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WINNERS ANNOUNCED FOR 17TH ANNUAL LAMBDA LITERARY AWARDS
Gay Men’s Debut Fiction Awards goes to Blair Mastbaum; Lesbian Debut Fiction to Judith Frank
The recipients of the 17th Annual Lambda Literary Awards were announced last night at a gala ceremony in New York City emceed by comedian and Broadway actress Lea Delaria during the BookExpo America convention. The awards celebrate achievements in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) literature for books published in 2004.A $1,000 prize was awarded to the recipient of awards in each of two new categories: The Trustees Award for Gay Men’s Debut Fiction was given to actor, model, producer and writer Blair Mastbaum, for his novel Clay’s Way (Alyson). The Trustees Award for Lesbian Debut Fiction was given to Judith Frank, who drew on her experience as an adult literacy tutor to write her first novel Cry Baby Butch (Firebrand). A $500 prize was awarded to Bella Books for The Independent LGBT Press Award.
The Gay Men’s Fiction Award was given to Booker Prize finalist Colm Tóibín for The Master (Scribner), a fictionalized study of the interior life of novelist Henry James, and The Lesbian Fiction Award was given to Village Voice writer and novelist Stacey D’Erasmo for A Seahorse Year (Houghton Mifflin), which follows a San Francisco family coping with a 16-year-old son's mental illness. Winners in the above categories, and eighteen others, received a crystal trophy.
Comedian and Broadway actress Lea Delaria recounted the widely covered story of her last public appearance, a May 14 benefit for the AIDS Assistance Program in Palm Springs, in which organizers shut off her microphone and dragged her off stage for her Bush-Bashing jokes. The audience of The Lambda Literary Awards gave Delaria quite the opposite reception, by bursting into rousing applause and laughter throughout the night. When she asked herself aloud whether or not she thought the audience from Palm Springs was conservative, she said “they would have to look left to see Mussolini.”
In her acceptance speech for The Bridge Builder Award, Vagina Monologues author Eve Ensler said that “creating better understanding between gays and straights is less about building bridges and more about excavating the crud between us.”
When New York Times bestselling biographer Blanche Weisen Cooke accepted the Pioneer Award, she told a story to make the point that two butches can’t dance, but Lea Delaria proved her wrong by waltzing with her onstage.
Among the award presenters were Style TV drag talk show host Brini Maxwell presenting the Humor Award, and porn star turned poet Aiden Shaw presenting the Erotica Award, as well as Broadway writer and performer Charles Busch, who when presenting the memoirs category joked that among his favorite memoirs were those by Suzanne Sommers and Mary Lou Henner.
The Lambda Literary Awards recognize and honor the best in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender literature. From hundreds of books nominated by their publishers and other authorized agents, five nominees were selected in each of 20 categories. Panels of judges in each category, chosen to represent the diversity of the LGBT literary community, determined the final winner from the finalists.
See the complete list of Award recipients.
The 2004 Lambda Literary Awards were sponsored by:
CLAGS
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center
The Haworth Press / Harrington Park Press
The American Booksellers Association
Bella Books
TLABooks.com
Kensington
Insight Out Books
Mercedes-Benz
The Pilgrim Press
The Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation
One in Ten
Brother, Help Thyself
Gival Press
DREAMWalker Group
The Publishing Triangle
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