There’s nothing like a comeback, especially in Art Deco cabaret style in the heart of the Times Square Theatre District. After three years of meeting virtually, LGBTQ literati descended on New York for the 35th annual Lambda Literary Awards, affectionately known as the Lammys, on June 9 in the Edison Hotel’s 1931 ballroom.
The excitement of being back in person was palpable among people attending the show. Howard Williams, who described himself as a longtime supporter of the Lambda Literary Awards, told Gay City News that after three years without an in-person event, “it’s great to see some of these people and be able to talk to them.”
He added, “Zoom just isn’t the same; after a while the Zoom burnout was just there. So, it’s great to see everybody out and about again.”
The awards came in many categories, from fiction — broken into Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender categories — to several children’s and young adult categories and many more.
Faylita Hicks, based in Chicago and one of the award judges, told Gay City News that it was difficult to narrow down finalists from all the nominations.
“We were deliberating for several months,” Hicks said. “A lot of rereading, a lot of in-depth conversations about the process. Importantly, she added, “we were talking about not only what the author was able to accomplish, as far as the whole project, but whether or not they had really done something innovative and new in the field. And that’s what we were looking for, at least in my in my panel discussion, where we’re looking not just for great writing, but are you doing something that’s going to move the field further along?”
The evening had several special honorees. Among them was Lilly Wachowski, the film pioneer behind “The Matrix” and “Bound,” who was granted the Visionary Award. In an interview, she joked that perhaps having eye glasses should have excluded her from such an award, but on a more serious note told Gay City News that current projects were on hold due to the Hollywood writers strike.
Wachowski added that among things studios were engaging in included excluding “people of color, women’s perspective, so you don’t get the kind of interest in movies and television that you used to,” including material of the type she creates. She added that these Hollywood issues are “part of the bigger picture” involving human rights and transgender issues in the country.
“So, I don’t know what’s the future gonna bring,” she said. “I think there’s gonna be a lot of turmoil.”
The current political climate was a strong theme throughout the evening, with speakers, authors, and others commenting on the difficult time librarians, educators, and others were having during book bans and protests.
Alison Bechdel, author of “Fun Home,” a memoir which became a Broadway play, came on stage to give the Trustees’ Impact Award to Maia Kobabe, author of the book “Gender Queer,” one of the most banned books of the current era. From the podium, Bechdel spoke of the “vitriol” about “Gender Queer.”
“It’s just been insane,” Bechdel said. “Of all the books that have been banned in recent years, ‘Gender Queer’ has been consistently at the top of the list.”
Kobabe spoke remotely to the audience, explaining, “the ACLU is currently tracking 500 anti-LGBTQ bills that are being pushed forward in this country.”
“The American Library Association recorded over 2,500 unique different book title challenges over the past year,” Kobabe said. “And the majority of those books were authored by queer authors, authors of color, or both. Most of the challenged books have queer narratives. They include themes of racism, the history of race in America, sexuality, sex ed, abortion, bullying, sexual harassment and suicide. These topics are being deemed inappropriate for young readers and inappropriate for school classrooms, and libraries. And yet, these are topics that young readers are likely going to face sometime in their lives if they’re not facing them already.”
Trans issues were at the forefront of this year’s awards, in the form of the evening’s MC, River Butcher, an out, trans comedian, actor and writer, who joked about wearing a special “trans tux” for the evening. Other presenters and honorees included drag artist and playwright Nancy NoGood, poet and professor Cheryl Clarke, Jason Rodriguez of “Pose,” among many others. A special Publishers Award also went to Georgia-based Charis Books & More, the oldest feminist bookstore in the South.
Some books kept the focus on LGBTQ+ refugees and immigrants, including “The Foghorn Echoes,” by Syrian refugee Daniel Ramadan, which won in the category Gay Fiction.
“I was just so stunned by the privilege that I carry and how much my life has changed from 10 years ago, where I woke up in the slums of Beirut being a refugee,” said Ramadan, who is now based in Canada. “So, I feel like I climbed such a high stairs and I am in in a completely different environment. I hope that I stay with this feeling forever, that feeling of the ability to recognize my own privilege, and where I came from in this world.”
Lambda’s new executive director is Samiya Bashir, the first Black woman to run the organization. Bashir told Gay City News “it feels exciting” and “important” to be in this role, and that “Black leadership is right on time right now, and not just for its own sake.”
Bashir added, “I think there was a time many, many, many moons ago, where I think, as a Black writer, I felt less welcomed at Lambda, and I absolutely know that we are intentionally being welcoming now. And I think that that’s really important. But, all of our organizations are growing and moving forward. And we have to, if we intend to actually do the work we’re here to do.”
The daughter of a Somalian immigrant raised in Michigan, in her speech to the audience, Bashir noted that one of the most important lessons her father taught her was that the library is one of the best aspects of the United States because you can get books from anywhere for free just by asking.
Bashir, herself a previous Lambda finalist, also told Gay City News that the organization was looking more closely at its awards categories, including the binary nature of some of them.
“I’m really interested in interrogating how we categorize ourselves and each other and what that means and how we might be able to, as I said earlier, open this tent up a little bit wider, because the categories don’t actually include everyone,” she said, referring to her podium speech when she used the phrase “plus” to indicate millions of people who identify their sexuality in other ways.
“There’s not a plus, a word that includes so many different things, so many different ways that we are,” she told Gay City News.
After the conclusion of the award ceremony, which went beyond the scheduled timeframe, patrons gathered for an afterparty featuring DJ Reborn.
More on the Lambda Literary Awards, and a full list of winners, can be found at lambdaliterary.org.
