#nominated for a Lambda

[bitterkarella]

Midnight Pals: Hugo Drama

Hugo Gernsback: hey everyone its me, hugo gernsback Gernsback: editor of Amazing Stories and namesake of the hugo awards Gernsback: perhaps you've heard of them? Clive Barker: oh buddy Barker: buddy Barker: we've heard all about them ha ha

Stephen King: they're named after you? i thought they were named after victor hugo Gernsback: ha ha a common mistake Gernsback: but that's fine Gernsback: i'm not mad at all that victor hugo keeps getting the credit Gernsback: i think its funny Gernsback: in fact i'm laughing

Gernsback: ah yes my precious hugo awards! Gernsback: the most prestigious award in science fiction and fantasy! Gernsback: a place for serious business Gernsback: certainly no room for shenanigans here Gernsback: no room for tomfoolery Gernsback: no room for clownish buffoonery

Gernsback: The Hugo -- an award whose very name rings with integrity & honor!   Gernsback: it is no mere nebula! no paltry clarke! Gernback: the stoker, the howard, the lambda - none can compare! Gernsback: the L Ron hubbard writers of the future award? pah! dust before the hugo!

Gernsback: only the choicest cuts of science fiction and fantasy would ever achieve the lofty hugo award Gernsback: an award forever untainted by shenanigans or hijinks! Gernsback: now to take a big sip of coffee and read this  file 770 report!

Gernsback: what the--?! Gernsback: my beautiful hugos!!! tainted by the foul stench of corruption!!! Clive Barker: yeah boy i bet victor hugo's just sick about it Gernsback: Barker: just sick about what they did to his award Gernsback: Barker: ha ha Poe: clive leave him alone

Gernsback: my hugo!!! you were supposed to be a thing of beauty... not this monstrosity! Dean Koontz: gosh he's so sad about his award Koontz: do you think it would cheer him up if i gave him my nickelodean kids choice award? Poe: i think that would be a very nice gesture dean

Chris M Barkley: [thrusting microphone] Mr gernsback! mr gernsback! a statement for the press? Jason Sanford: [thrusting microphone] how do you respond to the allegations about your award mr gernsback? Gernsback: confound these intrepid newshounds of the 4th estate!

Gernsback: [wiping brow] don't worry, we will be taking measures to fix this Barkley: what are you going to do mr gernsback? Sanford: the people demand an answer mr gernsback! Gernsback: we'll uh Gernsback: we'll nominate an essay called 'Dave McCarty Can Fuck Off Into the Sun'

Gernsback: what a debacle! i cannot believe my good name will now forever be associated with such shady practices! HP Lovecraft: hey when are you gonna pay me for my story you ran? Gernsback: new phone, who dis?

Gernsback: you know who this really hurts? Gernsback: worse than the nominees secretly disqualified for politics? Gernsback: worse than the entirety of Chinese science fiction secretly disqualified for being Chinese? Gernsback: worse than the winners whose awards are now tainted?

Gernsback: the person that this hurts most of all Gernsback: is clearly bitter karella Gernsback: for reasons i can't articulate Gernsback: everyone should immediately go and heap conciliatory praise on bitter karella Gernsback: truly the most wronged person of all

Bitter Karella: [bravely holding back tears] no no it's not about me Bitter Karella: [voice cracking] my only thought is for the hugo community who has been through... so much... Bitter Karella: [stoically gazing into distance] they're the REAL heroes

Gernsback: look how bitter karella keeps a brave face... for our sake! King: god bitter karella is so brave... and so modest! Poe: truly a great goblin Poe: possibly the greatest Koontz: why? what did they do? Poe: dean! show some respect!

[lubchansky]

Mattie Lubchansky is a cartoonist and illustrator living in beautiful Queens, NY. They are the former Associate Editor of Ignatz and Eisner award-winning magazine and website The Nib. Their work has appeared in The Nib, VICE’s science fiction vertical Motherboard, Eater, Mad Magazine, Gothamist, The Toast, The Hairpin, Brooklyn Magazine, New York Magazine, Food and Wine, Current Affairs, and their long-running webcomic Please Listen to Me. They are the author of Simplicity (Pantheon, 2025), Boys Weekend (Pantheon, 2023), The Antifa Super-Soldier Cookbook (Silver Sprocket, 2021), the co-author of Dad Magazine (Quirk, 2016), author of Skeleton Party (self-published, 2016), , co-editor and contributor to The Nib’s anthology Be Gay Do Comics (IDW, 2020) , contributor to the Lambda Literary Award-winning anthology 2 Trans 2 Furious: An Extremely Serious Journal of Transgender Street Racing Studies (Girl Dad Press, 2023), and co-editor and contributor to the Eisner-nominated anthology Flash Forward: An Illustrated Guide to Possible (and Not So Possible) Tomorrows (Abrams, 2021). They were the Herblock Prize finalist in 2020.

