The 2016 Lambda Literary Awards—celebrating their 28th year—were announced this morning. The awards celebrate achievement in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) writing. A committee of nearly 100 literary professionals, including booksellers, book reviewers, librarians, authors, academics, and previous "Lammy" winners and finalists selected finalists in 25 categories, including a new category, Transgender Poetry. According to the organization, this year saw a record-breaking number of submissions (933, up from 818 last year) from 321 publishers. Submissions came from major mainstream publishers and from independent presses, from both long-established and new LGBT publishers, as well as from emerging publish-on-demand technologies. "The Lambda Literary Awards were founded in 1989 to elevate the profile of LGBT literature," said Lambda Literary Board President KG MacGregor. "In so doing, we also elevate the lives of those who find themselves authentically portrayed in our stories. It is with great pride that we come together each year to celebrate the excellent works of inspiring authors who have walked in our shoes." The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on June 6, 2016, at the NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. A red carpet and specially ticketed VIP Cocktail Reception will be held before the ceremony. The after-party, open to all with a general admission ticket, will follow at Le Poisson Rouge. For more information and to buy tickets, please visit www.lambdaliterary.org/awards.  

28th Annual Lambda Literary Award Finalists

Note: the number of finalists in a category is determined by the number of submissions in that category.

Lesbian Fiction

• Apocalypse Baby, Virginie Despentes, the Feminist Press
• Blue Talk and Love, Mecca Jamilah Sullivan, Riverdale Avenue Books
• The Cherokee Rose, Tiya Miles, John F. Blair (LJ 4/1/15)
• The First Bad Man, Miranda July, Scribner (Starred review, LJ 9/15/14)
• Jam on the Vine, LaShonda Katrice Barnett, Grove Press (LJ Xpress 5/21/15)
• Like a Woman, Debra Busman, Dzanc Books (LJ 3/1/15)
• Thérèse and Isabelle, Violette Leduc, the Feminist Press
• Under the Udala Trees, Chinelo Okparanta, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (LJ 6/15/15)

Gay Fiction

• Breathing Lessons, Andy Sinclair, Véhicule Press
• The Early Stories of Truman Capote, Truman Capote, Random House
• God in Pink, Hasan Namir, Arsenal Pulp Press
• Immaculate Blue, Paul Russell, Cleis Press
• JD, Mark Merlis, Terrace Books
• A Poet of the Invisible World, Michael Golding, Macmillan/Picador (Starred review, LJ 8/15)
• The Rise and Fall of the Yellow House, John Whittier Treat, Big Table Publishing Company
• Still Life, Las Vegas, James Sie, St. Martin's Press

Bisexual Literature (Fiction & Nonfiction) 

• Irrepressible: The Jazz Age Life of Henrietta Bingham, Emily Bingham, Farrar, Straus and Giroux (LJ 4/15/15)
• The Life and Death of Sophie Stark, Anna North, Penguin Random House/Blue Rider Press (Starred review, LJ 5/15/15)
• The Gap of Time, Jeanette Winterson, Hogarth (LJ Xpress Reviews, audio 12/4/15)
• Eat My Heart Out, Zoe Pilger, the Feminist Press
• My Riastrad, Kevin Hogan, Antrim House

Transgender Fiction

• Defiant, Michael Scott Monje Jr., Autonomous Press
• Lost Boi, Sassafras Lowry, Arsenal Pulp Press
• Tiny Pieces of Skull, or a Lesson in Manners, Roz Kaveny, Team Anjelica Publishing

LGBT Debut Fiction

• The Brink, Austin Bunn, Harper Perennial
• Do U., Mark S. Luckie, Amazon/CreateSpace
• His Steadfast Love and Other Stories, Paul Brownsey, Lethe Press
• Hotel Living, Ioannis Pappos, Harper Perennial
• Life Is Wonderful, People Are Terrific, Meliza Bañales, Ladybox Books
• A Love Like Blood, Victor Yates, Hillmont Press
• Lovesick, James Driggers, Kensington Publishing
• Lum, Libby Ware, She Writes Press

