38th Lambda Literary Awards
| 37th Lambda Literary Awards | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Works of LGBTQ+ literature |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | Lambda Literary Foundation |
| Eligibility | LGBTQ+ storytelling, published in the US in 2025 |
| Website | lambdaliterary |
The 38th Lambda Literary Awards honor works of LGBTQ+ literature published in 2025. Finalists were announced on March 18, 2026, and winners were announced on June 12, 2026.
Nominees
| Category | Author | Title | Publisher | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bisexual Fiction | Demree McGhee | Sympathy for Wild Girls | Feminist Press | Winner | [3][4] |
| Kerry Cullen | House of Beth | Simon & Schuster | Finalist | [5] | |
| Melissa Lozada-Oliva | Beyond All Reasonable Doubt, Jesus Is Alive!: Stories | Astra House | |||
| Anbara Salam | The Salvage | Zando/Tin House | |||
| A. M. Sosa | And I'll Take Out Your Eyes | Algonquin Books | |||
| Bisexual Nonfiction | Lidia Yuknavitch | Reading the Waves | Riverhead | Winner | [4] |
| Gabrielle Drolet | Look Ma, No Hands | McClelland & Stewart | Finalist | [6][7] | |
| Catherine Lacey | The Möbius Book | Farrar, Straus & Giroux | [5] | ||
| Lee Horikoshi Roripaugh | unMothered, unTongued | University of Georgia Press | |||
| Wayne Scott | The Maps They Gave Us: One Marriage, Reimagined | Black Lawrence Press | |||
| Bisexual Poetry | Anna Swanson | The Garbage Poems | Brick Books | Winner | |
| Clayre Benzadón, edited by Sara Wagner | Moon as Salted Lemon | Driftwood | Finalist | [5] | |
| Liza Flum | Hover | Omnidawn Publishing | |||
| Rebecca Salazar | antibody | McClelland & Stewart | [5][6][7] | ||
| Chet'la Sebree | Blue Opening | Zando/Tin House | |||
| Gay Fiction | Charlie Porter | Nova Scotia House | Nightboat Books | Winner | |
| Tash Aw | The South | Farrar, Straus, and Giroux | Finalist | [8] | |
| Martin Cloutier | Waiting for Something Else | Heliotrope Books | |||
| Adam Haslett | Mothers and Sons | Little, Brown | |||
| Sam Wachman | The Sunflower Boys | HarperCollins | |||
| Gay Memoir/ Biography | Thomas Dai | TAKE MY NAME BUT SAY IT SLOW: ESSAYS | W. W. Norton | Winner | |
| Daniel Brook | The Einstein of Sex: Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, Visionary of Weimar Berlin | W. W. Norton | Finalist | ||
| Edgar Gomez | Alligator Tears | Crown | |||
| Jeremy Atherton Lin | Deep House: The Gayest Love Story Ever Told | Little, Brown, and Company | |||
| Martin Sherman | On the Boardwalk | Inkandescent | |||
| Gay Poetry | Ben Kline | It Was Never Supposed To Be | Variant Literature | Winner | |
| Gustavo Hernandez | Bachelor | FlowerSong Press | Finalist | ||
| W. J. Lofton | boy maybe: poems | Beacon Press | |||
| Rajiv Mohabir | Seabeast | Four Way Books | |||
| Pádraig Ó Tuama | Kitchen Hymns | Copper Canyon Press | |||
| Gay Romance | Timothy Janovsky | A Mannequin for Christmas | St. Martin's Griffin | Winner | [9] |
| Erin Dunn | He's to Die For | Minotaur Books | Finalist | [6][7] | |
| Blair Fell | Disco Witches of Fire Island | Alcove Press | [10] | ||
| Carey Sass | Good Boy | Self-published | |||
| Derek Sowers | A Bridge in Glass | Dreamsprinner Press | [5] | ||
| Lesbian Fiction | Kat Dunn | Hungerstone | Zando | Winner | [3][4] |
