Judges pull award nomination for book by Lauren Hough
ABC News
The author of an acclaimed debut essay collection has had a prominent LGBTQ literary nomination withdrawn
NEW YORK -- Judges for a prominent LGBTQ literature award withdrew a planned nomination for Lauren Hough's acclaimed essay collection, “Leaving Isn’t The Hardest Thing," after the author used sharp and sometimes profane language in Twitter exchanges with critics of a novel she had expressed admiration for.
Hough was supposed to be a Lambda Award finalist for best lesbian memoir, one of 24 categories announced last week by the Lambda Literary organization. But her name did not appear. In a letter sent to her publisher, Penguin Random House, shortly before the announcement and shared this week with The Associated Press, Lambda cited a series of tweets (some deleted) from early this month that showed a “troubling hostility toward transgender critics and trans-allies” who had challenged the premise of Sandra Newman's upcoming novel “The Men.”
“We have to hold the line in how we communicate with each other,” Lambda co-executive director Cleopatra Jach Acquaye said in a recent telephone interview. “We want people to treat each other with respect and treat each other with dignity.”
Hough, who has written about the controversy on Substack, declined further comment Wednesday.
