Chef's Choice is a Lambda Literary Loser!
Chef’s Choice was up for a Lammy this year and LOST! And I legitimately could not be happier.
I always think people are lying when they get all humble after something like this, but I am NOT lying, y’all. Genuinely, it was a thrill just to be short-listed for the Lambda Literary Awards.
If you haven’t gotten around to reading Chef’s Choice yet, please pick it up! Luna and Jean-Pierre will always hold a special place in my heart and, I’m told, the hearts of trans readers who saw something of themselves and their relationships in this book. Hooray for my sophomore romcom, the T4T fake dating foodie farce that got out into the world!
Today, I’m just basking in the fact that I was in a room with lots of queer talent with my hot wife on my arm. Truly wouldn’t believe it if you’d told me in 2021 this was my future.
I, for one, am going to buy a copy of the winner in the LGBTQ+ Erotica & Romance category, Laura Q’s A Tight Squeeze: Smutty Trans and Queer Stories. In my opinion, the correct book took home the award. Erotica has always been a cornerstone of queer literature and it makes my heart happy seeing it get its flowers. I definitely encourage you to check out the short list to see all the titles that were up for awards this year. What a slate! Although I’m still confused why the Lammys structure their categories the way they do. I find it really strange to have what is essentially a category for LGBTQ+ Erotica & BTQ+ Romance while the Big L and Big G are off doing their own thing in Romance categories, but maybe that’s just me. Anyhoo!
I was not expecting to win an award but I have anxiety so here is the acceptance speech I had in my pocket, reproduced with only slight editing for you.
I want to thank my wife, without whom none of my books would exist; my agent Larissa Melo Pienkowski; Dana, my first reader and lifelong friend; Lara Jones, my editor at Atria, and the entire Atria team. Any accolades this book receives is a reflection of their dedication to the bit.
Having a trans love story celebrated in this moment is meaningful because this is a moment when politics and police and policies are coalescing around the idea that trans lives are worthless. That we are disposable. And it is a moment where those same or similar forces are saying Palestinian lives are worthless, are disposable. These two things, and many other injustices besides, are forever linked in my mind because there is no trans liberation, queer liberation, any liberation, until there is complete liberation. Trans rights now, and in the same breath, in the same moment, free, free Palestine.
This Pride I am asking you to please donate to Gaza Funds and do what you can to protest this genocide.
One last thing! Triple Sec, my poly romcom set in the glamorous world of high-class cocktail bars, is out now and I am still on tour! If you’re in Brooklyn, Philly, or online there’s an event for you. Come on out, we’ll get a drink, have a few laughs, etc. Byeeeee sluts 😘
Thanks for reading!
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