Stonewall Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award named for Mike Morgan and Larry Romans

CHICAGO- The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Round Table of the American Library Association has unveiled a new name for the newest Stonewall Book Award: the Stonewall Book Awards-Mike Morgan and Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award. In recognition of a significant gift to the GLBTRT endowment, the name recognizes long-time GLBTRT member Larry Romans and his partner of over 40 years, Mike Morgan.

Established in 2010, the Stonewall Book Awards Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award joined the Stonewall Book Awards-Barbara Gittings Literature Award and the Stonewall Book Awards-Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award as part of the first and most enduring awards program for GLBT books. Since Isabel Miller's “Patience and Sarah” received the first award in 1971, the Stonewall Book Awards have honored the best gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender literature and the authors who have brought GLBT experiences to light.

“Librarians and families still have a hard time finding GLBT children’s and young adult books of good quality that reflect positively on our lives. Stonewall award-winners and honor books give young people a starting point for quality reading. The Stonewall Awards are the most enduring GLBT book awards in the country, and Mike and I are honored to be associated with the Awards.”said Larry Romans of his gift to the GLBTRT endowment.

“It was fitting to have the first two Stonewall Book Awards named in honor of our early activists and founders. It is now fitting that this recent award is named for a gay couple who have truly supported our mission.”said Anne Moore, chair of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Round Table.

“Many of the books we consider for the Stonewall Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award deal with the difficulties faced by gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons who seek to live ethical lives in the face of legal and cultural discrimination,” said Lewis Day, chair of the Stonewall Book Awards Committee. “How better to show how, indeed, ‘it gets better’ than through this exceptional gift from this committed couple of 40 years.”

Romans’ gift comes during a new cycle of fundraising for the GLBTRT endowment. Donations are accepted online. All donors will be recognized in the Stonewall Book Awards Brunch program at the ALA Annual Conference and donors of $50 or more will be recognized on a special web page. For more information on the fundraising campaign, including additional ways to donate, please visit http://www.ala.org/glbtrt/fundraising/stonewall40.

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 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 are announced at the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting in January and are presented to the winning authors or editors at the American Library Association Annual Conference in June.

The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Round Table provides its members, other American Library Association divisions, members, and affiliates, and the library and information science field as a whole with a forum for discussion and an environment for education and learning regarding the needs of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender professional community and population at large. To learn more about GLBTRT, please visit http://www.ala.org/glbtrt.