List of LGBTQ literary awards
A list of literary awards for LGBTQ literature and books with queer content. This page uses the following acronyms, all of which may be considered synonymous:
- LGBT: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender
- LGBT+: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other queer identities
- LGBTQ: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer / questioning
- LGBTQIA: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/ questioning, intersex, asexual
Awards
| Sponsor | Award | Awarded to | Years Active |
| The Alice B Readers Appreciation Committee | The Alice B Readers Award | Medal and honorarium awarded to living writers of lesbian fiction whose careers are distinguished by consistently well-written stories and novels about lesbians. | 2004–present |
| American Library Association's Rainbow Round Table | Over the Rainbow Book List | Books for adult readers with "commendable literary quality and significant, authentic content" | 2011–present |
| American Library Association's Rainbow Round Table | Rainbow Book List | Books celebrating LGBTQIA+ youth and families, for readers from birth to age 18 | 2008–present |
| American Library Association's Rainbow Round Table | Stonewall Book Award | Books of exceptional merit relating to the LGBTQIA+ experience. Divided into a literature and nonfiction award in 1990, with children's and young adults award added in 2010 | 1971–present |
| American Library Association's Rainbow Round Table | SBA - Barbara Gittings Literature Award | Stonewall Book Award, literature category | 1990–present |
| American Library Association's Rainbow Round Table | SBA - Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award | Stonewall Book Award, non-fiction category | 1990–present |
| American Library Association's Rainbow Round Table | SBA - Mike Morgan and Larry Romans Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award | Stonewall Book Award, children and young adult literature category | 2010–present |
| Bi Writers Association | Bisexual Book Awards | Best works of literature addressing themes of bisexuality | 2013–present |
| Blue Metropolis | Blue Metropolis Violet Prize | Established LGBTQ writer to honour their body of work | 2018–present |
| Dwijen Dinanath Arts Foundation's Rainbow Awards | Fiction of the Year | Novels, graphic novels or collections of short stories authored by a single author that is an "exemplary" affirmative work on the lives of sexual and gender minorities. | 2023–present |
| Dwijen Dinanath Arts Foundation's Rainbow Awards | Non-fiction of the Year | Memoirs, biographies, history or other non-fictional works that is an "exemplary" affirmative work on the lives of sexual and gender minorities. | 2023–present |
| Dwijen Dinanath Arts Foundation's Rainbow Awards | Feature of the Year | Feature story that is an "exemplary" affirmative work on the lives of sexual and gender minorities. | 2023–present |
| Dwijen Dinanath Arts Foundation's Rainbow Awards | Op-Ed of the Year | An op-ed piece that is an "exemplary" affirmative work on the lives of sexual and gender minorities. | 2023–present |
| Dwijen Dinanath Arts Foundation's Rainbow Awards | Lifetime Achievement Award | Profound contributions to the queer literary world. | 2023–present |
| Gaylactic Spectrum Awards Foundation | Gaylactic Spectrum Award for best novel | Science fiction, fantasy, and horror novels that explore LGBT topics in a positive way | 1999–present |
| Gaylactic Spectrum Awards Foundation | Gaylactic Spectrum Award for best short fiction | Science fiction, fantasy, and horror short stories that explore LGBT topics in a positive way | 1999–present |
| Gaylactic Spectrum Awards Foundation | Gaylactic Spectrum Award for best other work | Science fiction, fantasy, and horror texts that explore LGBT topics in a positive way | 1999–present |
| Glamour | Prix République du Glamour | French novels with lesbian content | |
| Golden Crown Literary Society | Ann Bannon Award | Book selected as a favorite among Golden Crown Literary Society members | 2007–present |
| Golden Crown Literary Society | Goldie Award for Short Contemporary Romance Novels | Modern novel with a focus on a lesbian relationship; novel must be between 40,000 and 70,000 words in length
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| Golden Crown Literary Society | Goldie Award for Mid-Length Contemporary Romance Novels | Modern novel with a focus on a lesbian relationship; novel must be between 70,001 and 85,000 words in length | |
