The 25 Best LGBTQIA+ Books Of The Last Year, According To The Lambda Literary

On Monday evening, writers and readers gathered at the NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts for the 31st Annual Lambda Literary Awards, which celebrate the best LGBTQIA+ literature published in 2018. Mx Justin Vivian Bond, the author of Tango: My Childhood Backwards and in High Heels, hosted the ceremony, which honored 25 books and their authors. Bustle has details on all the winners below, so keep reading to find out all about the best in recent queer lit.

Since 1989, the Lambda Literary Awards have honored the best works of fiction, poetry, drama, and nonfiction written and published by queer authors in the previous year. In addition to the 25 books that took home prizes on Monday night, the 31st Annual Lambda Literary Awards also recognized Alexander Chee, Masha Gessen, and Barbara Smith with special honors. Rent star Anthony Rapp presented Chee with the Lambda's Trustee Award, in recognition of "his immeasurable contributions to culture as a novelist, essayist, activist, and teacher," according to the press release from Lambda Literary. HuffPost Editor-in-Chief Linda Polgreen presented Gessen with the Visionary Award, in honor of "their work advancing public awareness around the global threat of totalitarianism." Author Cheryl Clarke presented Smith with the Publishing Professional Award, recognizing "a lifetime of work that has profoundly shaped our collective understanding of the interconnections between race, class, and gender."

Check out the 25 winners of the 31st Annual Lambda Literary Awards below: