One of my favorite ways to discover new LGBT books is by finding a list of contest winners. Not only are the winners probably good choices, but the other nominees give you even more potential good books to choose from. I find that this is a better way to look for new novels to add to the TBR pile than the Amazon best sellers list since it can be gamed. And, if you missed it, the Lamda Literary Awards announced this year’s winners a couple of weeks ago. Here they are in case you’re looking for new books:
BISEXUAL FICTION
Give It to Me by Ana Castillo
BISEXUAL NONFICTION
Fire Shut Up In My Bones by Charles M. Blow
GAY EROTICA
The King by Tiffany Reisz
GAY GENERAL FICTION
I Loved You More by Tom Spanbauer
GAY MEMOIR/BIOGRAPHY
The Prince of Los Cocuyos by Richard Blanco
Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh by John Lahr
GAY MYSTERY
Blackmail, My Love: A Murder Mystery by Katie Gilmartin
GAY POETRY
[insert] boy by Danez Smith
GAY ROMANCE
Salvation: A Novel of the Civil War by Jeff Mann
LESBIAN EROTICA
Lesbian Sex Bible by Diana Cage
LESBIAN GENERAL FICTION
Yabo by Alexis De Veaux
LESBIAN MEMOIR/BIOGRAPHY
Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around: Forty Years of Movement Building with Barbara Smith by Alethia Jones and Virginia Eubanks, with Barbara Smith
LESBIAN MYSTERY
The Old Deep and Dark-A Jane Lawless Mystery by Ellen Hart
LESBIAN POETRY
Mysterious Acts by My People by Valerie Wetlaufer
LESBIAN ROMANCE
The Farmer’s Daughter by Robbi McCoy
LGBT ANTHOLOGY
Understanding and Teaching US Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History by Leila J. Rupp & Susan K. Freeman
LGBT CHILDREN’S/YOUNG ADULT
Five, Six, Seven, Nate! by Tim Federle
LGBT DEBUT
The Walk-In Closet by Abdi Nazemian
LGBT DRAMA
Bootycandy by Robert O’Hara
LGBT GRAPHIC NOVELS
Second Avenue Caper by Joyce Brabner
LGBT NONFICTION
Hold Tight Gently: Michael Callen, Essex Hemphill, and the Battlefield of AIDS by Martin Duberman
LGBT SF/F/HORROR
Bitter Waters by Chaz Brenchley
LGBT STUDIES
Delectable Negro: Human Consumption and Homoeroticism within US Slave Culture by Vincent Woodard, Ed. Justin A. Joyce and Dwight McBride
TRANSGENDER FICTION
A Safe Girl To Love by Casey Plett
TRANSGENDER NON-FICTION
Man Alive: A True Story of Violence, Forgiveness and Becoming a Man by Thomas Page McBee
For more information on the awards and the other nominees, visit the official site here.