For decades June has been recognized as LGBTQ+ Pride Month. The month is celebrated today in many ways: parades, parties, memorials for those who have died due to hate crimes or HIV/AIDS, as well as recognizing the influence LGBTQ+ individuals have had throughout history. Libraries and librarians naturally think reading is another important way to celebrate.
If you are not sure where to begin, the Stonewall Book Awards, sponsored by the American Library Association's Rainbow Round Table provides both fiction and nonfiction as well as children’s and young adult literature options. You can also check out the book display on the first floor of the Library.
The Stonewall Book Awards were the first awards for LGBTQ+ books, although the name has changed over the years. They began in 1971, known then as the Gay Book Award, when Isabel Miller's Patience and Sarah was recognized. While initially a grassroots effort, this became an official American Library Association award in 1986. In 2002, the awards were named after the site of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising. Today the specific awards granted are the Stonewall Book Award-Barbara Gittings Literature Award, the Stonewall Book Award-Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award, and the Stonewall Book Award-Mike Morgan and Larry Romans Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award.
