2022 Barbara Gittings Literature Award and Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award of the Stonewall Book Awards announced

CHICAGO — Two of the 2022 Stonewall Book Awards were announced Sunday, Jan. 23 by the Rainbow Roundtable of the American Library Association (ALA), during the ALA's LibLearnX Conference, held virtually January 21-24, 2022.

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 (announced at the Youth Media Awards press conference on Monday, January 24), 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 June.

"Sorrowland" by Rivers Solomon, published by MCDxFSG, was named the winner of the Stonewall Book Awards - Barbara Gittings Literature Award for 2022. "Sorrowland" is Solomon's debut novel.

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

• “Light From Uncommon Stars” by Ryka Aoki, published by Tor Books
• “Black Girl, Call Home” by Jasmine Mans, published by Berkley
• “Stone Fruit” by Lee Lai, published by Fantagraphic Books
• “A Psalm for the Wild-Built” by Becky Chambers, published by Tor Books

"Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir" by Akwaeke Emezi, published by Riverhead Books is the Stonewall Book Award – Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award winner for 2022.

Four Stonewall Book Awards – Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award Honor Books were named:

• "Hidden Case of Ewan Forbes: And the Unwritten History of the Trans Experience" by Zoë Playdon, published by Scribner
• "A History of Scars" by Laura Lee, published by Atria Paperback
• "Let the Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP New York, 1987-1993" by Sarah Schulman, published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
• "Punch Me Up to the Gods: A Memoir by Brian Broome, published by Hough Mifflin Harcourt

The members of the 2022 Stonewall Book Awards - Barbara Gittings Literature Award Adult Committee are: Lawrence Fiorelli (Chair), Mahasin Ameen, Ahliah J. Bratzler, Nicholae Cline, Julie Kane, Michael J. Miller, Emily Mroczek, Rachel Newlin, Rachel E. Paulus, Cate S. Triola, Penelope Wood.

The members of the 2022 Stonewall Book Awards - Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award Committee are: Michael C. Oliveira (Co-Chair), Djaz Frederick Zulida (Co-Chair), Nicholas A. Brown, Nicholae Cline, Peggy Griesinger, Elizabeth Hoffman, Eric Hung, Katy Jacob, Spencer D. C. Keralis, Edward T. Sullivan, and Laurel Tacoma.

For more information about the Stonewall Book Awards, please visit http://www.ala.org/rt/rrt

The Rainbow Round Table of the American Library Association is the oldest professional association for LGBTQIA+ people in the United States. It is committed to serving the information needs of the LGBTQIA+ 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 LGBTQIA+ books. Rainbow Round Table 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.