Minneapolis writers are finalists for Lambda Award

The Lambda Awards honor the best in gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender writing. This year, Minneapolis mystery writer Ellen Hart is among the finalists. (She has won five times before. Root for her anyway!) Memoirist Barrie Jean Borich, recently of Chicago but a longtime Twin Cities writer and teacher at thee Loft, is also a finalist. Also on the list: Twin Cities novelist Edmond Manning's latest romance; a novel published by Minneapolis publisher Scarletta Press, a nonfiction book published by the University of Minnesota Press, and a collection of poetry published by Graywolf Press.

It's a long list, with lots of worthy nominees, and new this year is the category of graphic novels. Winners will be announced in June. Links to Star Tribune reviews, when available.

TRANSGENDER FICTION

Nevada, a novel, Imogen Binnie, Topside Press
Tiresias, Devon Llywelyn Jones, Devon Llywelyn Jones
Wanting in Arabic, Trish Salah, TSAR Publications

BISEXUAL FICTION

Corona, Bushra Rehman, Sibling Rivalry Press
Hild: A Novel, Nicola Griffith, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
In His Secret Life, Mel Bossa, Bold Strokes Books
My Education, Susan Choi, Penguin Group/Viking
The Two Hotel Francforts: A Novel, David Leavitt, Bloomsbury

GAY GENERAL FICTION

A Visit to Priapus and Other Stories, by Glenway Wescott, Ed. Jerry Rosco, University of Wisconsin Press
An Honest Ghost, Rick Whitaker, Jaded Ibis Press
The City of Devi, Manil Suri, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Damn Love, Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, Ig Publishing
The Desperates, Greg Kearney, Cormorant Books
Fire Year, Jason K Friedman, Sarabande Books
Local Souls, Allan Gurganus, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Mundo Cruel: Stories, Luis Negron; translated by Suzanne Jill Levine, Seven Stories Press
Necessary Errors, Caleb Crain, Penguin Books
The Red Shoes, John Stewart Wynne, Riverdale Ave Books/Magnus

LESBIAN GENERAL FICTION

The Albino Album, Chavisa Woods, Seven Stories Press
Bodies of Water, T. Greenwood, Kensington
Cha-Ching!, Ali Liebegott, City Lights
Cream, Christiana Harrell, Createspace
The Daylight Gate, Jeanette Winterson, Grove/Atlantic Inc./Grove Press
Fat Angie, e.E. Charlton-Trujillo, Candlewick Press
Happiness, Like Water, Chinelo Okparanta, Mariner Books (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
She Rises: A Novel, Kate Worsley, Bloomsbury
Survival Skills, Jean Ryan, Ashland Creek Press
We Are Water, Wally Lamb, HarperCollins/Harper

LGBT DEBUT FICTION

The Affairs of Others: A Novel, Amy Grace Loyd, Picador
Descendants of Hagar, Nik Nicholson, AuthorHouse
Golden Boy, Abigail Tarttelin, Simon & Schuster/Atria Books
How to Shake the Other Man, Derek Palacio, Nouvella
In Between, Jane Hoppen, Bold Strokes Books
Inside, Charles L. Ross, Ink Inc.
Jane and the Whales, Andrea Routley, Caitlin Press
My Brother's Name: A Novel, Laura Krughoff, Scarletta / Scarletta Press
Prick Queasy, Ronald Palmer, Publication Studio
The Rest of Us: Stories, Guy Mark Foster, Tincture/Lethe Press

TRANSGENDER NONFICTION

Blood, Marriage, Wine & Glitter, S. Bear Bergman, Arsenal Pulp Press
The End of San Francisco, Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore, City Lights Publishers
Testo Junkie, Beatriz Preciado, Feminist Press

BISEXUAL NONFICTION

The B Word: Bisexuality in Contemporary Film and Television, Maria San Filippo, Indiana University Press
Bi: Notes for a Bisexual Revolution, Shiri Eisner, Seal Press
The Soundtrack of My Life, Clive Davis, Simon & Schuster

