Manhattanville College MFA Director Named a Finalist for Prestigious Literary Award

Soderlind’s memoir chronicles her travels across America where with humanity and humor she introduces us to the quirky characters she meets against a backdrop of a deeply conflicted country going through crises and transformations.

The Lambda Literary Foundation announced the finalists for its 2021 awards in multiple categories on March 15. The finalists in 24 categories were chosen by 60 judges (authors and publishing industry professionals) from more than 1,000 books submitted by 300+ publishers. The awards were created to nurture and advocate for LGBTQ writers and elevate their works.

“We congratulate Lori on her nomination for this prestigious and well-deserved recognition,’’ said Manhattanville College President Michael Geisler, PhD. “Lori a talented and insightful writer who inspires our M.F.A. students and her colleagues with her creative and passionate approach to teaching. We are all extremely proud of her.’’

Soderlind is an award-winning essayist and journalist and author of the memoir Chasing Montana: A Love Story (University of Wisconsin Press). Her essay “66 Signs” is included in Norton’s anthology of Best Creative Nonfiction. She has taught for the past 20 years in the areas of journalism, nonfiction, and memoir writing at schools including Columbia University, SUNY Albany, Western Connecticut State University, and Norwalk Community College, where she ran the Communications Arts program and chaired the Humanities Department.

This year, the 33rd annual Lambda awards ceremony will take place online June 1, 4pm PST via Zoom, with a performance by Meshell Ndegeocello, and other guests including Alan Hollinghurst, Carmen Maria Machado, Torrey Peters, Cyrée Jarelle Johnson, Ryan O’Connell, JP Brammer, Katherine V. Forrest, and more.

The event will be free, and captioned and include live ASL interpretation. www.lambdaliterary.org/awards/current-finalists