| Shoshana von Blanckensee | Girls Girls Girls | G.P. Putnam's Sons | Finalist | [8] | |
| Jaime Burnet | milktooth | Vagrant Press | [6][8][7] | ||
| Marisa Crane | A Sharp Endless Need | Dial Press | [5][8] | ||
| Dylin Hardcastle | A Language of Limbs | Dutton | [8] | ||
| Lesbian Memoir/ Biography | Mary Frances Phillips | Black Panther Woman: The Political and Spiritual Life of Ericka Huggins | New York University Press | Winner | |
| Melissa Febos | The Dry Season | Alfred A. Knopf | Finalist | ||
| Lana Lin | The Autobiography of H. Lan Thao Lam | Dorothy, a publishing project | [10] | ||
| Francesca Wade | Gertrude Stein | Scribner | |||
| Michelle Young | The Art Spy: The Extraordinary Untold Tale of WWII Resistance Hero Rose Valland | HarperOne | |||
| Lesbian Poetry | Bianca Rae Messinger | Pleasureis Amiracle | Nightboat | Winner | [3] |
| Sophia Dahlin | Glove Money | Nightboat Books | Finalist | ||
| Donika Kelly | The Natural Order of Things | Graywolf Press | [10] | ||
| Roya Marsh | savings time | MCD | |||
| Judite Teixeira, translated by Samantha Pious | Cactus Flowers: Selected Poems | Headmistress Press | |||
| Lesbian Romance | Alexandra Vasti | Ladies in Hating | St. Martin's Griffin | Winner | |
| Susie Dumond | Bed and Breakup | Dial Press | Finalist | [10] | |
| Harley Laroux | House of Rayne | Kensington Publishing Corporation | [5] | ||
| Evie Marque | Hot Tea & Bird Calls | Self-published | |||
| Roslyn Sinclair | The Woman from the Waves | Self-published | [5] | ||
| LGBTQ Anthology | Paul Martineau and Ryan Linkof (eds.) | Queer Lens: A History of Photography | J. Paul Getty Museum | Winner | [3] |
| Sarah Fonseca and Octavia Saenz | The New Lesbian Pulp | Feminist Press | Finalist | [5] | |
| Alden Jones (ed.) | Edge of the World: An Anthology of Queer Travel Writing | Blair | |||
| Meghan Kemp-Gee and Megan Praz | Come Out and Play: The Queer Sports Project | Stacked Deck Press | [6][7] | ||
| Alex D. Ketchum and Megan J. Elias (eds.) | Queers at the Table: An Illustrated Guide to Queer Food (with Recipes) | Arsenal Pulp Press | |||
| LGBTQ Children's | Jerrold Connors | JIM! Six True Stories about One Great Artist: James Marshall | Dial Books for Young Readers | Winner | [3][4] |
| Simon James Green | A Year of Pride and Joy | Magic Cat | Finalist | ||
| A. J. Irving with Cynthia Alonso (ill.) | The Bi Book | Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers | |||
| Vincent X. Kirsch | O.K. Is Gay | Abrams Books for Young Readers | |||
| Alana Tyson with Ebony Glenn (ill.) | Devin's Gift | Philomel | |||
| Pete Jordi Wood | Tales from Beyond the Rainbow | Penguin Young Readers | [5] | ||
| LGBTQ Comics | Mike Curato | Gaysians | Algonquin Books | Winner | [11] |
| Askel Aden | Love, Misha | First Second | Finalist | ||
| Alison Bechdel | Spent | Mariner Books | [10] | ||
| Kayla E. | Precious Rubbish | Fantagraphics | |||
| Bread Tarleton | Soften the Blow | Fieldmouse Press | |||
| LGBTQ Drama | Jordan E. Cooper | Ain't No Mo' | Theatre Communications Group | Winner | |
| LM Feldman, translated by MoMo Holt | Another Kind of Silence | City Theatre Company | Finalist | ||
| Gina Femia | Mercutio Loves Romeo Loves Juliet Loves | Original Works | [5] | ||
| Jordan Tannahill | Prince Faggot | Playwrights Canada Press | [6][7] | ||
| Sarah Waisvisz | Heartlines: A Love Story | Talonbooks | [6][7] | ||
| LGBTQ Romance and Erotica | TJ Alexander | A Gentleman's Gentleman | Vintage Books | Winner | |
| J. E. Birk | Fanboy in the Falls | Maple Mountains | Finalist | [5] | |
| Adib Khorram | It Had to Be Him | Forever | |||
| Tara Tai | Single Player | Alcove Press | |||
| Aj Writer | Strip Me Down | Self under FWDIO Studios | |||
| LGBTQ Middle Grade | Rainie Oet | Glitch Girl! | Penguin Young Readers | Winner | [3][4] |
| Andrea Beatriz Arango | It's All or Nothing, Vale | Random House Books for Young Readers | Finalist | ||
| Kyle Casey Chu | The Queen Bees of Tybee County | HarperCollins – Quill Tree Books | |||
| K. O'Neill | A Song for You and I | Random House Graphic | [5] | ||
| Taylor Tracy | Pasta Girls | HarperCollins – Quill Tree Books | |||
| LGBTQ Mystery | Robert Holtom | A Queer Case | Titan Books | Winner | |
| Samantha Crewson | Every Sweet Thing Is Bitter | Crooked Lane Books | Finalist | ||
| Rob Osler | The Case of the Missing Maid | Kensington Publishing Corporation | [5] | ||
| Lev A. C. Rosen | Mirage City | Minotaur Books | [5] | ||
| Hayley Scrivenor | Girl Falling | Flatiron Books | |||
| LGBTQ Nonfiction | Gaar Adams | Guest Privileges: Queer Lives and Finding Home in the Middle East | Dzanc Books | Winner | |
| Sarah Aziza | The Hollow Half: A Memoir of Bodies and Borders | Catapult | Finalist | ||
| Nicholas Boggs | Baldwin: A Love Story | Farrar, Straus and Giroux | |||
| Anthony Delaney | Queer Enlightenments: A Hidden History of Lovers, Lawbreakers, and Homemakers | Grove Atlantic | |||
| Elizabeth Lovatt | Thank You for Calling the Lesbian Line | Legacy Lit | |||
| LGBTQ Poetry | jason b. crawford | Yeet! | Omnidawn | Winner | [9] |
| Eli Clare | Unfurl: Survivals, Sorrows, and Dreaming | Duke University Press | Finalist | ||
| Qurat Dar | Non-Prophet | icehouse poetry | [5][6][7] | ||
| heidi andrea restrepo rhodes | Wayward Creatures | Host Publications | |||
| Stacey Waite | A Real Man Would Have a Gun: Poems | University of New Mexico Press | |||
| LGBTQ Speculative Fiction | Ilana Masad | Beings | Bloomsbury Publishing | Winner | [3] |
| Seth Haddon | Volatile Memory | Tordotcom | Finalist | [5] | |
| Elaine Ho | Cry, Voidbringer | Left Unread | |||
| Cory O'Brien | Two Truths and a Lie | Pantheon Books | |||
| Johanna van Veen | Blood on Her Tongue | Sourcebooks, Poisoned Pen Press | |||
| LGBTQ Studies | Sarah Ensor | Queer Lasting: Ecologies of Care for a Dying World | New York University Press | Winner | |
| Joseph J. Fischel | Sodomy's Solicitations: A Right to Queerness | Temple University Press | Finalist | ||
| Kareem Khubchandani, with LaWhore Vagistan | Lessons in Drag: A Queer Manual for Academics, Artists, and Aunties | Brandeis University Press | |||
| Eithne Luibhéid | Abolitionist Intimacies: Queer and Trans Migrants against the Deportation State | Duke University Press | |||
| Iain Morland | Intersex: A Manifesto Against Medicalization | Columbia University Press | |||
| LGBTQ Young Adult | Riley Redgate | Come Home to My Heart | Union Square & Co. | Winner | [3][4] |
| Rob Costello | An Ugly World for Beautiful Boys | Lethe Press | Finalist | [5] | |
| Logan-Ashley Kisner | The Transition | Delacorte Press | [5] | ||
| Corey Liu | He's So Possessed with Me | Little, Brown Books for Young Readers | [5][6][7] | ||
