91´«Ã½

CHICAGO –Since 1971, the Stonewall Book Awards have honored exceptional books that represent the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience. The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table (GLBTRT) of the 91´«Ã½ will celebrate the 40^th anniversary of the Stonewall Book Awards during the Stonewall Book Awards Brunch from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. CDT on Monday, June 27 in the Louisiana I ballroom at the Loews New Orleans Hotel.

The Stonewall 40^th Anniversary brunch will feature the presentation of the 2011 Stonewall Awards and Honors. Scheduled to attend the celebration are 2011 Barbara Gittings Literature Award winner Barb Johnson (“More of This World or Maybe Another,” Harper Perennial) and Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award winner Brian Katcher (“Almost Perfect,” Delacourte Press). Honor authors James Klise (Honor Book in Children’s and Young Adult Literature, “Love Drugged,” Flux), Tom Mendicino (Honor Book in Literature, “Probation,” Kensington), Wendy Moffat (Honor Book in Non-Fiction, “A Great Unrecorded History: A New Life of E.M. Forster” Farrar, Strauss and Giroux) and Justin Spring (Honor Book in Non-Fiction, “Secret Historian,” Farrar, Strauss and Giroux) will also join the celebration.

Past Stonewall winners Dorothy Alison (1996 Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award, “” Firebrand Books) and Sarah Schulman (1989 Stonewall Book Award, “After Delores,” Dutton) will provide special keynote presentations.

Attendees will have the opportunity to meet authors during a book signing at the conclusion of the presentations.

Tickets are $55 and include brunch. For more information, and to register, please visit . Event code: 91´«Ã½4

The Stonewall Book Awards are the first and most enduring award for GLBT books. Since Isabel Miller's “Patience and Sarah” received the first award in 1971, more than 200 titles have been honored for exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience.

The Stonewall Book Award-Barbara Gittings Literature Award, the Stonewall Book Award-Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award and the Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award are presented to English language works published the year prior to the announcement date. The award is announced in January and presented to the winning authors or editors at the 91´«Ã½ Annual Conference in June or July. The award winners each receive a commemorative plaque and $1,000.

The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table (GLBTRT) of the 91´«Ã½ is committed to serving the information needs of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender professional library community, and the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender information and access needs of individuals at large. GLBTRT is committed to encouraging and supporting the free and necessary access to all information, as reflected by the missions of the 91´«Ã½ and democratic institutions.