Studies

" Punishing Disease: HIV and the Criminalization of Sickness, Trevor Hoppe, University of California Press

Lambda Literary (LL) nurtures and advocates for LGBTQ writers, elevating the impact of their words to create community, preserve our legacies, and affirm the value of our stories and our lives. LL's programs include the Lambda Literary Awards, the Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices, LGBTQ Writers in Schools, Lambda LitFest LA, and our web magazine, the Lambda Literary Review, at www.LambdaLiterary.org. For more information email admin@lambdaliterary.org.

Courtesy of Lambda Literary

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