For immediate release | January 24, 2017
2017 Over the Rainbow List Released – 46 quality GLBT fiction and non-fiction titles
ATLANTA – The 2017 Over the Rainbow Project book list, sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table (GLBTRT) of the American Library Association (ALA), was announced at ALA’s Midwinter Meeting and Exhibits in Atlanta.
The bibliography features quality fiction and non-fiction books for adults that are recognized by the Over the Rainbow Project, an ad hoc committee of GLBTRT, for their authentic expression of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experiences. Each year, the Over the Rainbow Project releases its annotated bibliography to aid librarians and patrons in selecting quality books released over the past 18 months. This year’s list includes 46 titles, including 10 fiction and 36 nonfiction titles, published between July 1, 2015 and Dec. 31, 2016.
The list covers a mix of histories, memoir, academic, and popular books, presenting viewpoints across the gender spectrum - gay, lesbian, trans lives. Themes were wide and varied, from current issues, such as conversion therapy, coming out and queer living, living with disability, family issues around elder care and religion, to uncovering and reclaiming history from the nineteenth century until the twenty-first century.
The top ten titles selected for this year’s Over The Rainbow List include:
“The Firebrand and the First Lady: Portrait of a Friendship: Pauli Murray, Eleanor Roosevelt and the Struggle for Social Justice,” by Patricia Bell-Scott. (Knopf)
“Another Brooklyn,” by Jacqueline Woodson. (Amistad Books)
“The Imitation Game: Alan Turing Decoded,” by Jim Ottavian. (Abrams)
“Juliet Takes a Breath,” by Gabby Rivera. (Riverdale Avenue Books)
“Bettyville: A Memoir,” by George Hodgeman. (Penguin/Random House)
“A Body, Undone: Living On After Great Pain,” by Christina Crosby. (NYU Press)
“In the Dark Room,” by Susan Faludi. (Metropolitan Books)
“Stand By Me: The Forgotten History of Gay Liberation,” by Jim Downs. (Basic Books)
“Ask a Queer Chick: A Guide to Sex, Love, and Life For Girls Who Dig Girls,” by Lindsay King-Miller. (Penguin/Random House)
“Boy, Erased: A Memoir,” by Garrard Conley. (Riverhead)
To learn more about the Over The Rainbow List, please visit http://www.glbtrt.ala.org/overtherainbow.
The 2017 Over the Rainbow committee includes Chair Anne Moore, University of Massachusetts W.E.B. Du Bois Library, Amherst, Mass.; Brenda Antrim, Santa Monica College Library, Santa Monica, Calif.; Nicholae Cline, Indiana University Libraries, Bloomington, Ind.; Amy Greschaw, Ypsilanti, Mich.; Kate Hampton, Kernersville, N.C.; Lisa Johnston, Eckerd College Library, St. Petersburg, Fla.; and George Martinez, University of Louisville.
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. 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.
Contact:
John L. Amundsen
Program Officer, Outreach and Communications
ALA Office for Diversity, Literacy & Outreach Services
jamundsen@ala.org(312) 280-2140
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