Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the “Lammys”, is a yearly award given by the Lambda Literary Foundation (based in the United States) to published works which celebrate or explore sexuality, gender, social justice in literature and the arts. Now in its 31st edition, the Lambda award honours outstanding work in various categories; from Lesbian Fiction to Gay Fiction to Transgender Poetry to LGBTQ Erotica amongst many others.
The finalists for the Lambda Literary Awards were announced yesterday exclusively on the Oprah Magazine. Since 1989, the Lambda Literary Awards (Lammys as they’re known colloquially) have recognized the critical role LGBTQ writers play in shaping our culture and society at large, Oprah Magazine reports. According to Sue Landers, the Executive Director of Lambda Literary, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness of and showcasing LGBTQ authors and works, “LGBTQ visibility has increased and the general public’s understanding of the queer community has deepened. Yet in many places in this world right now, it is still dangerous to be LGBTQ, which makes it all the more important to write and share our stories so that queer life can be better understood and celebrated”.
Past winners of the awards include Africans Chinelo Okparanta, Frankie Edozien, the Queer Africa anthology, and The 2018 Gerald Kraak Anthology Volume II; and literary giants like Alison Bechdel, Michael Cunningham, Roxane Gay and Audre Lorde. The list for this year includes some of our favourite writers, some of whom have stepped into fame with their writing in the past few years. Amongst them are; Akwaeke Emezi (Their book, PET was nominated under the LGBTQ Children’s/Young Adult category), Marlon James (His book, Black Leopard, Red Wolf was nominated under the LGBTQ Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror category), Nicole Dennis-Benn (Her book, Patsy was nominated under the Lesbian Fiction category), The Heart of the Matter: The Gerald Kraak Anthology Volume III (nominated under the LGBTQ anthology category).
Check out the full list of the nominees and their categories here.
The winners will be announced on Monday, June 8 at a lively ceremony hosted by comedian and Saturday Night Live cast member Bowen Yang in New York City. May the best person win.
