The winners and runners-up for the 2014 Rainbow Awards were announced last night. So many excellent books – I love that there are enough great stories to have categories like “Best Bisexual Romance” or “Best Transgender Debut”.
My collection of free short stories from my YA LGBT Books group – Rainbow Briefs (published under the pen name Kira Harp) – was voted second in the Best LGBT Anthology / Collection category. Many thanks to everyone who read and enjoyed it, and a big round of applause for Sara Winters who pushed me to do the collection, edited and formatted and helped release it. Also to Enny Kraft for the great cover 
. This ebook is available free on Smashwords, ARe and Goodreads, and for .99 at Amazon with royalties to the Trevor Project. Amazon also has the paper book for sale.
There were so many excellent books among the winners. My TBR list grew three sizes overnight 😉
And Elisa asked people submitting to books to contribute to an LGBT charity for their entrance fee – the Rainbows resulted in donations of over $11,000 to LGBT charities.
These are the full results:
Best LGBT COVER
DESIGN:
1. The Tin Box (Anne Cain)
Runners Up:
2. Omorphi (Reese Dante)
3. Love Lessons (Kanaxa)
4. Stitch (Eli Easton)
5. The House on Hancock Hill (Brooke Albrecht)
ILLUSTRATION:
1. Splinters (Thorny Sterling)
Runners Up:
2. London Calling (Kevin Pruitt)
3. Balefire (TreeHouse Studio)
4. That Certain Something (Fereday Design)
5. Bitter Waters (Elizabeth Leggett)
Best LGBT Anthology / Collection
1. Playing Ball by Shae Connor, Kate McMurray, Kerry Freeman & Marguerite Labbe
Runners Up:
2. Rainbow Briefs by Kira Harp
3. Secrets of Neverwood by G.B. Lindsey, Diana Copland & Libby Drew
4. Stitch by Eli Easton, Sue Brown, Jamie Fessenden & Kim Fielding
5. All you can Eat, A Buffet of Lesbian Erotica and Romance by R.G. Emanuelle & Andi Marquette
Best LGBT Erotica
1. Breaking Free by Cat Grant
Runners Up:
2. At Her Feet by Rebekah Weatherspoon
3. Games Boys Play by Zoe X. Rider
4. Into The Fire by Lori Toland
5. Incubus Tales by Hushicho
Best LGBT Poetry
1. Hibernation and Other Poems by Bear Bards, an anthology by Ron J. Suresha
Runners Up:
2. Velvet Rodeo by Kelly McQuain
3. Souvenir Boys by David-Matthew Barnes
Best LGBT Visual Arts & Photography
1. Beards, an Unshaved History by Kevin Clarke
Runners Up:
2. A Thing of Beauty by Jake Jaxson & RJ Sebastian
3. dr.a.g. by Christopher Logan
Best Bisexual Debut
1. Slide by Garrett Leigh
Runners Up:
2. Demons Within, For Love of Authority 1, by Rhiannon Ayers
3. Beyond Cutting by Vicki Clifford
Best Bisexual General Fiction
1. Alpha Trine by Lexi Ander
Runners Up:
2. Cythera by Jo Graham
3. The River Within by Baxter Clare Trautman
4. The Stars Change by Mary Anne Mohanraj
5. Best Bi Short Stories by Sheela Lambert
Best Bisexual Romance
1. Stuff by Josephine Myles
Runners Up:
2. Slide by Garrett Leigh
3. Fusion, North Star trilogy 2, by Posy Roberts
4. Rocky Mountain Freedom by Vivian Arend
5. Capricious by Julie Cox
Best Bisexual Book
1. Hibernation and Other Poems by Bear Bards, an anthology by Ron J. Suresha
Runners Up:
2. Alpha Trine by Lexi Ander
3. Cythera by Jo Graham
4. Stuff by Josephine Myles
5. Slide by Garrett Leigh
Best Transgender Debut
1. If We Shadows by D.E. Atwood
Runners Up:
2. Babette: The Many Lives, Two Deaths and Double Kidnapping of Dr. Ellsworth by Ross Eliot
3. An Unspoken Compromise by Rizi Xavier Timane
Best Transgender Fiction
1. If We Shadows by D.E. Atwood
Runners Up:
2. Beloved Pilgrim by Christopher Hawthorne Moss
3. Cevin’s Deadly Sin by Sally Bosco
4. His Fair Lady by Kimberly Gardner
5. Collected by Solar Harris
Best Transgender Non Fiction
1. Babette: The Many Lives, Two Deaths and Double Kidnapping of Dr. Ellsworth by Ross Eliot
Runners Up:
2. Queerly Beloved: A Love Story Across Genders by Diane & Jacob Anderson-Minshall
3. An Unspoken Compromise by Rizi Xavier Timane
Best Transgender Book
1. If We Shadows by D.E. Atwood
Runners Up:
2. Babette: The Many Lives, Two Deaths and Double Kidnapping of Dr. Ellsworth by Ross Eliot
3. Queerly Beloved: A Love Story Across Genders by Diane & Jacob Anderson-Minshall
4. Beloved Pilgrim by Christopher Hawthorne Moss
5. Cevin’s Deadly Sin by Sally Bosco
Best Lesbian Debut
1. Loved and Lost by Stephanie Kusiak
Runners Up:
2. Freak Camp: Posts From a Previously Normal Girl by Jessica V. Barnett
3. Like Jazz by Heather Blackmore
4. Let the Lover Be by Sheree L. Greer
5. Exception to the Rule by Cindy Rizzo
Best Lesbian Contemporary General Fiction
1. Rest Home Runaways by Clifford Henderson
Runners Up:
