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John Waters, Rita Mae Brown Honored At 27th Annual Lambda Literary Awards

At last night's 27th Annual Lambda Literary Awards — otherwise known as the "Lammys" — filmmaker John Waters and feminist writer Rita Mae Brown were awarded special prizes for their contributions to LGBT literature.

The one and only Gloria Steinem introduced Brown, who received the Pioneer Award for her classic Rubyfruit Jungle, and said of her killer sense of humor that laughter is "an orgasm of the mind." Taking to the podium, Brown acknowledged Steinem as well: she is "our North Star. If you can find her, you'll never be lost."

Next up, Waters received Lambda's Trustee Award for Excellence in Literature from gossip columnist Liz Smith, who compared the filmmaker to Andy Warhol with one exception: "John is truly sweet. Andy only appeared that way."

Waters, always a jokester, described the Lammys as "the Imperial margarine of queer royalty," and also sweetly dedicated his prize to the Provincetown Bookstore, where he worked a summer in his youth.

Throughout the night, the toast of the LGBT community honored the best and brightest in literature: Janet Mock and Michelangelo Signorile presented an award together, as did Justin Vivian Bond and Alan Cumming.

In all, awards in 25 categories were handed out.

"Throughout tonight's ceremony we were reminded of the impact that LGBT literature has on people's lives," said Tony Valenzuela, Lambda Literary Foundation Executive Director. "Congratulations to all the winners and honorees."

Check out the full list of winners from the 27th Annual Lambda Literary Awards below:

LESBIAN FICTION

  • Yabo, Alexis De Veaux, RedBone Press
  • GAY FICTION

  • I Loved You More, Tom Spanbauer, Hawthorne Books
  • BISEXUAL FICTION

  • Give It to Me, Ana Castillo, The Feminist Press
  • TRANSGENDER FICTION

  • A Safe Girl To Love, Casey Plett, Topside Press
  • LGBT DEBUT FICTION

  • The Walk-In Closet, Abdi Nazemian, Curtis Brown Unlimited
  • LGBT NONFICTION

  • Hold Tight Gently: Michael Callen, Essex Hemphill, and the Battlefield of AIDS, Martin Duberman, The New Press
  • BISEXUAL NONFICTION

  • Fire Shut Up In My Bones, Charles M. Blow, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  • TRANSGENDER NONFICTION

  • Man Alive: A True Story of Violence, Forgiveness and Becoming a Man, Thomas Page McBee, City Lights/Sister Spit
  • LESBIAN POETRY

  • Mysterious Acts by My People, Valerie Wetlaufer, Sibling Rivalry Press
  • GAY POETRY

  • [insert] boy, Danez Smith, YesYes Books
  •  LESBIAN MYSTERY

  • The Old Deep and Dark, Ellen Hart, Minotaur Books
  • GAY MYSTERY

  • Blackmail, My Love: A Murder Mystery, Katie Gilmartin, Cleis Press
  • LESBIAN MEMOIR/BIOGRAPHY

  • Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around: Forty Years of Movement Building with Barbara Smith,Alethia Jones and Virginia Eubanks, with Barbara Smith,  SUNY Press
  • GAY MEMOIR/BIOGRAPHY - 2 WINNERS:

    GAY MEMOIR:

  • The Prince of Los Cocuyos, Richard Blanco, HarperCollins/Ecco
  • GAY BIOGRAPHY:

  • Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh, John Lahr, W. W. Norton & Company
  • LESBIAN ROMANCE

  • The Farmer's Daughter, Robbi McCoy, Bella Books
  • GAY ROMANCE

  • Salvation: A Novel of the Civil War, Jeff Mann, Bear Bones Books
  • LESBIAN EROTICA

  • Lesbian Sex Bible, Diana Cage, Quiver Books
  • GAY EROTICA

  • The King, Tiffany Reisz, MIRA Books
  • LGBT ANTHOLOGY

  • Understanding and Teaching US Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History, Leila J. Rupp & Susan K. Freeman, University of Wisconsin Press
  • LGBT CHILDREN'S/YOUNG ADULT

  • Five, Six, Seven, Nate!, Tim Federle, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
  • LGBT DRAMA

  • Bootycandy, Robert O'Hara, Samuel French
  • LGBT GRAPHIC NOVELS

  • Second Avenue Caper, Joyce Brabner; Art by Mark Zingarelli, Hill and Wang, a division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux
  • LGBT SF/F/HORROR

  • Bitter Waters, Chaz Brenchley, Lethe Press
  • LGBT STUDIES

  • The Delectable Negro: Human Consumption and Homoeroticism within U.S. Slave Culture, Vincent Woodard, Ed. Justin A. Joyce and Dwight McBride, New York University Press
  • Photos: Brian Sargent

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