Lambda Literary Award for Speculative Fiction

Eligibility guidelines

To be eligible for the award, a book must meet the following requirements:

• The book must have been published for the first time in the United States between January 1 and December 31 of the previous calendar year.
• The book must be published in English; translations are accepted.
• The book must be available for purchase in a bound or collected format. Self-published books are eligible, provided they exist in a single published file; books published exclusively on social or subscription-based sites (including blogs, personal newsletters, Wattpad, and Patreon) are not eligible.

This category includes science fiction, fantasy, horror and related genres; submissions can be in the form of novels, novellas, or short story collections.

As with other Lambda Literary Awards, the books nominated for the Lambda Literary Award for Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror are selected based on several factors, including LGBTQ+ content, quality of writing and artistic merit.

Winners and nominees

In the following table, the years correspond to the year of the book's release. The ceremonies are always held the following year. Entries with a yellow background have won the relevant award, while those with a white background are the nominees. Categories are abbreviated; the official category titles are presented in the key.

Key

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Recipients

Multi-time winners of the award include Melissa Scott (4), Nicola Griffith (3), Jim Grimsley (2), and Stephen Pagel (2). Nicola Griffith holds the record for most nominations (6), and Perry Brass has the most nominations without winning (4).