Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Memoir or Biography explained

Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Memoir/Biography
Awarded For:Literary award
Sponsor:Lambda Literary Foundation
Date:Annual

The Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Memoir/Biography is an annual literary award established in 1994, presented by the Lambda Literary Foundation, to a memoir, biography, autobiography, or works of creative nonfiction by or about lesbians. Works published posthumously and/or written with co-authors are eligible, but anthologies are not.[1]

Recipients

Year! scope="col"
AuthorWorkResult
1994Marguerite YourcenarWinner[2]
Family ValuesFinalist
Forty-Three Septembers
(editor) How Am I To Be Heard: Letters of Lillian Smith
Mary Renault
1995 (editor)Gertrude Stein: In Words and PicturesWinner[3]
Memoir of a Race TraitorFinalist
One Art: Letters
Colonel and Chris FisherServing in Silence
The Power and the Passion of M. Carey Thomas
1996Aimee & JaguarWinner[4]
and Joyce MurdochAnd Say Hi to JoyceFinalist
Babe
with Hannah AshleyEight Bullets
Two or Three Things I Know for Sure
1997Life in a DayWinner[5]
Accidental ActivistFinalist
Coming Home to America
Eva Le Gallienne
The White Blackbird
1998Blue Windows: a Christian Science ChildhoodWinner[6]
May Sarton: a BiographyFinalist
My Life as a Boy
and Jane Meredith AdamsThe Last Time I Wore a Dress
Virginia Woolf
1999The Indelible Alison Bechdel; Confessions, Comix, and Miscellaneous Dykes to Watch Out forWinner[7]
A Fragile UnionFinalist
Empty Without You
Radclyffe Hall: A Woman Called John
The Queen of Whale Cay
2000The Trials of Radclyffe HallWinner[8]
Baby Precious Always ShinesFinalist
Eleanor Roosevelt: Volume 2: 1933–1938
My Lesbian Husband
Tales of the Lavender Menace
2001LifesavingWinner[9]
My Dangerous DesiresFinalist
Soldier: A Poet’s Childhood
The Room Lit by Roses
Truly Wilde
2007Fun HomeWinner[10]
Incognito StreetFinalist
Intimate Politics
Queen of the Oddballs
Hit by a Farm
2008And Now We Are Going to Have a PartyWinner[11] [12]
Comfort Food for BreakupsFinalist
An Army of Ex-Lovers
Two Lives: Gertrude & Alice
Waiting for the Call
2009Sex Talks to Girls: A MemoirWinner[13]
Wrestling with the Angel of DemocracyFinalist
Intersex (For Lack of a Better Word)
Sex Variant Woman
Case of a Lifetime
2010The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia HighsmithWinner[14]
My Red Blood: A Memoir of Growing Up Communist, Coming Onto the Greenwich Village Folk Scene, and Coming Out in the Feminist MovementFinalist
Likewise: The High School Comic Chronicles of Ariel Schrag
Called Back: My Reply to Cancer, My Return to Life
Mean Little deaf Queer
2011Hammer!: Making Movies Out of Sex and LifeWinner (tie)[15]
Wishbone: A Memoir in Fractures
Blood Strangers: A MemoirFinalist[16]
She Looks Just Like You: A Memoir of (Nonbiological Lesbian) Motherhood
2012When We Were Outlaws: A Memoir of Love & RevolutionWinner[17]
How to Get a Girl PregnantFinalist
Sheepish: Two Women, Fifty Sheep, and Enough Wool to Save the Planet
Small Fires: Essays[18]
Taking My Life
2013Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?Winner[19] [20]
A Simple Revolution: The Making of an Activist PoetFinalist
All We Know: Three Lives
Are You My Mother?: A Comic Drama
Before the Rain
The Gentrification of the Mind: Witness to a Lost Imagination
2014Body GeographicWinner[21] [22]
Growing up GolemFinalist
L Is for Lion: An Italian Bronx Butch Freedom Memoir
and Wendy MacNaughtonLost Cat: A True Story of Love, Desperation, and GPS Technology
2015 and Virginia Eubanks, with Barbara SmithAin't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around: Forty Years of Movement Building with Barbara SmithWinner[23]
