Winners
LGBTQ+
2024 FINALISTS - LGBTQ+
See below for the list of 2024 finalists in the LGBTQ+ category, for books with a copyright date of 2023.
Desert Deadline: A Dante & Jazz Mystery
2024 Finalist
Author: Michael Craft
Publisher: Questover Press
ISBN: 9798218137953
Dante and Jazz: him and her … white and Black … gay and straight. They make an unlikely pair of crime solvers. But the race is on to name a killer, save a fortune, and rescue an innocent child.
Where Two Worlds Touch: An Outsider's Memoir in England
2024 Finalist
Author: River Faire
Publisher: Evolutionary Press
ISBN: 9798218257033
From award-winning author River Faire comes an inspiring account of second chances, healing, inexplicable magic, and following the soul’s compass. A genre-defying memoir—one part love story, one part celebration of the table, one part ode to nature, and one part soul guide—that lingers long past the final page.
Why I Adopted My Husband: The True Story Of A Gay Couple Seeking Legal Recognition In Japan
2024 Finalist
Author: Yuta Yagi
Publisher: TOKYOPOP
ISBN: 9781427873385
This nonfiction manga depicts how Yuta and his partner Kyota found a loophole to protect themselves in a culture where they cannot legally marry, and their determination to live as carefree as any other married couple, while they strive for independence and equal rights in a changing cultural landscape.
2023 WINNERS - LGBTQ+
See below for the list of 2023 winners in the LGBTQ+ category, for books with a copyright date of 2022.
A Practical Reference for Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Adults
2023 Gold Winner
Author: Linda Gromko, MD
Publisher: Bainbridge Books
ISBN: 978-0-9825143-4-4
In A Practical Reference for Transgender & Gender-Nonconforming Adults, Dr. Linda Gromko covers the basics of hormone treatments and gender-affirming surgeries to the critical elements of daily survival and suicide prevention. Drawing from decades of experience serving transgender people of all ages, Gromko brings content that is rarely taught in medical schools. This gently-crafted volume is designed to support transgender people in safe and healthy transitions – and to support their families and healthcare providers as well.
LGBTQ Family Building: A Guide for Prospective Parents
2023 Silver Winner
Author: Abbie E. Goldberg, PhD
Publisher: American Psychological Association
ISBN: 978-1-4338-3392-2
From surrogacy and adoption, to transgender pregnancy and finding child care, parenting as an LGBTQ person is complex. This book is an authoritative, comprehensive, and easy‑to‑read guide to parenthood and family building for LGBTQ people.
You*ology: A Puberty Guide for Every Body
2023 Silver Winner
Authors: Melisa Holmes, MD, FACOG; Trish Hutchison, MD, FAAP; Kathryn Lowe, MD, FAAP
Publisher: American Academy of Pediatrics
ISBN: 978-1-61002-569-0
What if learning about changing bodies wasn’t secretive or shameful? And what if it could even be inclusive, fun, and, well, kind of adorable? A new kind of puberty guide, You-ology embraces an inclusive approach that normalizes puberty for all kids. Traditional puberty education only contributes to a sense of isolation and often does not include all kids' experience of puberty and leaves kids with questions about how puberty will affect their friends and classmates. You-ology offers fact-based, age appropriate, and body positive information about the physical, social, and emotional changes ahead for all kids. Colorful illustrations keep the tone upbeat and engaging, while short stories featuring a cast of diverse characters add relatability and humor.
2022 WINNERS - LGBTQ+
See below for the list of 2022 winners in the LGBTQ+ category, for books with a copyright date of 2021.
My Good Son
2022 Gold Winner
Author: Yang Huang
Publisher: University of New Orleans Press
ISBN: 978-1-60801-201-5
MY GOOD SON explores the deep power and profound burdens of parental love through the story of Mr. Cai, a tailor in post-Tiananmen China, and Jude, a gay American ex-pat. Their friendship exposes the parallels and differences of American and Chinese cultures—father-son relationships, familial expectations, sexuality, social mobility, and privilege.
