Lambda Literary Foundation honors the GLBT best.
By Victor Zorn, Donalevan Maines
Marijane Meaker and Martin Duberman received the Pioneer Awards in recognition of their lifetime achievements at the Lambda Literary Foundation awards ceremony on May 31 in New York City. Meaker is a pioneer of lesbian literature. Her 1952 novel Spring Fire was one of the first paperback novels to deal with a lesbian theme. Duberman, the esteemed American historian, is the author of many books, including the 1993 Stonewall. He was the founder and first director of the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies at the City University of New York Graduate School.
At the ceremony, the Lambda Literary Foundation presented 25 Lambda Literary Awards in 25 categories. The nonprofit foundation also honored 11 gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender literary figures who died over the last 18 months: Sarah Aldridge, Sybille Bedford, Betty Berzon, Tee Corinne, Hanns Ebensten, Aleta Fenceroy, Barbara Gittings, Sterling Houston, Dr. Fritz Klein, Art “Cassandra” Polansky, and Eric Rofes.
See below for complete list. — Victor Zorn
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MORE BEST BOOKS
On May 7, the Publishing Triangle honored novelist Andrew Holleran (Dancer from the Dance, the recent Grief) and playwright and scholar Eric Bentley (Are You Now or Have You Ever Been) with lifetime achievement awards. The Publishing Triangle, the association sponsored by HarperCollins, Hyperion, Curtis Brown, and Avalon Publishing Group, presented the 19th annual Triangle Awards at its New York ceremony.
Winners included Christopher Bram and Lisa Carey. They received the Ferro-Grumley awards for gay and lesbian fiction, respectively, for Exiles in America (William Morrow) and Every Visible Thing (William Morrow). The awards honor the memory of authors Robert Ferro (The Blue Star, Second Son) and Michael Grumley (Life Drawing), who were life partners who both died of AIDS in 1988.
See below for more Publishing Triangle winners.
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READOUT SHORTS
Chaos: A Novella and Stories
Edmund White
Carroll & Graf Publishers (www.avalonpub.com)
Seldom has sex for sale seemed so sad and senseless as in Chaos, a novella about a pathetic, 66-year-old, washed-up writer, written by Edmund White at age 66, who pays men to enact fantasies such as a young Mormon pioneer, his c–k jutting out of the flap of his long johns into the trembling mouth of the writer playing his bonneted, freckled wife. The manuscript is published along with three other, shorter stories. — Review: Donalevan Maines
Charmed Lives: Gay Spirit in Storytelling
Various writers
White Crane Books (www.whitecranebooks.org)
The stories we tell ourselves define who we were, who we are, and, most importantly, who we will be. This compelling anthology presents an alternative to the stories our culture tells about gay people. Part spiritual journey, part romance, but all alive, the stories in this book give us a new way of looking at both our spiritual and mortal selves. This one is not to be missed. — Review: Angel Curtis
Boston Boys Club
Johnny Diaz
Kensington (www.kensingtonbooks.com)
The first of the gay romance beach books has arrived, and this one is a winner! Tommy moves to Boston, finds his place in gay bar life, and meets the men of his dreams. One problem — beautiful as these men may be on the outside, they share the same issues as the rest of us mortals. Tommy spends an amazing year growing up and growing out. Sexy, rich, and charming, this one is a true page-turner. — Review: Angel Curtis
The Straight Road to Kylie
Nico Medina
Simon Pulse (www.simonandschuster.com)
Jonathan is an out and proud high school boy with a dream — to see Kylie Minogue in concert. His dream becomes a possibility when a drunken party results in a roll in the hay with one of his budding fag hags. Suddenly, the most popular girl in school makes him a deal: If he’ll pretend to go into the closet, she’ll make his dream come true. Well-plotted and hilarious, this book should be on your summer-in–the-shade reading list. —Review: Angel Curtis _____________________________
Winners of the Lambda Literary Awards:
Anthology
Love, Bourbon Street, edited by Greg Herren & Paul J. Willis (Alyson)
Arts and Culture
GAY L.A. by Lillian Faderman & Stuart Timmons (Basic Books)
Bisexual
The Bisexual’s Guide to the Universe by Nicole Kristal & Michael Szymanski (Alyson)
Children’s/Young Adult (tie)
Full Spectrum, edited by David Levithan & Billy Merrell (Random House Children’s Books)
Between Mom & Jo by Julie Anne Peters (Little Brown)
Drama/Theater
1001 Beds by Tim Miller (University of Wisconsin)
Humor
My Lucky Star by Joe Keenan (Little Brown)
LGBT Nonfiction (tie)
GAY L.A. by Lillian Faderman & Stuart Timmons (Basic Books)
Different Daughters by Marcia M. Gallo (Carroll & Graf)
LGBT Studies
Their Own Receive Them Not by Horace L. Griffin (Pilgrim Press)
Sci-fi/Fantasy/Horror
Izzy and Eve by Neal Drinnan (Green Candy Press)
Spirituality
The After-Death Room by Michael McColly (Soft Skull Press)
Transgender
The Transgender Studies Reader,
edited by Susan Stryker & Stephen Whittle (Routledge)
Lesbian Fiction
The Night Watch by Sarah Waters (Riverhead Books)
Lesbian Romance
Fresh Tracks by Georgia Beers (Bold Strokes)
Lesbian Mystery
The Art of Detection by Laurie R. King (Bantam)
Lesbian Poetry
Lemon Hound by Sina Queyras (Coach House Books)
Lesbian Memoir/Biography
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (Houghton Mifflin)
Lesbian Erotica
Walk Like a Man by Laurinda D. Brown (Q-Boro Books)
Lesbian Debut Fiction
The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery (Riverhead)
Gay Fiction
Suspension by Robert Westfield (HarperCollins)
Gay Romance
When the Stars Come Out by Rob Byrnes (Kensington)
Gay Mystery
The Lucky Elephant Restaurant by Garry Ryan (NeWest Press)
Gay Poetry
A History of My Tattoo by Jim Elledge (Stonewall)
Gay Memoir/Biography
The Bill From My Father by Bernard Cooper (Simon & Schuster)
Gay Erotica
A History of Barbed Wire by Jeff Mann (Suspect Thoughts)
Gay Debut Fiction
Suspension by Robert Westfield (HarperCollins)
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Additional Triangle winners:
Thom Gunn Award for Gay Poetry
Gutted by Justin Chin (Manic D Press)
Audre Lorde Award for Lesbian Poetry
Hometown for an Hour by Jennifer Rose (Ohio University Press)
Judy Grahn Award for Lesbian Nonfiction
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, Fun Home (Houghton Mifflin)
Randy Shilts Award for Gay Nonfiction
Covering by Kenji Yoshino (Random House)
Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction
A Scarecrow’s Bible by Martin Hyatt (Suspect Thoughts Press)
The Robert Chesley Foundation, named for the late playwright whose play Night Sweats was the first play about AIDS staged in the United States, presented awards for playwriting. The co-winners were Eric Bentley, honored for lifetime achievement, and Chris Weikel, who was recognized as an emerging artist.
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