American Library Association Announces That For First Time Gay And Lesbian Literature Will Be Honoured With Awards

The American Library Association announced that their annual selection of children’s prizes for literature – which includes both the influential Caldecott and Newbery medals, and are announced in January, will for the first time include an award for gay and lesbian literary, the Associated Press reporting that the library association will issue a statement Monday saying that the Stonewall Children’s and Young Adult Literature Association have been added the ALA’s Youth Medal Awards, important since the award selections are used by educators and librarians to determine which new books to add to their collection. The Stonewall prize honours “English-language works for children and teens of exceptional merit in relation to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered experience.” Stonewall has for forty years bestowed awards for the best adult books, but this is the first year a children’s category has been created. The decision is critical because books with gay and lesbian themes are often high on the association’s annual report of works most criticised and threatened with removal by parents and educators, the acclaimed, beautiful “And Tango Makes Three,” Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell’s picture story about two male penguins who become parents topping the list from 2007-2009. Roberta Stevens, the American Library Association president, said that “Ours is a very inclusive profession and we represent a wide variety of viewpoints,” who added that the decision to include the Stonewall prize was made well ahead of the recent rash of suicides by teens thought to be the victims of anti-gay bullying. She also said “Millions of children in this country are being raised by gay or lesbian parents. There are young people who are gay and sometimes feel very alone. This is a real opportunity for youths who may be felling along to read about others like themselves.”