The Ferro-Grumley Award is decided each year by a different panel of judges, selected from writers, publishers, editors, booksellers, and other book industry workers across the U.S., with an emphasis on geographic and cultural diversity, and gender parity. The criteria for the award are:
• Is it good enough? --a fully-developed, accomplished piece of writing?
• Is it LGBTQ enough? --whether in c
ontent, imagination, and/or spirit?
• Is it important enough to LGBTQ culture? --reflecting some of the most broadly resonant LGBTQ thinking during the current year, the sort of book you’d expect to help drive LGBTQ culture during years to come and be noticed in the culture at large? The mission of the Ferro-Grumley Award is to give an "annual literary prize for the year’s best LGBTQ-themed novel or collection of short stories; to raise funds to support the prize; and to expose the general public to high-quality LGBTQ fiction through public readings and discussions." PAST WINNERS OF THE FERRO-GRUMLEY AWARD FOR LGBTQ FICTION
• 1989 Ruthann Robson, Eye of the Hurricane Dennis Cooper, Closer
• 1990 Allen Barnett, The Body and Its Dangers Cherry Muhanji, Her
• 1991 Blanche McCrary Boyd, The Revolution of Little Girls Melvin Dixon, Vanishing Rooms
• 1992 Randall Kenan, Let the Dead Bury Their Dead Dorothy Allison, Bastard Out of Carolina
• 1993 Jeanette Winterson, Written on the Body John Berendt, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
• 1994 Mark Merlis, American Studies Heather Lewis, House Rules
• 1995 Sarah Schulman, Rat Bohemia Felice Picano, Like People In History
• 1996 Persimmon Blackbridge, Sunnybrook Andrew Holleran, The Beauty of Men
• 1997 Colm Toibin, The Story of the Night Elana Dykewoman, Beyond the Pale
• 1998 Michael Cunningham, The Hours Patricia Powell, The Pagoda
• 1999 Judy Doenges, What She Left Me Paul Russell, The Coming Storm
• 2000 Sarah Waters, Affinity Edmund White, The Married Man
• 2001 David Ebershoff, The Rose City Emma Donoghue, Slammerkin
• 2002 Carol Anshaw, Lucky in the Corner Jamie O'Neill, At Swim, Two Boys
• 2003 Trebor Healey, Through It Came Bright Colors Nina Revoyr, Southland
• 2004 Stacey D’Erasmo, A Seahorse Year Adam Berlin, Belmondo Style
• 2005 Barry McCrea, The First Verse Patricia Grossman, Brian in Three Seasons
• 2006 Lisa Carey, Every Visible Thing Christopher Bram, Exiles In America
• 2007 Peter Cameron, Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You Ali Liebegott, The IHOP Papers
• 2008 Alison Bechdel, The Essential D***s to Watch Out For
• 2009 Sebastian Stuart, The Hour Between
• 2010 Michael Sledge, The More I Owe You
• 2011 Paul Russell, The Unreal Life of Sergey Nabokov
• 2012 Trebor Healey, A Horse Named Sorrow
• 2013 Sara Farizan, If You Could Be Mine
• 2014 Bernardine Evaristo, Mr. Loverman
• 2015 Michael Golding, A Poet of the Invisible World
• 2016 Cathleen Schine, They May Not Mean To, But They Do
• 2017 Alistair McCartney, The Disintegrations
• 2018 John R. Gordon, Drapetomania
• 2019 Ocean Vuong, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
• 2020 Juli Delgado Lopera, Fiebre Tropical
• 2021 Anthony Veasna So, Afterparties
• 2022 James Hannaham, Didn't Nobody Give a S**t What Happened to Carlotta
• 2023 Helen Elaine Lee, Pomegranate
The Executive Director of The Ferro-Grumley Literary Awards is Stephen Greco. For information on making a tax-deductible contribution to the Ferro-Grumley Award, please contact Stephen Greco at [email protected].
