Stonewall Book Awards for 2010 announced

Contact: Peter Hepburn


Chair,


GLBTRT External Relations Committee


phepburn@uic.edu

NEWS


For Immediate Release,


January 19, 2010

CHICAGO - The Stonewall Book Awards Committee of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Round Table is pleased to announce the Stonewall Book Awards for 2010.

The Stonewall Book Awards are given annually to English-language books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered experience.




This year for the first time the Committee is giving an award for children’s and young adult literature. From a very strong pool of finalists that included picture books, young adult literature and non-fiction, the Committee has selected "The Vast Fields of Ordinary" by Nick Burd, published by the Penguin Group, to receive the first children’s and young adult literature award.

"The Vast Fields of Ordinary" is the story of Dade, a gay Midwestern teenager, whose journey of self-acceptance takes place during the summer before his first year of college. Dade grapples with coming out, his parents impending divorce, and his nascent sexual relationships.

First-time author Burd writes his characters with an authentic voice that realistically captures the teenage experience. He does not shy away from the realities of the lives of many teenagers. His characters unapologetically drink, smoke pot, and have sexual relationships, which makes them more realistic examples of 21st century adolescents.

The Stonewall Book Award-Barbara Gittings Literature Award for 2010 will be presented to "Stray Dog Winter" by David Francis, published by MacAdam/Cage. Francis’ novel is a gritty and accurate depiction of one gay man’s experience in the 1980’s Soviet Union and as a conflicted boy growing up in rural Australia. Darcy travels from his Australian home to Moscow to help his half-sister Fin prepare for her art exhibition. Unbeknownst to Darcy, Fin is working with an Armenian terrorist group. Darcy’s sexual indiscretions lead to blackmail by the KGB, who are trying the infiltrate the terrorist cell. Particularly interesting are the author’s descriptions of the treatment of gay men in the Soviet Union. This cold war thriller is also a journey of self awareness for Darcy and his half-sister. Francis’ depiction of Moscow is both evocative and chilling with characters and scenery that are believable and vivid.

The Stonewall Book Award-Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award for 2010 will be presented to "Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America," by Nathaniel Frank, published by St. Martin’s Press. Frank’s compelling book is a primer on the history and impact of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy on our military. He documents how this policy came into being as a result of President Clinton’s early commitment to overturn the ban on gays and lesbians in the military. He details how this policy has negatively impacted the military, dispels the myths justifying the policy, and explains why this ill advised policy should be struck down. This exceptionally researched, relevant book puts a human face on the issue and is particularly timely in light of President Obama’s commitment to revisit the policy.

STONEWALL BOOK AWARDS 2010

CHILDREN’S AND YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE AWARD

Winner: The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd (Penguin Group)

Honor Books: 10,000 Dresses by Marcus Ewert (Seven Stories Press)


Daddy, Papa and Me / Mommy, Mama and Me by Leslea Newman and Carol Thompson (illustrator) (Tricycle Press)

Gay America: Struggle for Equality by Linas Alsenas (Amulet Books)

Sprout by Dale Peck (Bloomsbury USA)

BARBARA GITTINGS LITERATURE AWARD

Winner: Stray Dog Winter: A Novel by David Francis (MacAdam/Cage)

Honor Books: Beauty Salon by Mario Bellatin and Kurt Hollander (translator) (City Lights Books)

God Says No by James Hannaham (McSweeney’s Publishing)

ISRAEL FISHMAN NON-FICTION AWARD

Winner: Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America by Nathaniel Frank (St. Martin’s Press)

Honor Books: Barney Frank: The Story of America’s Only Left-Handed, Gay, Jewish Congressman by Stuart Weisberg (University of Massachusetts Press)

Black Bull, Ancestors and Me: My Life as a Lesbian Sangoma by Nkunzi Zandile Nkabinde (Jacana Media)

Greeks and Greek Love by James Davidson (Random House Publishing Group)

I am your Sister: Collected and Unpublished Works of Audre Lorde edited by Rudolph P. Byrd, Beverly Guy-Sheftall, and Johnetta Betsch Cole (Oxford University Press)

For more information, visit the Stonewall page at
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/glbtrt/stonewall/index.cfm.