Everything Together: A Second Dad Wedding
2022 Silver Winner
Author: Benjamin Klas
Publisher: Red Chair Press
ISBN: 978-1-947159-65-5
When Jeremiah arrives in Minneapolis for the summer, everything feels odd. His dad is planning a wedding with his fiancé, Michael, and his best friend spends all her time with a new girl. Jeremiah starts volunteering in an English class for refugees, where he finds an unexpected community of friends.
Two Boys at Breakwater
2022 Silver Winner
Author: Boston Teran
Publisher: High-Top Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-56703-016-7
Guy Prince was the son of a racketeer, Dean Teranova the son of a third rate conman. Their tale of love and innocence lost takes readers on an epic quest of the hunter and the hunted in New York during the summers of 1957 and 1966.
2021 WINNERS - LGBTQ
See below for the list of 2021 winners in the LGBTQ category, for books with a copyright date of 2020. Click here to watch the Gold and Silver winner speeches.
Cuban Son Rising
2021 Gold Winner
Author: Charles Gomez
Publisher: Koehler Books
ISBN: 978-1-64663-052-3
As a journalist, he dug up the truth. But deep inside Gomez hid a life-shattering secret. The terror of exposing his sexuality and AIDS led him down a dark path of destruction. Gomez’s journey takes you from interviews with despots and world leaders to the front lines of civil wars. And it transports you to the silent struggles he faced gaining his father’s acceptance.
Flower of Iowa
2021 Silver Winner
Author: Lance Ringel
Publisher: Distant Mirror Press
ISBN: 978-0578649344
France, 1918: In the final months of the First World War, naïve, idealistic American soldier Tommy Flowers struggles to become a good soldier in the trenches with the help of his savvy new best buddy, British soldier David Pearson. But their friendship soon develops an intimacy neither young man expected.
Upon this Rock
2021 Silver Winner
Author: David Eugene Perry
Publisher: Pace Press
ISBN: 978-0-941936-06-4
A gay American couple in Italy investigate the suicide of a cleric in the picturesque Italian city of Orvieto and find themselves plunged into a conspiracy of drug smuggling, human trafficking, and a terrorist plot against the heart of the Catholic Church. "An elegant twisty thriller." — Armistead Maupin
2020 WINNERS - LGBTQ
See below for the list of 2020 winners in the LGBTQ category, for books with a copyright date of 2019.
ChoirMaster: A Mister Puss Mystery
2020 Gold Winner
Author: Michael Craft
Publisher: Questover Press
ISBN: 978-0-578-52330-9
A marriage of convenience … a crisis of faith … a talking cat. What could possibly go wrong? Plenty, in fact, and it was murder.
Introduction to Transgender Studies
2020 Silver Winner
Author: Ardfel Haefele-Thomas
Publisher: Harrington Park Press
ISBN: 978-1-9395942-7-3
Intended for introductory transgender, LGBTQ+, or gender studies courses through upper-level electives related to the expanding field of transgender studies, this text has been successfully class-tested in community colleges and public and private colleges and universities.
Queer Studies: Beyond Binaries
2020 Silver Winner
Author: Bruce Henderson
Publisher: Harrington Park Press
ISBN: 978-1-9395943-2-7
Designed for undergraduate courses in Queer or LGBT+ Studies requiring no prerequisites, Queer Studies: Beyond Binaries also serves as an excellent supplement in courses on queer theory or history, or on sexuality, gender, and women’s studies.
About the
Independent Book Publishers Association
Founded to support independent publishers nationwide, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) leads and serves the independent publishing community through advocacy, education, and tools for success. With over 3,200 members, IBPA is the largest independent publishing association in the U.S. Its vision is a world where every independent publisher has the access, knowledge, and tools needed to professionally engage in all aspects of an inclusive publishing industry.
For more information, visit www.ibpa-online.org.
