The Lambda Literary Association announced its list of finalists in twenty-five categories on March 1, 2007. A total of 381 books received nominations and were shortlisted by a panel of 87 judges (comprised of a cross-section of journalists, librarians, playwrights and illustrators). A complete list of nominees can be found at the end of this entry. The winners will be announced on Thursday, May 31st, 2007 in New York City.

It seems of late that reading has fallen out of vogue with LGBTQ community. As a whole, we’ve become to reliant on the mobile age of technology. The pleasures of slowing life down and picking up a printed book are highly overlooked in my opinion. Luckily, I grew up with a great appreciation for the written word. In fact, I own so many books that I literally have had to put some away in boxes as they do not fit in the large library areas of my home. My love of books started early when I taught myself to read with Dr. Seuss’ books prior to entering kindergarten. By the time I was in high school, I was already an avid collector. I won’t embarrass myself by telling you how many hours I searched in book stores and second-hand shops to complete my collections of all the titles written by favorite authors like Erle Stanley Gardner, Oscar Wilde, Virginia Woolf, Ellery Queen, Jane Austen, Agatha Christie, James Baldwin and Earl Derr Biggers.

Of course, as I discovered my sexuality in high school, I also became a fan of gay fiction/non-fiction. One of the first authors I remember vividly was Gordon Merrick and his Peter and Charlie series. Sure, they were in part indulgent and trashy. But, they also were an outlet to find characters who were like me (no matter how outrageous their lives). While they were certainly filled with sex, it was the depiction of men who loved other men and had relationships and social dynamics within a community that truly appealed to me. To say books were an escape for a teenager who was finding himself would be an understatement.

To this very day, books are definitely a hobby and passion. I read a wide cross-section–from current fiction bestsellers, non-fiction, classics, mysteries, and yes, works by LGBTQ authors. I think too often the brilliant works of a magnificent group of writers goes unheralded because they supposedly only appeal to a small subsection of readers. That assumption is not only misguided, but completely unfair to the authors. I applaud the publishing houses who are not afraid to take on GLBTQ writers and publish their works. I equally applaud those very writers for offering us rich prose and verse, dynamic thought and multi-layered characters that represent our lives and reflect our community. I strongly urge you to support LGBTQ authors by visting your favorite bookseller and finding time to escape for just a bit into their worlds.

This year, my favorite category (and it usually my favorite category) is a bit of a conundrum. The nominees in GAY ROMANCE include three books I’ve read in the past year and enjoyed for different reasons, one that I am currently reading and one that is on my list to be read. Yes, I am a sucker for romance. Hopeless, I know. The three I own and have read are ‘Someone Like You’ by Timothy James Beck, ‘When the Stars Come Out’–Rob Byrnes, and ‘Going Down in La-La Land’ by Andy Zeffer. I’m reading Lawrence Schimel’s ‘Two Boys in Love’ and will read ‘Surf ‘N’ Turf’ by Scott & Scott.

While I enjoyed the bulk of Zeffer’s book, I didn’t care for the ending. So at this point, I’d have to say my personal pick would have to be one of the first two books. But, I have to disclose that I may be partial to Mr. Rob Byrnes and Mr. Timothy J. Lambert (one-fourth of the quad that is Timothy James Beck) as I am a devotee of their respective blogs. I’d just highly recommend each title to you and tell you that they were two of my favorite reads in the past year. I’d be thrilled to see either deserving author be the victor.

So, in case, I failed to make my point in this somewhat rambling entry: Read, dammit! It’s good for you and you’ll never know the brilliant talent that’s out there if you don’t sample the smorgasbord.

19th ANNUAL LAMBDA LITERARY AWARDS FINALISTS

ANTHOLOGY NOMINEES:
Confessions of the Other Mother, edited by Harlyn Aizley (Beacon)
From Boys to Men, edited by Ted Gideonse & Rob Williams (Carroll & Graf)
Love, Bourbon Street, edited by Greg Herren & Paul J. Willis (Alyson)
Charmed Lives, edited by Toby Johnson & Steve Berman (Lethe Press)
No Margins: Writing Canadian Fiction in Lesbian, edited by Catherine Lake & Nairne Holtz (Insomniac)

ARTS & CULTURE NOMINEES:
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (Houghton Mifflin)
Cinemachismo by Sergio de la Mora (University of Texas Press)
Sex Objects by Jennifer Doyle (University of Minnesota Press)
GAY L.A. by Lillian Faderman & Stuart Timmons (Basic Books)
Blood Beats: Vol 1 by Ernest Hardy (Redbone Press)