2. What Matter Wounds by Geonn Cannon
3. Let the Lover Be by Sheree L. Greer
4. Ebenezer by JoSelle Vanderhooft
5. Hoosier Daddy by Ann McMan & Salem West
Best Lesbian Contemporary & Erotic Romance
1. Camellia by Caitlin Ricci & Cari Z.
Runners Up:
2. Departure from the Script by Jae
3. (tie)
a. Loved and Lost by Stephanie Kusiak
b. No Boundaries by Donna K. Ford
4. (tie)
a. Nightingale by Andrea Bramhall
b. She Sings of Old, Unhappy, Far-off Things by Caren J. Werlinger
5. Like Jazz by Heather Blackmore
Best Lesbian Sci-Fi / Futuristic & Fantasy
1. Dogs of War by Geonn Cannon
Runners Up:
2. Wolf’s Eyes, Amendyr Series 2, by Rae D. Magdon
3. The Empath by Jody Klaire
4. Chronicles of Osota – Warrior by Michelle Magly
5. Dark Horizons by Rae D. Magdon & Michelle Magly
Best Lesbian Fantasy Romance
1. A Kingdom Lost by Barbara Ann Wright
Runners Up:
2. Daughter of Mystery by Heather Rose Jones
3. The Only Way by Jamie Sullivan
Best Lesbian Historical Fiction & Romance
1. Waiting for the Violins by Justine Saracen
Runners Up:
2. Club Storyville by Riley LaShea
3. Murder and the Hurdy Gurdy Girl by Kate McLachlan
4. Fervent Charity by Paulette Callen
5. Agnes by Jaime Maddox
Best Lesbian Mystery / Thriller
1. Season of the Wolf by Robin Summers
Runners Up:
2. Rapture, Sins of the Sinners by Fran Heckrotte & A.C. Henley
3. Tumbledown by Cari Hunter
4. Girls Don’t Hit by Geonn Cannon
5. Killing Rosa by Lynn Kear
The Cate Culpepper Award for Best Lesbian Paranormal Romance
1. Windigo Thrall by Cate Culpepper – Cate passed away just weeks before winning this category, now named in her honor
Runners Up:
2. True Nature by Jae
3. Return of an Impetuous Pilot by Kate McLachlan
4. Vermilion Justice by Sheri Lewis Wohl
5. If I Die Before I Wake by Liz McMullen
Best Lesbian Romantic Comedy
1. Eight Dates by Lori L. Lake
Runners Up:
2. Out Of Retirement by Erica Lawson
3. That Certain Something by Clare Ashton
Best Lesbian Book
1. The End of Eve by Ariel Gore
Runners Up:
2. Waiting for the Violins by Justine Saracen
3. (tie)
a. Club Storyville by Riley LaShea
b. Camellia by Caitlin Ricci & Cari Z.
4. Rest Home Runaways by Clifford Henderson
5. Time Fries! Aging Gracelessly in Rehoboth Beach by Fay Jacobs
6. Season of the Wolf by Robin Summers
7. Rapture, Sins of the Sinners by Fran Heckrotte & A.C. Henley
8. Departure from the Script by Jae
9. (tie)
a. Loved and Lost by Stephanie Kusiak
b. No Boundaries by Donna K. Ford
10. Eight Dates by Lori L. Lake
Best Gay & Lesbian Young Adult
1. Silent by Sara Alva
Runners Up:
2. (tie)
a. This Is Not a Love Story by Suki Fleet
b. Not Broken, Just Bent by Mia Kerick
3. (tie)
a. The Red Sheet by Mia Kerick
b. Vivaldi in the Dark by Matthew J. Metzger
4. Freak Camp: Posts From a Previously Normal Girl by Jessica V. Barnett
5. (tie)
a. Us Three by Mia Kerick
b. Omorphi by C. Kennedy
c. Red Devil by Kyell Gold
Best Gay & Lesbian Young Adult
1. Gaysia: Adventures in the Queer East by Benjamin Law
Runners Up:
2. The End of Eve by Ariel Gore
3. Time Fries! Aging Gracelessly in Rehoboth Beach by Fay Jacobs
4. True Stories Too: People and Places From My Past by Felice Picano
5. Lesbian Marriage: A Love & Sex Forever Kit by Kim Chernin & Renate Stendhal
Best Gay Debut
1. This Is Not a Love Story by Suki Fleet
Runners Up:
2. Light by Nathan Burgoine
3. The Next by Rafe Haze
4. (tie)
a. dr.a.g. by Christopher Logan
b. Piper by Leona Carver
5. The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher by Dana Alison Levy
Best Gay Contemporary General Fiction
1. Sex & Sourdough by A.J. Thomas
Runners Up:
2. The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher by Dana Alison Levy
3. My Favorite Uncle by Marshall Thornton
4. I Loved You More by Tom Spanbauer
5. (tie)
a. Stronger Than This by David-Matthew Barnes
b. First Exposure by Alan Chin
The William Neale Award for Best Gay Contemporary Romance
1. The Mating of Michael by Eli Easton
Runners Up:
