Lambda Literary (Lammy) Award winners were celebrated at a star-studded ceremony on June 3, in New York City, at the NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. This year’s host was the acclaimed performer and Lammy award-winning author Mx. Justin Vivian Bond.
Along with the 25 book award winners, three special honors were also given to Alexander Chee, Masha Gessen, and Barbara Smith. Chee received Lambda’s Trustee Award, for his immeasurable contributions to culture as a novelist, essayist, activist, and teacher, which was presented on stage by award-winning actor Anthony Rapp ("Rent"). Gessen received the Visionary Award, for work advancing public awareness around the global threat of totalitarianism, which was presented by HuffPostEditor-in-Chief Lydia Polgreen. Barbara Smith received the Publishing Professional Award, for a lifetime of work that has profoundly shaped our collective understanding of the interconnections between race, class, and gender, which was presented by the poet, educator, and activist Cheryl Clarke.
Categories were inclusive of the LGBTQ community and award winners were genuinely excited to be honored.