Plot Twist: The 2020 Bisexual Book Awards

The finalists and winners of the 2020 Bisexual Book Awards have been announced. And I find myself…underwhelmed.

I didn’t really have a dog in the fight this year. I think I submitted one book, which was the only thing I published in 2019. It was part of a series, and while it can be read as a standalone, it’s better in context. So I didn’t expect much. Besides, I’d already enjoyed modest success in the Rainbow Awards, so I wasn’t heavily invested in the Bisexual Book Awards this time out.

When I read the list, I was surprised that I didn’t recognize more than two of the books, and I’m only acquainted with one of the authors. I have a lot of connections in queer lit, particularly in bi books, and I’m published with multiple small presses. I’m part of several groups of writers. So who are all these folks I’d never heard of?

Since I haven’t actively reviewed books in a few years, that could explain it. But when I looked at which publishing companies these books came from, there was my clue. Half the entries were from large publishing companies, compared to previous years when none or only a small number came from such. Since the majority of authors and books I’m familiar with are independently published or from very small presses, it’s no wonder I didn’t recognize them.

But the real punch in the gut was seeing Simon & Schuster take the Publisher of the Year award. Now, this award is not based on whether or not the company actually did anything substantial for bisexual literature or bisexual people. It’s exclusively based on how many finalists and winners came from that press. Which I suppose would be fine, if it weren’t for the specific publisher in this case.

Simon & Schuster is no stranger to controversy, and they are not above using it to sell books. More importantly, they don’t care about the content or the author as long as the book makes them a profit. So in the same place you can find some of this year’s Bisexual Book Awards finalists, you can also purchase books by Rush Limbaugh and Donald Trump. In other words, this is not a press that has LGBTQ+ interests in mind.

Bear in mind, this is the same publishing company that violated antitrust laws and had to pay customers for overcharging back in 2013. They also made a deal with Milo Yiannopoulous and defended it until other popular authors began pulling their books. If a person has enough money, they can even create their own imprint with the company. They aren’t exactly fine, upstanding citizens in the book world.

So imagine how much it hurts to look at that list and see four books (three finalists and one winner) coming from the same place that allows authors who call us sinners and mentally ill and are actively seeking to curtail our rights.*

Small presses are often financially strapped, and many can’t afford to send every book in their catalog for the awards. Sometimes authors are required to pay for our own entries. In addition, smaller presses have a tinier pool of potential applicants. That isn’t to say the books that won were undeserving. I haven’t read them, so I wouldn’t know how good they are. What I do know is that when you financially eliminate the competition, you stand a better chance of winning.

I will neither submit to nor support the Bisexual Book Awards as long as books from large publishing companies are allowed. This is not because I don’t believe the authors should win but because I don’t believe companies like Simon & Schuster should be grabbing awards while also having a long history of publishing works that antagonize the very people winning them. It renders the hard work of authors and activists meaningless when a company can use us for financial gain without being there for us in other ways.

*Trust me, we’d be having similar conversations about the other large presses included in this year’s awards. These are the same publishers who have told LGBTQ+ writers that their work is “too niche” while also promoting work about LGBTQ+ people written by cisgender heterosexual authors. Most of them allow content in some of their imprints that is actively harmful to us. I can’t see how further promotion is the way forward in making changes.