LGBT Books Make History

Winners of the 2011 Rainbow Awards, which honor books by, for, or about LGBT individuals, have been announced. A group of 100 judges worldwide participated in choosing the winners from over 300 entries.

"This year was really huge," says Rainbow coordinator Elise Rolle, who adds that submissions came from "indie publishers, from mainstream publishers. and a lot of self-published authors. I loved it, and I know the judges loved it too."

The winners include the following:

Best LGBT Coming of Age / Young Adult
(1) Robin Reardon, The Evolution of Ethan Poe
(2) David-Matthew Barnes, Mesmerized
(3) Catherine Ryan Hyde, Jumpstart the World

Best Gay Contemporary Erotica
(1) Heidi Hoerschelman Cullinan, Nowhere Ranch
(2) Claire Thompson, The Cowboy Poet
(3) Lori Gallagher Witt, With the Band

Best Lesbian Contemporary Erotica
(1) Roscoe James, Dancing With Venus
(2) Christine Hall Volkoff, Travels Through Love and Time
(3) Lesley Gowan, The Collectors

Best Gay Contemporary General Fiction
(1) Alan Chin, Match Maker
(2) Lee Houck, Yield
(3) Jameson Currier, The Third Buddha

Best Lesbian Contemporary General Fiction
(1) Farzana Doctor, Six Metres of Pavement
(2) Clifford Henderson, Maye's Request
(3) Martha Miller, Retirement Plan

Best Lesbian Contemporary Romance
(1) Robin Summers, After the Fall
(2-tie) Colette Moody, Parties in Congress
Q. Kelly, Strange Bedfellows
(3) Karis Walsh, Harmony

Best Bisexual/Transgender Contemporary
(1) Justine Saracen, Sarah, Son of God
(2) Ryan Loveless, Building Arcadia
(3) Ben Monopoli, The Cranberry Hush

Best LGBT Mystery / Thriller
(1) J.M. Redmann, Water Mark
(2) Greg Herren and J.M. Redmann, Women of the Mean Streets
(3-tie) Julie Bozza, The Definitive Albert J. Sterne
EM Lynley, Rarer Than Rubies

Best Lesbian Paranormal / Horror
(1) Meghan O'Brien, Wild
(2) L.L. Raand, Blood Hunt
(3) Nell Stark and Trinity Tam, nevermore

Best Plot Development
(1) Sloan Parker, Breathe
(2) Meghan O'Brien, Wild
(3) Robin Reardon, The Evolution of Ethan Poe

Best Setting Development
(1-tie) Tamara Allen, The Only Gold
Andrew Wolter, Much of Madness, More of Sin
(2-tie) Dusk Peterson, The Eternal Dungeon
Karis Walsh, Harmony
Anel Viz, P'tit Cadeau
(3-tie) Meghan O'Brien, Wild
Lisa Girolami, Jane Doe

Best Characters Development
(1-tie) Sloan Parker, Breathe
Marie Sexton, Song Of Oestend
(2-tie) Meghan O'Brien, Wild
Robin Reardon, The Evolution of Ethan Poe
(3-tie) Felice Picano, True Stories
Colette Moody, Parties in Congress
Lee Houck, Yield
Heidi Cullinan, Nowhere Ranch

Best Writing Style
(1-tie) Tracy Rowan, Suffer the Little Children
Karis Walsh, Harmony
(2) Robin Reardon, The Evolution of Ethan Poe
(3-tie) Sloan Parker, Breathe
Tamara Allen, The Only Gold

Best Gay Debut Novel/Book
(1) Lee Houck, Yield
(2) Timothy McGivney, Zombielicious
(3) Morgan Cheshire, Solemn Contract

Best Lesbian Debut Novel
(1) Robin Summers, After the Fall
(2) Karis Walsh, Harmony
(3) Mary Griggs, Unbroken Circle

Best Bisexual/Transgender Novel
(1-tie) Justine Saracen, Sarah, Son of God
Catherine Ryan Hyde, Jumpstart the World
(2) Ryan Loveless, Building Arcadia
(3) Elliott DeLine, Refuse

Best Lesbian Novel/Book
(1) Meghan O'Brien, Wild
(2) Fay Jacobs, For Frying Out Loud
(3) Barbara Davies, Bourn's Edge

Meanwhile, Nikky Finney won the National Book Award "and the nation's newspapers failed to celebrate yet another lesbian win in a long string of queer victories in poetry," according to Band of Thebes. The site asked 92 LGBT authors to offer up their favorite book of the year. "The problem of ignoring LGBT literary excellence isn't limited to the straight press," the site noted. "The gay media doesn't devote nearly enough attention to gay books. Moreover, many, many queer authors told me they hadn't read any queer books at all this year."

In Band of Thebes' biggest survey ever, more than 90 authors from Australia to Slovenia named their favorite queer reads, penned by writers ranging from fiction stalwarts like Alan Hollinghurst, Nina Revoyr, and Bob Smith to accomplished queer first-timers including Laurie Weeks, Garth Greenwell, and Justin Torres. See the full list here.