2017 Stonewall Book Awards Announced

ATLANTA - The 2017 Stonewall Book Awards were announced Monday, January 23 by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Round Table (GLBTRT) of the American Library Association (ALA), during the ALA Midwinter Meeting and Exhibits, held Jan. 20-24 in Atlanta.

The Stonewall Book Awards are given annually to English-language works of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience and include the Stonewall Book Awards – Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award, the Stonewall Book Awards – Barbara Gittings Literature award and the Stonewall Book Awards – Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award. The awards will be presented to the winning authors or editors at the American Library Association Annual Conference in Chicago in June.

The Stonewall Book Awards – Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award, part of the ALA Youth Media Awards, once again featured a separate awarding of children’s and young adult categories.

“Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Hammer of Thor” by Rick Riordan, published by Disney Hyperion, an imprint of Disney Book Group and “If I Was Your Girl” by Meredith Russo and published by Flatiron Books, are the 2017 recipients of the Stonewall Book Awards – Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award, respectively.

In Magnus’s second adventure, Rick Riordan introduces readers to Alex Fierro, a gender fluid teen who has “startling eyes, an impressive sweater-vest, and a tendency to hit people” (54). Alex is a hero and represents the expansive possibilities of gender for future generations.

In “If I Was Your Girl,” Meredith Russo tells the story of Amanda Hardy, a transgender teen who moves to rural Tennessee for a fresh start. Groundbreaking for its skill and authentic representation, this book displays the complexity, power, and hope possible when authors’ #ownvoices are reflected in their art.

Three Stonewall Book Awards – Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Award Honor Books were named:

“When the Moon Was Ours” written by Anna-Marie McLemore and published by Thomas Dunne Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press.

“Unbecoming” written by Jenny Downham and published by Scholastic Inc. by arrangement with David Fickling Books.

“Pride: Celebrating Diversity & Community” written by Robin Stevenson and published by Orca Book Publishers.

“Desert Boys,” written by Chris McCormick and published by Picador, was named the winner of the Stonewall Book Awards - Barbara Gittings Literature Award for 2017. In “Desert Boys,” Intertwining vignettes center on Daley Kushner, a sensitive boy growing up among a diverse array of non-forming characters in the harsh Mojave Desert, who follows themes of equal desires to remain and yet escape.

Four Stonewall Book Awards – Barbara Gittings Literature Award Honor Books were named:

“Beautiful gravity: a novel,” written by Martin Hyatt and published by ANTIBOOKCLUB.

“Dig,” written by Bryan Borland and published by Stillhouse Press.

“Guapa,” written by Saleem Haddad and published by Other Press.

“Hide: a novel,” written by Matthew Griffin and published by Bloomsbury USA.

“How to Survive a Plague: The inside story of how citizens and science tamed AIDS,” written by David France and published by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House, was named the winner of the Stonewall Book Awards – Israel Fishman Nonfiction Award for 2017. During the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s, grassroots activists were forced to head up the battle to halt the epidemic through dramatic political action and drug procurement—a disaster that could have been manageable instead of largely fatal—when public officials and religious leaders tried to hide its horrific results. (From the documentary of the same name)

Four Stonewall Book Awards – Israel Fishman Nonfiction Award Honor Books were named:

“Not straight, not white: black gay men from the march on Washington to the AIDS crisis,” written by Kevin J. Mumford and published by The University of North Carolina Press.

“One-man show: the life and art of Bernard Perlin,” written by Michael Schreiber and published by Bruno Gmünder GmbH.

“Rethinking sexism, gender, and sexuality,” edited by Annika Butler-Wall, Kim Cosier, et al, and published by Rethinking Schools.

“Tomboy Survival Guide,” written by Ivan E Coyote and published by Arsenal Pulp Press.

The members of the 2017 Stonewall Book Awards Children’s and Young Adult Subcommittee are: Chair Nel Ward, retired, Newport, Ore.; Subcommittee Chair Casey McCoy, San Jose (Calif.) Public Library; Darryn Diuguid, Ph.D., McKendree University, Lebanon, Ill.; Christina H. Dorr, Ph.D., Hilliard (Ohio) City School District; Kyle Lukoff, Corlears School Library, New York; Angie M. Manfredi, Los Alamos (N.M.) County Library System; Marian Mays, Washington Talking Book & Braille Library, Seattle; Joel Shoemaker, Oakwood (Ill.) Public Library District; Talya Sokoll, Noble and Greenough School, Dedham, Mass.; Hillary St George, Los Angeles Public Library; and Gabriela Toth, H.W. Wilson/EBSCO Core Collections, Ipswich, Mass.

The members of the 2017 Stonewall Book Awards Adult Subcommittee are: Chair Nel Ward, retired, Newport, Ore.; Hilary Meg Albert, Mahopac Public Library, Mahopac, N.Y.; Robert Graziano, Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Branch; Roland C. Hansen, Retired, Chicago;  Angie Manfredi, Los Alamos County Library System, Los Alamos, N.M.; Michael Mungin, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va.; Prof. Robert B. Ridinger, Northern Illinois University; Jonathan Merrill Simms, University of North Alabama, Florence, Ala.; Walter Walker, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles; and Matthew Williams, Everything But The House, Cincinnati.

For more information about the Stonewall Book Awards, please visit www.ala.org/glbtrt.

The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table of the American Library Association is the oldest professional association for GLBT people in the United States.  It is committed to serving the information needs of the GLBT professional library community and information and access needs of individuals at large.  It is home to GLBT Book Month (tm), a nationwide celebration every June and the Stonewall Book Award, the oldest award honoring GLBT books.  GLBTRT is committed to encouraging and supporting the free and necessary access to all information, as reflected by the missions of the American Library Association and democratic institutions.

The American Library Association is the oldest and largest library association in the world with more than 57,000 members.  Its mission is to provide leadership for the development, promotion and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.