May 16, 2012
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Award Guidelines


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SUBMISSION GUIDELINES FOR THE 24th ANNUAL LAMBDA LITERARY AWARDS

These guidelines focus on determining a book’s eligibility for the Lambda Literary Awards, the process of submitting a book for consideration by the judges, the parameters of the categories, and an approximate timeline for the awards cycle.

TIMELINE

  • Submission period for books begins September 1, 2011 and ends December 1, 2011. WE ARE NOW CLOSED TO SUBMISSIONS.
  • A shortlist of up to five finalists for each category will be announced no later than March 16, 2012.
  • Winners will be announced at the 24th Annual Lambda Literary Awards Ceremony to be held in New York City in early June 2012. Exact date, time and location to be announced by December 1, 2011.

ELIGIBILITY

  • In determining whether a book should be submitted for consideration, it should be noted that the Lambda Literary Awards are based principally on literary merit and on significant content relevant to LGBT lives. These awards will be open to all authors regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Exceptions to these eligibility guidelines are as follows: LGBT authors will be recognized with three awards given annually during the Lambda Literary Awards ceremony (each to a male-identified and female-identified individual) marking stages of a writer’s career: the Debut Fiction Award (to one queer man and one queer woman), the Jim Duggins Outstanding Mid-Career Novelist Prize (to one male-identified and one female-identified author), and the Pioneer Award (to one male-identified and one female-identified individual or group).
  • The book must be published and distributed (i.e. available in bookstores or online) in the United States during 2011.
  • Self-published books are eligible.
  • Reprints of previously published paperback or hardcover books are not eligible. Second (or later) editions of a book are not eligible for consideration. A book that has been republished by a different publisher after its initial publication is not eligible.
  • The book must be published in English. Translations from other languages into English are accepted, as long as the U.S. publication occurs during 2011.
  • Books available in eBook format alone are not eligible.

SUBMISSION PROCESS

  • Books submitted for consideration will be accepted between September 1, 2011 and December 1, 2011. WE ARE NOW CLOSED TO SUBMISSIONS.

 

2011 AWARDS CATEGORIES

  • Lambda Literary Awards are presented in up to 22 categories (see below). If you have any questions about which category would be most appropriate for a book, please email us at awards@lambdaliterary.org.
  • A book can be submitted in only one category, with two exceptions. Bisexual and Trans books may be submitted in their respective categories, as well as a second category. This exception is intended to bring more visibility to the most under-published segments of our LGBT community.
  • If a category receives fewer than ten (10) submissions, the category will not be active in this awards cycle. The submitted books will be reassigned to another category if appropriate, and the administrative fee will be refunded if the book cannot compete in another category.
  • The awards committee reserves the right to split a category along sexual orientation or gender if the number of submissions received in a category warrant such a distinction.
  • If the Bisexual category receives ten (10) submissions of fiction and ten (10) submissions nonfiction, the category will be separated into Bisexual Fiction and Bisexual Nonfiction.
  • If the Trans category receives ten (10) submissions of fiction and ten (10) submissions of nonfiction, the category will be separated into Trans Fiction and Trans Nonfiction.

LESBIAN and GAY CATEGORIES (12)

LESBIAN: Books eligible for this category are those that feature a lesbian main character.
GAY: Books eligible for this category are those that feature a gay main character.

Gay Erotica
Lesbian Erotica
Anthologies, novels, memoirs, short story collections whose content is principally of an erotic nature.

Gay General Fiction
Lesbian General Fiction
Novels, novellas, and short story collections. May include historical novels, graphic novels, cross-genre works of fiction, and other styles of fiction. Debut fiction is now eligible in this category. Anthologies are not eligible.

Gay Memoir/Biography
Lesbian Memoir/Biography
Posthumously published authors or those with co-authors are also eligible. Anthologies are not eligible.

Gay Mystery
Lesbian Mystery
Novels, novellas, and short story collections that adhere to the criteria of a “mystery,” as defined by the Mystery Writers of America: “A mystery is considered to be any novel in which a crime, or a series of crimes, are an integral part of the story.” Anthologies are not eligible.

Gay Poetry
Lesbian Poetry
Single volumes, selected and collected poems, and anthologies are eligible. Chapbooks are not eligible.

Gay Romance
Lesbian Romance
Novels, novellas, and short story collections that adhere to the criteria of a “romance.” As defined by the Romance Writers of America: “A romance is defined as a work of fiction with two critical elements: a central love relationship and a positive ending stating or implying a commitment between the two characters.” Anthologies are not eligible.

LGBT CATEGORIES (6)

These categories are non-gender specific.

LGBT Anthology
Collections of fiction and/or nonfiction are eligible.

LGBT Children’s/Young Adult
Fiction, nonfiction, picture books, poetry, and anthologies—whose intended audience is young readers—are all eligible.

LGBT Drama
Plays that have been published in book/script form during 2011. Collections of plays and anthologies of plays are eligible.

LGBT Nonfiction
Books and subjects for the general reader, e.g. histories, politics, community organizations, humor, parenting, religion, spirituality, relationships, psychology, travel, etc.

LGBT Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror
Novels, novellas, short story collections, and anthologies are eligible.

LGBT Studies
Scholarly work oriented toward academia, libraries, cultural professionals, and the more academic reader.

ADDITIONAL CATEGORIES (4)

Bisexual Fiction & Bisexual Nonfiction
Novels, short story collections, anthologies, poetry, memoirs, cultural studies, public policy, law, history, spirituality, gender studies, etc.

Trans Fiction and Trans Nonfiction
Novels, short story collections, anthologies, poetry, memoirs, cultural studies, public policy, law, history, spirituality, gender studies, etc.

LGBT AUTHOR AWARDS

Debut Fiction Awards

One award will be presented to a self-identified Queer man and one award to a self-identified Queer woman for novels, novellas, or short story collections by authors who have not previously published a book of fiction. Anthologies are not eligible. Authors who have appeared in anthologies are eligible, as long as they have not published a volume identified as theirs alone.

Jim Duggins Outstanding Mid-Career Novelist Prize

The Outstanding Mid-Career Novelists’ Prize will be presented annually at the Lambda Literary Awards ceremony.  The award, made possible by James Duggins, PhD, consists of two cash prizes of $5000.  The awards will be presented to two LGBT-identified authors.  Age is not a determining factor. The award will recognize LGBT content of importance to the LGBT community and with emergent LGBT authors who have written and published at least three novels, or two novels and substantial additional literary work such as poetry, short stories, and essays.  A panel (or panels) will be created to identify candidates & winners.  Recommended winners will be reviewed by the Staff and Board of Trustees of the Lambda Literary Foundation.

Pioneer Award

One award will be presented to a self-identified Queer man or group of Queer men and one award will be presented to a self-identified Queer woman or group of Queer women. Age is not a determining factor. The award will recognize Queer authors who have made a significant contribution to Queer literature and/or the lives of Queer people. The LLF board of Directors will determine the recipient.