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.
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.
Metrosource is an American LGBTQ magazine. The bi-monthly gay and lesbian lifestyle magazine and business directory has three editions: Metrosource NY, Metrosource LA and Metrosource National. The magazine is distributed in print and digital formats.
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.
Essex Hemphill was an openly gay American poet and activist. He is known for his contributions to the Washington, D.C. art scene in the 1980s, and for openly discussing the topics pertinent to the African-American gay community.
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. A similar term is sapphic literature, encompassing works that feature love between women that are not necessarily lesbian.
Lee Lynch is an American author writing primarily on lesbian themes, specifically noted for authentic characterizing of butch and femme characters in fiction. She is the recipient of a Golden Crown Literary Society Trail Blazer award for lifetime achievement, as well as being the namesake for the Golden Crown Literary Society's Lee Lynch Classics Award.
Kevin Killian was an American poet, author, editor, and playwright, primarily of LGBT literature. My Vocabulary Did This to Me: The Collected Poetry of Jack Spicer, which he co-edited with Peter Gizzi, won the American Book Award for Poetry in 2009.
Although same-sex sexual activity was illegal in Canada up to 1969, gay and lesbian themes appear in Canadian literature throughout the 20th century. Canada is now regarded as one of the most advanced countries in legal recognition of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) rights.
New York City has been described as the gay capital of the world and the central node of the LGBTQ+ sociopolitical ecosystem, and is home to one of the world's largest and most prominent LGBTQ+ populations. Brian Silverman, the author of Frommer's New York City from $90 a Day, wrote the city has "one of the world's largest, loudest, and most powerful LGBT communities", and "Gay and lesbian culture is as much a part of New York's basic identity as yellow cabs, high-rise buildings, and Broadway theatre". LGBT travel guide Queer in the World states, "The fabulosity of Gay New York is unrivaled on Earth, and queer culture seeps into every corner of its five boroughs". LGBT advocate and entertainer Madonna stated metaphorically, "Anyways, not only is New York City the best place in the world because of the queer people here. Let me tell you something, if you can make it here, then you must be queer."
LGBT culture in Leeds, England, involves an active community of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender/transsexual. A BBC News Online article published in 2012 stated that, while Leeds City Council has not published statistics relating to the number of LGBT residents, the figure can be estimated at 10% of the overall population, which currently suggests a total of at least 77,000. The tenth year of the Leeds Pride march and celebration, held in 2016, was attended by over 40,000 people.
LGBT culture in Baltimore, Maryland is an important part of the culture of Baltimore, as well as being a focal point for the wider LGBT community in the Baltimore metropolitan area. Mount Vernon, known as Baltimore's gay village, is the central hub of the city's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities.
Storme Webber is an American two-spirit interdisciplinary artist, poet, curator, and educator based in Seattle, Washington. She is descended from Sugpiaq (Alutiiq), Black, and Choctaw people.
Barracuda Lounge, or simply Barracuda, is a gay bar in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1995, the bar is known for its nightly drag shows. It is a sister establishment to Industry, a nightclub, and Elmo, a restaurant. Barracuda is home to "Star Search", the longest-running bar show in New York City, which began in the early 1990s and may have served as an inspiration for RuPaul's Drag Race. In the 1990s and 2000s, Barracuda was a popular celebrity hangout, and it was frequently the site of promotional events for new music and Broadway plays. While closed for much of 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the venue underwent a major renovation. It reopened in June 2021. Critics generally praise Barracuda for its intimate, relaxed and entertainment-focused atmosphere, which was unusual at the time of its creation, and some credit this with revolutionizing the concept of gay bars.
Willyce Kim is an American writer. She is generally recognized to be the first openly-lesbian, Asian American poet to be published in the United States. Kim published her first book of poetry in 1971 and continued to publish poetry and novels throughout the 1970s and 1980s. She also contributed to a number of lesbian literary reviews throughout this time period. Her work is characterized by its celebration of lesbianism, strong women, and queer kinship.
S. Renée Bess is an American author from Pennsylvania whose writing focuses on multi-ethnic and cultural representation in literature, social themes, African-American culture, lesbianism, feminism, complex female characters, and family relationships. She is a retired Spanish and French teacher who has been writing for most of her life. Her writing has won a number of awards including a Golden Crown Literary Society “Goldie” for Our Happy Hours: LGBT Voices from the Gay Bars, a 2017 anthology that came about as a result of the massacre at the gay Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. She serves as a member of the GCLS Sandra Moran Writing Academy Scholarship board. and is a long-time member of the Golden Crown Literary Society and the Lambda Literary Foundation.
JR's Bar and Grill is a gay bar in Neartown, Houston, in the U.S. state of Texas. Charles Armstrong is the owner.
Mr. Flamingo is a gay bar in Zona Romántica, Puerto Vallarta, in the Mexican state of Jalisco.
Diesel is a gay bar in Seattle, in the U.S. state of Washington.
Martha Miller is a writer and English professor best known for her stories that explore gay and lesbian life across genres including crime, YA, and memoir.