LGBT Nonfiction

• Considering Hate: Violence, Goodness, and Justice in American Culture and Politics, Kay Whitlock and Michael Bronski, Beacon Press (LJ 12/1/14)
• Fading Scars: My Queer Disability History, Corbett Joan O'Toole, Autonomous Press
• Galileo's Middle Finger: Heretics, Activists, and the Search for Justice in Science, Alice Dreger, Penguin Press (Starred review, LJ 2/15/15)
• The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle, Lillian Faderman, Simon & Schuster (Starred review, LJ 7/15/15)
• Modern Families: Stories of Extraordinary Journeys to Kinship, Joshua Gamson, NYU Press
• Namibia's Rainbow Project, Robert Lorway, Indiana University Press
• "No One Helped": Kitty Genovese, New York City, and the Myth of Urban Apathy, Marcia M. Gallo, Cornell University Press (LJ 5/1/15)
• What Color Is Your Hoodie? Essays on Black Gay Identity, Jarrett Neal, Chelsea Station Editions

Transgender Nonfiction

• Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family, Amy Ellis Nutt, Random House (Starred review, LJ 1/15/16, audio)
• Born on the Edge of Race and Gender: A Voice for Cultural Competency, Willy Wilkinson, Hapa Papa Press
• Hiding in Plain Sight, Zane Thimmesch-Gill, Avenue Books (LJ 12/15/14)

Lesbian Poetry

• The Devastation, Melissa Buzzeo, Nightboat Books
• Everybody's Bread, Claudia Rodriguez, Korima Press
• Experience in the Medium of Destruction, Sara Jane Stoner, Portable Press@Yo-Yo Labs
• Girls Like You, Margot Douaihy, Clemson University Press
• Life in a Box Is a Pretty Life, Dawn Lundy Martin, Nightboat Press
• Pelvis with Distance, Jessica Jacobs, White Pine Press (LJ 4/1/15)
• Say/Mirror: Poems and Histories, JP Howard, The Operating System
• Shorthand and Electric Language Stars, Stephanie Gray, Portable Press@Yo-Yo Labs

Gay Poetry

• Angel Park, Roberto F. Santiago, Lethe Press/Tincture
• Boy with Thorn, Rickey Laurentiis, University of Pittsburgh Press
• Canto Hondo/Deep Song, Francisco X. Alarcón, University of Arizona Press
• Crevasse, Nicholas Wong, Kaya Press
• Otter, Ben Ladouceur, Coach House Books
• Reconnaissance, Carl Phillips, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
• Steep Tea, Jee Leong Koh, Carcanet
• Teaching a Man To Unstick His Tail, Ralph Hamilton, Sibling Rivalry Press

Transgender Poetry

• Why Dust Shall Never Settle upon This Soul, Ryka Aoki, Biyuti Publishing
• Impersonation, Joy Ladin, the Sheep Meadow Press
• succubus in my pocket, kari edwards, EOAGH Books

Lesbian Mystery

• The Grave Soul, Ellen Hart, Minotaur Books
• Illicit Artifacts, Stevie Mikayne, Bold Strokes Books
• Ordinary Mayhem, Victoria Brownworth, Bold Stroke Books
• No Good Reason, Cari Hunger, Bold Strokes Books
• The Red Files, Lee Winter, Ylva Publishing
• Relatively Rainey, R.E. Bradshaw, R.E. Bradshaw Books
• Tarnished Gold, Ann Aptaker, Bold Strokes Books
• The Tattered Heiress: Volume Two of the Charlotte Olmes Mystery Series, Debra Hyde, Riverdale Avenue Books

Gay Mystery

• After the Horses, Jeffrey Round, Dundurn
• The Boys from Eighth and Carpenter, Tom Mendicino, Kensington Publishing
• Boystown 7: Bloodlines, Marshall Thornton, Kenmore Books
• Cheap as Beasts, Jonathon Wilson, Bold Strokes Books
• Introducing Sunfish & Starfish: Tropical Drag Queen Detectives, Wallace Godfrey, Strand Hill Books
• Murder and Mayhem, Rhys Ford, Dreamspinner Press
• Orient, Christopher Bollen, Harper (LJ 4/1/15)
• The Swede, Robert Karjel, Harper (LJ 10/15/15, audio)

