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| Nickname | Lambda Literary |
|---|---|
| Established | 1987/1997 |
| Type | LGBTQ literary organization |
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Executive Director | Sue Landers |
| Website | lambdaliterary |
The Lambda Literary Foundation (also known as Lambda Literary) is an American LGBTQ literary organization whose mission is to nurture and advocate for LGBTQ writers, elevating the impact of their words to create community, preserve their legacies, and affirm the value of LGBTQ stories and lives. [1]
Lambda Literary traces its beginnings back to 1987 when L. Page (Deacon) Maccubbin, owner of Lambda Rising Bookstore in Washington, DC, published the first Lambda Book Report, which brought critical attention to LGBTQ books.
The Lambda Literary Awards were born in 1989. At that first gala event, honors went to such distinguished writers as National Book Award finalist Paul Monette (author of Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir ), Dorothy Allison ( Trash ), Alan Hollinghurst ( The Swimming-Pool Library ), and Edmund White (The Beautiful Room is Empty). The purpose of the awards in the early years was to identify and celebrate the best lesbian and gay books in the year of their publication. The awards gave national visibility [2] [3] to a literature that had established a firm if nascent beachhead through a network of dynamic lesbian and gay publishers and bookstores springing up across America. Since their inception, the Lambda Literary Awards ceremony has consistently drawn an audience representing every facet of publishing. The awards have ranged over many categories, reflecting the wide spectrum of LGBTQ books, and from the first year they have made the statement that lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans stories are part of the literature of the nation. The Lammys' first virtual ceremony, in response to COVID-19, was held in 2021. [4]
Lambda Book Report, meanwhile, grew into a comprehensive review periodical, and together with the Lambda Literary Awards, these programs cemented the reality that a distinct, definable LGBT literature existed. Lambda Literary was created in 1997 as a 501(3)(c) corporation; its first Executive Director was Jim Marks.
In 2007, led by board president Katherine V. Forrest and executive director Charles Flowers, Lambda Literary founded its Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices, a residency designed to offer intensive and sophisticated instruction to selected writers over a carefully designed one week period. Faculty have included well-known and highly regarded writer-teachers such as Dorothy Allison, John Rechy, Fenton Johnson, Katherine V. Forrest, Claire McNab, Bernard Cooper, Nicola Griffith, Ellen Bass, Rigoberto Gonzalez, D. A. Powell, Ellery Washington and Eloise Klein Healy. The retreat provides open access to industry professionals and the opportunity for fellows to create for themselves an ongoing community of practice as they advance in their craft and careers. It is one of Lambda’s most important initiatives: it represents the future of LGBTQ literature.
In early 2010, in an effort led by board member Nicola Griffith, Lambda Literary funded, staffed, and launched an online presence at LambdaLiterary.org which celebrates, supports, serves, informs, entertains, and connects the whole of the diverse community that creates and supports lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans literature. The website replaced the Lambda Book Report.
In 2012 Lambda Literary launched the LGBTQ Writers in School program, where LGBTQ writers visit K-12 classrooms to discuss LGBTQ literature with young people. [5]
Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ literature. The awards were instituted in 1989.
Nicola Griffith is a British-American novelist, essayist, and teacher. She has won the Washington State Book Award, Nebula Award, James Tiptree, Jr. Award, World Fantasy Award and six Lambda Literary Awards.
Dorothy Allison is an American writer from South Carolina whose writing focuses on class struggle, sexual abuse, child abuse, feminism and lesbianism. She is a self-identified lesbian femme. Allison has won a number of awards for her writing, including several Lambda Literary Awards. In 2014, Allison was elected to membership in the Fellowship of Southern Writers.
Sheela Lambert (1956-2024), a native and lifelong resident of New York City, was an American bisexual activist and writer.
Betty Berzon was an American author and psychotherapist known for her work with the gay and lesbian communities.
Katherine V. Forrest is a Canadian-born American writer, best known for her novels about lesbian police detective Kate Delafield. Her books have won and been finalists for Lambda Literary Award twelve times, as well as other awards. She has been referred to by some "a founding mother of lesbian fiction writing."
Naiad Press (1973–2003) was an American publishing company, one of the first dedicated to lesbian literature. At its closing it was the oldest and largest lesbian/feminist publisher in the world.
Bella Books is a small press publisher of lesbian literature based in Tallahassee, Florida.
Ellen Hart is the award-winning mystery author of the Jane Lawless and Sophie Greenway series. Born in Maine, she was a professional chef for 14 years. Hart's mysteries include culinary elements similar to those of Diane Mott Davidson.
Saints and Sinners LGBTQ+ Literary Festival is an alternative literary festival specializing in LGBTQ+ literature. It is held in various locations around the French Quarter neighborhood in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, each March. The event is coordinated by the Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival.
Firebrand Books is a publishing house established in 1984 by Nancy K. Bereano, a lesbian and feminist activist, in Ithaca, NY. Karen Oosterhouse, its publisher since 2003, describes Firebrand as "the independent publisher of record for feminist and lesbian fiction and nonfiction," championing "authors whose work has been marginalized: women of color, women coming out of poverty, trans women, the genderqueer, and other underrepresented voices." It is among the many feminist and lesbian publishing houses that grew out of the Women's Press Movement; other presses of that period include Naiad Press, Persephone and Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press.
Lesbian literature is a subgenre of literature addressing lesbian themes. It includes poetry, plays, fiction addressing lesbian characters, and non-fiction about lesbian-interest topics.
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Golden Crown Literary Society (GCLS) is an American nonprofit organization established in 2004 for those with an interest in Sapphic literature. Since 2005, GCLS has at its annual conference presented Golden Crown Literary Awards (Goldies) to authors and editors in various categories of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and anthologies/collections, as well as for cover design and audiobook narration.
Lambda Literary Awards are awarded yearly by the United States-based Lambda Literary Foundation to published works that celebrate or explore LGBT themes. The awards are presented annually for books published in the previous year. The Lambda Literary Foundation states that its mission is "to celebrate LGBT literature and provide resources for writers, readers, booksellers, publishers, and librarians—the whole literary community."
Bisexual literature is a subgenre of LGBT literature that includes literary works and authors that address the topic of bisexuality or biromanticism. This includes characters, plot lines, and/or themes portraying bisexual behavior in both men and women.
The Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry is an annual literary award, presented by the Lambda Literary Foundation to a gay-themed book of poetry by a male writer.
The Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Poetry is an annual literary award, presented by the Lambda Literary Foundation to a lesbian-themed book of poetry by a female writer. At the first two Lambda Literary Awards in 1989 and 1990, a single award for LGBT Poetry, irrespective of gender, was presented. Beginning with the 3rd Lambda Literary Awards in 1991, the poetry award was split into two separate awards for Lesbian Poetry and Gay Poetry, which have been presented continuously since then except at the 20th Lambda Literary Awards in 2008, when a merged LGBTQ poetry award was again presented for that year only.
The Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Graphic Novel is an annual literary award, presented by the Lambda Literary Foundation, to a graphic novel with LGBT themes. As the award is presented based on themes in the work, not the sexuality or gender of the writer, non-LGBT individuals may be nominated for or win the award.
The Lambda Literary Publishing Professional Award, established in 2016, "honors a distinguished individual in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community whose innovative work in the publishing industry promotes and promulgates LGBTQ literature."
The Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ+ Poetry is an annual literary award, presented by the Lambda Literary Foundation to a LGBTQ+ themed book of poetry.
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