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BIO AND PLAYS OF “THAT FURIOUS LESBIAN” GARNER LAMMY NOMINATIONS, FINALISTS IN AWARDS HONORING LGBT LITERATURE   Companion volumes celebrate de Acosta’s romantic conquests and literary contributions   Two recent publications from Southern Illinois University Press have been named finalists in the 16th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. Nominated for their contributions to LGBT literature are a biography of the early-twentieth-century writer Mercedes de Acosta—known as the “professional lesbian”—and a collection of her largely unknown and previously unpublished plays.   Both books stem from the research and work of Robert A. Schanke. He is the author of “That Furious Lesbian”: The Story of Mercedes De Acosta, which was honored with a nomination in the Biography category; he also edited the collected volume Women in Turmoil: Six Plays by Mercedes de Acosta, which received a nomination for Drama.   Deemed “an entertaining biography” by the New York Times Book Review and a “delicious read” by Girlfriends, Schanke’s biography reestablishes de Acosta’s rightful place as a pioneer and champion in the early struggle for lesbian rights in this country. He corrects established myths to at last construct an accurate, detailed, and vibrant portrait of the flamboyantly uninhibited early-twentieth-century New York author, poet, and playwright. Similarly, the plays allow contemporary readers, playwrights, and performers to see the stage as envisioned—and challenged—by a “furious lesbian” ahead of her era.   The Lambda Literary Awards (affectionately nicknamed “the Lammys”) are a program of the Lambda Literary Foundation, which publishes the Lambda Book Report and is dedicated to the recognition and promotion of LGBT literature. Winners will be announced at a ceremony at the Chicago Mart Plaza Hotel Place on Thursday, June 3, 2004. This event will take place on the eve of BookExpo America, the publishing industry’s largest tradeshow, held in Chicago this year as well.   A Professor Emeritus of Theater at Central College in Pella, Iowa, and editor of the international journal Theatre History Studies, Robert A. Schanke serves as editor of SIU Press’s Theater in the Americas series, which includes both de Acosta volumes. One of his previously published books, Shattered Applause: The Lives of Eva Le Gallienne, was also finalist for the Lambda Literary Award and the Barnard Hewitt Award for theatre research.   More marketing news