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Lambda Literary Awards
Lambda Literary
In short
The Lambda Literary Awards, known as the Lammys, are run by the organization Lambda Literary for books with LGBTQ+ content or authorship across 28 categories. Finalist lists are watched by independent booksellers, librarians building inclusive collections, and community media. Authors, publishers, and people authorized to act for them may submit. Check whether your publisher is entering; if not, you can enter yourself at the lower fee tier for individual authors and small presses, and send a digital copy plus three physical copies.
Deadline November 22, 2026Checked September 13, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
Every label is a fact from the official rules, never a judgment about whether the award is worth entering. How we describe awards.
The Lambda Literary Awards, commonly called the Lammys, recognize LGBTQ+ literature across 28 categories, including fiction, memoir and biography, poetry, romance, mystery, speculative fiction, comics, drama, nonfiction, young adult, and children's books. The 39th awards, the 2027 cycle, cover books published or forthcoming between January 1 and December 31, 2026.
Publishers, authors, and other authorized entrants may submit. A title must be published in English and distributed or performed in the United States during the eligibility year. Self-published books are accepted when available for purchase in a bound or collected format. Reprints of titles previously published in the United States, works generated by artificial intelligence tools, and serialized work from blogs or subscription platforms are excluded.
Entries are filed through an online form with a digital copy plus three physical copies (four for young adult), and the fee depends on the size of the publisher.
Why it may matter
The Lammys are the widest-reaching awards for LGBTQ+ books, and finalist lists are watched by independent booksellers, librarians building inclusive collections, and community media. A finalist placement tends to travel well among readers who follow the awards year to year. Because entrants may submit their own work and the fee for small presses and individual authors is modest, the decision is mainly about whether the book fits a category and the eligibility year.
2027 cycle: 39th Lambda Literary Awards (2026 books)
- Eligible publication dates
- January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026
- Entries open
- September 14, 2026Checked September 13, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- Final deadline
- November 22, 2026Checked September 13, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- Deadline note
- Submissions open September 14, 2026 and close November 22, 2026; special prizes open separately in January 2027
- Entry fee
- $115 per title for big five publishers and large university presses; $65 per title for small presses, independent publishers, and individual authors entering 1 to 10 titles; $55 per title at 11 or more titlesChecked September 13, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- Results
- Finalists and winners announced in 2027; the ceremony date is posted on the Lambda Literary site
- Notes
- Page showed the window as closed on September 13, 2026, with the open date listed as September 14, 2026
| Tier | Deadline | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Big five publishers and large university presses, per title | See rules | $115 |
| Small press, independent, or individual author, 1 to 10 titles, per title | See rules | $65 |
| Small press, independent, or individual author, 11 or more titles, per title | See rules | $55 |
Worth knowing
Our reading, not a rule the organization published. We judge an award on the rubric in how we describe awards.
The cycle is named for the year of the ceremony, so the 2027 Lammys cover 2026 books. The submission window is short (mid September to late November) and physical copies are still required, so budget for shipping. The special prizes, such as the emerging-writer awards, open on a separate schedule in January.
Rules and deadlines change. We last checked this information on September 13, 2026. If you see something that needs updating, please tell us.
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