mattie@mattielubchansky.com

[kvothes]

omg the lambda literary finalists are out… if you wanna build your reading list of queer books, go check out who’s nominated! they have categories for fiction, nonfiction, poetry, romance, comics, memoir, YA—take a look

[melgillman]

Other Ever Afters just got nominated for a Lambda Literary Award!!! In some absolutely stellar company, too -- I've read all the nominees here and absolutely recommend them. Congrats to all!!!

[importantwomensbirthdays]

Cheryl Clarke

Writer and activist Cheryl Clarke was born in 1947 in Washington, DC. Clarke is the author of five poetry collections, as well as influential essays such as "The Failure to Transform: Homophobia in the Black Community", and "Lesbianism: an Act of Resistance". Her poetry collection Experimental Love was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award. She has been active in many Black, feminist, and LGBT organizations, and is a founder and organizer of the Hobart Festival of Women Writers. In 2021, Clarke was honored with the Bill Whitehead Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Publishing Triangle, an association of LGBTQ people in publishing.

[intersexbookclub]

July book pick: The Deep by Rivers Solomon

Our book pick for July is The Deep by intersex author Rivers Solomon! It was inspired by the song "The Deep" by Clipping, and is a fantasy novella set in a society of mermaids descended from African slaves.

We will be meeting online to discuss The Deep on Friday July 28 at: - 11:30am Pacific (Vancouver, San Francisco, etc) - 2:30pm Eastern (Toronto, New York, etc) - 8:30pm Central European (Paris, Berlin, etc) The meeting will be held on our discord, which you can join here: https://discord.gg/wmMQUQxEK4 (See our code of conduct)

As a reminder we'll be meeting to discuss our June book pick, The Fortunate Fall on Weds June 28. But if you're looking to get started on the next book, we hope you enjoy the Deep! We chose The Deep because: - We've heard good things about it! Most recently we heard it praised for its autistic representation. - It's been critically praised, and it's always great to see ownvoices getting recognition. It's a Lambda Literary Award recipient and was nominated for the Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards. - It's a novella, increasing the chance people can finish the book. Though finishing a book is not expected for the book club we know most people prefer to finish books for book clubs. - The book deals with heavy themes such as the trans-Atlantic slave trade and inter-generational trauma, and a novella gives us a gentler entry to talking about heavy content. (List of trigger warnings for the book here.)

Disccussion questions we’ll be using to facilitate the conversation (you don’t need to finish the book!):

What did you like about it?

What did you struggle with?

What other works did it make you think of? Why?

What connections do you see between this book and our last pick (The Fortunate Fall)?    

This book grapples with how can we hold the truths of the violence in our personal/communal histories whilst also being able to move forward. What did you get out this facet of the book?

This is an atmosphere-oriented book rather than a plot-oriented book. Thoughts on the atmosphere?

We hope to see you at the meeting! If you have thoughts on the book feel free to share them as reblogs/replies!

And if The Deep isn't in the cards for you and you want to start on our August pick, it will be The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin.

[wearelibrarian]

As today is the first day of the Trans Rights Readathon (March 20-27, 2023), this is the perfect opportunity to share a resource @we-are-scribe just shared with me! This book, focusing on trans and genderqueer subjects, is available for free online from the publisher!

The Lambda Literary Award-nominated book, Trans and Genderqueer Subjects in Medieval Hagiography (2021) is now fully available in free open access. The book is an interdisciplinary examination of Trans and Genderqueer subjects in Medieval Saints’ literature.The book demonstrates a lineage linking modern Trans and Genderqueer individuals to their Medieval ancestors, providing models of queer identity and re-establishing the place of non-normative gender in history. Of special note is the book’s appendix, offering an extensive ‘Trans and Genderqueer Studies Terminology, Language, and Usage Guide.' The Amsterdam University Press book will also be released in a paperback edition later this year.

https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/61200

[transbookoftheday]

Trans-Galactic Bike Ride by Lydia Rogue and Elly Blue

What would the future look like if we weren't so hung up on putting people into boxes and instead empowered each other to reach for the stars? Take a ride with us as we explore a future where trans and nonbinary people are the heroes.

