New Award Honors LGBT Children's and Youth Literature

The Newbery Medal. The Caldecott Medal. Anyone who knows even the slightest thing about children's literature knows these are the top honors in the field here in the U.S. Now, the American Library Association (ALA) has announced it will add an annual award for "English-language works for children and teens of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered experience."

The Stonewall Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award will become  part of the ALA's Youth Media Awards, which also include multicultural awards such as the Coretta Scott King Book Award, given "to encourage the artistic expression of the African American experience." The new award will be bestowed by the ALA’s Stonewall Book Awards Committee of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Round Table.

The ALA has been a long-time supporter of books with LGBT content. It launched the original Stonewall Book Award (for adult readers) in 1971.  Since 2008, it has produced an annual Rainbow Bibliography of children's and young adult books with LGBT content, which aims to be a broad guide for librarians, bookstore managers, and readers. The Bibliography is not as exclusive as the new award will be, but is still selective, with the books chosen for quality as well as LGBT content. (As an LGBT parent blogger, I can confirm that there are any number of well meaning but poorly written LGBT children's books out there.)

The new award could not be more timely. The issue of anti-LGBT bullying and suicide among LGBTQ youth has been much in the news of late. Quality literature with the ALA's imprimatur can be invaluable -- giving parents, teachers, librarians, clergy, and other educators a useful resource; helping people  understand a little more about the varied experiences of being LGBTQ; helping LGBTQ youth and those with LGBTQ parents to see themselves reflected and know they are not alone. I hope, too, that the ALA award might even incent more authors and publishers to produce children's books with LGBT content.

On a related note, Malinda Lo, author of the young adult novel Ash, a retelling of Cinderella with a lesbian twist, is looking to give away copies of her book to teachers, librarians, LGBT community centers, and Gay Straight Alliance groups. If you fall into one of those categories (or know someone who does) see her blog for details. (I highly recommend the book in any case. There's enough difference from the original tale -- besides the obvious gender change -- to make it a compelling and fresh work in the fantasy genre.) Lo's giveaway is a generous idea, and I hope more authors will follow suit -- sort of an "It Gets Better" project for authors and publishers.

Yes, there will still likely be challenges to LGBT-inclusive books for children and teens. I'm sure you'll see more petitions here at Change.org in support of the challenged books. But the fact that there are enough children's and young adult books with LGBT content to support an annual award that can be mentioned in the same breath as the Newbery or the Caldecott  is a very promising sign.

Photo credit: Brandi Jordan gayrights.change.org