Posts tagged ‘Awards’
#LLFfail
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This is a recurring theme for me and will continue until LLF moves with the times.
For background to this post, read my criticism against the LLF for excluding e-books and international queer lit from their awards (the Lammies). Basically, if you’re not in North America and don’t write English, you’re not queer worthy enough.
LLF has released their guidelines for next year’s Lammies. Changes! but not enough and some may think for the worse. Current guidelines are posted on their site but I’ll repeat the eligibility requirements here for posterity as the guidelines change every year. Emphasis are mine.
The Lambda Literary Foundation (LLF) seeks to elevate the status of openly gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people throughout society by rewarding and promoting excellence among LGBT writers who use their work to explore LGBT lives. (Lambda’s mission statement)
ELIGIBILITY
· In determining whether a book should be submitted for consideration, it should be noted that the Lambda Literary Awards are based principally on the LGBT content, the gender orientation/identity of the author and the literary merit of the work.
· The book must be published and distributed (i.e. available in bookstores or online) in the United States during 2009.
· Self-published books are eligible.
· Reprints of previously published paperback, hardcover or electronic books are not eligible. Second (or later) editions of a book are not eligible for consideration. A book that has been republished by a different publisher after its initial publication is not eligible.
· The book must be published in English. Translations from other languages into English are accepted, as long as the U.S. publication occurs during 2009.
· Books available in eBook format alone are not eligible.
Is this progress? LLF will now accept books only available from online stores (all bow to Amazon) as long as US readers can get them. Self-published books are eligible.
On the other hand, pure ebook publications are still barred (i.e. still discriminated). Yes, I’m spewing but unsurprised. Where would LLF be if they weren’t ultra conservative? Speaking of conservative, this statement worries me:
… the Lambda Literary Awards are based principally on the LGBT content, the gender orientation/identity of the author and the literary merit of the work.
Is that in descending order of priority? LGBT, I notice, doesn’t include intersex or queer identification. What does taking into account the gender orientation or identity of the author have anything to do with literary merit or promoting excellence in LGBT writing? What would the panel do with such information assuming they can get it? Most importantly, literary merit is last on the list!
Pardon me but this makes the LLF appear creepily inward looking and self-rewarding, for themselves and their network again. Only.
Grants and Awards (Pt 3)
The Lambda Literary Foundation (LLF) has released its nomination guidelines for its 2008 awards. Heading the new changes are that reprints and second or later editions are not eligible for consideration, then some vague breakdown of categories for bisexual and transgender books, then more confused, discretionary breakdown along sexual orientation or gender for warranted categories.
I’ve written before about my great disappointment in LLF’s limited view of what constitutes LGBT literature. It seems nothing has changed.
Basically, only first-print dead tree books published and available in bookstores in the US are eligible.
E-books are unequivocally excluded from the awards. Again. Can someone explain why? Are ebooks not literary enough? Isn’t literary merit a matter for the judges to decide per submission rather than wholesale format exclusions? Would they include poetry if there was nothing overtly homosexual in it except the sexual orientation of the writer and the publisher’s claim on their website? Is LLF being lobbied by publishers who don’t want epublishers to horn in on their territory? Is Amazon or any eretailer considered a bookstore for these purposes? If a supermarket has a book section, is it a bookstore?
These and other questions perplex me. I’m sure bisexual and transgender lit fans have plenty to say on the discretionary-but-not-accountable proviso given to the judging committee.
Sadly sadly sadly, the Award Guidelines Committee has again failed to take the opportunity to grasp the emerging impact of ebooks on LGBT literature. Instead of being progressive, of understanding that many brick-and-mortar bookstores don’t even stock LGBT books, of ignoring the impact that the internet has on LGBT life, of not accepting the diversity of media that LGBTs have always excelled at, LLF prefer to expand on genre (21 categories!) so that a book can be nominated in more than one category.
The complete market exclusion of LGBT books published outside the US is stunning in its arrogance. In this day and age, that such an restrictive, protectionist stance is still advocated AND acceptable from a major literary body that professes to “celebrate LGBT literature and provide resources for writers, readers, booksellers, publishers, and librarians – the whole literary community.” is frankly, ironic.
I’m livid with disappointment.
Evecho is the publisher and Editor-in-Chief of ReadTheseLips.com, a free lesbian ebooks producer.
Grants and Awards (Part 2)
Rant ahead.
I’ve got beef, and it’s with two of the biggest queer lit organisations today. I wrote about this last year and posted it on a public group. In view of the announcement in Part 1, I thought it timely to resurrect the argument, particularly as Lambda posts its new Awards guidelines on 1 October and submissions for both Lambda and The Publishing Triangle-related awards will be taken soon.
I publish lesbian e-books and upon checking both LLF and PT’s awards’ eligibility rules, I discovered to my sad surprise the following:
- The Lambda Literary Awards only accept for nomination books that are published and distributed (“i.e. available in bookstores”) in the US. E-books in that jurisdiction are eligible but hardcopies must be provided for nomination.
- The Publishing Triangle (PT), which organises the Ferro-Grumley Awards for LGBT Fiction, the Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction, the Randy Shilts-Judy Grahn awards for G&L nonfiction, the Audre Lorde and Thom Gunn award for L&G poetry, only accept for nomination books (hardcopy only, e-books are excluded) published in the US or Canada.
However:
- The Lambda Literary Foundation accepts membership fees from the global community. Their mission is “to celebrate LGBT literature and provide resources for writers, readers, booksellers, publishers, and librarians – the whole literary community.”
- Membership of PT is “open to anyone interested in the growth of lesbian and gay writers, literature, and publishers.” There is a fee for this membership, which is not explicitly (though it may be inferred as) restricted to Americans and Canadians.
As an Australian based publisher and writer of lesbian fiction, I am discouraged by the exclusivity of these organisations for limiting nominations to only US/Ca publications. And for not recognising or accepting digital resources such as e-books, an increasingly available option for and parallel to the print market.
If it was unequivocally stated that they are only promoting US and Canadian publications, I would understand. However, their claim is to represent the growth and best of LGBT literature, and they do so while accepting financial dues from members all over the world.
This process seems to indicate that non-US/Canadian LGBT literature is not suitable for nomination merely on the requirement that they must be published in the US/Ca to qualify for consideration. The Awards themselves are not expressly identified as exclusively US/Ca. The themes presented are universal, but the requirement for nomination is geographically limited. Surely this is unnecessary and redundant in today’s enterprise? Such a requirement is unsupportive of the development of more LGBT presses and, in my view, only serves to protect the existing US/Ca market.
I have written to both Lambda Lit and PT asking for clarification why books neither published in nor available in US/Ca stores are not eligible for nomination. (Our e-anthologies are, as with most e-publishing, only available in soft copy over the internet but we do not limit redistribution as our books are free. Ironically, we have had the most take-ups from North America). I have yet to receive a satisfactory response.
I do not begrudge the nominees or winners of these Awards. Any work that helps to progress LGBTIQ literature is welcome, and these and other similar organisations are important.
The point of my argument is that these distinguished bodies ought to either expand their view of ‘publications’ or explicitly acknowledge whom they serve. Their selection process clearly excludes the rest of the LGBT literary world outside of US/Ca. This is even as they continue to advocate themselves as representative of the best and promote their position into overseas markets.
Added today:
The Golden Crown Literary Society, an organisation that claims to represents Lesbian Fiction in its entirety, has a fairly detailed explanation on its nominating – but not the judging – process for its awards. Alas, at last count, e-books were not accepted. However, they don’t explicitly exclude English language print books published outside North America.
