James Morrison and Angela Leroux-Lindsey at the 2010 Lambdas
Last night, at the School of Visual Arts Theater in New York, the Lambda Literary Foundation hosted its 22nd Literary Awards–and this year, two Black Lawrence Press authors were named finalists! Brent Goodman’s poetry collection The Brother Swimming Beneath Me was nominated for Gay Poetry, and James Morrison’s short story collection Said and Done was nominated for Gay Fiction. (Both collections have also been nominated for other awards this season, and are must-reads.)
The first winner of the night, Rakesh Satyal (whose novel Blue Boy won for Gay Debut Fiction) kicked off the acceptance speeches with a rousing Lady GaGa homage (“Ra-Ra-a-a-kesh”) that had everyone smiling. Larry Kramer and Kate Clinton were honored with Pioneer Awards–both well-deserved–and Tony Valenzuela expressed his pride and excitement in being named the new Executive Director of the Foundation. After the ceremony, James, myself, and many others headed to the killer afterparty held at the gorgeous home of David McConnell and Darrell Crawford, where the wine and conversation flowed and the celebration continued. It was enormous fun to mingle with literary New York on such a gorgeous night!
Although neither BLP title was selected as the winner, it’s a huge thrill for us to have earned two nominations! We’re so proud of James and Brent!