For immediate release | January 27, 2025

'Sex with a Brain Injury' wins 2025 Stonewall Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award

PHOENIX — “Sex with a Brain Injury: On Concussion and Recovery” by Annie Liontas and published by Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, LLC is the 2025 recipient of the Stonewall Book Awards – Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award. The awards were announced by at the American Library Association’s (ALA) LibLearnX Conference in Phoenix, AZ on Sunday night.

The Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award is given annually to English-language works of biography, memoir, history, criticism, reference works, fine arts, etc. that are of exceptional merit relating to the LGBTQIA+ experience.

The award will be presented to the winning authors or editors at the ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition in San Diego in June.

The Israel Fishman Non-fiction Award Winner was named:

“Sex with a Brain Injury: On Concussion and Recovery” written by Annie Liontas and published by Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, LLC

Four Israel Fishman Non-fiction Honor Titles were named:

  • “Country Queers: A Love Letter” written by Rae Garringer and published by Haymarket Books
  • “Be Not Afraid of My Body” written by Darius Stewart and published by Belt Publishing
  • “Kissing Girls on Shabbat” written by Sara Glass and published by One Signal Publishers/Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, LLC
  • “American Teenager: How Trans Kids Are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era” by Nico Lang and published by Abrams Press, an imprint of Abrams

The Stonewall Book Award Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Committee members are Gregg Eric McCullough (Chair), Donna M. Braquet (Chair), Brian Ronald Candelori, Gill Friedlander, Laila Mai-Nguyen, Ashley Shari McGuire, and Joseph Kevin Tuvera Sebastian.

About the American Library Association
The American Library Association (ALA) is the foremost national organization providing resources to inspire library and information professionals to transform their communities through essential programs and services. For more than 140 years, the ALA has been the trusted voice for academic, public, school, government and special libraries, advocating for the profession and the library’s role in enhancing learning and ensuring access to information for all. For more information, visit www.ala.org.

Contact:

Communications, Marketing, & Media Relations Office

American Library Association

cmomedia@ala.org