Start the Lammy submission process here. DO NOT USE THIS FORM TO SUBMIT FOR OUR CASH PRIZES.


Please review the guidelines before submitting. This cycle considers ONLY works published in 2025. We will be cranky if you submit a book published outside of 2025 and request a refund later!


Submitting to the Lammys is a 2-step process:
 

• Step 1: Register by completing this quick form and paying the submission fee. After doing this, you'll receive an email confirmation with a link to step 2.
• Step 2: Enter details about your book and upload the electronic file. Repeat this step for all books you're submitting. Physical copies are accepted for this cycle in addition to the electronic file.
• Step 3 (optional but encouraged): Send us 3 physical copies of the submitted title. The mailing address will be provided in your confirmation email.

Retreat Dates and Location

The 2026 Writers Retreat will be held virtually from August 1-August 8, 2026.

Application Details

Applications to attend the 2026 Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ* Voices open on November 21, 2025 and close at 11:59 pm Eastern Time on January 8, 2026. 

You may apply to more than one workshop, however, each application must be submitted separately and requires an additional fee. The fee for each application is $30.00 and is processed through Submittable's online portal. If you wish to pay by cash or check please contact retreat@lambdaliterary.org. 

A limited number of application fee waivers are available for QTBIPOC** members of our community who have never attended the Writers Retreat before. 

To inquire about a fee waiver, email retreat@lambdaliterary.org confirming your eligibility as:

• A member of the QTBIPOC community
• Someone who has never attended the Retreat before.

You do not need to provide any other identifying information. Waivers are given out on a first-come-first serve basis. Secure yours sooner rather than later!

To Apply, Please Prepare

1. An artistic/biographical statement (max 500 words).

2. a writing sample matching the genre of the workshop you’re applying for:

• A writing sample in .DOC, .DOCX, or .PDF format. 
• For prose please double space and use a 12 point font. 
• For Screenwriting please use standardized scriptwriting format.
• The sample you apply with does not have to be the same sample you plan to workshop at the Retreat.
• Page limits per workshop:                                                  
  • For Fiction, Nonfiction, Romantic Fiction, Speculative Fiction, and Young Adult Fiction: 15 pages maximum. This maximum applies to cross-genre samples as well as samples in verse.
  • For Playwriting and Screenwriting: 15 pages maximum from a full-length work, short play/script, or piece of theatre/film. This page limit includes dramatis personae/cast list/setting/description.
  • For Poetry: 8 pages maximum

      

3. Optional, not required for acceptance:

• Any publications of your work during the past two years, including anthologies, literary journals, magazines, websites, and books.
• Any other writing conferences, retreats, and workshops have you attended.
• Some scholarships, financial support, and additional opportunities require a scholarship statement (max 500 words).

Tuition, Scholarships, and Financial Support

Writers Retreat tuition is $1,100. 

Thanks to the support of individual and institutional donations, Lambda Literary has a robust scholarship and financial support program. Our scholarships, opportunities, and financial support programs are manuscript-, demographics-, and need-based. 

You may apply to as many scholarships and/or opportunities as you are eligible for. Ability to pay is in no way part of the decision-making process and does not have an impact on your application status. Scholarship and financial support application responses are only seen by Lambda Literary staff, and where noted, fellowship review committees. Responses are concealed from other reviewers including faculty members who make final decisions on all selected fellows.

In 2026, Fellows will no longer have to fundraise for their own tuition–Lambda Literary will provide financial support to those who need it. We are working hard to make our spaces as accessible as possible, and those who cannot pay their own way should not have to expend more time and energy just to attend. With this new plan, Lambda Literary will be offering financial support to make sure every accepted writer can attend, regardless of financial status.

Find all available scholarships, financial support information, and other opportunities in the application form.

Application Review and Status Notifications

Applications are reviewed in three stages by a panel of retreat alumni and Lambda staff. Reviewers are given comprehensive guidelines and a rubric to evaluate each application for craft, inventiveness, voice, and form. Within that, we strive to serve a variety of writers with varying backgrounds, ages, sexual orientations, genders, religions, races, ethnicities, socioeconomic statuses, and localities.

In the first round of review, the top 50 fellowship candidates in each genre are identified. In the second round, the top 30 fellowship candidates in each genre are identified. In the third round of review, the genre-specific faculty member makes final decisions and chooses 12 fellows and 5 waitlist applicants out of the top 30 pool. Writers Retreat faculty make the final determinations regarding accepted and waitlisted applicants. All applicants will be notified of their application status in April 2026.  

Refund Policy

The $30.00 Writers Retreat application fee is nonrefundable. 

FAQ

Still have questions? Please review our Frequently Asked Questions and reach out to retreat@lambdaliterary.org if any queries are left unanswered.

Find out all details about the Virtual 2026 Writers Retreat on our website.

*Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, and all emerging identities 

**Queer and Trans folks who are Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color