The Lambda Literary Foundation (also known as Lambda Literary) is an American LGBTQ literary organization whose mission is to nurture and advocate for LGBTQ writers, elevating the impact of their words to create community, preserve their legacies, and affirm the value of LGBTQ stories and lives.
34-448: 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. The program has grown from 14 awards in early years to 24 awards today. Early categories such as HIV/AIDS literature were dropped as
68-582: A carefully designed one week period. Faculty have included well-known and highly regarded writer-teachers such as Dorothy Allison, John Rechy , Fenton Johnson , Katherine V. Forrest, Claire McNab , Bernard Cooper , Nicola Griffith , Ellen Bass , Rigoberto Gonzalez , D. A. Powell , Ellery Washington and Eloise Klein Healy . The retreat provides open access to industry professionals and the opportunity for fellows to create for themselves an ongoing community of practice as they advance in their craft and careers. It
102-632: A close relationship with her father Bill Taormino, who died of AIDS in 1995. Taormino attended Sayville High School on Long Island and was salutatorian of her graduating class. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a bachelor's degree in American Studies from Wesleyan University in 1993. Taormino is the author of eight books, including the Firecracker Alternative Book Award -winning The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women . She has edited anthologies including
136-456: A development deal with MTV Networks. She served as host and executive producer on the pilot for The Naughty Show , but the series was never picked up. She has appeared as an expert on sex, relationships, feminism, pornography, non-monogamy, and LGBT issues on Melissa Harris-Perry , Joy Behar : Say Anything , HBO 's Real Sex , The Howard Stern Show , Ricki Lake , MTV, and other television shows. Taormino worked with Spike Lee as
170-411: A different gender. I also consider folks who embrace alternative models of sexuality and relationships ( polyamory , non-monogamy , BDSM , cross-dressing ) to be queer, since labeling them "straight," considering their lifestyle choices, seems inappropriate." She was laid off from The Village Voice in 2008. She has written "The Anal Advisor" column for Hustler 's Taboo magazine since 1999, and she
204-519: A number of "porn stars" (from famous to unknown) interacting without a script. In 2006, she directed Tristan Taormino's Chemistry , which is the first in a series of full-length "behind the scenes" movies for Vivid Entertainment where the performers choose who they have sex with, what they do, where and when. She directed four volumes of the Chemistry series as well as sex education films for Vivid Ed, Vivid Entertainment's sex education line that she
238-662: A script consultant and with the cast on the set of his 2004 movie She Hate Me . In 2006, she appeared as a so-called "sextra" in John Cameron Mitchell 's film, Shortbus , participating in an unsimulated orgy that was filmed for the movie. (Her presence is confirmed by the director on the DVD commentary.) She also appeared in Becky Goldberg's 2003 documentary Hot and Bothered: Feminist Pornography and in Mr. Angel ,
272-622: Is Empty ). The purpose of the awards in the early years was to identify and celebrate the best lesbian and gay books in the year of their publication. The awards gave national visibility to a literature that had established a firm if nascent beachhead through a network of dynamic lesbian and gay publishers and bookstores springing up across America. Since their inception, the Lambda Literary Awards ceremony has consistently drawn an audience representing every facet of publishing. The awards have ranged over many categories, reflecting
306-578: Is a former columnist for Velvetpark . She is the former editor of On Our Backs , the US's oldest lesbian-produced lesbian sex magazine. Taormino has lectured at many colleges and universities, where she speaks on gay and lesbian issues, sexuality and gender, and feminism . Some of her college appearances have stirred controversy, as at University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2004, Princeton , and, most famously, Oregon State University in 2011, where administrators un-invited her as keynote speaker at
340-540: Is not just about who I love or lust, but it's about my culture, my community, and my politics. The truth is, even if I were with a heterosexual guy, I'd be a queer dyke." In addition, "she describes herself as 'equal opportunity'. She doesn't like the word 'bisexual' – and says "it's too polarizing." In addition to being a vocal advocate of non-monogamy , Taormino supports gay marriage: "I support gay marriage being legalised in every state. I do however think it’s unfortunate that in some cases gay marriage opponents have used
374-449: Is often recommended as a starter guide to polyamory and non-monogamy . Taormino is the only child of Judith Bennett Pynchon and William J. Taormino. On her mother's side of the family, Taormino is a descendant of William Pynchon , an early English-American settler. She is also the niece of author Thomas Pynchon . Her parents divorced before she turned two years old. She was raised primarily by her mother on Long Island. She maintained
