We are thrilled to announce that Chen Chen's When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities has been selected as a finalist for the 2018 Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry.
“Celebrating our 30th year of Lambda Literary Award finalists is to recognize that this organization has been at the center of contemporary queer literature for decades,” said Lambda Literary Executive Director Tony Valenzuela. “This year is no different with another stellar list of authors demonstrating through their work that LGBTQ books tell richly textured stories about who we are in all our incredible diversity.”
Chen Chen's When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities was selected by poet Jericho Brown as the winner of the 15th annual A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize. This critically acclaimed debut collection was longlisted for the 2017 National Book Award for Poetry and was named a Barbara Gittings Literature Award Honor Book by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table of the American Library Association.
Chen Chen was born in Xiamen, China, and grew up in Massachusetts. He is the author of When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities as well as two chapbooks, and he co-edits with the poet Sam Herschel Wein the new journal Underblong. Chen’s work has appeared in PBS NewsHour, Poetry, The New York Times Magazine, Tin House, The Best American Poetry, and The Best American Nonrequired Reading. A recipient of fellowships from Kundiman, Lambda Literary, and the Saltonstall Foundation, Chen won the 2018 GLCA New Writers Award and was named one of “ten poets who will change the world” in Poets & Writers.
Chen earned his MFA at Syracuse University and is currently pursuing a PhD in English and Creative Writing at Texas Tech University. He lives in Rochester, NY, with his partner. Chen will give a live reading at the Rochester City Hall on April 20, 2018, for BOA Editions Day.
Now in their thirtieth year, the Lambda Literary Awards celebrate achievement in LGBTQ writing for books published in 2017. The finalists were chosen from nearly 1,000 submissions and over 300 publishers. Sixty-seven literary professionals, including booksellers, book reviewers, librarians, authors, academics and previous Lammy winners and finalists volunteered countless hours of reading, critical thinking, and invigorating discussion to select the finalists in 23 categories.
Winners of the 30th annual Lambda Literary Awards will be announced at an awards ceremony on June 4, 2018, at the NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts (566 LaGuardia Pl, New York, NY 10012). More information about the awards ceremony can be found on Lambda's website.
Congratulations to Chen and to all the other finalists!
Visit the BOA Bookstore to buy a copy of When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities.
