Stonewall Goes Mainstream

By Domenica Di Piazza, Editorial Director, TFCB

It’s always fun to see what wins the big ALA awards at this time of year, and I was particularly interested in the new Stonewall Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award. The award has been around since the 1970s, but the first Stonewall award for children’s and young adult literature dealing with gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered (GLBT) experiences was handed out last year for The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd. This year’s winner is Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher.

I’m eager to read both novels partly because, for our Spring 2011 season, TFCB just published Gay Power! The Stonewall Riots and the Gay Rights Movement, 1969 by Betsy Kuhn (cover above). It’s a fabulous book about the history of the American gay rights movement in our Civil Rights Struggles around the World series.

The Stonewall riots for gay liberation, which took place in 1969 at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, marked their 40th anniversary in 2009. GLBT persons of 2011 live a life of far more openness and freedom than was possible not so very long ago. It’s great to see a literary award that acknowledges and helps foster that openness for young GLBT people.

Check in next week for more from TFCB!