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#1732790083520408-443: Is one of Lambda’s most important initiatives: it represents the future of LGBTQ literature. In early 2010, in an effort led by board member Nicola Griffith, Lambda Literary funded, staffed, and launched an online presence at LambdaLiterary.org which celebrates, supports, serves, informs, entertains, and connects the whole of the diverse community that creates and supports lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans literature. The website replaced
442-491: Is the only author in the gay mystery category to have won twice for two different series. Alison Bechdel has won four awards in the Humor category, the most by any single author, and is one of five writers to have won the award more than once (with Joe Keenan , Michael Thomas Ford , David Sedaris , and David Rakoff ). The Humor category has been discontinued. Nicola Griffith and Melissa Scott have each won four awards in
476-592: Is the only writer to have won two awards in the Gay Fiction category for The Master in 2004 and for The Empty Family in 2011 . Paul Monette is the only writer to have won two awards in the Gay Non-Fiction category, for Borrowed Time in 1989 and for Becoming a Man in 1993 . Lillian Faderman is the only writer to have won awards in seven different categories, having received: Several writers have won awards in more than one category in
510-852: The Lambda Literary Award -winning annual anthology series she created and edited from 1996 to 2009, Best Lesbian Erotica , published by Cleis Press . She was a regular columnist for The Village Voice from 1999 to 2008, where she wrote the bi-weekly sex column "Pucker Up." In print, her column appeared opposite Dan Savage's column Savage Love. She popularized and re-defined the term "queer heterosexual," in her 1995 column "The Queer Heterosexual." She wrote: "In some cases, it's based on either one or both partners having non-traditional gender expressions...or they actively work against their assigned gender roles. Some queer heterosexuals are strongly aligned with queer community, culture, politics, and activism but happen to love and lust after people of
544-847: The Scifi/Fantasy/Horror category, and are two of six writers to have won the SFFH award more than once (with Stephen Pagel, Jim Grimsley , and Lee Thomas ). Sarah Waters has won three awards in the Lesbian Fiction category, for Tipping the Velvet ( 2000 ), Fingersmith ( 2002 ), and The Night Watch in ( 2007 ), and is one of only three writers to have won the Lesbian Fiction award more than once (with two-time winners Dorothy Allison and Achy Obejas ). Mark Doty and Adrienne Rich have each won three awards in
578-636: The Lambda Book Report. In 2012 Lambda Literary launched the LGBTQ Writers in School program, where LGBTQ writers visit K-12 classrooms to discuss LGBTQ literature with young people. Tristan Taormino Tristan Taormino (born May 9, 1971) is an American feminist author, sex educator , and pornographic film director. She is most recently known for her book Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships, which
612-641: The Lesbian Mystery category, the most by any single author, and is one of only three writers to have won the award more than once (with three-time winners Katherine V. Forrest and J. M. Redmann ). Similarly, Michael Nava has won five awards in the Gay Mystery category, the most by any single author, and is one of only four writers to have won the award more than once (with three-time winner John Morgan Wilson , two-time winner R. D. Zimmerman , and two-time winner Marshall Thornton ). Marshall Thornton
646-565: The Modern Sex Conference. There was a huge uproar on the internet, and many accused OSU of anti-sex bias. The incident received national media attention. Eventually, students raised the funds and re-invited her themselves. Taormino hosted the television show Sexology 101 on The Burly Bear Network in 2001, a college cable network owned by Lorne Michaels ' Broadway Video. She was a regular expert and panelist on Ricki Lake for two seasons in 2002 and 2003. In 2003, she signed
680-527: The Poetry category, and are two of seven poets to have won the award more than once (with two-time winners Joan Larkin , Michael Klein, Marilyn Hacker , Audre Lorde , and J. D. McClatchy ) Richard Labonté , Radclyffe , and Tristan Taormino have each won two awards in the Erotica category, each winning once before the category was split into Gay and Lesbian subdivisions, and each winning their second after
714-471: The bisexual community launched a multi-year struggle that eventually culminated in 2006 with the addition of a Bisexual category. In 2004, the book The Man Who Would Be Queen: The Science of Gender-Bending and Transsexualism by the highly controversial researcher J. Michael Bailey was announced as a finalist in the Transgender category of the 2003 Awards. Transgender people immediately protested
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#1732790083520748-558: The category was split. Karin Kallmaker and Michael Thomas Ford have each won two awards in the Romance category, each winning one before the category was split into Gay and Lesbian subdivisions – Kallmaker with Maybe Next Time and Ford with Last Summer , but in 2004 – and each winning their second after the category was split – Ford with Changing Tides in 2008 and Kallmaer with The Kiss That Counted in 2009 . Colm Tóibín
782-520: The documentary about Buck Angel (2013). In addition to writing, speaking and sex education, she considers herself a feminist pornographer . She made two videos based on her book The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women . The first (1999) was co-directed by Buttman ( John Stagliano ) and Ernest Greene. The second (2001) was directed by Tristan herself. In both videos, she takes part in the on-screen sexual activities. Subsequently, she directed Tristan Taormino's House of Ass for Adam & Eve, which shows