| Golden Crown Literary Society | Goldie Award for Long Contemporary Romance Novels | Modern novel with a focus on a lesbian relationship; novel must be longer than 85,000 words | |
| Golden Crown Literary Society | Goldie Award for Debut Authors | Debut novel with lesbian content | 2006–present |
| Golden Crown Literary Society | Directors Award | Golden Crown Literary Society member for contribution to the Society | |
| Golden Crown Literary Society | Goldie Award for Erotic Novels | Novel with a "high level of sexual content" between women | 2007–present |
| Golden Crown Literary Society | Goldie Award for Fiction Anthology/Collections | Anthologies with significant lesbian content | |
| Golden Crown Literary Society | Goldie Award for General Fiction | Novel with lesbian content that is not the main focus of the book | 2007–present |
| Golden Crown Literary Society | Goldie Award for Historical Fiction | Novel set at least 25 years in the past with lesbian content that is not the main focus of the book | |
| Golden Crown Literary Society | Goldie Award for Humorous Novels | Comedic novels with lesbian content | |
| Golden Crown Literary Society | Goldie Award for Mystery/Thriller/Crime | Mystery, thriller, or crime novel with lesbian content | 2005–present |
| Golden Crown Literary Society | Goldie Award for New Adult Fiction | Novels with lesbian content whose target audience is people aged 19–29 | |
| Golden Crown Literary Society | Goldie Award for Nonfiction | Nonfiction works with lesbian content | |
| Golden Crown Literary Society | Goldie Award for Paranormal/Occult/Horror | Novels with paranormal, occult, or horror elements as part of the main plot that also include lesbian content | |
| Golden Crown Literary Society | Goldie Award for Poetry | Poetry with lesbian content | |
| Golden Crown Literary Society | Goldie Award for Romantic Blend | Novels with two main focuses, one of which is a lesbian relationship | |
| Golden Crown Literary Society | Goldie Award for Science Fiction/Fantasy | Science fiction or fantasy novels with lesbian content | 2005–present |
| Golden Crown Literary Society | Goldie Award for Short Story/Essay Collections | 2007- | |
| Golden Crown Literary Society | Goldie Award for Speculative Fiction | 2007- | |
| Golden Crown Literary Society | Goldie Award for Young Adult | Young adult novels with lesbian content | |
| Golden Crown Literary Society | The Lee Lynch Classic Book Award | Classic books with lesbian content | |
| Golden Crown Literary Society | Tee Corinne Award for Outstanding Cover Design | Book with a cover selected as a favourite among Golden Crown Literary Society members | |
| Golden Crown Literary Society | Trailblazer Award | Writer in recognition of their lifetime achievement and contributions to lesbian literature | 2005–present |
| Japanese Association for Gender, Fantasy & Science Fiction | Sense of Gender Awards | Science fiction or fantasy fiction that best explores and deepens the concept of gender | 2001–present |
| Green Carnation Committee in association with Foyles | Green Carnation Prize | The Prize honours the best in fiction and memoir by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender writers worldwide, including works in translation. | 2014-2017 |
| Lambda Literary Foundation's Lambda Literary Awards | J. Michael Samuel Prize for Emerging Writers Over 50 | Authors who identify as LGBTQ who published their first book after the age of 50 | |
| Lambda Literary Foundation's Lambda Literary Awards | Jeanne Córdova Prize for Lesbian/Queer Nonfiction | Nonfiction authors who identify as lesbian or queer or who are transgender or gender non-conforming | |
| Lambda Literary Foundation's Lambda Literary Awards | Jim Duggins, PhD Outstanding Mid-Career Novelist Prize | Authors identify as LGBTQ and "who have published multiple novels, built a strong reputation and following, and show promise to continue publishing high quality work for years to come" | |
| Lambda Literary Foundation's Lambda Literary Awards | Judith A. Markowitz Award for Exceptional New LGBTQ Writers | Writers who have published one or two books who identify as LGBTQ and "whose work demonstrates their strong potential for promising careers" | |
| Lambda Literary Foundation's Lambda Literary Awards | Lambda Literary Award for AIDS Literature | Texts with HIV/AIDS content | |
| Lambda Literary Foundation's Lambda Literary Awards | Lambda Literary Award for Anthology | Anthologies with LGBT+ content | |
| Lambda Literary Foundation's Lambda Literary Awards | Lambda Literary Award for Arts and Culture | ||
