'Portland Queer' anthology wins Lamda Literary Award

It was exciting enough when the chronicling of our town’s queerness made the Lamda Literary finals. But, that’s right, now it’s actually won. That’s right, the Ariel Gore edited anthology that features local lit stars such as Dexter Flowers, sts, Kathleen Bryson, Tony LeTigre, Sarah Gottesdiener, Marc Acito, Christa Orth, and Sarah Dougher, has won in the category of anthology.

And though STS may admit that her remembrance of the Empty House is a bit romanticized this only makes me happier as I recall the days of sitting on the porch, napping on the coach and frantically waiting for Ace to bring back my mother’s car. It’s almost like our lives have won an award.

But though I narcissistically love to talk up Portland and my own queer memoir there were some other great winners including San Francisco writers who are great friends to Portland including Lynnee Breedlove’s One Freak Show in the transgender category and Rhiannon Argo’s The Creamsickle in the lesbian debut fiction category and whom I recently caught on the next generation Sister Spit tour.

The actual ceremony, the 22nd of its kind, was held last week at the School of Visual Arts Theatre in New York City. This year, they honored Larry Kramer and Kate Clinton as pioneers. Comedian Eddie Sarfaty was the Master of Ceremonies and opened with a clever re-imagining of a world where all writers were gay, re-titling Flannery O’Conner’s classic story “Who Cares If It’s Hard To Find A Good Man?” and Henry James’s The Portrait of a Lady as a Young Man.

Below is a complete list of winners:

2010 Awards

LGBT Anthology: Portland Queer: Tales of the Rose City, edited by Ariel Gore (Lit Star Press)

LGBT Children’s/Young Adult: Sprout, by Dale Peck (Bloomsbury USA)

LGBT Drama: The Collected Plays Of Mart Crowley, by Mart Crowley (Alyson Books)

LGBT Nonfiction: The Greeks and Greek Love, by James Davidson (Random House)

LGBT SF/Fantasy/Horror: Palimpsest, by Catherynne M. Valente (Bantam/Spectra Books)

LGBT Studies: The Straight State: Sexuality and Citizenship in Twentieth Century America, by Margot Canaday (Princeton University Press)

Bisexual Fiction [TIE]: Holy Communion, by Mykola Dementiuk (Synergy Press) and
Love You Two, by Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli (Random House Australia)

Bisexual Nonfiction: Leaving India: My Family’s Journey From Five Villages to Five Continents, by Minal Hajratwala (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Transgender: Lynnee Breedlove’s One Freak Show, by Lynn Breedlove (Manic D Press)

Lesbian Debut Fiction: The Creamsickle, by Rhiannon Argo (Spinsters Ink)

Gay Debut Fiction: Blue Boy, by Rakesh Satyal (Kensington Books)

Lesbian Erotica: Lesbian Cowboys, edited by Sacchi Green & Rakelle Valencia (Cleis Press)

Gay Erotica: Impossible Princess, by Kevin Killian (City Lights)

Lesbian Fiction: A Field Guide to Deception, by Jill Malone (Bywater Books)

Gay Fiction: Lake Overturn, by Vestal McIntyre (HarperCollins)

Lesbian Memoir/Biography: The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith, by Joan Schenkar (St. Martin’s Press)

Gay Memoir/Biography: Ardent Spirits: Leaving Home, Coming Back, by Reynolds Price (Scribner Books)

Lesbian Mystery: Death of a Dying Man, by J.M. Redmann (Bold Strokes Books)

Gay Mystery: What We Remember, by Michael Thomas Ford (Kensington Books)

Lesbian Poetry: Zero at the Bone, by Stacie Cassarino (New Issues Poetry & Prose)

Gay Poetry: Sweet Core Orchard, by Benjamin S. Grossberg (University of Tampa Press)

Lesbian Romance: The Sublime and Spirited Voyage of Original Sin, by Colette Moody (Bold Strokes Books)

Gay Romance: Drama Queers!, by Frank Anthony Polito (Kensington Books)