2. Perfect Imperfections by Cardeno C.
3. (tie)
a. Last First Kiss by Diane Adams
b. Takedown by Cat Grant
4. Cub by Jeff Mann
5. Behind the Curtain by Amy Lane
6. Ethan in Gold by Amy Lane
7. The Last Thing He Needs by J.H. Knight
8. Message of Love by Jim Provenzano
9. Unbroken by Larry Benjamin
10. The Silence of the Stars by Kate McMurray
The Bobby Michaels Award for Best Gay Erotic Romance
1. (tie)
a. Trusting Thomas by K.C. Wells
b. A Little Too Broken by Brad Vance
Runners Up:
2. Love and Salvage: Loving Emmett by Mathew Ortiz
3. (tie)
a. A Place for Cliff by Talon ps
b. The House on Hancock Hill by Indra Vaughn
c. It’s Like This by Anne O’Gleadra
4. (tie)
a. More Than Everything by Cardeno C.
b. Splinters by Thorny Sterling
5. Gin & Jazz 1- 4 by Morticia Knight
Best Gay Fantasy
1. Rising Frenzy, Men of Myth 2 by Brandon Witt
Runners Up:
2. Shirewode by J Tullos Hennig
3. Highfell Grimoires by Langley Hyde
4. Mercy’s Prisoner, Life Prison 1, by Dusk Peterson
5. Night Creatures by Jeremy Jordan King
Best Gay Fantasy Romance
1. (tie)
a. A Case of Possession by KJ Charles
b. Goblins by Melanie Tushmore
Runners Up:
2. Reawakening by Amy Rae Durreson
3. (tie)
a. The Calm Before by Neena Jaydon
b. Of Last Resort by Megan Derr
Best Gay Historical
1. The Gentleman’s Madness by Bonnie Dee & Summer Devon
Runners Up:
2. Randy by Jane Elliot
3. (tie)
a. Happy Independence Day by Michael Rupured
b. The Music Teacher by Bob Sennett
4. Turnbull House by Jess Faraday
5. The Gentleman’s Keeper by Bonnie Dee & Summer Devon
Best Gay Historical Romance
1. Think of England by KJ Charles
Runners Up:
2. Tournament of Shadows by S.A. Meade
3. Forever Hold His Peace by Rebecca Cohen
4. Dance of Stone by Jay Lewis Taylor
5. The Dead Past by Kate Aaron
Best Gay Mystery / Thriller
1. Corruption by Eden Winters
Runners Up:
2. Home The Hard Way by Z.A. Maxfield
3. Relief Valve by JL Merrow
4. Pawn of Satan by Mark Zubro
5. The Next by Rafe Haze
Best Gay Paranormal Romance
1. (tie)
a. Monsters Under the Bed by Susan Laine
b. Wide Asleep by Nick Nolan
Runners Up:
2. Wolf in Gucci Loafers by Tara Lain
3. In Your Eyes by Cardeno C.
4. Hell & High Water (THIRDS, Book #1) by Charlie Cochet
5. Motel. Pool. by Kim Fielding
Best Gay Romantic Comedy
1. Merry Gentlemen by Josephine Myles
Runners Up:
2. Caught! by JL Merrow
3. Shiny! by Amy Lane
4. The Ghost Slept Over by Marshall Thornton
5. On Archimedes Street by Jefferson Parrish
Best Gay Sci-Fi / Futuristic
1. Rarely Pure and Never Simple by Angel Martinez
Runners Up:
2. Light by Nathan Burgoine
3. Piper by Leona Carver
4. Strain by Amelia C. Gormley
5. Rangers Over Regulus by Alex Powell
Best Gay Book
1. Gaysia: Adventures in the Queer East by Benjamin Law
Runners Up:
2. The Mating of Michael by Eli Easton
3. Perfect Imperfections by Cardeno C.
4. Silent by Sara Alva
5. Velvet Rodeo by Kelly McQuain
6. Think of England by KJ Charles
7. (tie)
a. Last First Kiss by Diane Adams
b. Takedown by Cat Grant
8. Beards, an Unshaved History by Kevin Clarke
9. Corruption by Eden Winters
10. Cub by Jeff Mann
There are a bunch of publisher deals to honor the winners with discounts – check on Elisa’s Blog – http://reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwidth.org/4489098.html for a list and links.
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE WINNERS – every book on that list deserves recognition. And a huge THANK YOU to Elisa, and all the people who judged, organized and ran the Awards. These have become one of the most visible and recognized ways to honor the best books in our genre.