In worlds where bicycle rides bring luck, a minotaur needs a bicycle, and werewolves stalk the post-apocalyptic landscape, nobody has time to question gender. Whatever your identity you'll enjoy these stories that are both thought-provoking and fun adventures.

Featuring brand-new stories from Hugo, Nebula, and Lambda Literary Award-winning author Charlie Jane Anders, Ava Kelly, Juliet Kemp, Rafi Kleiman, Tucker Lieberman, Nathan Alling Long, Ether Nepenthes, and Nebula-nominated M. Darusha Wehm. Also featuring debut stories from Diana Lane and Marcus Woodman.

[artistsonthelam]

Happy National Poetry Month! Chicago poet Jamiece Adams has two poems in my zine, LAMINATOR Vol. 1—“21st and Maple” and “In Defense of Melancholy”—that make my heart ache whenever I read them. Here's the full text of the former.

Jamiece Adams is a Black genderqueer writer. She was a Lambda Literary Fellow in 2019. Her work has been published in Rabbit: Nonfiction Poetry Journal, The Lambda Literary Anthology of Emerging LGBTQ+ Writers, Hypertext Magazine, and elsewhere. She was nominated for an Illinois Arts Council award in fiction for her piece “The Solitude of Sleep.”

Also, Jamiece is co-hosting a Threewalls salon called “In-Session | The Porch: Places of Belonging” at Soul Full Chicago on May 15. Congratulations, Jamiece!

LAMINATOR (c) Jenny Lam 2024

[rasheednewsonauthor]

The 2024 Lambda Literary award nominations came out yesterday, and these are some of my favorite books from the illustrious list of nominees.

Congrats to all of these talented writers!

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 1/5

Book Blurb:

A newly single queer woman moves to New Orleans and sets off on a mission to find her most compatible match by going on a date with someone of each astrological sign in this rom-com from the Lambda Literary Award–nominated author of Queerly Beloved.

Reeling from a breakup with her long-term partner, Gray—an optimistic lesbian Aries—relocates to New Orleans for a new job. Gray wants to meet someone, settle down, and build the loving, accepting family she’s always wanted, but having been out of the dating scene for a decade, she has no idea where to start. After visiting an iconic astrologer, Gray and her best friend, Cherry, draw up a dramatic scheme: Gray will go on a date with someone of each zodiac sign to test their compatibility and get a jump start on creating the queer family of her dreams—all before her twenty-ninth birthday, when Saturn will usher in a major turning point in her life.

Gray’s got her hands full getting to know her new city, proving herself at her new job, wooing twelve new paramours—cue bathroom hookups, ghosts, getting ghosted, incredible macchiatos, and celesbians—and making some surprising discoveries about her needs and desires. Even when the dating challenge throws a few curveballs that make Gray question what she believes that she’s destined for, she’s determined to finish what she’s started while the planets are still on her side.

Review:

Whats a girl yo do when being freshly dumped and looking for her new perfect match but to go on dates with people based off of their astrological sign. Gray has just gotten out of a relationship with her long time partner and decides to move to New Orleans for a new job. Gray is determined to find her soulmate and finally get the family she's always wanted... the only problem is that going back to dating after being in a long time relationship isn't so easy. Gray visits an iconic astrologer with her best friend, and they come up with a plan: Gray will go on dates with people from each of the zodiac signs to see how compatible she is with them. While trying to find the perfect partner she is also dealing with a new job, the dating scene, and trying to find if the stars align for her. While this sounded like a cute read it just fell so completely flat for me. I love queer rom coms and this sounded like so much fun, however the execution of the actual book felt lackluster at best. I really didn't find myself all that invested in Gray's dates, and thats the whole point of the the story, to get to know Gray's fun rom com shenanigans. Instead of feeling like I was having a fun time I felt like the date that just couldn't escape the dinner table and was counting down the seconds until the bill could come. The romance interest for Gray didn't even really feel like a romance interest. Sadly this one was a miss from me, however if you want a sapphic rom com then give it a go, maybe you'll have better luck with it than I did.

Release Date: June 11, 2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House | Dial Press Trade Paperback for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[solarpowerlesbian]

oh the book ask game is SO cool!! 15, 17, and 20!

(also i know hardly anybody using storygraph! do you want to be friends?)