BISEXUAL NOMINEES:
Eros by Serena Anderlini-D’Onofrio (Harrington Park Press)
Affirmative Psychotherapy with Bisexual Women & Bisexual Men by Ronald C. Fox (Harrington Park Press)
Three Sides to Every Story by Clarence Nero (Harlem Moon/Broadway)
Bi Guys, edited by Ron Jackson Suresha (Harrington Park Press)
Bi Men, edited by Ron Jackson Suresha & Pete Chvany (Harrington Park Press)
The Bisexual’s Guide to the Universe, Michael Szymanski & Nicole Kristal (Alyson)

CHILDRENS/YOUNG ADULT NOMINEES:
The Manny Files by Christian Burch (Simon & Schuster)
The Full Spectrum, edited by David Levithan & Billy Merrell (Random House Childrens Books)
Between Mom & Jo by Julie Anne Peters (Little Brown)
Tale of Two Summers by Brian Sloan (Simon & Schuster)
Erik & Isabelle’s Junior Year at Foresthill High by Kim Wallace (Foglight Press)

DRAMA/THEATER NOMINEES:
Questa by Victor Bumbalo (Broadway Publishing Inc.)
Confessions of a Mormon Boy by Stephen Fales (Alyson)
1001 Beds by Tim Miller (University of Wisconsin)

HUMOR NOMINEES:
Queen of the Oddballs by Hilary Carlip (HarperCollins)
My Lucky Star by Joe Keenan (Little Brown)
Roy & Al by Ralf Konig (Arsenal Pulp Press)

LGBT NONFICTION NOMINEES:
Hello, Cruel World by Kate Bornstein (Seven Stories)
GAY L.A. by Lillian Faderman & Stuart Timmons (Basic Books)
Different Daughters by Marcia Gallo (Carroll & Graf)
Behind the Mask of the Mattachine by James T. Sears (Harrington Park Press)
Unspeakable Love by Brian Whitaker (University of California)

LGBT STUDIES NOMINEES:
Every Inch A Man: Phallic Possession, etc. by Carellin Brooks (UBC Press)
Gay Power: An American Revolution by David Eisenbach (Carroll & Graf)
Their Own Receive Them Not by Horace Griffin (Pilgrim Press)
Crip Theory by Robert McRuer (NYU Press)
Beautiful Bottom, Beautiful Shame by Kathryn Stockton (Duke University Press)

SCI-FI/FANTASY/HORROR NOMINEES:
Carnival by Elizabeth Bear (Bantam Spectra)
Mordred, Bastard Son by Douglas Clegg (Alyson)
A Strong and Sudden Thaw by R.W. Day (Iris Print)
Izzy and Eve by Neal Drinnan (Green Candy Press)
Spin Control by Chris Moriarty (Bantam Spectra)

SPIRITUALITY NOMINEES:
Sex & the Sacred by Daniel Helminiak (Harrington Park Press)
The After-Death Room by Michael McColly (Soft Skull Press)
Spirited edited by Lisa Moore & G. Winston James (Redbone Press)
The Singing of Swans by Mary Saracino (Pearlsong Press )
Mobius Trip by Giti Thadani (Spinifex Press)

TRANSGENDER NOMINEES:
Transgender Rights edited Paisley Currah, Richard M. Juang, and Shannon Price Minter (University of Minnesota Press)
Drag King Dreams by Leslie Feinberg (Carroll & Graf)
Supervillainz by Alicia E. Goranson (Suspect Thoughts)
The Transgender Studies Reader edited by Susan Stryker & Stephen Whittle (Routledge)
The Testosterone Files by Max Wolf Valerio (Seal Press)

LESBIAN FICTION NOMINEES:
Punk Like Me by JD Glass (Bold Strokes)
Slipstream by Leslie Larson (Crown)
Outrageous by Sheila Ortiz Taylor (Spinsters Ink)
Rose of No Man’s Land by Michelle Tea (Macadam Cage)
The Night Watch by Sarah Waters (Riverhead Books)

LESBIAN ROMANCE NOMINEES:
Fresh Tracks by Georgia Beers (Bold Strokes)
Wild Abandon by Ronica Black (Bold Strokes)
Finders Keepers by Karin Kallmaker (Bella Books)
Chance by Grace Lennox (Bold Strokes)
Turn Back Time by Radclyffe (Bold Strokes)

