More than 8,000 librarians descended on San Diego Jan. 9-14 for the American Library Association’s midwinter meeting. One of the highlights of the annual event is the announcement of the winners of the Stonewall Book Awards, which honor exceptional books relating to the GLBT experience.

The Stonewall awards are sponsored by the ALA’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Round Table, which is a collection of GLBT librarians who are also are members of the ALA. Founded in 1970 as the Task Force on Gay Liberation by lesbian activist Barbara Gittings, the GLBT Round Table is also the oldest professional GLBT organization in the country. Formerly called the ALA Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Book Awards, the Stonewall awards were originally a grassroots acknowledgement of GLBT authors and literature, and became official ALA awards in 1986.

“For some books, it is probably the only time they are recognized for their achievement,” said Cecil Hixon, chair of the 2004 Stonewall Book Awards, at a Jan. 11 GLBT Round Table social held at the San Diego Public Library’s Mission Valley branch. “Some have been given to well-known authors but some have not, and we are very proud in the fact that we always reach out to small presses. We feel that a lot of their work does not go acknowledged and we really make an effort to find small press books that explore the GLBT experience.”

Two awards are given each year — the Stonewall Book Award-Barbara Gittings Literature Award and the Stonewall Book Award-Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award — as well as four honorable mentions for English language literature published the year prior to the announcement date.

Isabel Miller’s Patience and Sarah received the first award in 1971, and since then 48 books have been honored. This year’s winners are The Book of Salt by Monique Truong, and Lost Prophet: the Life and Times of Bayard Rustin by John D’Emilio.

The Book of Salt, which won the Barbara Gittings Book Award in Literature, chronicles the life of a gay, Vietnamese French immigrant and his years as Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas’ live-in cook in 1930s Paris. Lost Prophet, which won the Israel Fishman Book Award for Nonfiction, is an in-depth biography of African-American openly gay civil rights activist Bayard Rustin.

The Stonewall honor books for literature are: Cutting Room by Louise Welsh, Keeping You a Secret by Julie Ann Peters, Lives of the Circus Animals: a Novel, by Christopher Bram, and Southland by Nina Revoyr.

The Stonewall honor books for nonfiction are: Beautiful Shadow: a Life of Patricia Highsmith by Andrew Wilson, Before Stonewall: Activists for Gay and Lesbian Rights in Historical Context edited by Vern L. Bullough, RN, PhD, Intertwined Lives: Margaret Mead, Ruth Benedict and their Circle by Lois W. Banner, and Ridiculous!: the Theatrical Life and Times of Charles Ludlam by David Kaufman.

Each year, the winning authors or editors receive a cash award and a commemorative plaque, which is presented at the ALA’s annual conference in June.

“We had a wonderful story about two years ago,” Hixon recalled. “One book that we found while going through book reviews throughout the year was a book called Welsh Boys, Too, which was published by an unknown Welsh author. Welsh Boys, Too, I took to mean, you know, Welsh boys are, too. It was resonant within the story, because you see so many people but we all are very different. I never knew a Welsh boy, and I read a Welsh boy story, but it was a human story. We all have human experiences and that was the joy of that book. We simply loved the book. It didn’t win the award but it was an honor book, and because of the distinction that that book got, [the author] got an additional grant to write another book from the U.S. Additionally, he got a grant to attend the [ALA] conference in person. The honor winners usually only get a certificate, but he was [so] appreciative of getting the honor and distinction of receiving our award as an honor book that he came to America and thanked us in person. And that was a book that probably would not have gotten any attention were it not for the recognition we gave it from the Stonewall Book Awards.”

Nominations for the awards can be made by any person not affiliated with the publisher of the book being nominated, with a short statement describing why the book is being nominated. Nominations are then submitted to the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Book Award Committee Chair for review. The committee consists of seven male and seven female members from various types of libraries around the country. To keep a balanced perspective, the head chair is rotated annually, alternating male and female.

“Chairing the committee is very hectic,” Hixon said. “You’re responsible to make sure that people discuss and actively participate. And then we have to contact publishers, which is the bulk of what the committee does. You’re like a cheerleader for the awards committee — demanding that we get copies of these books. I think because we are a focus group, more or less — we don’t get attention like committees that choose the Newbery or Caldecott Medals and such — we aren’t that well known and people don’t rush to give us books, so we have to hound them. I think that it’s very important that if we take the time to recognize these works, they should at least give us the courtesy of trying to work with us to give us copies of the books simply to read.”

Over 800 books are reviewed throughout the year, then narrowed down to 50 before the ALA’s midwinter meeting. At the meeting, the committee members choose five finalists from the list and then choose a winner in each category from the finalists.

“One of the wonderful things about it is, each year when we have our breakfast to give the awards, each member of the committee takes all of the books they have from the awards selection and donates them to the breakfast committee to give as gifts to all of the attendees of the breakfast,” Hixon said. “I think that’s the true spirit of what this round table is all about. It’s all about enhancing the community, and having a voice within our community.”