Vivek Shraya, Joshua Whitehead among finalists for 2019 Lambda Literary Awards
Jane van Koeverden | | Posted: March 7, 2019 8:39 PM | Last Updated: March 7, 2019
I'm Afraid of Men by Calgary artist Vivek Shraya and Jonny Appleseed by Peguis First Nation writer Joshua Whitehead are among the finalists for the 2019 Lambda Literary Awards, an annual event that celebrates the best LGBTQ fiction, nonfiction, poetry and comics from the around the world.
Shraya's nonfiction book explores her experiences living outside gender boundaries and the violence and discrimination she has faced as a result. The book is nominated in the transgender nonfiction category.
Whitehead's debut novel follows a young cybersex worker who returns to his family's reserve for his stepfather's funeral. The book is a finalist in the gay fiction category.
Shraya and Whitehead aren't the only Canadians who made shortlists this year. There are 21 books from Canadian writers and artists spread across the Lambda Literary Awards' 24 categories.
There are eight Canadian books nominated for fiction prizes:
- Lesbian fiction: Sodom Road Exit by Amber Dawn
- Lesbian fiction: The Tiger Flu by Larissa Lai
- Gay fiction: Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead
- Transgender fiction: Little Fish by Casey Plett
- Lesbian mystery: Stolen: A Kieran Yeats Mystery by Linda J. Wright
- Gay mystery: The God Game: A Dan Sharp Mystery by Jeffrey Round
- Gay romance: Undue Influence: A Persuasion Retelling by Jenny Holiday
- LGBTQ SF/F/horror category: Witchmark by C.L. Polk
There are three Canadian books nominated for nonfiction prizes:
- Transgender nonfiction: I'm Afraid of Men by Vivek Shraya
- Lesbian memoir/biography: Food Was Her Country: The Memoir of a Queer Daughter by Marusya Bociurkiw
- Lesbian memoir/biography: nîtisânak by Lindsay Nixon
There are three Canadian books nominated for poetry prizes:
- Lesbian poetry: Body Work by Emilia Nielsen
- Lesbian poetry: Obits by Tess Liem
- Transgender poetry: Holy Wild by Gwen Benaway
There are four graphic novels featuring Canadian contributors nominated for awards:
- LGBTQ graphic novels: Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles by Mark Russell, Sean Parsons, Mark Morales, Howard Porter and Mike Feehan
- LGBTQ graphic novels: The Lie and How We Told It by Tommi Parrish
- LGBTQ graphic novels: Our Wretched Town Hall by Eric Kostiuk Williams
- LGBTQ graphic novels: Unpacking by Steve MacIsaac
Finally, there are three anthologies with Canadian contributors nominated for awards:
- LGBTQ anthology: Beyond II: The Queer Post-Apocalyptic & Urban Fantasy Comic Anthology by Taneka Stotts & Sfé R. Monster
- LGBTQ anthology: Q2Q: Queer Canadian Performance Texts by Peter Dickinson, C.E. Gatchalian, Kathleen Oliver & Dalbir Singh
- LGBTQ anthology: Spawning Generations: Rants and Reflections on Growing Up with LGBTQ Parents by Sadie Epstein-Fine & Makeda Zook
The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in New York on June 3, 2019.