The Lambda Literary Foundation is accepting applications and nominations for two juicy monetary prizes:
Outstanding Mid-Career Novelists' PrizeApplications Due March 1, 2011
Lambda Literary recently announced that it will be the new home of the largest monetary prize awarded exclusively to an LGBT writer: The Outstanding Mid-Career Novelists' Prize. The award, made possible by James Duggins, PhD, consists of two cash awards of $5000 and is unprecedented in its category as well as its value. To review the guidelines and application process, please click below.
Previous winners include Dorothy Allison, Jim Grimsley, Ann Bannon, Mark Doty, Jewelle Gomez, and more.
More info (guidelines, process) here. Apparently, one can apply for oneself, and/or recommend others, which I think is a nifty idea. Here are the criteria:
- The award will be presented to one self-identified man and one self-identified woman, and age will not be a factor in defining mid-career.
- The award will recognize emergent LGBT authors who have written and published at least three novels or two novels and substantial additional literary work such as poetry, short stories, essays.
- The authors will be of demonstrated ability and show promise for growth.
- Candidates’ contributions to the LGBT literary field beyond their writings and publications will also be considered.
This strikes me as a a good opportunity to talk about queer novelists.
I think we all know the crop who are well-known and working and at the top of their game: Jeannette Winterson, Andrew Hollinghurst, Emma Donoghue, Michael Cunningham, Sarah Waters, Val McDermid...
...but how about those who are a little less well-known but equally deserving? Who would you choose? Who should we be reading?
ETA: To be very clear: I won't be applying for this prize and if someone nominates me, I will decline the honour. I'm on LLF's Board of Trustees. This is a cash award. It would be pretty tacky to blur those lines.
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Have you read Sara Ryan's YA novels Empress of the World and The Rules for Hearts? I think they're wonderful and she'd be a really great candidate for the award.
ReplyDeleteI've read Empress, enjoyed it thoroughly!
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about this non-stop all day, and I can't think of anyone more deserving for this award that Nicola Griffith.
ReplyDeleteYou really should read Hiromi Goto. She's brilliant.
ReplyDeletejennifer, oh, yep, I definitely qualitfy. But here's the thing: I'm guessing everyone who reads this blog has heard of me :) So who should we be reading that we might not know about?
ReplyDeleteKelly, I've been meaning to read Goto for a while. But you've prompted me to downloaded a couple of samples of her work. So: cool!
Well, I don't know about that part, but I'm looking forward to hearing about some new authors. I checked on Goto at the library and there's something like 300 people in line for one book!
ReplyDeleteHelen Humphreys. Ali Smith. Stella Duffy.
ReplyDeleteAnon, I was just thinking about Stella Duffy yesterday. And I think Ali Smith is brilliant--better at the short form, though, in my opinion. I haven't read Humphreys but I've just downloaded a sample chapter.
ReplyDeleteI have come good reading this weekend! Thank you, everyone.
Please keeps the recs coming.
I like all of Humphreys work, her poetry is wonderful and in particular, I really enjoyed The Frozen Thames as a lovely marriage between prose and poetry.
ReplyDeleteStella Duffy is untiring, isn't she? She has so many irons in the fire and not unlike you and Kelly, she and Shelley are a creative, committed couple that the GLBT community can be proud of...
Indeed, Ali Smith's short stories are a force.
I got a couple of new authors to explore today too! Thanks, All.