| Miriam Zoila Pérez | Camila Núñez's Year of Disasters | Page Street Publishing | |||
| Transgender Fiction | Milo Todd | The Lilac People | Counterpoint Press | Winner | [4] |
| Zee Carlstrom | Make Sure You Die Screaming | Flatiron Books | Finalist | ||
| Haden Cross | The Uncontinented Stars | Self-published | [5] | ||
| Emily St. James | Woodworking | Crooked Media Reads | |||
| Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore | Terry Dactyl | Coffee House Press | |||
| Transgender Nonfiction | Jennifer Finney Boylan | Cleavage: Men, Women, and the Space Between Us | Celadon | Winner | [3][4] |
| Zefyr Lisowski | Uncanny Valley Girls | Harper Perennial | Finalist | [5] | |
| Mirha-Soleil Ross | Gendertrash From Hell: The First Print Collection of the Zine That Changed Everything | LittlePuss Press | [6][7] | ||
| Denne Michele Norris with Electric Literature | Both/And | HarperOne | [12] | ||
| Tourmaline | Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson | Tiny Reparations Press | [10] | ||
| Transgender Poetry | Roque Raquel Salas Rivera | Algarabía – The Song of Cenex, Natural Son of the Isle Alarabíyya | Graywolf | Winner | [3] |
| Golden | Reprise: Poems and Photographs | Haymarket Books | Finalist | ||
| Jzl Jmz | Local Woman | Nightboat Books | |||
| Rickey Laurentiis | Death of the First Idea: Poems | Alfred A. Knopf | |||
| jaye simpson | a body more tolerable | Arsenal Pulp | [5][6][7] |
References
- ↑ "Announcing the Finalists for the 38th Lambda Literary Awards". Lambda Literary. March 18, 2026. Archived from the original on March 20, 2026. Retrieved March 26, 2026.
- ↑ "2026 Winners". Lambda Literary. Archived from the original on June 18, 2026. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Strangman, Alice (June 15, 2026). "2026 Lambda Literary Awards Winners". Locus Online. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Schaub, Michael (June 15, 2026). "Winners of the 2026 Lambda Awards Revealed". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Strangman, Alice (March 18, 2026). "2026 Lambda Literary Awards Finalists". Locus Online. Retrieved March 26, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Drudi, Cassandra (March 24, 2026). "Canadians among 2026 Lambda Literary Award finalists". Quill and Quire. Retrieved March 26, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Jaime Burnet, Jordan Tannahill and jaye simpson shortlisted for 2SLGBTQ+ writing awards". CBC Books. March 20, 2026. Archived from the original on March 20, 2026. Retrieved March 26, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Schaub, Michael (March 23, 2026). "Finalists for the Lambda Literary Awards Revealed". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved March 26, 2026.
- 1 2 Strangman, Alice (June 15, 2026). "2026 Lambda Literary Awards Winners". Locus Online. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Williams, S. Zainab (March 19, 2026). "The Finalists for the Lambda Literary Awards". Book Riot. Retrieved March 26, 2026.
- ↑ Schaub, Michael (June 15, 2026). "Winners of the 2026 Lambda Awards Revealed". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
- ↑ "Both/And Is a Finalist for a Lambda Literary Award!". Electric Literature. March 25, 2026. Archived from the original on March 26, 2026. Retrieved March 26, 2026.