816-769: The foundation’s executive director in January 2006." Lambda Literary Foundation Lambda Literary traces its beginnings back to 1987 when L. Page (Deacon) Maccubbin, owner of Lambda Rising Bookstore in Washington, DC, published the first Lambda Book Report, which brought critical attention to LGBTQ books. The Lambda Literary Awards were born in 1989. At that first gala event, honors went to such distinguished writers as National Book Award finalist Paul Monette (author of Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir ), Dorothy Allison ( Trash ), Alan Hollinghurst ( The Swimming-Pool Library ), and Edmund White ( The Beautiful Room
850-643: The nomination and gathered thousands of petition signatures in opposition within a few days. After the petition, the Foundation's judges examined the book more closely, decided that they considered it transphobic and removed it from their list of finalists. Within a year the executive director who had initially approved of the book's inclusion resigned. Executive director Charles Flowers later stated that "the Bailey incident revealed flaws in our awards nomination process, which I have completely overhauled since becoming
884-455: The number of titles warrants, then separate awards are presented in either two (Fiction and Nonfiction, with the Fiction category inclusive of poetry titles) or three (Fiction, Nonfiction and Poetry) categories, while if a smaller number of titles is deemed eligible, then a merged Literature shortlist is put forward. However, even when the category shortlists have been merged, judges still retain
918-471: The previous year; accordingly, the first awards ceremony may be described in different sources as either the 1989 awards (for the year of presentation) or the 1988 awards (for the year in which the nominated works were published). In 1992, despite requests from the bisexual community for a more appropriate and inclusive category, the groundbreaking bisexual anthology Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out by Loraine Hutchins and Lani Kaʻahumanu
952-479: The prominence of the AIDS crisis within the gay community waned, and categories for bisexual and transgender literature were added as the community became more inclusive. In addition to the primary literary awards, Lambda Literary also presents a number of special awards. In both the bisexual and transgender categories, presentation may vary according to the number of eligible titles submitted in any given year. If
986-434: The reality that a distinct, definable LGBT literature existed. Lambda Literary was created in 1997 as a 501(3)(c) corporation; its first Executive Director was Jim Marks. In 2007, led by board president Katherine V. Forrest and executive director Charles Flowers, Lambda Literary founded its Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices, a residency designed to offer intensive and sophisticated instruction to selected writers over
1020-646: The right to identify a single winner in the unlisted category; for example, at the 25th Lambda Literary Awards in 2013 the judges named both fiction and non-fiction winners in the Bisexual Literature category, and at the 29th Lambda Literary Awards in 2017 the judges picked a title from the Bisexual Fiction shortlist as the winner in Bisexual Poetry despite the lack of an advance poetry shortlist. Ellen Hart has won five awards in
1054-568: The same year for the same work (note that according to current guidelines a book may only be entered in one category): Several writers have won awards in more than one category in the same year for different works: Several other writers have won awards in more than one category in different years and for different works: Several authors have won awards in three different categories: Numerous Lambda Award-winning works have been adapted for film and television: The Lambda Literary Awards are presented each year to honor works of literature published in
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1088-403: The wide spectrum of LGBTQ books, and from the first year they have made the statement that lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans stories are part of the literature of the nation. The Lammys' first virtual ceremony, in response to COVID-19, was held in 2021. Lambda Book Report, meanwhile, grew into a comprehensive review periodical, and together with the Lambda Literary Awards, these programs cemented
1122-486: Was forced to compete, and lost, in the category "Lesbian Anthology". Additionally, in 2005, Directed by Desire: Collected Poems , a posthumous collection of the bisexual Jamaican-American writer June Jordan 's work, competed (and won) in the category "Lesbian Poetry". Led by BiNet USA , and assisted by other bisexual organizations including the American Institute of Bisexuality , BiPOL , and Bialogue ,
1156-483: Was instrumental in creating. Rebecca Whisnant argues that Taormino work's represents a profit-based ‘‘feminist porn’’ within the mainstream pornography industry based upon thin conceptions of feminism and sexual ethics. Taormina uses the terms " queer " and " dyke " to describe her sexual identity. In the past, Taormino stated: "I don't really identify with the label 'bisexual', nor does it feel like it accurately describes me...I see myself as queer, since queer to me
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