Cease – a memoir of love, loss and desireFinalist[24]
Eating Fire: My Life as a Lesbian Avenger
The End of Eve
Under This Beautiful Dome: A Senator, A Journalist, and the Politics of Gay Love in America
2016Objects in the Mirror Are Closer Than They AppearWinner[25] [26] [27]
Cooking as Fast as I Can: A Chef’s Story of Family, Food, and ForgivenessFinalist[28]
Dirty River
Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl
You’re Not Edith
2017ody, Undone: Living On After Great PainWinner[29]
A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree ElderFinalist
I’m Just a Person
Indomitable: The Life of Barbara Grier
2018The Fact of a BodyWinner[30] [31]
Abandon Me: MemoirsFinalist[32]
Afterglow
Kiss Me Again, Paris: A Memoir
The Pox Lover: An Activist’s Decade in New York and Paris
2019ChronologyWinner[33]
Apocalypse, DarlingFinalist[34]
Berenice Abbott: A Life in Photography
A Certain Loneliness: A Memoir
Food Was Her Country: The Memoir of a Queer Daughter
MINE: Essays
My Butch Career: A Memoir
nîtisânak
2020We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim MemoirWinner[35] [36]
Finalist[37] [38]
Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments: Intimate Histories of Social Upheaval
with Joshua LyonA Wild and Precious Life
Ordinary Girls
The Rib Joint: A Memoir In Essays
Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls
Motherland: A Memoir of Love, Loathing, and Longing
2021My Autobiography of Carson McCullersWinner[39] [40] [41]
And The Walls Come Crumbling DownFinalist[42]
Lady Romeo: The Radical and Revolutionary Life of Charlotte Cushman, America’s First Celebrity
Practicing for Love: A Memoir
The Change: My Great American, Postindustrial, Midlife Crisis Tour
2022The One You Want to Marry (And Other Identities I’ve Had)Winner[43] [44]
The 2000s Made Me Gay: Essays on Pop CultureFinalist[45]
The Audacity of a Kiss: Love, Art, and Liberation
The Daring Life and Dangerous Times of Eve Adams
Why Labelle Matters
2023Lost & Found: Reflections on Grief, Gratitude, and HappinessWinner[46]
Brown Neon Finalist[47]
Ma and Me
Pretty Baby: A Memoir
Another Appalachia: Coming Up Queer and Indian in a Mountain Place
2024Lesbian Love Story: A Memoir in ArchivesWinner[48]
Lamya HHijab Butch BluesFinalist[49]
Vi Khi NaoSuicide: The Autoimmune Disorder of the Psyche
To Name the Bigger Lie
Why Willie Mae Thornton Matters

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Submissions. 2021-12-24. Lambda Literary. en. 2022-01-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20220101214336/https://lambdaliterary.org/awards/lammys-submissions/. live.
  2. Web site: 14 July 1994. 6th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. 2022-01-21. Lambda Literary. en. 2022-01-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20220101053850/https://lambdaliterary.org/1994/07/lambda-literary-awards-1993/. live.
  3. Web site: 15 July 1995. 7th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. 2022-01-21. Lambda Literary. en. 2022-02-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20220205005709/https://lambdaliterary.org/1995/07/lambda-literary-awards-1994/. live.
  4. Web site: Gonzalez Cerna . Antonio . 4 March 2012 . 8th Annual Lambda Literary Awards . 2022-01-21 . Lambda Literary . https://web.archive.org/web/20120304081005/http://www.lambdaliterary.org/winners-finalists/07/14/lambda-literary-awards-1995/ . 4 March 2012 . dead.
  5. Web site: Gonzalez Cerna. Antonio. 15 July 1997. 9th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. live. 2022-01-21. Lambda Literary. en. 2022-04-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20220424170645/https://lambdaliterary.org/1997/07/lambda-literary-awards-1996/.
