2018 Barbara Gittings Literature Award and Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award of the Stonewall Book Awards Announced

DENVER - Two of the 2018 Stonewall Book Awards were announced Sunday, Feb. 11 by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Round Table (GLBTRT) of the American Library Association (ALA), during the ALA Midwinter Meeting and Exhibits, held February 9-13 in Denver, Colorado.

The Stonewall Book Awards are given annually to English-language works of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience and include the Stonewall Book Awards – Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award (announced at the Youth Media Awards press conference on Monday, February 12), the Stonewall Book Awards – Barbara Gittings Literature Award and the Stonewall Book Awards – Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award. The awards will be presented to the winning authors or editors at the American Library Association Annual Conference in New Orleans in June.

“Queer Threads: Crafting Identity and Community” by John Chaich and Todd Oldham and published by Ammo Books is the Stonewall Book Award – Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award winner for 2018. This title presents 30 LGBTQ global artists who have embraced and redefined fiber and textile arts. Based on a 2014 exhibition at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, these pieces span decades of work. Colorful, provocative, and innovative, this book pushes beyond basic knits to put forward a queer aesthetic. It also contains interviews with each featured artist, exploring their likes, works, and inspirations.

Three Stonewall Book Awards – Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award Honor Books were named:

• “Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity” by C. Riley Snorton, published by University of Minnesota Press
• “The Black Penguin” by Andrew Evans, published by University of Wisconsin Press
• “LGBTQ Stats: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer People by the Numbers” by  Bennett Singer and David Deschamps, published by The New Press

“Meanwhile, Elsewhere: Science Fiction and Fantasy from Transgender Writers” edited by Cat Fitzpatrick and Casey Plett and published by Topside Press, was named the winner of the Stonewall Book Awards - Barbara Gittings Literature Award for 2018. “Meanwhile, Elsewhere” is an anthology of short stories by trans* authors featuring trans* characters. This groundbreaking collection contains stories of love, stories of horror, and stories of adventure that pave the way for a new type of science fiction and fantasy.

Four Stonewall Book Awards – Barbara Gittings Literature Award Honor Books were named:

• “Marriage of a Thousand Lies” By SJ Sindu, published by Soho Press
• “A Place Called No Homeland” by Kai Cheng Thom, published by Arsenal Pulp Press
• “An Unkindness of Ghosts” by Rivers Solomon, published by Akashic Books
• “When I Grow Up, I Want to be a List of Further Possibilities” by Chen Chen, published by BOA Editions, Ltd.

The members of the 2018 Stonewall Book Awards Adult Subcommittee are: Chair John Mack Freeman, Erin Boyington, Erin Henrie, Loren Klein and Joel Shoemaker.

For more information about the Stonewall Book Awards, please visit www.ala.org/glbtrt.

The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table of the American Library Association is the oldest professional association for GLBT people in the United States.  It is committed to serving the information needs of the GLBT professional library community and information and access needs of individuals at large.  It is home to GLBT Book Month (tm), a nationwide celebration every June and the Stonewall Book Award, the oldest award honoring GLBT books.  GLBTRT is committed to encouraging and supporting the free and necessary access to all information, as reflected by the missions of the American Library Association and democratic institutions.

The American Library Association is the oldest and largest library association in the world with more than 57,000 members.  Its mission is to provide leadership for the development, promotion and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.