Stonewall Book Awards: Have A Gander At This Year’s Crop

T
he Stonewall Book Awards are named for the Stonewall Uprising, a turning point that ignited explosive growth in the gay rights movement. It began when patrons of a gay bar in New York City’s Greenwich called The Stonewall Inn resisted police harassment during one of the NYPD’s routine raids.

Why was The Stonewall being raided? Essentially because its patrons were doing what people do in a bar… having a drink, hanging out with friends, maybe doing a little dancing. The “problem” was, they were participating in those activities as openly LGBTQIA+ individuals.

As members of this marginalized community, The Stonewall Inn’s patrons were susceptible to arrest for “disorderly acts” like open displays of affection, or slow dancing. They could also be charged with “wearing a disguise” (in other words dressing in drag). And it was illegal to serve alcohol in “disorderly” establishments like The Stonewall Inn – where needless to say, the mere presence of LGBTQIA+ people rendered it disorderly.

Finally, in the wee hours of June 28,1969 gay men, lesbians, homeless LGBTQIA+ teens, trans women of color, and allies all decided to take a stand. One that resulted in six days of protest and violent clashes with law enforcement. [1]  And the rest, as they say, is history.

Why Is Pride Month
In June?

The initial gay pride parades in America coincided with the first anniversary of the uprising. And June was designated Pride Month in recognition of the Stonewall Uprising’s significance in LGBTQIA+ history.[2]

President Clinton officially declared June “Gay and Lesbian Pride Month” in 1999:

Thirty years ago this month, at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, a courageous group of citizens resisted harassment and mistreatment, setting in motion a chain of events that would become known as the Stonewall Uprising and the birth of the modern gay and lesbian civil rights movement. Gays and lesbians, their families and friends, celebrate the anniversary of Stonewall every June in America as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month…  I encourage all Americans to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that celebrate our diversity, and to remember throughout the year the gay and lesbian Americans whose many and varied contributions have enriched our national life.[3]

In 2009, President Obama expanded Pride Month to include the larger (LGBTQ) lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. And in 2016, he designated The Stonewall Inn a national monument:

Stonewall will be our first national monument to tell the story of the struggle for LGBT rights. I believe our national parks should reflect the full story of our country, the richness and diversity and uniquely American spirit that has always defined us: that we are stronger together, that out of many, we are one.” [4]

The Stonewall Book Awards

The Stonewall Book Awards are sponsored by the Rainbow Round Table of the American Library Association. Three awards are given annually, recognizing English-language works “of exceptional merit relating to the LGBTQIA+ experience.”[5]

They began as the Gay Book Award in 1971, when the American Library Association’s Rainbow Round Table was known as the Task Force on Gay Liberation.[6] Barbara Gittings and Israel Fishman, for whom two of the awards are named, were founding members. Mike Morgan and Larry Romans, whose names grace the children’s and young adult literature award, were partners and longtime supporters of the Stonewall Book Awards.[7]

by Nicholas Boggs

And Be Sure To Check Out
The American Library Association’s
2026 Rainbow Book List

#Pride Month                    #LGBTQ+ Authors                     #Celebrations

Endnotes:

[1] “Stonewall Riots.” History.com

Stonewall: The Basics. NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project. https://stonewall50consortium.org/stonewallfactsheet.pdf

Wills, Matthew. “Gay Bars and Gay Rights.” Jstor Daily. June 25, 2021. https://daily.jstor.org/gay-bars-and-gay-rights/

[2] “Stonewall Riots.” History.com https://www.history.com/articles/the-stonewall-riots

Miranda, Gabriela. “What are the origins of Pride Month? And who should we thank for the LGBTQ celebration?” USA Today. June 3, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20221025015604/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2021/06/03/what-pride-month-means-look-history-lgbtq-celebration/7504029002/

[3] Clinton, William J.  “Gay and Lesbian Pride Month, 1999.” Federal Register Vol. 64, No. 115.

[4] Obama, Barack.  “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month, 2009.” Whitehouse.gov.

Miranda, Gabriela. “What are the origins of Pride Month? And who should we thank for the LGBTQ celebration?” USA Today. June 3, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20221025015604/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2021/06/03/what-pride-month-means-look-history-lgbtq-celebration/7504029002/

[5] “Rainbow Round Table Announces the 2026 Stonewall Book Award Winners for Non-fiction and Literature.” American Library Association.
https://www.ala.org/news/2026/01/rainbow-round-table-announces-2026-stonewall-book-award-winners-non-fiction-and

[6] “Stonewall Book Awards History.” American Library Association. Archived. https://web.archive.org/web/20161222112410/https://www.ala.org/glbtrt/award/history

[7] Staino, Rocco. “Larry Romans, Hero of LGBTQ Literature for Young People, Dies at 68”. School Library Journal. February 8, 2016.

Images:

The Stonewall Inn: Photo by Karly Jones on Unsplash

Progress Pride Flag: Photo by Cecilie Bomstad on Unsplash