Gay/Les/Bi Book Lists

awards
publishers, bookstores & libraries
Communities:
asian & asian-american
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latina/o
lesbian-specific
Genres:
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Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Books Lists:

The American Library Association's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Book Award
http://calvin.usc.edu/~trimmer/ala_book.html: "The first and most enduring award for lesbigay books is the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Book Award, sponsored by the American Library Association's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Round Table.
The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Book Award is presented to English language works published the year prior to the announcement date. The award... is announced in March." Recipients from 1971-2001 are listed (by year). From 1990 onward the award has been given in two categories, literature and nonfiction. Finalists are also listed for 1990 - present. This year's (2002) winners and finalists have also been announced: http://calvin.usc.edu/~trimmer/bookawardpressrelease2002.html.
Lambda Literary Awards
"Presented each year by the Lambda Literary Foundation, the prestigious "Lammy" awards recognize excellence in gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender literature and publishing."
http://www.lambdalit.org/events/LLA/Finalists.htm: Lists the Lammy 2002 winners and finalists, by category.
http://www.lambdasf.org/lsf/books/lammys.html: Lists both winners and runners-up for the Sci/Fi category of the Lambda Award from 1989 - 2002.
Triangle Awards & The 100 Best Lesbian and Gay Novels
http://publishingtriangle.org/100best.html: "To broaden the appreciation of lesbian and gay literature and to promote discussion between all readers gay and straight, the Triangle is proud to offer our picks for the 100 best lesbian and gay novels. The list was selected by a panel of submitted by our judges, including the lesbian and gay writers Dorothy Allison, David Bergman, Christopher Bram, Michael Bronski, Samuel Delany, Lillian Faderman, Anthony Heilbut, M.E. Kerr, Jenifer Levin, John Loughery, Jaime Manrique, Mariana Romo-Carmona, Sarah Schulman, and Barbara Smith." The site includes cover images for the top 10 books, and a nice form for feedback and rating. They have added a list of the top 100 (88?) GLB books chosen by their visitors. Also on their site, a complete listing of all past winners of the annual Triangle awards: http://publishingtriangle.org/awards.html.
Firecracker Alternative Book Awards
"The FABs were started in 1996 by a group of book industry professionals to celebrate and publicize the best in alternative publishing." This award is alternative, not Gay/Les/Bi, specific, but has good coverage of Gay/Bi/Les titles.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/lists/awards/fire.html/: The list is worth perusing for the categories alone (from the banal -"fiction," to the outre- "Maybe Jerry Fallwell Was Right," and "Maybe The NEA Was Wrong"). Lists all the winners from 1996- 2000, with (most) cover photos, and also lists some of the runners up.

Spectrum Awards
http://www.spectrumawards.org/: "The Spectrum Awards were created in 1998 to honor works in science fiction, fantasy and horror which include positive explorations of gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered characters, themes, or issues. " Lists of each year's winners and nominees. Also has a recommended reading list of nearly 100 titles- organized by author, includes plot summaries.

A Selected Bibliography of Gay Fiction
http://pubweb.nwu.edu/~vmccoy/bibliography/: Last updated: 1998. Vince McCoy, of Northwestern University Libraries, compiled this list, and writes, "Even though gay and lesbian titles are easier to locate and purchase today I still find bibliographies that reflect the interests and views of the compiler to be helpful. My listing includes works of fiction and is organized into genre or themes. All of the books listed are from my personal library."
Gay Fiction Anthology Index
http://www.swarthmore.edu/Library/ghuber1/index/shortstory.index.html: "This is an index [by author, title, and genre] to the short stories in gay anthologies; where there are poems or prose pieces, they have not been indexed. Where the editor has written a good introduction or foreword, that has been indexed, as sometimes those are an important statement of philosophy or summary by the editor of the state of the art of gay writing at that time. This is a personal collection of books (and some periodicals) and does not claim to be inclusive! Updated September 27, 2003." Also includes lists of the anthologies indexed and anthologies not indexed. Gay male writings are better represented by the selection of anthologies than are lesbian or bisexual writings, but a significant selection of les and bi works are included. I couldn't find any coverage of trans/genderqueer works. Most anthologies indexed were published between the mid 70s and the present.

Chicago Public Library- Gay Fiction: A Selected List
http://www.chipublib.org/001hwlc/litlists/gayfic.html; Divided into four categories: Gay, Lesbian, Drama, Anthologies. Within each category, the list is arranged alphabetically by author, with title(s) and year of publication. Most titles are from the 80s to the present, but there are some gems from the 50s and before as well. Last updated June 2002.