  6. Web site: Gonzalez Cerna. Antonio. 15 July 1998. 10th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. live. 2022-01-21. Lambda Literary. en. 2022-01-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20220122021049/https://lambdaliterary.org/1998/07/lambda-literary-awards-1997/.
  7. Web site: Gonzalez Cerna. Antonio. 15 July 1999. 11th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. live. 2022-01-21. Lambda Literary. en. 2021-12-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20211224130047/https://lambdaliterary.org/1999/07/lambda-literary-awards-1998/.
  8. Web site: Gonzalez Cerna. Antonio. 15 July 2000. 12th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. live. 2022-01-21. Lambda Literary. en. 2022-02-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20220205005720/https://lambdaliterary.org/2000/07/lambda-literary-awards-1999/.
  9. Web site: Gonzalez Cerna. Antonio. 10 July 2001. 13th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. live. 2022-01-21. Lambda Literary. en. 2022-01-23. https://web.archive.org/web/20220123122540/https://lambdaliterary.org/2001/07/lambda-literary-awards-2000/.
  10. Web site: 30 April 2006. 19th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. 2022-01-12. Lambda Literary. en. 2022-01-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20220125023311/https://lambdaliterary.org/2006/04/lambda-literary-awards-2006-2/. live.
  11. Web site: 5 June 2008. 2008 Lambda Award Winners Announced. live. 2022-01-12. McNally Robinson Booksellers. en. 2022-08-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20220819055254/https://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/editorial-818/2008-Lambda-Award-Winners-Announced.
  12. Web site: 30 April 2007. 20th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. 2022-01-12. Lambda Literary. en. 2022-01-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20220120014347/https://lambdaliterary.org/2007/04/lambda-literary-awards-2007-2/. live.
  13. Web site: Gonzalez Cerna. Antonio. 18 February 2010. 21st Annual Lambda Literary Awards. live. 2022-01-18. Lambda Literary. en. 2022-01-23. https://web.archive.org/web/20220123120952/https://lambdaliterary.org/2010/02/lambda-literary-awards-2008-2/.
  14. Web site: Valenzuela. Tony. 10 May 2010. 22nd Annual Lambda Literary Awards. live. 2022-01-12. Lambda Literary. en. 2020-08-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20200809233141/https://www.lambdaliterary.org/2010/05/2010-awards-finalists-winners/.
  15. Web site: 27 May 2011. 23rd Annual Lambda Literary Award Winners. 2022-01-12. Lambda Literary. en. 2022-01-23. https://web.archive.org/web/20220123125313/https://lambdaliterary.org/2011/05/23rd-annual-lambda-literary-award-winners/. live.
  16. Web site: 27 June 2011. 23rd Annual Lambda Literary Awards. 2022-01-12. Lambda Literary. en. 2022-03-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20220320095502/https://lambdaliterary.org/2011/06/22nd-annual-lambda-literary-awards/. live.
  17. Web site: 5 June 2012. 24th Annual Lambda Literary Award Winners Announced in New York. 2022-01-11. Lambda Literary. en. 2022-01-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20220108035149/https://lambdaliterary.org/2012/06/24th-annual-lambda-literary-award-winners-announced-in-new-york/. live.
  18. Web site: 20 March 2012. Lambda Literary Awards 2012: New Books to Love. 2022-01-11. Autostraddle. en-US. 2022-03-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20220318220422/https://www.autostraddle.com/lambda-literary-award-2012-books-to-love-135313/. live.
  19. Web site: 4 June 2013. 25th Annual Lambda Literary Award Winners Announced!. 2022-01-11. Lambda Literary. en. 2022-01-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20220108192318/https://lambdaliterary.org/2013/06/25th-annual-lambda-literary-award-winners-announced/. live.
  20. Web site: Yates. Ryan. 4 June 2013. 2013 Lambda Literary Award Winners Announced. live. 2022-01-11. Autostraddle. en-US. 2022-01-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20220112001728/https://www.autostraddle.com/2013-lambda-literary-award-winners-announced-179194/.
