It is once again time to take a good hard look at The Publishing Triangle and Lambda Literary Finalists list. First, let’s start by congratulating all of this years finalists. With the growing number of queer-related titles published, the competition has gotten more and more fierce. Also, we should thank the individuals who serve on these committees. These people take their positions seriously and, like QueerReader, are committed to seeking out quality queer literature.
Let’s start with Lambda’s list. Queer Reader is delighted to see Sarah Schulman’s Let the Record Show is a finalist for the LGBTQ Non-fiction Award. Let the Record Show was strongly recommended by QueerReader.com. And it made the New York Times 100 Notable Books List. For anyone interested in AIDS activism, this book is essential. There were, however, three titles that were conspicuously–even surprisingly–missing from this year’s Lambda Finalist list. Strongly recommended by QueerReader.com, these three books also made the Times list. They are: Alison Bechdel’s The Secret to Superhuman Strength, Anthony Veasna So’s Afterparties, and Robert Jones’s The Prophets.
The Publishing Triangle filled in these gaps. The Secret to Superhuman Strength is a finalist for the Judy Grahn Award for Lesbian Nonfiction. Afterparties–which already has won the National Book Critics Circle’s John Leonard Prize–is a finalist 
for the Ferro-Grumley Award for LGBTQ Fiction, and The Prophets is a finalist for Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction. Sarah Schulman’s Let the Record Show will receive a “special award”, the judges announced in a joint statement. “Resisting a popular cultural approach that has spotlighted a few gay white men in the movement as heroes, Let the Record Show examines the contributions of women and people of color to ACT UP’s successes as well.”
As the demand for quality queer literature grows and becomes more diverse, there is room for differences of opinion among intelligent queer readers. Which brings us to the final missing title. And a larger question: Why has the literary world in general, and the queer lit world in specific, largely ignored Matthew Sturgis’s Oscar Wilde: A Life? Queer Reader strongly recommended this book–calling it, “Definitive.”
At its best, the award season celebrates the diversity of queer literature–even when it includes differences of opinions. So, once again, congratulations to all of this year’s finalists.
Click here for the complete list of Lambda Literary Finalists.
Click here for the complete list of The Publishing Triangle Finalists.
The Publishing Triangle Awards will be announced on Wednesday, May 11. Because of Covid restrictions, there will be no in-person award ceremony this year.
The Lambda Literary Awards be held virtually on Saturday, June 11.
3/28/2022
UPDATE 5/11/2022: Today it was announced that Anthony Veasna So’s Afterparties has won The Publishing Triangles’s Ferro-Grumley Award for LGBTQ Fiction and Robert Jones Jr.’s The Prophets has won the Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction.
UPDATE 6/11/2022: Tonight it was announced that Sarah Schulman’s Let the Record Show has won Lambda Literary’s LGBTQ Nonfiction Award.