| Lambda Literary Foundation's Lambda Literary Awards | Lambda Literary Award for Belles Lettres | ||
| Lambda Literary Foundation's Lambda Literary Awards | Lambda Literary Award for Children's or Young Adult Literature | Children's and young adult texts with LGBT+ content | |
| Lambda Literary Foundation's Lambda Literary Awards | Lambda Literary Award for Debut Fiction | Debut fictional texts with LGBT+ content | |
| Lambda Literary Foundation's Lambda Literary Awards | Lambda Literary Award for Drama | Drama with LGBT+ content | |
| Lambda Literary Foundation's Lambda Literary Awards | Lambda Literary Award for Editor's Choice | ||
| Lambda Literary Foundation's Lambda Literary Awards | Lambda Literary Award for Erotica | Erotic texts with LGBT+ content | |
| Lambda Literary Foundation's Lambda Literary Awards | Lambda Literary Award for Fiction | Fictional texts with LGBT+ content | |
| Lambda Literary Foundation's Lambda Literary Awards | Lambda Literary Award for Graphic Novel | Graphic novels with LGBT+ content | |
| Lambda Literary Foundation's Lambda Literary Awards | Lambda Literary Award for Humor | Humorous texts with LGBT+ content | |
| Lambda Literary Foundation's Lambda Literary Awards | Lambda Literary Award for Memoir or Biography | Memoirs or biographies with LGBT+ content | |
| Lambda Literary Foundation's Lambda Literary Awards | Lambda Literary Award for Mystery | Mystery texts with LGBT+ content | |
| Lambda Literary Foundation's Lambda Literary Awards | Lambda Literary Award for Nonfiction | Nonfiction texts with LGBT+ content | |
| Lambda Literary Foundation's Lambda Literary Awards | Lambda Literary Award for Poetry | Poetry with LGBT+ content | |
| Lambda Literary Foundation's Lambda Literary Awards | Lambda Literary Award for Romance | Romance texts with LGBT+ content | |
| Lambda Literary Foundation's Lambda Literary Awards | Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Studies | Academic texts with LGBT+ content | |
| Lambda Literary Foundation's Lambda Literary Awards | Lambda Literary Award for Photography/Visual Arts | Photography and visual are with LGBT+ content | |
| Lambda Literary Foundation's Lambda Literary Awards | Lambda Literary Award for Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror | Science fiction, fantasy, or horror texts with LGBT+ content | |
| Lambda Literary Foundation's Lambda Literary Awards | Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Literature | Works with transgender content - The Award for Transgender Literature is sometimes separated by category. | |
| Lambda Literary Foundation's Lambda Literary Awards | Randall Kenan Prize for Black LGBTQ Fiction | Black LGBTQ fiction writers | |
| Lambda Literary Foundation's Lambda Literary Awards | Trustee Award | Individuals who have broken new ground in the field of LGBTQ literature, publishing, filmmaking, journalism, playwriting, etc. | |
| Lambda Literary Foundation's Lambda Literary Awards | Visionary Award | Individuals who have broken new ground in the field of LGBTQ literature and publishing. | - |
| Lesfic Bard Awards, LLC | Lesfic Bard Awards | Awards for lesbian writers achieved via a unique triple-blind judging process to find deserving finalists and winners, making sure the works receive the acknowledgment they are due. | 2018–present |
| Otherwise Award | Otherwise Award | Works of science fiction or fantasy that expand or explore one's understanding of gender and awarded yearly at WisCon where the recipient receives a tiara, a piece of original art, chocolate, and a check for $1000. | 1991–present |
| Publishing Triangle | Audre Lorde Award | Lesbian poetry | |
| Publishing Triangle | Betty Berzon Award for Emerging Writers | Early career achievement of an LGBT+ writer | |
| Publishing Triangle | Bill Whitehead Award | Lifetime achievement by writers within the LGBT community | |
| Publishing Triangle | Edmund White Award | Debut novels by writers within the LGBT community | |
| Publishing Triangle | Ferro-Grumley Award | Fiction with LGBT content | |
| Publishing Triangle | Judy Grahn Award | Works of non-fiction of relevance to the lesbian community | |
| Publishing Triangle | Publishing Triangle Award for Trans and Gender-Variant Literature | Works of literature on transgender themes | |
| Publishing Triangle | Randy Shilts Award | Works of non-fiction of relevance to the gay community | |
| Publishing Triangle | Robert Chesley Award | Works by playwrights in the LGBT community | |
| Publishing Triangle | Thom Gunn Award | Works of gay male poetry | |
| Writers' Trust of Canada | Dayne Ogilvie Prize | Emerging LGBT+ Canadian writer |