  21. Web site: 3 June 2014. Winners of the 26th Annual Lambda Literary Awards Announced. 2022-01-11. Lambda Literary. en. 2021-09-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20210912131635/https://lambdaliterary.org/2014/06/winners-of-the-26th-annual-lambda-literary-awards-announced/. live.
  22. Web site: bent. 3 June 2014. Full List of 2014 Lambda Literary Award Winners. live. 2022-01-11. IndieWire. en. 2022-01-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20220112003115/https://www.indiewire.com/2014/06/full-list-of-2014-lambda-literary-award-winners-214124/.
  23. Web site: Thrasher. Steven W. 2 June 2015. John Waters receives 'crown of queer royalty' at 27th Lambda literary awards. live. 2021-12-24. the Guardian. en. 2021-12-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20211222013644/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/02/lambda-literary-awards-lgbt-literature-john-waters.
  24. Web site: 4 March 2015. The 27th Annual Lambda Literary Award Finalists. 2022-01-11. Lambda Literary. en. 2022-01-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20220101172259/https://lambdaliterary.org/2015/03/the-27th-annual-lambda-literary-award-finalists/. live.
  25. Web site: 7 June 2016. 28th Annual Lammy Award Winners Announced. 2022-01-11. Lambda Literary. en. 2022-01-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20220108170932/https://lambdaliterary.org/2016/06/28th-annual-lammy-award-winners-announced/. live.
  26. Web site: Johns. Merryn. 5 July 2016. 2016 LAMMYS A Huge Success. 2022-01-11. CURVE. en-US. 2023-02-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20230221033523/https://www.curvemag.com/blog/lgbtqi-awards/2016-lammys-a-huge-success/. live.
  27. Web site: King. Anna. 7 June 2016. The Lambda Literary Awards Crown the Best Queer Books of 2015. 2022-02-04. Slate Magazine. en. 2022-02-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20220204151802/https://slate.com/human-interest/2016/06/lambda-literary-awards-the-best-lgbtq-books-of-2015.html. live.
  28. Web site: 8 March 2016. Lambda Literary Awards Finalists Revealed: Carrie Brownstein, Hasan Namir, 'Fun Home' and Truman Capote Shortlisted. 2022-01-11. Out Magazine. en. 2021-12-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20211208012803/https://www.out.com/art-books/2016/3/08/lambda-literary-awards-finalists-revealed-carrie-brownstein-hasan-namir-truman. live.
  29. Web site: 14 March 2017. 29th Annual Lambda Literary Award Finalists Announced. 2022-01-11. Lambda Literary. en. 2021-12-30. https://web.archive.org/web/20211230200700/https://lambdaliterary.org/2017/03/29th-annual-lambda-literary-award-finalists-announced/. live.
  30. Web site: 5 June 2018 . 30th Annual Lambda Literary Award Winners Announced . 2022-01-11 . Lambda Literary . en . 2022-01-21 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220121230859/https://lambdaliterary.org/2018/06/lambda-literary-award/ . live .
  31. Web site: Froemming-Carter . Rah . 5 June 2018 . 2018 Lambda Literary Award Winners Announced . 2022-01-11 . BOOK RIOT . en-US . 2022-03-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220320095230/https://bookriot.com/2018-lambda-literary-award-winners-announced/ . live .
  32. Web site: Boureau . Ella . 6 March 2018 . 30th Annual Lambda Literary Award Finalists Announced . live . 2022-01-11 . Lambda Literary . en . 2020-03-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200319061534/https://www.lambdaliterary.org/2018/03/lambda-literary-award-finalists/ .
  33. Web site: 4 June 2019. 31st Annual Lambda Literary Award Winners Announced. 2022-01-11. Lambda Literary. en. 2021-11-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20211122004938/https://lambdaliterary.org/2019/06/lambda-literary-awards-31st-winners/. live.
  34. Web site: Talusan. Meredith. 7 March 2019. Announcing the 2019 Lambda Literary Awards Nominations. live. 2021-12-24. them.. en-US. 2019-11-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20191101163403/https://www.them.us/story/2019-lambda-literary-awards.
