The awards are named for Barbara Gittings, Israel Fishman, and (jointly) Mike Morgan and Larry Romans.

[4] The winners are announced in January and each receives a plaque and $1000 cash prize during the ALA Annual Conference in June or July.

However, the publisher of a proposed title, agents or representatives of the author, or anyone else who may stand to gain directly from the nomination of the book should disclose this information via the online form.

[2] The Gay Book Award was inaugurated in 1971 at the ALA annual meeting in Dallas, by the newly created Task Force on Gay Liberation (TFGL)[7] The ceremony, attended by only 9 people,[7] recognized Patience and Sarah, a historical novel by Alma Routsong (writing as Isabel Miller), which had been self-published by Routsong in 1969.

[4] In 2002, the awards, then two, were jointly named after the site of the 1969 Stonewall riots as well as two of the founding members of the TFGL, Barbara Gittings and Israel Fishman.