Lambda Literary Awards

The Lambda Literary Awards, known as the Lammys, recognize the year's best LGBTQ books. Lambda Literary, the nonprofit that presents them, created the awards in 1989 to bring national attention to LGBTQ writing at a time when much of it reached readers through a small network of lesbian and gay presses and bookstores. The first ceremony was held in Washington, D.C., in June 1989 and honored books published the year before.

The awards now span 26 categories covering fiction, nonfiction, poetry, genre writing, books for young readers and works centered on particular identities. Each category is decided by a panel of three or four judges drawn from writers, readers and past finalists, who choose without direction from Lambda's staff or board. Books from self-published authors and from independent and academic presses compete alongside those from major publishers. Finalists are announced in the spring, and winners are named at a ceremony in New York each June, receiving a plaque and a seal for the book's cover.

LGBTQ books published in the previous calendar year, including self-published and small-press titles, entered in one of the award's genre or identity categories.