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The Lambda Literary Foundation started posting Lammy nominations in all 22 categories Dec. 10. Not all nominees have been processed as of this posting, according to the Lambda Literary Foundation Web site.
Some of 2008’s hottest, controversial, and best fiction and nonfiction titles that made the list are:
Sexual Fluidity: Understanding Women's Love & Desire, Lisa M. Diamond, Harvard University Press
Labor of Love, Thomas Beatie, Seal Press
Transgender History, Susan Stryker, Seal Press
Cool Thing: The Best New Gay Fiction from Young American Writers, edited by Blair Maustbaum & Will Fabro, Running Press
Latina Lesbians, edited by Juanita Ramos, Sinister Wisdom, Inc
Mariposas: A Modern Anthology of Queer Latino Poetry, edited by Emanuel Xavier, Floricanto Press
Gay America: Struggle for Equality, Linas Alsenas, Amulet Books
My Life: The Musical, Maryrose Wood, Random House Children's Books
What They Always Tell Us, Martin Wilson, Random House Children's Books
Radical Acts: Collected Political Plays, Martin Duberman, The New Press
Out Plays: Landmark Gay & Lesbian Plays of the 20th Century, Ben Hodges, Alyson Books
Dishonorable Passions: Sodomy Laws in America 1861-2003, William N. Eskridge Jr, Penguin Group
Courting Change, Kimberly Richman, NYU Press
Straight Acting, Angelo Pezzote, Kensington
Haunted Hearths & Sapphic Shades, Catherine Lundoff, Lethe Press
The Stone Gods, Jeanette Winterson, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
How the Religious Right Shaped Lesbian and Gay Activism, Tina Fetner, Univ of Minnesota Press
Greetings from the Gayborhood, Donald F. Reuter, Abrams Image
Respectably Queer: Diversity Culture in LGBT Activist Organizations, Jane Ward, Vanderbilt University Press
Passing for Black, Linda Villarosa, Kensington
Made for You, Geneva St. James, Alpha World Press
As Far As Far Enough, Claire Rooney, Bella
Lipstick on Her Collar, Sacchi Green and Rakelle Valencia, Pretty Things Press
Babies, Bikes & Broads, Cynn Chadwick, Bywater Books
Wrestling with the Angel of Democracy, Susan Griffin, Shambhala Publications
The Decade of Blind Dates, Richard Alther, I-Universe
The Distance Between Us, Bart Yates, Kensington
Hiding in Plain Sight: The Secret Life of Raymond Burr, Michael Seth Starr, Applause Books / Hal Leonard
Hiding in Hip Hop, Terrance Dean, Simon and Schuster
To find out if your book is one of the contenders click here.
Freelance writer David Benkof, founder of Press Pass Q and Q Syndicate, has a knack for ruffling feathers. First, he underwent a transformation from David Bianco, the gay activist, to David Benkof, the Orthodox Jew. For religious reasons, he told the Washington Blade in a 2003 interview, Benkof had given up sex with men, or as he put it, “having all kinds of Internet hookups and doing the urban gay male lifestyle.” This summer, Benkof advocated passage of Proposition 8, California's ban on same-sex marriage. And in his new column “Fabulously Observant,” he urged gays and conservatives to find common ground on a number of social issues, including adoption, abortion, and support for troops in Iraq. But that's not the whole of it. “He seems to have an ax to grind against our community, writing about some very ugly, negative stereotypes that are harmful,” said Wayne Besen, executive director of Truth Wins Out, a non-profit organization that counters right-wing propaganda and exposes the “ex-gay” myth. Perhaps the worst stereotype perpetuated, Besen said, is Benkof's tying the gay community to NAMBLA [North American Man Boy Love Association]. In his recent column, “Anything but Straight,” Besen challenged Benkof for saying, “I have tons of data that shows how a significant subset of the gay community in America has always supported adult-child sex.” But Benkof said Besen has taken that comment out of context. “I've never said gays are pedophiles,” Benkof said. Historically, however, “some leaders,” Benkof said, namely “Harry Hay and Frank Kameny, have linked gay liberation with lowering the age of consent laws.” Earlier this year, “Fabulously Observant” ran in a few LGBT publications, including the Tampa Bay Gazette, Columbus Outlook, Tulsa Ozarks Star, and Dallas Voice – but not for long. Take the Dallas Voice, for instance. “David Benkof submitted several freelance columns to us in the spring of this year,” said Voice editor Tammye Nash. “We ran two, maybe three of them. However, we got no reader response to the content of his columns and felt his work was not a good fit for our mission. So we have not published any since early June.” Meanwhile, Benkof took his message to mainstream media [USA Today, Philadelphia Inquirer, New York Post, and Los Angeles Times] and the Jewish press. In an op-ed, Benkof argued that George W. Bush is the best president on AIDS. In September, Benkof was appointed the first openly