LGBT NONFICTION

Among the Bloodpeople, Thomas Glave, Akashic Books
Does Jesus Really Love Me?, Jeff Chu, Harper Collins
The End of the Homosexual?, Dennis Altman, University of Queensland Press
Living Out Islam: Voices of Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Muslims, Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle, NYU Press
Meet Grindr: How One App Changed The Way We Connect, Jamie Woo, Self-Published
Plane Queer: Labor, Sexuality, and AIDS in the History of Male Flight Attendants, Phil Tiemeyer, University of California Press
The Queer Limit of Black Memory Black Lesbian Literature and Irresolution, Matt Richardson, The Ohio State University Press
Radical Relations: Lesbian Mothers, Gay Fathers, and Their Children in the United States since World War II, Daniel Winunwe Rivers, University of North Carolina Press
Tom Bianchi: Fire Island Pines. Polaroids 1975-1983, Ben Smales, Tom Bianchi, Edmund White, Damiani
White Girls, Hilton Als, McSweeney's Publishing
You Can Tell Just By Looking: And 20 Other Myths about LGBT Life and People, Michael Bronski, Ann Pellegrini and Michael Amico, Beacon Press

GAY POETRY

Alternative Medicine, Rafael Campo, Duke University Press
The Apartment of Tragic Appliances, Michael D. Snediker, Peanut Books (an imprint of punctum books)
Clay, David Groff, Trio House Press
Companion Grasses, Brian Teare, Omnidawn Publishing
Metaphysical Dog, Frank Bidart, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Obscenely Yours, Angelo Nikolopoulos, Alice James Books
Silverchest, Carl Phillips, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Straight Razor, Randall Mann, Persea Books
The Talking Day, Michael Klein, Sibling Rivalry Press
Unpeopled Eden, Rigoberto Gonzalez, Four Way Books

LESBIAN POETRY

A Wild Surmise: New & Selected Poems & Recordings, Eloise Klein Healy, Red Hen Press
Chopper! Chopper! Poetry From Bordered Lives, Veronica Reyes, Red Hen Press/Arktoi Books
Chord Box, Elizabeth Lindsey Rogers, The University of Arkansas Press
The Collected Poems of Ai, Ai, W.W. Norton & Company
The Exchange, Sophie Cabot Black, Graywolf Press
Proxy, R. Erica Doyle, Belladonna Collaborative
Rise in the Fall, Ana Bozicevic, Birds, LLC
She Has a Name, Kamilah Aisha Moon, Four Way Books
Viral, Suzanne Parker, Alice James Books
We Come Elemental, Tamiko Beyer, Alice James Books

GAY MYSTERY

Baton Rouge Bingo, Greg Herren, Bold Strokes Books
Boystown 5: Murder Book, Marshall Thornton, MLR Press
Fierce, David Lennon, Blue Spike Publishing
Foxed, Garry Ryan, NeWest Press
The General and the Elephant Clock of Al-Jazari, Sarah Black, Dreamspinner Press
How to Greet Strangers: A Mystery, Joyce Thompson, Lethe Press
In Real Life, The 3rd Gemini & Flowers Mystery, Jonathan Gregory, Amazon Digital Services Inc
Pawn of Satan, Mark Zubro, MLR Press
Pretty Boy Dead, Jon Michaelsen, Wilde City Press
The Prisoner of the Riviera: A Francis Bacon Mystery, Janice Law, MysteriousPress.com/Open Road Media

LESBIAN MYSTERY

Cross and Burn, Val McDermid, Grove/Atlantic/Atlantic Monthly Press
Death of the Demon, Annel Holt, Scribner
High Desert, Katherine V. Forrest, Spinsters Ink
The Killer Wore Leather: A Mystery, Laura Antoniou, Cleis Press
Point of Betrayal, Ann Roberts, Bella Books
The Rainey Season, R.E. Bradshaw, R.E. Bradshaw Books
She Overheard Murder, Jean Sheldon, Wellworth Publishing/Bast Press
Taken by the Wind, Ellen Hart, St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books
Turning on the Tide, Jenna Rae, Bella Books
Web of Obsessions, Diane Wood, Bella Books
The Wild Beasts of Wuhan: An Ava Lee Novel, Ian Hamilton, Picador

