Lambda Literary has announced the finalists for the 2026 Lambda Literary Awards which are the 38th year of these awards that celebrate the best in LGBTQ+ literature. The awards have many categories, three of which are specifically for books for youth. Here are those finalists:

LGBTQ+ CHILDREN’S BOOKS

The Bi Book by A.J. Irving, illustrated by Cynthia Alonso

Devin’s Gift by Alana Tyson, illustrated by Ebony Glenn

Jim! Six True Stories about One Great Artist: James Marshall by Jerrold Connors

O.K. Is Gay by Vincent X. Kirsch

Tales from Beyond the Rainbow by Pete Jordi Wood

A Year of Pride and Joy by Simon James Green

LGBTQ+ MIDDLE GRADE

Glitch Girl! by Rainie Oet

It’s All or Nothing, Vale by Andrea Beatriz Arango

Pasta Girls by Taylor Tracy

The Queen Bees of Tybee County by Kyle Casey Chu

A Song for You and I by K. O’Neill

LGBTQ+ YOUNG ADULT

Camila Núñez’s Year of Disasters by Miriam Zoila Pérez

Come Home to My Heart by Riley Redgate

He’s So Possessed with Me by Corey Liu

The Transition by Logan-Ashley Kisner

An Ugly World for Beautiful Boys by Rob Costello