I got the following press release from the Bi Writers Association today, announcing the opening of submissions for the Bisexual Book Awards. The small publishing company I run, Circlet Press, was a co-winner of last year’s Bisexual Publisher of the Year award, and most of my books feature bisexual characters (although some suffer from the same invisibility as bisexuals in real life… it doesn’t always come up!).
The Bisexual Book Awards are awarded annually and the categories include fiction, nonfiction, YA, biography/memoir, erotica, poetry, and speculative fiction (sf/fantasy/horror). From the press release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SEPT 23, 2014
Contact: Sheela Lambert
Director, Bi Writers Association
fuscialadybug (at) netzero (dot) com
BI WRITERS ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES THIRD ANNUAL BISEXUAL BOOK AWARDS
*Submissions Now Open*
(New York, NY)-- In honor of Bi Visibility Week, the Bi Writers Association has chosen this week to announce that submissions are now open for its third annual Bisexual Book Awards. Any 2014 book with a bisexual character, bisexual storyline, bisexual subject matter or bisexual theme, is eligible for submission. Awards are open to all authors regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Books can be submitted by the author, publisher, or the Bi Writers Association (BWA), however, anyone may contact BWA to recommend a book. There are nine categories total, seven of which have open submissions.
Books are judged on three main criteria: 1) quality of overall writing; 2) quality of writing about bisexual material, characters & themes; 3) quantity of bisexual material. A panel of judges will decide each category. Finalists will be announced by the first week in April, and winners will be announced at the Bisexual Book Awards, tentative date, Sat May 31 of 2015. The Bisexual Book Awards will be preceded by BWA’s annual multi-arts reading, which will feature finalists of the awards.
“Bisexual books and bi writers have few opportunities for recognition, even at LGBT Book Awards, so the Bisexual Book Awards is our answer to that,” says Bi Writers Association director Sheela Lambert. “In addition to recognizing books and authors for their achievements, the Bisexual Book Awards process creates a complete annual list of bisexual books for readers, and encourages more bi-themed books to be written and published,” says Ms. Lambert.
To submit a book to the awards, there is a $10 fee. Request a submission form from the Bi Writers Association by emailing fuscialadybug (at) netzero (dot) com and include the following information:
- name of book
- author name
- publisher
- year of first publication
- specify fiction or non-fiction
The Bisexual Book Awards Guidelines are available in full on the BWA website at https://www.biwriters.org/bi-book-awards/