GAY MEMOIR/BIOGRAPHY

A Heaven of Words: Last Journals, by Glenway Wescott, Ed. Jerry Rosco, University of Wisconsin Press
The AIDS Generation: Stories of Survival and Resilience, Perry N. Halkitis, Oxford University Press
American Hipster: A Life of Herbert Huncke, The Times Square Hustler Who Inspired the Beat Movement, Hillary Holladay, Riverdale Ave Books/Magnus
Darling: A Spiritual Autobiography, Richard Rodriguez, Penguin Group/Viking
Dreadful: The Short Life and Gay Times of John Horne Burns, David Margolick, Other Press
Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father, Alysia Abbott, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Farther and Wilder: The Lost Weekends and Literary Dreams of Charles Jackson, Blake Bailey, Alfred A. Knopf
Henry Darger, Throwaway Boy: The Tragic Life of an Outsider Artist, Jim Elledge, Overlook Duckworth
In Bed With Gore Vidal, Tim Teeman, Riverdale Ave Books/Magnus
Returning to Reims, Didier Eribon, Semiotext(e)

LESBIAN MEMOIR/BIOGRAPHY

Body Geographic, Barrie Jean Borich, University of Nebraska Press
Growing up Golem, Donna Minkowitz, Riverdale Ave Books/Magnus
How Poetry Saved My Life, Amber Dawn, Arsenal Pulp Press
L Is for Lion: An Italian Bronx Butch Freedom Memoir, Annie Rachel Lanzillotto, SUNY Press, Excelsior Editions
Lost Cat: A True Story of Love, Desperation, and GPS Technology, Caroline Paul and Wendy MacNaughton, Bloomsbury

GAY ROMANCE

Covet Thy Neighbor, L. A. Witt, Riptide Publishing
Glitterland, Alexis Hall, Riptide Publishing
Into This River I Drown, TJ Klune, Dreamspinner Press
King Mai, Edmond Manning, Pickwick Ink Publishing
My Dear Watson, L.A. Fields, Lethe Press
Pickup Men, L.C. Chase, Riptide Publishing
Play Me, I'm Yours, Madison Parker, Harmony Ink Press
Rocky's Road, Lynley Wayne, MLR Press
Unbroken, Larry Benjamin, Beaten Track Publishing
Where You Are, J.H. Trumble, Kensington

LESBIAN ROMANCE

All That Lies Within, Lynn Ames, Phoenix Rising Press
At Seventeen, Gerri Hill, Bella Books
Broken Trails, D Jordan Redhawk, Bella Books
Clean Slate, Andrea Bramhall, Bold Strokes Books
Date with Destiny, Mason Dixon, Bold Strokes Books
Hold Me Forever, D. Jackson Leigh, Bold Strokes Books
Hoosier Daddy, Ann McMan, Salem West, Bedazzled Ink Publishing Company/Nuance
Last Salute, Tracey Richardson, Bella Books
Love by the Numbers, Karin Kallmaker, Bella Books
The Prince ss Affair, Nell Stark, Bold Strokes Books

GAY EROTICA

Capture & Surrender, Aleksandr Voinov & L.A. Witt, Riptide Publishing
The Padisah's Son and the Fox: an erotic novella, Alex Jeffers, Lethe Press
Sensual Travels: Gay Erotic Stories, Michael Luongo (Ed.), Bruno Gmuender
Show-Offs: Gay Erotic Stories, Ed. Richard Labonte, Cleis Press
Team Players: Gay Erotic Stories, Winston Gieseke (Ed.), Bruno Gmuender

LESBIAN EROTICA

At Her Feet, Rebekah Weatherspoon, Bold Strokes Books
Best Lesbian Erotica 2014, Kathleen Warnock, Ed., Cleis Press
Wild Girls Wild Nights: True Lesbian Sex Stories, Ed. Sacchi Green, Cleis Press