gay columnist for the Jerusalem Post, where “Fabulously Observant” will run weekly. So why pay any attention to Benkof? “He's a very good writer with a knack for getting published in major publications,” said Besen. “He's using a national platform to hurt our community.” A good role for LGBT media, Besen added, is “to talk to Benkof and see where he is coming from and find out where his relationship with the gay community soured so much that he writes in a very public fashion some derogatory things that have hurt people.” At the same time, Besen applauds Benkof for breaking with backers of Proposition 8. “That's a step in the right direction.” In fact, Benkof shut down his blog GaysDefendMarriage.com, he said, “because of homophobia and anti-Semitism among the organizers of that campaign. I no longer support Proposition 8 in California.” What's more, “I do not have a vendetta against the gay community,” he said. “I don't want to hurt people I care about.” Benkof also said he harbors no animosity toward gays and gay media. “My separation from Q Syndicate and Rivendell Media [which now owns Q Syndicate and Press Pass Q] was quite amicable,” said Benkof, who attributes his distancing from the community and gay press to a “religious transformation.” In moving to Orthodox Judaism, “I came to the conclusion through study and fellowship with like-minded people that the Torah comes from God, and I needed to work my life around that fact,” he said. “I found my belief system and values to be inconsistent with my primary work in the gay press. It was a very gradual move, mostly from my religious transformation.” Next year, Benkof, who self-identifies as gay or bisexual, but not ex-gay, intends to relocate to Jerusalem. — Chuck Colbert Couretsy: PressPassQ (www.presspassq.com)
ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVES, the only LGBT radio show in Atlanta, has received a $5,000 grant from the LLOYD E. RUSSELL Foundation. Russell is a former activist and gay bar owner who died in 2006. The show airs Tuesday evenings on WRFG 89.3. DIANE ANDERSON-MINSHALL has been promoted from executive editor to editor in chief of CURVE magazine. This is the first time in the magazine’s history that someone other than founder/publisher FRANCO STEVENS has filled that top editorial position. JACOB ANDERSON-MINSHALL, who writes the syndicated column TRANSNATION, and REBECCA NAY, of TRANNYWRECK RADIO, launched a new radio show called GENDER BLENDER on Portland, Oregon’s KBOO 90.7 and online at KBOO.FM. The show addresses transgender issues and other gender-related topics. BRUCE H. JOFFE, author of “A Hint of Homosexuality?: Gay and Homoerotic Imagery in American Print Advertising,” has won the best book award in the Gay/Lesbian: Non-Fiction category of the National Best Books 2008 Awards. Joffe is a professor of communications at Carthage College [Kenosha, Wis.], Cardinal Stritch University [Milwaukee, Wis.], and Mary Baldwin College [Staunton, Va.] focusing on gay and lesbian studies. JUST OUT, an LGBT newspaper based in Portland, Ore., celebrated its 25th anniversary on Nov. 22. OURCHART.COM, a social networking site founded by “The L Word” creator ILENE CHAIKEN and SHOWTIME, was shut down last month. QVEGAS, a gay destination magazine based in Las Vegas, redesigned both its print edition and website under the stewardship of editor and creative director M. CORY BURGESS. INGA SARDA-SORENSEN has been named acting director of communications by the NATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN TASK FORCE. PEDRO JULIO SERRANO is now the communications coordinator handling Spanish-language media. SPORTS OUT LOUD, the world’s only gay sports magazine, will relaunch on Jan. 15 under the new name COMPETE. MIKE WILKE, founder of the COMMERCIAL CLOSET ASSOCIATION, was terminated by the non-profit’s board of directors on Nov. 4. The move came as part of its merger with the GAY & LESBIAN ALLIANCE AGAINST DEFAMATION. Courtesy: PressPassQ (www.presspassq.com)
A model for Genre magazine has filed a lawsuit against the publication and a photographer, alleging a series of “cruel and vulgar” photos printed in the publication without his permission have subjected him to unwanted advances and harassment from gay men.
The invasion of privacy lawsuit, filed recently in Manhattan Supreme Court by Benjamin Massing, 20, a microbiology major at the University of Central Florida, alleges he has been subjected to strangers “who solicit him for homosexual sex,” according to the New York Daily News.
The beefcake shot of him tugging on a snug pair of gray briefs also included contact information, including Massing's first name, where he lives, and ways to reach him online.
The model and aspiring actor alleges that Genre's March-April issue's photo spread, which is bordered by advertisements for sex toys, lubricants, and chat lines, has damaged his career.