15. Did you read any books that were nominated for or won awards this year (Booker, Women’s Prize, National Book Award, Pulitzer, Hugo, etc.)? What did you think of them? yes!!! i read last night at the telegraph club by malinda lo which won the national book award, as well as the stonewall book award and a few others, and it was one of my 5 star reads of the year!! that time period of lgbt history is really interesting to me, and this was such a unique perspective into that time. i read the long way to a small angry planet by becky chambers which won the hugo award for best series. that one was a lot of fun, i'm planning on eventually getting the other books in the series! i also read sea of tranquility by emily st. john mandel, which was a very good & quick read and which was nominated for the andrew carnegie medal of excellence. i also read our wives under the sea which was another quick read and which was apparently a finalist for the lambda literary award. kind of surprised how many i read that were nominated or won awards!!

17. Did any books surprise you with how good they were? yes the ballad of songbirds and snakes like obviously i should have known. it's literally suzanne collins. but i was like ohh idk it's about president snow i don't know how i feel about that-- and then i read it. i was so gripped by it and so enthralled by the story that the second i finished i started rereading the hunger games. anyway need to go see the movie asap

20. What was your most anticipated release? Did it meet your expectations? to be honest. it was probably percy jackson and the chalice of the gods like sure i was looking forward to like the new tj klune book and whatnot but. i was counting down the days until the new percy jackson book came out. and it was good enough. some of the cultural references didn't quite work but it was fun and i enjoyed it :)

and YES!!!! my storygraph is here i love adding people on storygraph. need more storygraph friends asap!!!

[dee-the-red-witch]

"The Lambda Literary Award-nominated book, Trans and Genderqueer Subjects in Medieval Hagiography (2021) is now fully available in free open access. The book is an interdisciplinary examination of Trans and Genderqueer subjects in Medieval Saints’ literature.The book demonstrates a lineage linking modern Trans and Genderqueer individuals to their Medieval ancestors, providing models of queer identity and re-establishing the place of non-normative gender in history. Of special note is the book’s appendix, offering an extensive ‘Trans and Genderqueer Studies Terminology, Language, and Usage Guide.'

Here is the direct link: https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/61200 The Amsterdam University Press book will also be released in a paperback edition later this year."

[haveyoureadthistransbook]

Heal Your Love by Luna Merbruja

goodreads

Heal Your Love is a Lambda Literary nominated poetry collection of lessons and remedies for femme survivors of trauma. With unflinching honesty, Merbruja delivers a book filled with hurt, hope, and honey for our open wounds. Heal Your Love comes with 5 original illustrations by Roxana Dhada that begin each chapter of the book. The book cover and lettering are done by Mar Pascual. There are 40+ poems in the book that chronicle a journey through trauma, healing, and thriving.

Mod opinion: I haven't heard of this poetry collection before, but it sounds interesting.

[msaprildaniels]

I'm sorry did that person just accuse you of having a fake book?? I??? What????

that is one hell of a con job you did, making up a fake book and then writing the book to fool more people with the book that the book was fake. step 4 profit I guess

It's true! I was so good at faking my book they nominated me for a Lambda Award in 2018.

[paranatellonta]

Paranatellonta is 10 years old!

10! Can you believe it?

To celebrate, we have invited guest author and photographer Ava Kelly again, as we loved this same collaboration for our fifth anniversary.

Ava Kelly is a nonbinary speculative writer and engineer. Secretly a pile of cats in a trenchcoat, Ava’s goal is to bring into the world more tales of friendship and compassion, dedicated to trope subversion, stories that give the void a voice. Romanian living in Norway, Ava is an avid explorer of culture and its reflection upon life and creativity, both in art and in tech design. Among their works are the award-winning novel Havesskadi, the short story A Sudden Displacement of Matter (part of the Lambda-nominated anthology Trans-Galactic Bike Ride: Feminist Bicycle Science Fiction Stories of Transgender and Nonbinary Adventurers), and the illustrated dual language book of nonbinary fairy tales Alia Terra – Stories from the Dragon Realm.

This is what the celebratory edition will look like: in our next post, there will be one photo taken by Fie, for which Ava has written a ten-sentence story—the usual size for a Paranatellonta story. Ava has also taken a photo which will be shown in a second post, accompanied by a ten-sentence story by Minerva. So you’ll be getting two Paranatellonta combinations at once. A third star rises with us today!

We hope you’ll enjoy this special anniversary edition. As always, feel free to leave us a comment through asks, reblogs or any other way you like!

The banners for this post were also designed by Ava. Thank you for joining us again, @avakellyfiction!

More about Ava Kelly: [website] – [tumblr] – [instagram] – [twitter] – [mastodon]

More about Minerva Cerridwen: [website] – [tumblr] – [instagram] – [twitter] – [mastodon]

More about Fie: [tumblr]