The International Gay & Lesbian Review
http://www.usc.edu/isd/archives/oneigla/onepress/index.html: "The purpose of The International Gay & Lesbian Review is to provide as many abstracts and reviews as possible of books that relate to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Studies. Selected unpublished Ph.D. dissertations and MA theses may also be included." Very extensive, frequently updated, browsable by author or title. All entries include author, title, publisher, place and date of publication, indication of whether the book is fiction or non-fiction, and usually notes (i.e., number of pages, ISBN with link to Amazon, etc). Reviews and abstracts are also dated, reviews are signed, and sources of abstracts are listed (e.g., from front book flap). Some reviewed books include cover images.
Public Faces, Private Lives: A Bibliography Of Boston Gay And Lesbian Writing
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~jcd/bostonbib.html: Includes categories for books set in Boston, those written by Boston area authors, and periodicals. Has not been updated since 1996, but is a remarkable list nonetheless. Includes fiction, nonfiction, and some real esoterica (e.g. Concept and practice of community among gay people in Dorchester, Massachusetts, an "Undergraduate thesis, written during the heyday of Dorchester GALA").


Homosexuality in Young Adult Fiction and Nonfiction: An Annotated Bibliography
http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ALAN/winter96/webunder.html: At the Digital Library and Archives. Created by Dave Webunder and Sarah Woodard. "This bibliography reviews research articles and young adult titles that are beneficial for gay, straight, and not-so-sure adolescents who may be struggling with their sexuality." Most recent item is from 1994, but lists a number of articles which may be helpful in finding other (print) bibliographies. Reviews are fairly substantial. Only includes a couple of books.
You Are Not Alone: Resources for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Teens
http://sfpl4.sfpl.org/sfplonline/teen/booklists/glbteen.htm: This list of resources is compiled by the wonderful folks at the San Francisco Public Library, so some of the information is specific to California and the San Francisco Bay area. Includes book lists for fiction (including graphic novels), non-fiction, and biographies- with author, title, year and a one-line plot summary. What I would have given for this list when I was about 16... The page also includes some suggestions for finding other items on queer topics using a library catalog, and some links to helpful resources for GLBT young people.

Alternative Sexualities in Science Fiction and Fantasy List
http://www.sexuality.org/l/art/scifi.html: List is copyright M.A. Mohanraj 1998, all rights reserved, and was last updated July 27, 1998. This is a very extensive list, broken into five categories: Bibliography, Criticism, Magazines, Anthologies, Fantasy & SF. Each category is arranged alphabetically by author, editor, or magazine title. The amount of information provided varies by title. Mostly just author and title(s) are provided, but sometimes a brief book or series description is included; for example, "gay main character in love with a furry alien from a sexually-dimorphic world where heterosexuality is taboo; a witty and intelligent book."
Spectrum Awards
http://www.spectrumawards.org/: "The Spectrum Awards were created in 1998 to honor works in science fiction, fantasy and horror which include positive explorations of gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered characters, themes, or issues. " Lists of each year's winners and nominees. Also has a recommended reading list of nearly 100 titles- organized by author, includes plot summaries.
Wavelengths Online
http://www.wavelengthsonline.com/current/index.html: "A review journal of science fiction, fantasy, and horror works of special interest to gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, trangendered people and our friends. Our reviews are intended to be thoughtful and analytical, not flippant or fannish. We'll look at works from both a genre and "gay" perspective. We'll tell you where a work stands in relation to its peers, where it succeeds, and where it fails." Now 6 issues online. The reviews are fairly lengthy.

Bibliography of Materials on South Asian Gay, Lesbian Concerns
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/southasia/cuvl/glb.html: Compiled by David Bedell, University of Bridgeport. Last revised 06/26/95. Excerpted from International/Multicultural Bibliography on Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Concerns. Includes literature, academic works, magazines, film. Many entries include a brief synopsis, all have full citations. Chiefly covers India.

Latina Lesbian & Bisexual Bibliography / Bibliograf�a de Lesbianas y Bisexuales Latinas
http://www.indiana.edu/~arenal/lesbo.html: An brief bilingual bibliography compiled by Juana Mar�a Rodr�guez. Titles date from 1981-1996. In addition to basic citation information, each book has an indication of the language(s), and a one-word description (e.g., novel, anthology, poetry).
Bibliography of Works on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Chicanos/as and Latinos/as
http://www.geocities.com/eltejanito/biblio.htm: Last updated 15 October, 1999. Lists English-language (original or translated) fiction and non-fiction books, anthologies, articles, and essays. Entries are unannotated, and most were published in the 80s and 90s.
El Centro Nacional de Informaci�n (The Resource Information Center)
http://www.llego.org/main_pages/links.html: From LLEG�, The National Latina/o Lesbian, Gay Bisexual and Transgender Organization. Only two of the subject categories have book lists: Transgender Issues, and youth. The version in Spanish is not the same as the version in English.

Twice Blessed: The Jewish GLBT Archives Online lists
Jewish GLBT-related Novels A-N and O-Z.
Jewish GLBT-related Biographies & Memoirs A-L and M-Z
Plays A-Z: From the Twice Blessed site [http://www.usc.edu/isd/archives/oneigla/tb/], which also has some other great resource links. Most of the hundreds of titles in these lists have author, publisher, date, and ISBN info. Some also have synopses, links to reviews, etc.

Page by Sarah Struble-- strubsa@hotmail.com
Created 21 July 1999.
Last revised 8 October 2003.