LGBT ANTHOLOGY

An Archive of Hope: Harvey Milk's Speeches and Writings, Harvey Milk, Jason Edward Black, Charles E. Morris, University of California Press
The Feminist Porn Book, Tristan Taormino, Constance Penley, Celine Parrenas Shimizu & Mireille Miller-Young, Feminist Press
Flicker and Spark: A Contemporary Queer Anthology of Spoken Word and Poetry, Editors: Brittany Fonte and Regie Cabico, Lowbrow Press
Ghosts in Gaslight. Monsters in Steam. Gay City: Volume 5, Evan J Peterson & Vincent Kovar, Gay City Anthologies
Queer Africa: New and Collected Fiction, Karen Martin and Makhosazana Xaba, MaThoko's Books
Queer in Aztlan: Chicano Male Recollentions of Consciousness and Coming Out, Ed. Adelaida R. Del Castillo and Gibran Guido, Cognella Academic Publishing
This Assignment Is So Gay: LGBTIQ Poets on the Art of Teaching, Megan Volpert, Sibling Rivalry Press
Troubling the Line: Trans and Genderqueer Poetry and Poetics, T.C. Tolbert and Tim Trace Peterson, Nightboat Books
What I LOVE about being QUEER, Vivek Shraya, George Brown College
Who's Yer Daddy?: Gay Writers Celebrate Their Mentors and Forerunners, Eds. Jim Elledge and David Groff, The University of Wisconsin Press

LGBT CHILDREN'S/YOUNG ADULT

Better Nate Than Ever, Tim Federle, Simon & Schuster, Inc./ Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Boy In Box, Christopher R. Michael, Hubbub Publishing
Girls I've Run Away With, Rhiannon Argo, Moonshine Press
If You Could Be Mine, Sara Farizan, Algonquin Books
Openly Straight, Bill Konigsberg, Arthur A. Levine Books
Rapture Practice, Aaron Hartzler, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Secret City, Julia Watts, Bella Books
The Secret Ingredient, Stewart Lewis- Author, Rebecca Short-Editor, Delacorte Press (Penguin/Random House)
The Summer Prince, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Arthur A. Levine Books
Two Boys Kissing, David Levithan, Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
What Makes a Baby, Cory Silverberg and illustrated by Fiona Smyth, Seven Stories Press/Triangle Square

LGBT DRAMA

Las Hociconas: Three Locas with Big Mouths and Even Bigger Brains, Adelina Anthony, Korima Press
sash & trim and other plays, Djola Branner, RedBone Press
Tom at the Farm, Michel Marc Bouchard, Talonbooks

LGBT GRAPHIC NOVEL

Artifice, Alex Woolfson (author), Winona Nelson (Illustrator), AMW Comics
Calling Dr. Laura: A Graphic Memoir, Nicole J. Georges, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Duck! Second Chances, Tana Ford, Bang A Left
The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story, Vivek J. Tiwary, Andrew C. Robinson, Kyle Baker, Steve Dutro, M Press

LGBT SF/F/HORROR

Collaborators, Deborah Wheeler, Dragon Moon Press
Death by Silver, Melissa Scott & Amy Griswold, Lethe Press
Deprivation; or, Benedetto furioso: an oneiromancy, Alex Jeffers, Lethe Press
Dragon Slayer, Isabella Carter, Less Than Three Press
Dust Devil on a Quiet Street, Richard Bowes, Lethe Press
Hell's Belle, Marie Castle, Bella Books
Invisible Soft Return :\, Roberta Degnore, Digital Fabulists
Light, Nathan Burgoryne, Bold Strokes Books
Like Light for Flies, Lee Thomas, Lethe Press
The Stars Change, Mary Anne Mohanraj, Circlet Press, Inc.

LGBT STUDIES

Butch Queens Up in Pumps Gender, Performance, and Ballroom Culture in Detroit, Marlon M. Bailey, University of Michigan Press
Feeling Women's Liberation, Victoria Hesford, Duke University Press
Just Queer Folks: Gender and Sexuality in Rural America, Colin R. Johnson, Temple University Press
Love and Money: Queers, Class, and Cultural Production, Lisa Henderson, NYU Press
Oye Loca: From the Mariel Boatlift to Gay Cuban Miami, Susana Pena, University of Minnesota Press
Professing Selves: Transsexuality and Same-Sex Desire in Contemporary Iran, Afsaneh Najmabadi, Duke University Press
Safe Space: Gay Neighborhood History and the Politics of Violence, Christina B. Hanhardt, Duke University Press
Shanghai Lalas, Lucetta Yip Lo Kam, Hong Kong University Press
Tomorrow's Parties: Sex and the Untimely, Peter M. Coviello, NYU Press
Transforming Citizenships: Transgender Articulations of the Law, Isaac West, NYU Press