The 3rd Lambda Literary Awards were held in 1991 to honour works of LGBT literature published in 1990.
| Category | Winner | |
|---|---|---|
| Editor's Choice | Wayne Dynes, The Encyclopedia of Homosexuality | |
| Publisher Service | Phil Willkie and Greg Baysans, The James White Review |
| Category | Author | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIDS Literature | Winner | ||
| ACT UP/New York Women | Women, AIDS & Activism | Finalist | |
| Surviving AIDS | Finalist | ||
| AIDS Demo Graphics | Finalist | ||
| Inventing AIDS | Finalist | ||
| Gay Anthology | Men on Men 3 | Winner | |
| Men & Intimacy | Finalist | ||
| Gay Men of Alcoholics Anonymous | Finalist | ||
| Keys to Caring | Finalist | ||
| , Marsh Cassady, and Richard Stephen Smith | Triple Fiction | Finalist | |
| Gay Debut Fiction | Dancing on Tisha B’av | Winner | |
| Finalist | |||
| Horse and Other Stories | Finalist | ||
| This Every Night | Finalist | ||
| Finalist | |||
| Gay Fiction | Winner | ||
| Finalist | |||
| Music I Never Dreamed Of | Finalist | ||
| Finalist | |||
| Afterlife | Finalist | ||
| Gay Mystery | Howtown | Winner | |
| Boy Who Was Buried This Morning | Finalist | ||
| Black Marble Pool | Finalist | ||
| Body to Dye For | Finalist | ||
| Why Isn’t Becky Twitchell Dead? | Finalist | ||
| Gay Non-Fiction | Coming Out Under Fire | Winner | |
| So Little Time | Finalist | ||
| My Country, My Right to Serve | Finalist | ||
| Behind the Mask | Finalist | ||
| Trouble With Harry Hay | Finalist | ||
| Gay Poetry | Decade Dance | Winner | |
| Body in Flames | Finalist | ||
| Buried Body | Finalist | ||
| Special Deliveries | Finalist | ||
| Healing Notebooks | Finalist | ||
| Gay science fiction, fantasy or horror | Secret Matter | Winner | |
| Magic's Price | Winner | ||
| Alternate Casts | Finalist | ||
| Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit | Finalist | ||
| Finalist | |||
| Gay Small Press | Daddy's Roommate | Winner | |
| Hard Plays/Stiff Parts | Finalist | ||
| Gays in Uniform | Finalist | ||
| Some Dance to Remember | Finalist | ||
| Trouble With Harry Hay | Finalist | ||
| Humor | New, Improved Dykes to Watch Out For | Winner | |
| Susie Sexpert’s Lesbian Sex World | Finalist | ||
| Stonewall Riots | Finalist | ||
| More Lesbian Etiquette | Finalist | ||
| Meatmen Vol. 8 | Finalist | ||
| Lesbian Anthology | and Nona Caspers | Women on Women | Winner |
| Lesbian Philosophies and Cultures | Finalist | ||
| and Joanne Glasgow | Lesbian Texts and Contexts | Finalist | |
| Lesbian Bedtime Stores 2 | Finalist | ||
| Speaking Four Ourselves | Finalist | ||
| Lesbian Debut Fiction | Her | Winner | |
| and Nona Caspers | Voyages Out 2 | Finalist | |
| Take Me to the Underground | Finalist | ||
| Virago | Finalist | ||
| Simple Songs | Finalist | ||
| Lesbian Fiction | Out of Time | Winner | |
| Don Juan in the Village | Finalist | ||
| My Jewish Face | Finalist | ||
| Incidents Involving Mirth | Finalist | ||
| People in Trouble | Finalist | ||
| Lesbian Mystery | Ninth Life | Winner | |
| Gaudi Afternoon | Winner | ||
| Finalist | |||
| Slick | Finalist | ||
| Death Down Under | Finalist | ||
| Lesbian Non-Fiction | Winner | ||
| Susie Sexpert’s Lesbian Sex World | Finalist | ||
| Ceremonies of the Heart | Finalist | ||
| Exile in the Promised Land | Finalist | ||
| Loony-Bin Trip | Finalist | ||
| Finalist | |||
| Lesbian Poetry | Going Back to the River | Winner | |
| Chant of the Women of Magdalena | Finalist | ||
| Finalist | |||
| Crime Against Nature | Finalist | ||
| Patience of Metal | Finalist | ||
| Lesbian science fiction, fantasy or horror | Gossamer Axe | Winner | |
| Doc and Fluff | Finalist | ||
| Priorities | Finalist | ||
| Virago | Finalist | ||
| Mighty Good Road | Finalist | ||
| Lesbian Small Press | (ed.) | Different Mothers | Winner |
| Making Face/Making Soul | Finalist | ||
| , Linda Strega, and Ruston | Dykes-Loving-Dykes | Finalist | |
| Staying Power: Long Term Lesbian Couples | Finalist | ||
| Black Women’s Health Book | Finalist |