Lesbian Memoir/Biography

• Cooking as Fast as I Can: A Chef's Story of Family, Food, and Forgiveness, Cat Cora, Scribner (LJ 5/15/15)
• Dirty River, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, Arsenal Pulp Press
• Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl, Carrie Brownstein, Riverhead Books/Penguin Random House (Starred review, LJ 10/1/15)
• Objects in the Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear, Kate Carroll de Gutes, Ovenbird Books
• You're Not Edith, Allison Gruber, George Braziller

Gay Memoir/Biography

• Chasing Lost Time: C.K. Scott Moncrieff: Soldier, Spy, and Translator, Jean Findlay, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
• Exiled for Love: The Journey of an Iranian Queer Activist, Arsham Parsi and Marc Colbourne, Roseway Publishing
• The House in St. John's Wood, Matthew Spender, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
• James Merrill: Life and Art, Langdon Hammer, Alfred A. Knopf (Starred review, LJ 7/15/15)
• My Avant-Garde Education: A Memoir, Bernard Cooper, W.W. Norton & Company
• My Body Is Yours, Michael V. Smith, Arsenal Pulp Press
• Smash Cut, Brad Gooch, Harper
• Until My Heart Stops, Jameson Currier, Chelsea Station Editions

Lesbian Romance

• Autumn Spring, Shelley Thrasher, Bold Strokes Books
• The Chameleon's Tale, Andrea Bramhall, Bold Strokes Books
• Full Circle, Dillon Watson, Bella Books
• Heart of the Game, Rachel Spangler, Bold Strokes Books
• Infiltration, Jackie D, Bold Strokes Books
• Making A Comeback, Julie Blair, Bold Strokes Books
• My Best Friend's Girl, Blythe H. Warren, Bella Books
• The Renegade, Amy Dunne, Bold Strokes Books

Gay Romance

• Blueberry Boys, Vanessa North, Riptide Publishing
• Brothers, Ralph Josiah Bardsley, Bold Strokes Books
• For Real, Alexis Hall, Riptide Publishing
• General Misconduct, L.A. Witt, Samhain Publishing
• Misfits, Garrett Leigh, Riptide Publishing
• Something Like Stories, Volume One, Jay Bell, Jay Bell Books
• When Skies Have Fallen, Debbie McGowan, Beaten Track
• Yes, Brad Boney, Dreamspinner Press

Lesbian Erotica

• Desire Behind Bars: Lesbian Prison Erotica, Salome Wilde and Talon Rihai (editors), Hillside Press
• The Muse, Meghan O'Brien, Bold Strokes Books
• Sweet & Rough: Queer Kink Erotica, Sinclair Sexsmith, Maverick Press

Gay Erotica

• Charming: Modern Gay Fairytales, Jennifer Levine and Rian Darcy, Circlet Press
• College Dive Bar, 1 AM, Natty Soltesz, Go Deeper Press
• Érotiques Suprèmes, Miodrag Kojadinovic, Choose the Sword Press
• Grave Desires, William Holden, Lethe Press
• Green Eyes: An Erotic Novel (Sort-of), Michael Ampersant, Lust Spiel Book

LGBT Anthology

• Beyond: The Queer Sci-Fi & Fantasy Comic Anthology, Sfé R. Monster (Editor) & Taneka Stotts (Assistant Editor), Beyond Press
• Glitter and Grit: Queer Performance from the Heels on Wheels Femme Galaxy, Edited by Damien Luxe, Heather M. Ács, and Sabina Ibarrola, Publication Studio
• Memories of the Revolution, Holly Hughes, Carmelita Tropicana, and Jill Dolan, Editors, University of Michigan Press
• Out of the Closet, into the Archives: Researching Sexual Histories, Amy L. Stone and Jaime Cantrell, SUNY Press
• A Pride of Poppies: Modern GLBTQI fiction of the Great War, Julie Bozza (editor), Manifold Press
• Soy Lesbiana y Que! Out Latina Lesbians, Nívea Castro with Geny Cabral, Sinister Wisdom
• Speak My Language, and Other Stories: An Anthology of Gay Fiction, Edited by Torsten Højer, Little, Brown Book Group/Robinson
• Videogames for Humans: Twine Authors in Conversation, Merritt Kopas, Instar Books