LESBIAN MYSTERY NOMINEES:
Sleep of Reason by Rose Beecham (Bold Strokes)
Night Vision by Ellen Hart (St. Martins)
The Art of Detection by Laurie R. King (Bantam)
Idaho Code by Joan Opyr (Bywater Books)
The Weekend Visitor by Jessica Thomas (Bella Books)

LESBIAN POETRY NOMINEES:
Domain of Perfect Affection by Robin Becker (University of Pittsburgh)
Days of Good Looks by Cheryl Clarke (Carroll & Graf)
The Truant Lover by Juliet Patterson (Nightboat Books)
Lemon Hound by Sina Queyras (Coach House Books)
Touch to Affliction by Nathalie Stephens (Coach House Books)

LESBIAN MEMOIR/BIOGRAPHY NOMINEES:
Intimate Politics by Bettina Aptheker (Seal Press)
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (Houghton Mifflin)
Queen of the Oddballs by Hilary Carlip (HarperCollins)
Hit by a Farm by Catherine Friend (Carroll & Graf)
Incognito Street by Barbara Sjoholm (Seal Press)

LESBIAN EROTICA NOMINEES:
Walk Like a Man by Laurinda D. Brown (Q-Boro Books)
Glamour Girls edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Harrington Park Press)
18th & Castro by Karin Kallmaker (Bella Books)
Master Han’s Daughter by Midori (Circlet Press)
Best Lesbian Erotica 2007 edited by Tristan Taromino & Emma Donoghue (Cleis Press)

LESBIAN DEBUT FICTION NOMINEES:
The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery (Riverhead)
Black Marks by Kirsten Dinnall Hoyte (Akashic)
Erzulie’s Skirt by Ana-Maurine Lara (Redbone Press)
Slipstream by Leslie Larson (Crown)
Origami Striptease by Peggy Munson (Suspect Thoughts)

GAY FICTION NOMINEES:
Every Visible Thing by Lisa Carey (HarperCollins)
Izzy and Eve by Neal Drinnan (Green Candy Press)
Alternatives to Sex by Stephen McCauley (Simon & Schuster)
Now Is the Hour by Tom Spanbauer (Houghton Mifflin)
Suspension by Robert Westfield (HarperCollins)

GAY ROMANCE NOMINEES:
Someone Like You by Timothy James Beck (Kensington)
When the Stars Come Out by Rob Byrnes (Kensington)
Two Boys in Love by Lawrence Schimel (Seventh Window)
Surf ‘N’ Turf by Scott & Scott (Romentics)
Going Down in La-La Land by Andy Zeffer (Harrington Park Press)

GAY MYSTERY NOMINEES:
Mardi Gras Mambo by Greg Herren (Kensington)
The Hell You Say by Josh Lanyon (I-Universe)
The Back Passage by James Lear (Cleis Press)
Provincetown Follies, Bangkok Blues by Randall Peffer (Bleak House Books)
The Lucky Elephant Restaurant by Garry Ryan (NeWest Press)

GAY POETRY NOMINEES:
Gutted by Justin Chin (Manic D Press)
The Album That Changed My Life by Jeffrey Conway (Cold Calm Press)
A History of My Tattoo by Jim Elledge (Stonewall)
Other Fugitives & Other Strangers by Rigoberto Gonzalez (Tupelo Press)
When the Eye Forms by Dwaine Rieves (Tupelo)

GAY MEMOIR/BIOGRAPHY NOMINEES:
Untold Stories by Alan Bennett (FSG)
The Bill From My Father by Bernard Cooper (Simon & Schuster)
Tweaked by Patrick Moore (Kensington)
History of Swimming by Kim Powers (Carroll & Graf)
My Father’s Keeper by Jonathan Silin (Beacon)

GAY EROTICA NOMINEES:
Best Gay Erotica 2007 edited by Richard Labonte (Cleis Press)
A History of Barbed Wire by Jeff Mann (Suspect Thoughts)
Hot On His Trail by Zavo (Alyson)

GAY DEBUT FICTION NOMINEES:
A Scarecrow’s Bible by Martin Hyatt (Suspect Thoughts)
The Zookeeper by Alex MacLennan (Alyson)
Send Me by Patrick Ryan (Dial Press)
Suspension by Robert Westfield (HarperCollins)
5 Minutes & 42 Seconds by Timothy Williams (HarperCollins)