  35. Web site: Aviles. Gwen. 1 June 2021. Lambda Literary announces 25 winning books for annual Lammy Awards. live. 2021-12-24. NBC News. en. 2022-03-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20220320095220/https://www.nbcnews.com/select/nbc-out/best-lgbtq-books-lammy-awards-lambda-literary-ncna1215746.
  36. Web site: 2020 Winners. 2021-12-24. Lambda Literary. en. 2022-02-06. https://web.archive.org/web/20220206094210/https://lambdaliterary.org/awards/2020-winners/. live.
  37. Web site: Yee. Katie. 10 March 2020. Here are the finalists for the 2020 Lambda Literary Awards!. live. 2022-01-11. Literary Hub. en-US. 2020-04-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20200401020435/https://lithub.com/here-are-the-finalists-for-the-2020-lambda-literary-awards/.
  38. Web site: Hart. Michelle. 10 March 2020. Here are the Finalists For the 2020 Lambda Literary Awards. 2022-01-11. Oprah Daily. en-US. 2022-02-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20220215042913/https://www.oprahdaily.com/entertainment/books/a31261320/lambda-literary-awards-finalists-2020/. live.
  39. Web site: 2021 Winners. 2021-12-24. Lambda Literary. en. 2022-01-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20220109013027/https://lambdaliterary.org/awards/2021-winners/. live.
  40. Web site: Qiao. Vicky. 2 June 2021. Indigenous anthology Love After The End wins Lambda Literary Award. live. 2021-12-23. Canadian Broadcasting Company. 2022-03-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20220320095219/https://www.cbc.ca/books/indigenous-anthology-love-after-the-end-wins-lambda-literary-award-1.6050249.
  41. Web site: Essen. Leah Rachel von. 2 June 2021. Announcing the Winners of the 2021 Lambda Literary Awards. 2021-12-24. BOOK RIOT. en-US. 2022-01-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20220120084551/https://bookriot.com/2021-lambda-literary-awards/. live.
  42. Web site: Gentes. Brian. 15 March 2021. 2021 Lambda Literary Award Finalists Announced. live. 2022-01-12. Lambda Literary. en. 2021-03-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20210315125603/https://www.lambdaliterary.org/2021/03/2021-lambda-literary-award-finalists/.
  43. Web site: Schaub . Michael . 13 June 2022 . Lambda Literary Award Winners Are Revealed . 2022-06-15 . Kirkus Reviews . en . 2022-06-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220618035916/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/news-and-features/articles/lambda-literary-award-winners-are-revealed/ . live .
  44. Web site: Segal . Corinne . 13 June 2022 . Congratulations to the winners of the 2022 Lambda Literary Awards! . 2022-06-15 . Literary Hub . en-US . 2022-06-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220615235437/https://lithub.com/congratulations-to-the-winners-of-the-2022-lambda-literary-awards/ . live .
  45. Web site: Current Finalists . 2022-03-16 . Lambda Literary . en . 2022-06-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220613042400/https://lambdaliterary.org/awards/current-finalists/ . live .
  46. Web site: 2023 Winners . 2023-06-10 . . en . 25 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240525004753/https://lambdaliterary.org/awards/2023-winners/ . live .
  47. Web site: Upadhyaya . Kayla Kumari . 15 March 2023 . Congratulations to the 2023 Lambda Literary Award Finalists! . 2023-03-16 . . en-US . 15 March 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230315193951/https://www.autostraddle.com/congratulations-to-the-2023-lambda-literary-award-finalists/ . live .
  48. Web site: Sobhan . Athena . 2024-06-12 . 2024 Lambda Literary Awards - See the Complete List of Winners . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240615095824/https://people.com/2024-lambda-literary-awards-see-the-complete-list-of-winners-8662165 . June 15, 2024 . 2024-06-15 . . en.
  49. Web site: 27 March 2024 . Announcing the Finalists for the 36th Annual Lambda Literary Awards . 2024-04-05 . . 5 April 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240405165014/https://www.them.us/story/lambda-literary-awards-2024-shortlist-announcement . live .