LGBT Children's/Young Adult

• About a Girl: A Novel, Sarah McCarry, St. Martin's Griffin
• Anything Could Happen, Will Walton, Push
• Gay and Lesbian History for Kids: The Century-Long Struggle for LGBT Rights, Jerome Pohlen, Chicago Review Press
• George, Alex Gino, Scholastic Press
• The Marvels, Brian Selznick, Scholastic Press
• More Happy Than Not, Adam Silvera, Soho Teen
• None of the Above, IW Gregorio, Balzer + Bray/ HarperCollins
• Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, Becky Albertalli, Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins

LGBT Drama

• Bright Half Life, Tanya Barfield, Dramatists Play Service
• Fun Home, Music by Jeanine Tesori, Book and Lyrics by Lisa Kron, Based on the Graphic Novel by Alison Bechdel, Samuel French
• Hir, Taylor Mac, Northwestern University Press
• Love Alone, Deborah Salem Smith, Dramatists Play Service
• The Mystery of Love and Sex, Bathsheba Doran, Samuel French

LGBT Graphic Novels

• Curveball, Jeremy Sorese, Nobrow (LJ Xpress 12/4/15)
• Honor Girl, Maggie Thrash, Candlewick Press (Starred review, SLJ 6/1/15)
• The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ & Amala, EK Weaver, Iron Circus Comics (LJ 3/15/12)
• O Human Star: Volume One, Blue Delliquanti, Self-published
• Wuvable Oaf, Ed Luce, Fantagraphics Books

LGBT SF/F/Horror

• The Boys on the Mountain, John Inman, DSP Publications
• The Caphenon (Chronicles of Alsea - Book #1), Fletcher DeLancey, Ylva Publishing
• Down, Ally Blue, Riptide Publishing
• The Glittering World, Robert Levy, Gallery Books (LJ 2/1/15)
• The Gracekeepers, Kirsty Logan, Crown Publishers (LJ Xpress 6/5/15)
• Minotaur, J.A. Rock, Riptide Publishing
• Sacrati, Kate Sherwood, Riptide Publishing
• Wonder City Stories, Jude McLaughlin, Createspace

LGBT Studies

• Arresting Dress: Cross-Dressing, Law, and Fascination in Nineteenth-Century San Francisco, Clare Sears, Duke University Press
• Funk the Erotic: Transaesthetics and Black Sexual Cultures, L.H. Stallings, University of Illinois
• Gay Fathers, Their Children, and the Making of Kinship, Aaron Goodfellow, Fordham University Press
• Indifference to Difference: On Queer Universalism, Madhavi Menon, University of Minnesota Press
• Not Gay: Sex Between Straight White Men, Jane Ward, NYU Press
• Queer Marxism in Two Chinas, Petrus Liu, Duke University Press
• A Taste for Brown Bodies: Gay Modernity and Cosmopolitan Desire, Hiram Pérez, NYU Press
• Thinking Sex with the Early Moderns, Valerie Traub, University of Pennsylvania Press

The 2016 Lambda Literary Awards Host Committee included William Johnson (cochair), Jerome Murphy (cochair), Amy Scholder (cochair), Kevin Brannon, Jamie Brickhouse, Paul Florez, David Gale, Antonio Gonzalez, David Groff, William Johnson, Michele Karlsberg, Elizabeth Koke, Melanie LaRosa, Elizabeth Koke, Nick Nicholson, Angelo Nikolopoulos, Julia Pastore, Lori Perkins, Cathy Renna, Charles Rice-Gonzalez, Patrick Ryan, Karen Schechner, John Sellers, S. Chris Shirley, Marissa Johnson-Valenzuela, and Jason Wells.