The 37th annual Lambda Literary Awards were presented this weekend in a virtual ceremony from Charlie’s Queer Books in Seattle, Washington that celebrated the best in LGBTQ+ literature across 26 categories.
In the LGBTQ+ Comics category, Putty Pygmalion by Lonnie Garcia took home the award. Published by Silver Sprocket, this innovative graphic novel offers a queer reimagining of the classic Pygmalion myth through Garcia’s distinctive multimedia comic art style.
The graphic novel tells the story of Derryl, a lonely radish who attempts to create a boyfriend out of a defunct (and illegal) children’s product. His creation, Peter, springs to life ready to make a child happy, but instead finds himself trapped in a suffocating existence serving Derryl’s needs. When Peter sneaks out to a party and meets Derryl’s friends, he discovers there’s more to his creator’s intentions than he initially realized.
Originally self-published digitally in March 2023, Putty Pygmalion was later published as a physical book by Silver Sprocket. Garcia’s art combines drawings and photography in a way that goes beyond traditional fumetti techniques, creating what reviewers have called “both weird and beautiful.”
Putty Pygmalion competed against four other works in the LGBTQ+ Comics category:
- Girlmode by Magdalene Visaggio, illustrated by Paulina Ganucheau (HarperCollins)
- SN_33P’sCoolZine.pdf by Tenacity Plys (fifth wheel press)
- Something, Not Nothing: A Story of Grief and Love by Sarah Leavitt (Arsenal Pulp Press)
- We Belong: An All-Black/All-Queer Sci-Fi/Fantasy Comics Anthology edited by Viktor T. Kerney and William O. Tyler (Stacked Deck Press)
About the Lambda Literary Awards
Established to honor LGBTQ+ writing, the Lambda Literary Awards—known as the “Lammys”—have recognized exceptional queer literature for 37 years. The winners were selected by a panel of 80 literary professionals from more than 1,300 book submissions from more than 300 publishers. Congratulations to Garcia and all of this year’s nominees. You can find the complete list of winners across all categories on the Lammys website.