According to the complaint, Massing says the pictures were for his private portfolio use, and he never expected photographer Richard Day to sell them to a magazine to make him look “lustful and sexually promiscuous,” according to the Daily News.
The rub for Massing: “He's not [gay],” said Liah Catanese, his attorney.
Additionally, the beefcake pictures of Massing have surfaced on websites for gay men, where readers make comments such as “Super sexy!” and “Love those hairy little legs … yummie.”
“It's definitely put him in a class where he's going to have difficulty obtaining contracts for family-related shows,' said lawyer Catanese in the Daily News.
During his modeling career, Massing has appeared, nearly in the buff, in an Abercrombie & Fitch catalogue. The model has also posed for a spread in Playgirl magazine in an issue highlighting eligible college men.
It is not clear whether or not Massing signed a release agreement with the photographer, allowing Day to use the photos. If the model did not sign one, then he may have a case regarding the pictures being used without permission. It is also not entirely clear whether the case is about the unauthorized use of the photographs or the publication of personal contact information, or both.
William P. Kapfer, vice president and publisher of Genre magazine, said he had not seen the lawsuit and therefore declined to comment.
— Chuck Colbert
Courtesy PressPassQ.com (www.presspassq.com)
by Lisa Keen Bay Area Reporter, 12/11/2008
In a sterile conference room on the 11th floor of a non-descript office building in Washington, D.C., more than two dozen LGBT bloggers listened intently last weekend as their more veteran peers instructed them in the art of "blog swarms," "astro-turfing," and "cross-posting."
Bloggers, said one, can enable a minor event to "take on a whole new life" in the mainstream media by spreading news about it across 10 or 15 different blogs (a.k.a. the blog swarm). Lone bloggers can acquire the clout of large groups by assuming a moniker that makes them appear to be a "national" entity when, in fact, they are "a fake grassroots organization" (a.k.a. astro-turfing). And bloggers can increase readership for their views by posting them not just on their own sites but on other, more widely read, sites (a.k.a. cross-posting).
Blogs, said Mike Rogers, organizer of the summit, can be used to "drag people out of the closet" and persuade a corporation that has donated to an anti-gay cause to make amends to the LGBT community.
Rogers gained considerable notoriety in 2007 after he posted blogs about Senator Larry Craig (R-Idaho) being arrested for solicitation in an airport men's room. A Washington Post headline that year referred to Rogers as possibly "the most feared man on [Capitol] Hill" because he's made clear he's willing to use his blog – http://www.blogActive.com – to out closeted politicians who vote against the rights of LGBT people.
"I'm an angry gay man," quipped Rogers to a workshop Saturday on "Fighting Back" against anti-gay institutions and people. He urged LGBT bloggers to "take it to the next level" in their postings against anti-gay entities and people.
This first National LGBT Citizen Journalist Bloggers Summit attracted about 60 LGBT bloggers. The conference was separate from, but simultaneous to, the Gay and Lesbian Leadership Institute, and bloggers and the more conventional leaders met in a few joint sessions.
The conference included such topics as how bloggers can contribute to political campaigns, how to enhance their work with investigative reporting skills and practices, and what federal laws might have an impact on their blogging. Conference sponsors included political activist Jonathan Lewis and the Microsoft Corporation. Rogers said Lewis contributed $50,000 toward the meeting and Microsoft contributed a free copy of Microsoft Office Professional to eager attendees.
"I think Microsoft's contribution shows the impact a small group of bloggers can have and the corporation's commitment to working with us," said Rogers.
Most of the bloggers at the summit appeared to be in their 20s, about two-thirds were men, and a few were people of color. There were well-known political bloggers, such as Pam Spaulding of http://www.PamsHouseBlend.com, Bil Browning of http://www.Bilerico.com, Nan Hunter of http://www.HunterforJustice.com, and Ramon Johnson of About.com's "Gay Life."
One attendee, Eric Leven of New York (at http://www.Knucklecrack.blogspot.com), described the conference as empowering.
"For me there was something in those rooms, something in those workshops," he blogged after the meeting, "maybe it was the sense of community or the downright simple feeling of being empowered by teachers, writers, techies and activists but something in that room made me feel as though we were all on our digital surfboards, in this new world of ours, riding the crest of the wave of this new movement."
"I think it's important that we provide the tools to successful and new and emerging bloggers," said Rogers, "so they can be more engaged in their community."
Although Rogers said he was not sure he had time to turn the summit into an annual event, he said it was part of an overall initiative that will provide grants to help bloggers (a.k.a. citizen journalists) with specific projects or to attend other conferences.
"A small grant to a blogger today," said Rogers, "can help develop tomorrow's effective citizen journalist."
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